Talked to an old timer at the gas station who said leaf springs are better than coils for rock crawling

He was running a beat up Ford on 35s and claimed coils just flex too much on big ledges. Made me wonder if I've been chasing the wrong setup, has anyone else switched back to leafs after trying coils?

3 comments

3 Comments

lopez.jana23d ago

Man that thing about coils getting squirrely on ledges is the real deal. I saw a guy in a Rubicon last year at Johnson Valley nearly roll because his rear end slid sideways off a rock shelf. Leaf springs keep that axle locked in place no question about it. I ran coils on my old F150 for two seasons and swapped back to leafs with some Alcan packs and never looked back. The trade off on road ride quality is worth it when you're not fighting the rear end every time you hit a big ledge.

alice2691mo ago

Yeah I feel you on that. My buddy swapped back to leafs on his old Jeep last year after fighting with coils on boulders. Said the coils would make the rear end walk sideways on steep ledges, leafs just track straighter. Took him a whole weekend to make the switch with new lift shackles and all, but he says it's night and day for crawling.

davis.ruby1mo ago

That bit about the rear end walking sideways on steep ledges really hit home for me. I've seen guys on coils get all squirrely trying to climb big rocks because the axle just wants to wander. Leaf springs keep everything planted and pointed where you want it because they have that built in lateral stability. Coils are great for high speed stuff and comfort on the road, but for pure crawling where you're barely moving, leafs just do the job better. It's not like you're giving up much flex anyway if you run good leaf packs with lift shackles. Old timers have been doing this since before the internet, they know what works.