other vehicle to SIII leaf spring swaps - Land Rovers Only

black and tan · 03-18-2007, 11:12 PM

Howdy all, this is my first post here, yes, I've searched, looking for a good donor vehicle to swap out my old rusted springs on my SIII diesel, the intent is to come up with a near exact fit. For both F&R from a salvage yard, I'll keep searching, in the meant time any info anyone?! I'd like a softer ride but would like to keep the height near stock, any info thanks in advance.

KevinNY · 03-19-2007, 07:49 AM

Just get replacement springs and keep some weight in the back to soften the ride a bit. A truly soft ride is pretty much impossible but if your leafs are rusted up solid new will improve things a good bit.

300bhp/ton · 03-19-2007, 08:21 AM

Springs are cheap, just buy new ones.

New standard ones will make a massive difference over old rusted/tired ones.

But honestly go for parabolic springs. It's the only sensible option. There are loads of places to buy them in the UK and they will ship to the US.

Not sure if you can get them in the US. I often frequent Jeep forums and none and I mean none have heard of parabolic springs, which is stupid as they have been around since at least since the early 70's.

If you are not sure what they are I#ll post up some info for you.

slouzon · 03-19-2007, 03:15 PM

http://www.wiseowlparts.com/catelogue2/21.html

http://www.roversnorth.com/store/pc-...gs-shocks.aspx

Greg S · 03-19-2007, 07:53 PM

What he says. Wise Owl.

Rocky Mountain Parabolic Springs are made in North America, shipped world wide.

black and tan · 03-19-2007, 11:06 PM

Thanks for the reply, and the info! I'll try and reciprocate in time, I was planning on getting flamed to heck like of the pirate bb, maybe later...because the next logical question is:
I'll only be towing a jetski (50Lbs tung weight) or maybe 150 lbs of gear when I hit the trail and that's only about 5% of the time, so should I go with the lighter weight springs?
I'm not to sure but I think we call parabolic's progressive rate springs here.

thanks again

300bhp/ton · 03-20-2007, 02:50 AM

Try here: http://www.parabolicsuspension.com/landrover/lrover.htm

Parabolic springs allow each leaf to work independantly. Thus giving a better ride, handling and articulation. But still offering as good or better load carrying and increased ride height. Essentially they will work much the same as a coil spring does.

Note the leafs don't touch each other:

Quote:

What is a parabolic spring?
Basically a HST Parabolic Spring is a spring that consists of two or more leaves. The leaves touch only in the center, where they are fixed to the axle and at the outer ends, where they are fixed to the vehicle. In between those two points the leaves do not touch each other as they do with conventional leaf springs.
Each leaf represents a complete spring in it's self and will act as such. To enable this the leaf is tapered, from the center (thick) to the outer ends (thin). This tapering is parabolic, it means that every centimeter (or inch) the thickness of the leaf decreases in an amount that relates to the square function of it's length.

Conventional leaf spring:

p76rangie · 03-20-2007, 03:15 AM

Parabolics give a softer ride, but make the car less stable. So it depends on what you are after.

p76rangie · 03-20-2007, 04:54 AM

If your existing springs are not worn, you can pull them apart and clean them up and re-use them. They wear where the end of each leaf is. That is the lower leaf wears into the upper leaf, reducing the thickness. If they are simply too stiff, leave one or two of the smaller leafs out when you reassemble them.

300bhp/ton · 03-20-2007, 05:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by p76rangie

Parabolics give a softer ride, but make the car less stable. So it depends on what you are after.

Less stable - bollox.

They where first used on the 101 which primarily was designed for transporting ammo. Making it unstable on rough terrain would not have been a design critera.

Gee you really come out with total horse poop.

p76rangie · 03-20-2007, 05:51 AM

Insults again. Now how many series landrovers have you owned where you have fitted parabolics to. I fitted them 10 years ago.

300bhp/ton · 03-20-2007, 07:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by p76rangie

Insults again. Now how many series landrovers have you owned where you have fitted parabolics to. I fitted them 10 years ago.

So if it makes a vehicle unstable why use them on a vehicle which MUST be stable on rough terrain.

Come on man listen to yourself. Parabolics act in a similar manner as coils do, so if parabolics are unstable so are coils.

onslow · 03-20-2007, 01:30 PM

And There Off!!!!!!

p76rangie · 03-20-2007, 01:44 PM

Onslow, they're not off. I know he just says these stupid things to bait people.

TerryS · 03-20-2007, 06:59 PM

We have two series trucks with parabolics, a '71 S2A 88", and an 83 S3 Stage One 109 and both are not remotely unstable. I'd never go back to conventional springs because parabolics have a progressive rate increase as they are deflected, very much the same as progressive coils.
I'm not trying to stir up and trouble, just making my observations based on 2 trucks we currently have with them.(everything else has coils)