Progressive leaf sping shackles

[Scale]

Has anyone got or used these before? What are the benefits of using them also what applications can they be used eg STD,lifted.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/321019658005

With further searching I found this product review


Sold in pairs, these blue double shackle kits are designed to provide greater comfort on normal or off-road driving conditions. These are also commonly used to level off the typical nose down appearance of pickup trucks. Made from high grade aluminum alloy, these shackle kit are suitable for heavy-duty applications. Easy installation, direct fitment onto Mitsubishi Triton 2006-Onwards.

Main Features:

Anti-Shack
Rear Leaf Spring Extended 2” Height G-Shackles
Heavy Duty Bush
High Tensile Bolt
8mm Thickness Material
Reduces Responding Force
Enhance Driving Comfort on normal or off-road conditions
Easy Installation
Maintainence Free
Powder Coat Finishing
Compatible to factory or aftermarket suspension kit

[evlids]

I'm sure someone will correct me but I thought articulating shackles were illegal in most states so I'm not sure too many people will have tried them.

[macca002]

I'm sure someone will correct me but I thought articulating shackles were illegal in most states so I'm not sure too many people will have tried them.

Revolver shackles or drop shackles are illegal - even in the NT (where extended shackles are not).
The do give you more droop, but the consensus is still out about how useful this extra droop is. Some support the theory, others do not. If you are not too worried about the legalities of these shackles, then read on...

Here is some feedback from some testing that was done with revolver shackles, which seems to support that the extra droop gained is usable. NB: this is not my testing.

Revolver Shackles are traditionally misunderstood. Otherwise bright people will insist that a drooped tire with Revolver Shackles has no weight on it, and that Revolvers are just for great RTI scores, but without weight on the tire, the great articulation is just pretty.

To test this question a Nissan Xterra, a 50,000 lb freight scale, and a forklift were used.

The rear tire of the Xterra was placed in the center of the scale and the front tire was lifted in one inch increments, recording the weight on the scale at each given height.

Lifting the front end causes the rear suspension to droop as the front is raised by the fork lift, similar to a rig climbing a rock with the front end, and the rear staying on the ground to push you over the rock, etc…

Performed once with Standard Shackles, and once with Revolver Shackles.


The left side of the chart is the weight (LB) on the freight scale (the tire’s weight available for traction)

The bottom of the chart is the amount the truck was lifted with the fork lift, in inches, to UN-Weight the drooped tire on the scale.

The 0 inch (No droop) numbers were the same, the scale begins at 1”.

Both graphs show approx 1,300 lbs on the rear tire with all tires on the ground.

Both graphs show the rear tire "unweighting" in a fairly linear fashion as the front tire is lifted.

The standard shackle is down to 0 lbs at a front wheel height of approx 19".

At this same height the Revolver setup still had over 400 lbs of weight on the same tire.

The revolver shackle reaches 0 lbs at a front wheel height of approx 24"….5 more inches of droop….WITH weight on the tire.

So the traction of the regular shackle and the Revolver shackle is similar for the first 8” of droop…

At about 8”, the regular shackles’ droop is starting to be resisted by the leaf pack arch, and, the amount of down force it can apply to the tire is less linear, and the tire starts to unweight more sharply.

The Revolver Shackles’ droop stays fairly linear – applying down force to the tire long after the regular shackle’s down force at the tire was zero.

At ~16” of droop, the regular shackle’s down force had dropped to ~ 400 lb, but the Revolver Shackles’ downforce was still ~ 600 lb, about a third more than a regular shackle could provide.

At NO point did the Revolver Shackle provide LESS downforce than the regular shackle, it provided about the same until the regular shackle reached the leaf pack’s arch range….then more and more than the regular shackle could.

As soon as the regular shackle started fighting the leaf pack, the leaf pack started to allow less and less weight on the regular shackles’ drooping tire.

From that point on, the Revolver Shackle provided MORE AND MORE of an improvement in downforce on the drooped tire.

This improvement not only provided more down force as the tire was drooped, it also allowed that traction to be available for more inches of droop, allowing an additional 5” of USEFUL droop over the regular shackles.

Of course, after the added 5” of droop, the leaf pack arch ALSO pulls back the tire for the Revolver Shackle the same way…as its still just a shackle.

If you picture a coil sprung rig with a live axle, the dynamics are similar…

The coil provides less and less down force as the tire droops, but, even when a live axle’d rig is drooped far enough to let the coil fall out, its’ STILL receiving down force at the tire.

A coil sprung rig applies the same down force as a Revolver Shackle, as its still just a drooping live axle that’s not being held back by a leaf pack on droop.

So, a coil sprung live axle should be about the same, or better than a Revolver Shackled live axle, as the physics are about the same as far as tire weighting on droop. (no one worries that their TJ will “unload” on them and flip them, etc…as it just doesn’t happen, just like it doesn’t happen with Revolver Shackles….because the physics don’t make it happen…it’s a myth)



IE:

1) Revolver Shackles add droop, and, add traction during that droop, providing MORE weight on the tire than a regular shackle can.

2) A live axle with Coils, and a live axle with Revolvers, will follow roughly the same physics, as far as axle weighting, under articulation.

3) A leaf spring fights droop once the pack has arched, and is being pulled down by the tire/axle, rather than pushing it down...robbing the tire of traction as droop increases.

4) A regular shackle swings inward to allow the pack to arch more, providing more droop and more weight on the tire.

5) A Revolver Shackle unfolds, and then swings, to perform the exact same function, but over a longer distance, improving droop and tire weighting even further. Note that there was no evidence of a transition from unfolding to swinging inwards in the data, indicating that this doesn't have an impact upon weighting. (Which remained essentially linear)


The tests were done by MMnIAC at XOC

You will just have to use your imagination when it comes to the charts/graphs, as I was unable to bring these over with the text.

The main issues I can see with running revolver shackles (legalities aside) would be body roll, unstable vehicle when off-roading (would definitely require a different driving technique), ABS lines, tail shaft length and/or center bearing, brake lines.

Most of these listed above could be resolved though

[macca002]

These are also commonly used to level off the typical nose down appearance of pickup trucks.

As a bit of a side note - I don't see how fitting these would stop the nose down appearance of pick up trucks? But I don't think you would be looking at buying these to primarily fix that issue?

[Scale]

These are also commonly used to level off the typical nose down appearance of pickup trucks.

As a bit of a side note - I don't see how fitting these would stop the nose down appearance of pick up trucks? But I don't think you would be looking at buying these to primarily fix that issue?

I too thought that was a strange quote but also thought the rear must sag when fitted makeing the ute look more level
Something I don't need atm.

[NowForThe5th]

I think you'll find that, when closed, they are effectively shorter than standard, thereby lowering the rear and raising the front.

[MN2014GLX]

Are these illegal if you put a pin in them when on road?