Leaf springs vs. 4 link

mortimersnerd · Sep 16, 2014

I have a line on a well priced set of 12" travel coilovers for the rear of my rig. I'm in the middle of a long radius arm and coilover swap up front. For a 60-70% street driven rig on 37s, what are the pros and cons of switching to a 4 link in the rear? The obvious one is more travel and flexibility off road and a better ride on road, but I'm not sure what the potential down sides are. I had planned to do more reading, but this has changed my timeline a little and any help is appreciated before I spend more money on the project.

surfer-b · Sep 16, 2014

Depending on how stiff the coilovers are and how they are valved I would say you will need a sway bar with that lift and street driving. It sounds like you are doing your research but even then I would guess it will take some fine tuning to get it just the way you want it, but hey, that's the reason we do this, it keeps us busy and is a challenge. If you cant find anything on a Bronco with this setup find a 96/97 Toyota Land Crusier and look at the set up on these, it will give you a good idea

mortimersnerd · Sep 16, 2014

Cool, thanks. I'll be rebuilding and revalving the coilovers myself before installing everything, so tuning isn't a problem. I'm hoping to not pick up too much body roll, but am OK with doing a sway bar if needed. For now I'd likely run the coilovers as shocks without the springs while I save up money for the needed parts. I'm building custom rear hoops anyway, so I'd planned on tying them into the roll cage to be able to handle coilovers in case I ever wanted to go with a 4 link.

pbwcr · Sep 16, 2014

Leaf springs vs. 4 link
I think if you have to resources links & CO are the way to go. Properly valved dual rate COs will work real nice. Please note you will need a sway bar for highway travel.
If you work out the link design you will find a 3 link with outboard arms will give you the better angles compared to a 4 link where the dual diff attach detracts from the angle between the arms. This is a result of the narrow frame body of the EB.
Have fun designing the suspension.
PaulW

Voodoo21 · Sep 16, 2014

Staying tuned, I'm interested.

Kyle.malone · Sep 16, 2014

Go 4 link and never look back.. Look into ORI Struts and you wont have to put on a sway bar. They ride like your on air and is why im putting them on my front now. I bent way too many leaf springs.

KyleQ · Sep 17, 2014

If you are driving it that much on the street there is no point (in my mind) for coilovers. Better ride on the road, maybe if you play with spring rates and pressures until you find that sweet spot.

Keep the leaf springs - it isn't worth the money and bullshit to link it because you found the cheapest part of a 4 link swap....

Take it for what you want - but I'm running quite a hardcore trailer queen and have no need for coilovers at this point...

Leaf springs vs. 4 link

mortimersnerd

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surfer-b

Bronco Guru

mortimersnerd

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pbwcr

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Voodoo21

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Kyle.malone

Bronco Guru

KyleQ

Bronco Guru

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