General Springs leafs customers, I need your feedback!

[OldSch88L]

Well, I took advantage of Black Friday to buy most of the parts for a 4.5" lift. When I got to Rusty's, their site said the 4" lift leafs were sold out. I tried many times to reach them both on Facebook and by email to know if they'll have some more or if it's being discontinued, and can't get any response. I guess the quality of their customer service is the same as their products, huh? So I searched a lot over here about the General Springs MT leafs. Most people say it lifted their truck, but the amount of lift is all over the place depending on who you talk to, and how they measured it. Also, most of the measurements where taken before the springs settled in. So all of you who had these for a while, could anybody give a realistic measurement based on the agreed method from this site (I.E. top of axle tube to frame rail IIRC)? I ordered RE 4.5" coils, which I read where soft and don't exactly net you 4.5 inches of lift, and I'll also eventually have a winch up front, so I have the feeling that I don't really need over 4 inches of lift in the back...

[ghetdjc320]

I can say that the 4 leaf will net you a but more than the 5 leaf pack. The 5 leaf has double overload springs but about 1” less free arch than the 4 leaf pack. On the 4 leaf pack I netted 2.25 over stock 4wd leafs after maybe 1/4” or settling. These springs are stiff and really don’t settle with the loads our truck typically see. 

[OldSch88L]

17 hours ago, ghetdjc320 said:

I can say that the 4 leaf will net you a but more than the 5 leaf pack. The 5 leaf has double overload springs but about 1” less free arch than the 4 leaf pack. On the 4 leaf pack I netted 2.25 over stock 4wd leafs after maybe 1/4” or settling. These springs are stiff and really don’t settle with the loads our truck typically see. 

Really? Good to know, as all the people from the posts I found had ordered the 5 leaf Metric Ton springs with the military wrap. On a side note, I used the "secret" part number for the military wrap springs made exclusively for CC members, the the person from General Spring that got back to be had absolutely no clue what I was talking about...

[ghetdjc320]

1 hour ago, OldSch88L said:

Really? Good to know, as all the people from the posts I found had ordered the 5 leaf Metric Ton springs with the military wrap. On a side note, I used the "secret" part number for the military wrap springs made exclusively for CC members, the the person from General Spring that got back to be had absolutely no clue what I was talking about...

I can’t speak in regards to the military wrap springs as I don’t know if they are using 2 overload springs in that pack or just one. I’m just referring to the standard off the shelf 4 leaf vs 5 leaf pack from GS. The 4 leafs nets more lift than the regular 5 leaf.

The 4 leaf pack should level you out pretty well and they hardly squat with a bed load of concrete. You can always do a mild shackle lift to dial it in from there. The RE will probably give you about 3.5” once they settle depending on your bumper, winch, engine combo

[OldSch88L]

5 hours ago, ghetdjc320 said:

I can’t speak in regards to the military wrap springs as I don’t know if they are using 2 overload springs in that pack or just one. I’m just referring to the standard off the shelf 4 leaf vs 5 leaf pack from GS. The 4 leafs nets more lift than the regular 5 leaf.

The 4 leaf pack should level you out pretty well and they hardly squat with a bed load of concrete. You can always do a mild shackle lift to dial it in from there. The RE will probably give you about 3.5” once they settle depending on your bumper, winch, engine combo

Well I got a 4-banger, and most lift springs seemed to be made for the weight of the 4.0, and I plan on a BaDadFab behind the stock bumper winch mount, so the winch's weight will be inboard, instead of hanging away from the body. So I don't plan on extreme sag up front, but I do have 3" lift coils up front right now, and I want just a bit more once all is said and done.

[ghetdjc320]

47 minutes ago, OldSch88L said:

Well I got a 4-banger, and most lift springs seemed to be made for the weight of the 4.0, and I plan on a BaDadFab behind the stock bumper winch mount, so the winch's weight will be inboard, instead of hanging away from the body. So I don't plan on extreme sag up front, but I do have 3" lift coils up front right now, and I want just a bit more once all is said and done.

Changing front coils is easy. Just set the back and adjust the front

[DesertRat1991]

Comparing ride height measurements between trucks is really tough because the final height is heavily dependent upon vehicle loadout and mod configuration.

 

I'm currently running the military wrap metric ton leaf packs with adjustable IRO lift shackles in rear and RE 4.5" coils in front.  Initially, I started out with 3" IRO coils and only changed to 4.5" after installing my winch bumper.

