Preloading springs

[Whitd5]

so looking to level the front of my truck. I’d like to get as much as I can without causing issues and then I’ll decide what to do with the rear. I had simple plans...Use the Bilstein 5100. My truck does not see off road at all. I pack my kids to school and drive to work, a good mix of highway and city driving. My last car was a lowered challenger r/t. It had all the extra bracing and handled like a dream, but was rough. I was ok with it. I don’t want my truck to be so rough though. So as I have researched of course I read about all the better and more expensive options, but I could easily overbuild on this truck because it just wouldn’t utilize a fancy suspension setup. After my mind ran wild for a bit, I have come back to my original plan of the 5100’s... or something similar like the Eibachs. I will eventually choose an uca to use but it’s not my highest priority as I’m hoping to not change the geometry much here.

So to my main question... it seems like these setups basically lift the trucks by pre-loading the spring. The 5100 will raise the spring seat up effectively loading the spring. The Eibach spring with the pro-kit is a longer spring so it has to be loaded to fit. People seem to talk badly about spacers... and I’m talking spring preload spacers... not strut spacers... but what is the big difference here?? Does the longer spring being compressed offer a benefit over just loading the stock spring?

I know too that the shock plays the main role in ride quality but I can’t help but think that the spring choice is going to make a difference.

I know there are a million threads discussing the different ways to do this. Sure I’ll take your opinions... but my main focus is getting info on how the different choices on loading the springs makes a difference.
Adding preload spacers vs raising the spring seat vs squeezing in longer springs.

 

[JB1]

How much do you want to lift your truck?

 

[hodge-xj]

In short, when it comes to lifting, there's a fine line when preload becomes to much and it begings to make the coil ride harsh. I've had it explained to me and if I searched on the web I could find it, but it's physics and it's about loading the coils with stored energy. The spring rate doesn't change, but the characteristics of its ride do.

So, with that being said, and in my personal experience, 5100s MIGHT, FEEL harsh or stiff in some circumstances. The eibach longer coils, will definitely have a more compliance when absorbing bigger potholes or speed bumps without a harsh feel to them. Longer coils will ride better and offer more adjustability than oem coils. Plus they are designed to run under extra preload, where oem coils seem to sag over time. Compared to your old car, no I don't think it will feel anything close to that, but ride quality is subjective. A stiff riding performance car is different than a ****** riding truck you DD. If you want the "most lift" without really having to change much or piece it together I'll keep it simple

5100s or eibach shocks and their coils. Both front and rear. Might cost a little bit more initially, as I know you can get a spacer in the rear and use the stock rear coils, but I look at it as buy once cry once. Especially to avoid the snowball effect of wondering if the coils ride better than the stock stuff etc etc. You're a car guy, it always snowballs, do it once and do it right.

Bjs and ucas seem to be case to case variable. Mine are fine, oem bjs and lived a terrible life with the previous owner and a spacer level. I use a needle and grease them through the boot and they are fine for now. Others say they have bjs pop partially out from their uca. Use discretion and keep your eyes on an but you should be ok for now.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

 

[Whitd5]

I understand all the concepts. The rate not changing makes sense... unless you have progressive springs. Then it would seem like preloading would take up the lower rate portion of the spring and take out some of the progressiveness. I just have no clue how they would compare in feel. I guess it makes sense that the longer coils might have a benefit, just in the number of coils present to absorb energy. Thanks HODGE for your opinion on that. Just too many ways to accomplish such a simple task. Hoping I can get mine set up and get my brother to give up his strut spacers.... but then again he’s 70k miles on 2.5 spacers with his 35” tires and problem free so he doesn’t care much. Will be interesting to be able to have both trucks available to drive back to back and compare how they ride.

more than likely, I’ll lean towards the Eibach coils and struts. Seems like a reasonable setup for a daily driver that wants to level the front.

 

[hodge-xj]

I understand all the concepts. The rate not changing makes sense... unless you have progressive springs. Then it would seem like preloading would take up the lower rate portion of the spring and take out some of the progressiveness. I just have no clue how they would compare in feel. I guess it makes sense that the longer coils might have a benefit, just in the number of coils present to absorb energy. Thanks HODGE for your opinion on that. Just too many ways to accomplish such a simple task. Hoping I can get mine set up and get my brother to give up his strut spacers.... but then again he’s 70k miles on 2.5 spacers with his 35” tires and problem free so he doesn’t care much. Will be interesting to be able to have both trucks available to drive back to back and compare how they ride.

more than likely, I’ll lean towards the Eibach coils and struts. Seems like a reasonable setup for a daily driver that wants to level the front.

Yea, there's a lot of stuff to it, but in a nut shell I'll always lean towards new longer coils anytime possible. They just give better results and I bet they will ride noticeably different enough to be worth it. Some have good luck with spacers and are happy, in my case it was a bad experience and they destroyed my front struts and themselves. Hit up Nick@gotexhaust here. He can hook you up and is super helpful. Pics are of spacers killing themselves.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

 

[Whitd5]

Well here I go thinking again. Doing some pricing... it would appear that the Eibach struts and springs would run somewhere in the neighborhood of $400 and the Bilstein 6112 setup would be closer to the $600 mark. Now I have already stated that I don’t need the off road capable parts... but $200 is a fairly slim margin considering it’s pretty much all I need as far as lift parts go.

How would the larger body Bilstein do for a daily driver. Do the off road capable shocks also have on road benefits or do you typically sacrifice one for the other?

 

[hodge-xj]

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?ur...share_tid=133220&share_fid=17770&share_type=t

Check out my thread about the 6112s/full bilstein kit.

All I can say is they sacrificed nothing, I'd say they ride better than the 5100s I've run in the past.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

 

[Whitd5]

I think I have read every thread ever written on the different options. I appreciate your opinion from some real world experience. Thanks again HODGE!!

Excited to do this in the future. I’ve always lowered everything. Just doesn’t feel right in this truck. It’s my first 4x4 and it’s never going to handle like my previous vehicles so why even try. Time to go a different route. Maybe one day I’ll even be able to use the 4x4 for something other than ice/snow lol.

 

[hodge-xj]

I think I have read every thread ever written on the different options. I appreciate your opinion from some real world experience. Thanks again HODGE!!

Excited to do this in the future. I’ve always lowered everything. Just doesn’t feel right in this truck. It’s my first 4x4 and it’s never going to handle like my previous vehicles so why even try. Time to go a different route. Maybe one day I’ll even be able to use the 4x4 for something other than ice/snow lol.

Not a problem man! Honestly you can't go wrong with any of the options available. It's easy to overthink, and than it snowballs. I had the eibach kit ordered, cancelled and than over doubled the cost of it with this new setup. All because it was back ordered. Just to commute back and forth 99% of the time lol.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

 

[Whitd5]

But you can take that speed bump in the Walmart parking lot like a boss.

 

[hodge-xj]

And it won't even spill my coffee!!!!

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

 

[Whitd5]

And it won't even spill my coffee!!!!

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

BONUS!