Thread: lifted springs for 2a 109?

still have the Army (extended) shackles ??

yea i still have the army shackles on it, the springs seemed to have sagged a fair bit and they never raised the vehicle at all if anything they were slightly lower???? the rears were 4 leaf parabolic but they were way to high compared the front. after having one of the rear leafs removed from each rear pack on the rear, the front is still sticking down. i was contemplating getting the front springs reset but after seeing how they have sagged i think it will be a waste of time.

sorry mate cannot help with a solution, but I do recall this subject (saggy parabolics) being discussed before. A search may find it.

I believe that the springs are sided and the right hand side of the vehicle should sit higher when "at rest."

This is to make the vehicle level when the driver sits his fat arse down.

thanks for the replies, i was aware about the sided springs, but the sagged side is about an inch lower than standard theres around a 2.5 inch difference between the front and rear though which looks sh#t! i was told today that king springs make lifted springs for landrover series so hopefully they make a 2-3 inch lift for the front.what are the chances the parabolics would sag back down if i got them reset 50mm? i would rather keep them as they flex a lot better and ride awesome.

Originally Posted by korg20000bc

I believe that the springs are sided and the right hand side of the vehicle should sit higher when "at rest."

This is to make the vehicle level when the driver sits his fat arse down.

This is true for the original LR springs, but not always so with parabolics. To quote the installation guide for the Rocky Mountain parabolics;

"Do not expect your truck to sit perfectly level, parabolic springs are more load sensitive than cart type springs which is what gives the improved ride and articulation . There may be very slight differences between pairs of springs that you can use to tune your trucks side to side static position. You may wish to position some weight in the truck before doing this to simulate your most common loading of driver, fuel, etc."

If you have one higher spring, put it on the driver side so it's more level when you're in it!!

RM parabolics seem to have mostly reasonable feed back from customers, though some have complained of sag after a time. Some (cheaper?) brands of parabolics have more negative feedback.

Also note from the RM installation guide:

"Check that upper axle buffer is in place and serviceable. NOTE* Warranty is void if axle buffers are not in place. Parabolic’s will lose arc if overextended. Any increase in ride height/shackle length must be accompanied by an equivalent downward adjustment to the axel buffer position. Ensure that the rear check straps are in place and serviceable."

and later

"On the rear, the check straps should be adjusted so that they stop the downward progress of the axle approximately ½” before the shock bottoms."

And I remember reading somewhere that they are specifically not to be used with military (long) shackles, presumably because unless the buffers are extended the problem outlined above (over extension or compression) will occur.

It seems decent parabolics are a quick way to a better ride, but are not without their own complications!

[I have a set of RM's but have not yet fitted them as the vehicle is in pieces!]

thanks for your help guys, ill see how i go. cheers

I think Rocky Mountains disclaimer about Parabolics settling if bump stop spacers aren't fitted to military chassis is a fair indicator that paras can be easily flexed beyond their elastic limit compared to normal semi elliptic leaf springs. The leaves on Paras being generally thicker than the individual leaves of a standard spring will be subjected to more surface tension when flexed, which obviously leads to permanent stretching of the upper surface,so the spring flattens out.
I have been a bit underwhelmed by the true offroad performance of customers vehicles after fitting paras.Sure, some claim better ride and articulation, but articulation isn't much use if the axles, particularly the front just flap around due to reduced tramp control.That horrible front axle hop and bounce when the vehicle is asked to climb steep banks or ledges is what I'm on about. It's bad enough with standard springs, but even worse on the parabolic equipped vehicles I've tested.
Bill.