Spring And Shock Package For Extra Weight?

[B Miller]

Hello Bronco6g,

Question: I'm looking for suggestions on the last step of my build. The suspension. I'd like to find a good affordable set up for carrying 400 extra pounds of weight on my overland Bronco. I'm not looking necessary for a lift, but a tuned spring and shock package that's designed to carry extra load. Maybe get the Bronco back to it's original height before adding all the extras. Maybe 1" lift as a bonus.

The spring and shock must be tuned to work together for this purpose!

Ideas?

Sponsored

 

[RagnarKon]

Old Man Emu suspension by ARB is probably the best bet you have right now. They have different suspension setups for different loads.

• Front
  • Light - Factory
  • Medium - Aftermarket steel bumper OR winch
  • Heavy - Aftermarket steel Bumper AND winch
• Back
  • Light - Factory
  • Medium - 150 kg added rear weight (~330 lbs)
  • Heavy - 300 kg added rear weight (~660 lbs)

They offer packages that have different combinations of front and rear suspension based on your trim level. ARB is a Bronco6G sponsor, so I would definitely reach out to @Ryan at ARB to see if they have any discount codes for Bronco6G members. (Personally I bought mine from the Bronco Nation store.)


EDIT— Found @Ryan at ARB's Bronco6G post about the Old Man Emu suspension.

 

[B Miller]

Thank you so much RagnarKon!

 

[da_jokker]

I'm in the exact same boat as you. Armored up my Bronco, loaded up the back, and my suspension sits 1 inch lower than stock. I've been struggling with the idea of getting that one inch back, maybe one extra inch above that but no more.

Problem is, how much is one willing to spend for only an inch or two of lift?

 

[chris@pandamotorworks]

Eibach Coilovers with stiffer front springs. We sell them all the time for customers with added weight in the center/front of their bronco with great success.

Sadly we do not have a rear option but if you are looking to get 1/2 over stock these will work great as its a coilover and can be adjusted to accommodate

 

[toymaster]

Just want the throw a few facts out there for your research.

Old Man Emu is from Australia where lifts are illegal. This is the reason they rate them in weight instead of height gained. So what you are looking at there are three different height lifts at a given weight. Six of one, half dozen of the other.

Eibach also makes just spring replacements, not just the coil overs shown above. This is what I went with however they just make just the one rate. For mine it worked out great. Can't beat the price and mine were exactly what I wanted. For a non-sas you are looking at 2" in front and ~1" in back.

If all you want is ride height back then coil spacers may be the answer. They will get you back to where you were and they never loose height by settling (like springs do) however you loose the up travel lost by the compressed springs.

 

[AccuTune Offroad]

I'm not looking necessary for a lift, but a tuned spring and shock package that's designed to carry extra load. Maybe get the Bronco back to it's original height before adding all the extras. Maybe 1" lift as a bonus.

The spring and shock must be tuned to work together for this purpose!

This is 100% what we offer customers daily, although it wont fit into the "affordable lift" category.

Gaining height back is one thing, but if you plan to use it off-road much, the shocks wont be tuned for that additional weight. If you consider a higher end package, we currently have Fox & King shock packages that we offer a few different upgrade options for. These upgrades include high performance pistons, Eibach springs, bump stops etc. Any of the Fox/King combos we offer will get our custom valving that is specific to your vehicles weight & how you drive it mostly.

Here is a link in case you are interested in checking them out:
https://accutuneoffroad.com/product...21-ford-bronco/21-ford-bronco-shock-packages/

 

[AZBronco73]

I have a Rock Hard 4x4 Rear Swing Gate Bumper with 2 Jerry Can mounts. The Rear Bumper is about 300lb more than stock weight on the back end with the 2 added fuel cans. I lost about 2.0 inches in ride height compared to factory SAS on my Badland 4dr. I ended up going with the Eibach coilovers which are adjustable 0.0 to 2.7 inch lift over factory SAS. With the rear Eibach's close to max lift (still have about 0.25 inch left in the shocks), I am now sitting at about 0.5 inches higher than stock SAS. Up front I have a BAMF bumper with winch (about 100 lbs over stock with bumper and winch). I have the front Eibach's set at about half way up on the lift range (0.0 to 2.2 inch advertised range) which brought me close to the factory rake (about 0.5 inches lower in front than rear). I also have the Rockslide Engineering power steps which add about another 100lbs to my Bronco.

