Replace leaf spring shackles with AFCO sliders?

After reading the AFCO leaf spring tech sheet from another thread, I'm thinking about trying out spring sliders in place of the stock shackles I've got on the car - anyone done this before or have any pros/cons on the subject?

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/afc-20236s/overview/

I've done this on competition cars before. I forget what car you have, but make sure they are in line with the spring angle as some years/bodies have splayed leaf mounting configurations that could put sliders in a bind if they are installed parallel to the centerline of the body instead of in line with the leaf angle.

We also inspected these weekly as part of our maintenance program and we would occasionally find gravel pieces or rubber stuck in them. On a street car and all the regular road debris you run through, you might want to also have regular inspection to ensure smooth operation since they have bearings in them. Even if you go with the delrin slider style, you still will want to check periodically to ensure they aren't chewing themselves up. I wouldn't classify this as a set it up and forget about it type of mod.

I have an E body, I was thinking this could be done and if I don't like them, I'll take them back off since the mount for the stock shackle won't be affected. It's just metal.....

i've done this but have yet to have my car runnning and driving, but after install you can press down the rear of the car and it moves so nicely, no binding at all. The lower stance is a bonus too

Post deleted by rftroy

I'm ok with doing some maintenance to support using sliders, I don't put a lot of miles on this car a year anyway. I have the MP chassis book but it only talks about rear springs with shackles which is why I posed the question in the first place. I'll try them out since they are pretty reasonable in price and it won't require a ton of work to install them.

Post deleted by rftroy

I had to redo the spring seats when I changed from super stock springs to the road race springs so the pinion angle is close. Actually I would like to add some pinion angle in this case since these springs wrap up more under engine torque than the old ones did. Luckily, adding a degree nose down is the direction I want to go anyway. I should be around 4-5 degrees nose down after this change.

I installed a set in the Savoy and absolutely love em.
Save yourself some bucks and get the ones from speedway motors.

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Speedway-Heavy-Duty-Chrysler-Type-Leaf-Spring-Sliders,5817.html

Quote:

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That AFCO article is WRONG!

Worse, it is quoted all over the web and taken as dogma, just like "If your coolant is moving too fast through your radiator, it doesn't have time to cool off"; also completely wrong.

Those Summit sliders are for a race car that requires movement of the leaf spring for different track rules or conditions.

Changing shackle angle does not change spring rate. Period.
Further, you never want to have your shackle angling inward toward the spring, i.e. toward the front of the car. This will put the leaves in compression, which is bad.
Evidently the AFCO people do this on cars, but that is in racing. And we know how long some things last in race cars. Longevity is sacrificed for some particular element of performance.

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I don't know that I would say the are absolutely wrong, but then again, in the limited space they have for their technical articles, I wouldn't say they are putting all their information out there either. Suffice it to say, there is A LOT more tech going on with a leaf spring suspension than most would know, despite its simple appearance and layout.

As far as shackle angle changing rate, yes and no. I agree that spring rate is spring rate and does not change based on shackle angle. However, I would say that shackle angle will impact a leaf springs ability to actually utilize that rate effectively.

Think about this, if your shackle is angled forward, you have basically put a hinge in a section of your spring. The loading on the spring will find the soft point to move first, so the shackle will pivot before the spring loads so you're not aplyng the full rate of the spring due to the pivot.

Conversely, angling the shackle back, as recommened in the Mopar manual, reduces wasted travel before rate is aplied and actually utilizes the sprng rate more effectively.