Quick ride quality question about the 5100's. Is there a difference in ride quality when installed on the stock height setting vs. 1" raise vs. 2" raise.

Other than knowing the raise utilized a clip system, i am not sure if the spring is compressed more or if it is increased spring rate that lifts the truck.

Thanks

 

ride quality shouldnt change at all

 

wasnt sure, since the spring seat changes, i thought the spring rate would change

 

Ride will NOT change.

 

Ummm, not entirely true guys...technically. First off, you can not change the rate of a spring...it is built in when the spring is designed. Compressing or pre-loading a spring does not change the rate.

Springs are desinged and rated based on a certain amount of force required to compress the spring a certain distance. For simple math, lets say 100 lbs to compress the spring 1". If that's the case, and the spring rate is linear (most are, but some are progressive) then it would take 200 lbs for 2", 300 lbs for 3", and so on.

Once you move the clip on the shock, it compresses the spring. So now, the spring has a new neutral 'resting' place under the weight of the truck, i.e. when you let it down off the jack it doesn't sink as far into the travel as it did before. That's because X lbs of weight has already been used up by ' preloading' (compressing) the spring. For easy math again, let's say the first 2" are used up which if you recall, required 200 lbs of force to compress it that far. Now you are in a situation where it will require over 200 lbs of force to compress the spring any additional amount. The sheer physics of it suggest that even though the rate of the spring has not been changed one single bit, this would result in just a slightly firmer ride to initialize any further spring compression. Is it anything you'd feel on a daily basis?? Highly unlikely.

 

ummmm......no.

The way the bilstiens and puck style spacers work is they just move the mounting location of the springs. They don't compress or add pre-load to the spring. On teh bilstien shocks you are just moving the clip of the lower coil spring perch up and extending the shock to compensate for the new lower coil mounting location. On the puck style....you are just lower the upper coil/strut mount to raise the truck. Nothing changes the spring mounting distance....so either leveling style will not change the coil stiffness. Your ride quality will change with the bilstiens but that is because of the shocks, but with the puck style....it will remain the same.


But you are right, the spring rate is built into the actual spring. Though, preloading the spring might not change the spring rate, it will effectively change the ride quality or the "stiffness" of the system. For a great easy example of this, go ride a moutainbike with a pre-load adjuster on the front fork.

 

Have you installed a set of 5100s on a F150? CartsXJ

 

Yes, not on my personal truck but on a friends. Nothing special about the install. Basically, just changing the shocks out. The only special tool you need is either a press or spring compressor.

 

ummmmm....exactly right.

To the OP: the lower spring seat is raised which extends the shaft (at the top of the strut) which provides the 2" lift. The spring itself is not put under any additional compression by raising the clip from 0 to 2".

 

Yep you will need a spring compressor.