[Deego]

I've been thinking of getting some climax shackles for my Suzuki sierra.its got a 2 inch body and suspension lift.people say they are good and some say they are not.

[tanshi]

your always gonna get people with differing opinions,

however the general concensus is no they arent worth it on a sierra.

they can cuase unloading on uphill climbs

[boostedbrick]

They seem to work on big diff, big tyre rigs...Not too flash on a sierra...

[Gwagensteve]

It depends what "work" means.

Do they add articulation? well, so long as your shocks, brake lines, driveshafts, and bumpstops are appropriately arranged, yes they will add articulation.
Does that mean your car gains capability? No, that's not guaranteed at all.

Has anyone ever done back-to-back comparisons with a drop shackle pinned and then unpinned and proved that an obstacle that was unable to be driven with the shackles pinned was drivable with then unpinned? I'm not aware of any such tech.

In theory, they don't make any sense - just the same as coils that aren't captured (ask me how I know ) they lead to unloading on critical angles, and the extra articulation isn't real because it's not "loaded" by a spring.

They might be useful to help to keep the car more level on certain obstacles, so long as you are aware they might make the body LESS level on others.

I'll offer two photos of my car on the same obstacle to prove the point:

In this photo, the car is sitting very level, articulating really well, and had heaps of traction. This is mostly because the body is level and the car is articulating hard.Notice that the spring on the drooped wheel is hanging free. That's exactly the same as an unfolded drop shackle in terms of its effect on traction and travel.



Then in almost the same place but in a different line and I'm nearly on my roof:




because the weight transfer on the side angle has kept the suspension open - theres nothing to pull it closed.

The moral of the story - uncontrolled suspension travel (whether it's loose coil springs or drop shackles) is exactly that - uncontrolled - and that means it can open up when you don't want it to and upset the balance of the car.

That's why drop shackles suck.

Steve.

PS Thanks to Mick Hurren for the photos.

[alien]

go grab a pair of scissors... ok, now the 2 finger hole bits, theyre the bolt holes on you shackle, alright?... now, at the moment the top point of the shackle is fixed, and the spring as it cycles changes length, so the bottom part of the shackle swings back and forward on the top point, the whole time supporting the spring and allowing it to work as it should. Now imagine your shackles can open up just like those scissors... when you go over something that would normally cycle the spring, giving controlled down travel, instead the scissors rapidly open up, but as soon as a little weight is applied they slam shut again... right? try it - open the scissors, hold one finger hole and push the other into the desk - they snap shut right? so in effect, you'll never get any traction out of this setup because to get traction you need weight on the wheel. Yes there's a counter argument that being solid axle the other end of the diff is forcing it down, but it doesnt, the shackle is still the point of least resistance.

Simple =)

[boostedbrick]

Gwagensteve wrote:

It depends what "work" means.

I don't think "work" was the correct word... But from the research I did, there was some people having "success" with them running heavy truck diffs and 40"+ tyres. I presume the extra unsprung weight was doing its best to weigh the tyre down into the dirt...


Certainly didn't have that effect when I ran them. My ruf provides almost the same amount of travel, and is much more stable (and comfy)...

[monley]

I agree that they don't work on a zook. My mate has a set on the rear of his SWB and the thing is super unstable climbing thing's - even worse descending on steep, rutty hills. The front end does nothing while the rear is flopping about, often putting him on silly angle's when he shouldn't be.

Just on the coils thing tho, every one is telling me to capture the rear coils, but i don't see it as a huge issue for me. The front end still work's, and it doesn't put me on stupid angle's

[alien]

^^ says the guy that wouldnt drive the same line as 2 sierras just drove cos he was worried about a floppy rear end =)

[monley]

alien wrote:

^^ says the guy that wouldnt drive the same line as 2 sierras just drove cos he was worried about a floppy rear end =)

Retained coils would of made no difference. Extended bumpstop like I have would have.

[alien]

of course they would... with it retained the spring works in reverse as its stretched... so it resists stretching.

[monley]

Ill happily go drive that part now with my current setup....

[Gwagensteve]

monley wrote:

Just on the coils thing tho, every one is telling me to capture the rear coils, but i don't see it as a huge issue for me. The front end still work's, and it doesn't put me on stupid angle's

You won't see it as a huge issue until you capture the coils and the car will become heaps more trustworthy on big angles. However, you're still radius arm rear with all the bolts in, yes? The roll stiffness of the radius arm rear will be limiting the floppy effect of non-retained springs. I never ran my springs retained with a fully bolted radius arm setup and had no issue with springs failing out. Now I am 3-link they fall out if you look at them funny, and that's because of how much more freely the suspension moves.

However, right up until my car nearly falls over, it feels HEAPS more stable than with radius arms in the rear, and that's because the low roll stiffness means there's nothing trying to straighten the suspension out. When I was on a spooky angle with radius arms, the rear end would be trying to straighten up, which would create this sort of see-sawing feel that meant you couldn't relax with the car laid over. That's not the case now - it just sits. Running limit straps will have no effect on this, they will just limit the total amount of travel. Capturing the coils top and bottom would though, as the coils will fight being overextended and reintroduce some bouncy roll stiffness, kind of like what I had with my radius arm bushes. I don't like the idea of stretching a coil out.

Steve.