Sorry let me reword my statement, They are not needed but definently reccommended, If you keep an eye on them they won't migrate outta place enough to cause any problems, I have a friend thats been running around in his XJ with an S10 AAL for 2+ years with no band clamps on his leafs and hasnt had any issues, and he's definently not 1 to keep up with matinence and checking over his vehicle. ;)