I am really happy with the ride with the Eibach's. Small bumps seem a little softer with the Eibach's but the firm up nicely on larger hits and obstacles. And I never seem to bottom out like I was with the factor SAS shock with all my extra weight.

Eibach has heavier rate springs they are working on for their Coilovers. I spoke with their R&D department again this week. They have 4 sets of prototype HD springs for their Coilovers that they are testing on vehicles starting this week. Assuming they are happy with the testing results, production would be about 6-8 weeks out once they are done testing. They recommended that I check back with around the end of June for an update. I plan on swapping the spring to the HD ones when they are available which should allow me to get about 2.5 to 2.75 in of lift even with all my added weight which will hopefully let me go with 37 inch tires when my factory SAS tires wears out (already have 17k miles in the 9 mo I have owned my Bronco). I will likely also go with an after market UCA when I go with 37s also.

 

[tdiddy]

@AZBronco73 when you say Eibach is testing HD Springs for their Coilovers, are you specifically referring to the rear Coilovers?

I already have their upgraded front springs for the Coilovers.

 

[AZBronco73]

@AZBronco73 when you say Eibach is testing HD Springs for their Coilovers, are you specifically referring to the rear Coilovers?

I already have their upgraded front springs for the Coilovers.

Yes, they are testing rear spring

 

[AZBronco73]

I spoke with Eibach again today about the heavier duty rears springs for their Coilovers 2.0. They have finished with the prototype testing and have sent them off for a production run. As of yet they do not have a part number assigned for the new spring. They are hoping to have them available around the end of this year or in the first few weeks of Jan.

 

[TLO]

Hello Bronco6g,

Question: I'm looking for suggestions on the last step of my build. The suspension. I'd like to find a good affordable set up for carrying 400 extra pounds of weight on my overland Bronco. I'm not looking necessary for a lift, but a tuned spring and shock package that's designed to carry extra load. Maybe get the Bronco back to it's original height before adding all the extras. Maybe 1" lift as a bonus.

The spring and shock must be tuned to work together for this purpose!

Ideas?

I'm kinda in the same boat...
I try to travel light, but all loaded, my Bronco is down at least an inch and level.
I'd like to get that back.
A spacer lift would keep the spring rate and shocks (Bilsteins) working properly together...
A perch collar spring preload would give me back the height and keep the suspension geometry at factory specs but would the Bronco become too 'springy'?

 

[B Miller]

I'm kinda in the same boat...
I try to travel light, but all loaded, my Bronco is down at least an inch and level.
I'd like to get that back.
A spacer lift would keep the spring rate and shocks (Bilsteins) working properly together...
A perch collar spring preload would give me back the height and keep the suspension geometry at factory specs but would the Bronco become too 'springy'?

Great question and have no idea. Hmmmmmm

 

[DUSTYcazOREGON]

Hello Bronco6g,

Question: I'm looking for suggestions on the last step of my build. The suspension. I'd like to find a good affordable set up for carrying 400 extra pounds of weight on my overland Bronco. I'm not looking necessary for a lift, but a tuned spring and shock package that's designed to carry extra load. Maybe get the Bronco back to it's original height before adding all the extras. Maybe 1" lift as a bonus.

The spring and shock must be tuned to work together for this purpose!

Ideas?

Have you considered something like Firestone's Ride-Rite air bags? You can adjust the air pressure for the ride you want and the weight you are carrying. You do not need to alter or remove any of the OEM suspension. These F R-R air bags are common on semi-trucks and used on pickups towing travel trailers. They make them for the F150. It may be a good option for you.

 

[B Miller]

Have you considered something like Firestone's Ride-Rite air bags? You can adjust the air pressure for the ride you want and the weight you are carrying. You do not need to alter or remove any of the OEM suspension. These F R-R air bags are common on semi-trucks and used on pickups towing travel trailers. They make them for the F150. It may be a good option for you.

I'll check that out now! Thank you!

Sponsored