 

I'm also the type of wierdo that keeps a spreadsheet that tracks maintenance history, mod configuration and occasional ride height measurements specific to my truck. From that sheet I can parse out ride height changes due to mods vs settling. So, here are a few data points I can share:

 

- Between Nov. 2017 and Jun. 2023 my leaf packs have settled 3/4"

-During this time, I ran IRO adjustable shackles in the rear on their lowest setting

- When I installed the ARB winch bumper and 10k winch, my 3" front coils squatted 3/4". 

-I then installed the RE 4.5" coils hoping to recoup some of that loss and ultimately gained back 1 1/4".  Not quite the full 1 1/2" I expected over the 3" coils, but still pretty good.

-If you are following the numbers, then you see my front ended up 1/2" higher than where I started. So, I had to raise the IRO shackles to their highest setting to maintain ~1 1/2" forward rake.

 

Some takeaways: 

-The GS leafs do settle, but not drastically. 

-The RE coils are soft, and deliver slightly less lift than advertised.

-If you want to run 4.5" coils in front with GS metric ton leaf packs, you will definitely need some way to boost the rear if you want to maintain near factory rake.

-But how much?  Here is where YMMV. My truck has a lot of weight over the rear with the camper shell and all. An empty bed may sit higher and require less compensation.

 

I don't think specific frame-over-axle measurements from other trucks are going to be much help because your ride height will be different unless your truck is outfitted exactly the same.

[OldSch88L]

1 hour ago, DesertRat1991 said:

Comparing ride height measurements between trucks is really tough because the final height is heavily dependent upon vehicle loadout and mod configuration.

 

I'm currently running the military wrap metric ton leaf packs with adjustable IRO lift shackles in rear and RE 4.5" coils in front.  Initially, I started out with 3" IRO coils and only changed to 4.5" after installing my winch bumper.

 

I'm also the type of wierdo that keeps a spreadsheet that tracks maintenance history, mod configuration and occasional ride height measurements specific to my truck. From that sheet I can parse out ride height changes due to mods vs settling. So, here are a few data points I can share:

 

- Between Nov. 2017 and Jun. 2023 my leaf packs have settled 3/4"

-During this time, I ran IRO adjustable shackles in the rear on their lowest setting

- When I installed the ARB winch bumper and 10k winch, my 3" front coils squatted 3/4". 

-I then installed the RE 4.5" coils hoping to recoup some of that loss and ultimately gained back 1 1/4".  Not quite the full 1 1/2" I expected over the 3" coils, but still pretty good.

-If you are following the numbers, then you see my front ended up 1/2" higher than where I started. So, I had to raise the IRO shackles to their highest setting to maintain ~1 1/2" forward rake.

 

Some takeaways: 

-The GS leafs do settle, but not drastically. 

-The RE coils are soft, and deliver slightly less lift than advertised.

-If you want to run 4.5" coils in front with GS metric ton leaf packs, you will definitely need some way to boost the rear if you want to maintain near factory rake.

-But how much?  Here is where YMMV. My truck has a lot of weight over the rear with the camper shell and all. An empty bed may sit higher and require less compensation.

 

I don't think specific frame-over-axle measurements from other trucks are going to be much help because your ride height will be different unless your truck is outfitted exactly the same.

Hahaha well, we do need more weirdos like you!!! I also have adjustable shackles on the rear right now; I'm on factory, 30+ year old 4+1 metric ton leafs, on the lowest setting of those cheapo Amazon Chevy drop shackles. TBH, I hate lift shackles; I hate how they stick out from under the bed, and how they make the axle shift forward. That's why I'm trying hard to get a lift with only leaf springs!

[jpnjake]

I have the metric ton leafs on my Swb, rn it is 21 inches from the center of the wheel to the bottom of the flare. It used to be alot more than that, but it’s settled over time. Currently I have 1 overload out because my u-bolts on my dana 35 aren’t long enough, will update this thread again when I have the 44 in with longer u-bolts

[ghetdjc320]

Like I said, the 4 leafs have more free arch. About 1” higher than the standard 5 leaf pack. 

[jpnjake]

5 hours ago, jpnjake said:

I have the metric ton leafs on my Swb, rn it is 21 inches from the center of the wheel to the bottom of the flare. It used to be alot more than that, but it’s settled over time. Currently I have 1 overload out because my u-bolts on my dana 35 aren’t long enough, will update this thread again when I have the 44 in with longer u-bolts

Also I have the 3+2 pack, but we took out the last overload. They are the general ones with military wrap