Well I've been looking at alot of different brands of SUA lifts, and have it narrowed down a bit. My goal is to run 33x10.50x15's on a daily driver FJ40/2F combo that will see mild 4x4ing on the weekends. I don't want wild lift, so I'm heading towards a 2.5" set of springs with 1.5" shackles.

HFS seems like a real nice way to go, but when I talk to the salesman he kept saying that they aren't for serious offroad, and kept pushing the "bling" factor of the looks. When I asked if they recommend longer shackles, he at 1st said no, then said I should look at their HFS shackles as they look good and have a high envy factor. When dropping $800plus on springs I would like to know that they work, and what works well with them, not that they just look good. When I asked about sag and warranty he got really vague again. I really like the design features I see in the HFS line, but is it real, or just show. I can't take too much sag with a 2.5" lift before I run into issues with 33x10.50's

I'm really intrigued with TIC's parabolics, and need to talk with Great Basin Rovers to find out the actual cost and warranty. Does anyone know if you can fit 33x10.50's with the TIC's? Do they work well with a little longer shackle?

OME and BDS seem to have a good reputation, just not the bells and whistle design of HFS. With BDS's warranty though I'm almost ready to overlook the slightly shorter design and consider them above HFS. I'm assuming from what I've read, that OME isn't really any longer than BDS springs either, as they seem to recommend anti-inversion shackles.

If anyone would like to poke holes in my findings, or add information I would greatly appreciate it. And NO, I don't want to go spring over, so don't go down that road for my benifit.

Thanks,

Jeff

Alcan.

TRy ih8mud.com for questions like this, you will get better response and this has been discussed time after time after time... This site is for more serious mods and more extreme type wheeling. Good luck with it...

I have all but the HFS stuff right now on 3 different trucks.. I gotta say.. The TIC feel the best out of the box.. OME are stiff till they break in.. once broken in they are great till they sack.. Not worth the $ in my opinion.. BDS? we've got 2 guys in our club that have pulled leaves out of theirs.. And they are not as happy as i am.. I am very happy with them, well worth the $ but given we've got 2 others in our club that have had different results? do more looking on them..
The TIC? Now that is impressive.. they flex better than anything i own leaf sprung right out of the box.. It rides nice.. No long term report on them yet but I like em..
But yes go to Mud for further info..
Geesh Andre. No flipoff guy and a old fashioned search? You all are gettin weak!

No need to tell me to search, I've been reading everything I can find here and on mud for last 4 months.

I really would like to try the TIC's, and just might gamble on that.

Jeff

I've ran 4 inch BDS for a few years now and they work ok off road but the street ride is a bit stiff. But for pulling my 2500 lb tent trailer they work great. Nice and stable.
They allow decent flex but with a little more compliance they would be the best of both worlds.
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/fj40/BlackHills2005032.jpg

This is pretty much the same setup I used to run. OME with 1.5" over stock shackles and 33x10.50's on stock wheels. I loved this setup. The OME were ok I guess. I bought the springs used and ran RS9000's with it. Rode and wheeled great. If I were in the market for a spring under, I'd probably be looking at the HFS stuff from what I've seen of it.

Whoa, I forgot that Smurf used to look like that.

wngrog's "softcore buildup" thread on this forum has HFS springs installed on a 80's FJ40. Easy search.

Yup, just like I wrote earlier, I've searched and read just about every HFS post I could find. Mostly concerned once I talked with the salesman at CoolCruisers though.

I talked with Great Basin Rovers yesterday, 1hr phone conversation! He's mostly into Rovers, no duh, but has owned a couple of cruisers himself. Sounds like a couple of factors have effected his efforts into really selling the cruiser TIC's, but he sounds more favorable know. He is going to ask the manufacturer a couple of questions for me, and if the answers are favorable, I'll probably head down the parabolic road. He's also a Daystar and Bilstein dealer, so I'll be using Daystar bushings and shackles along with Bilstein 5100 series shocks.

Thanks for all the help and if anyone has any other feedback that would be great!

Jeff

I'd be concerned with axle wrap on the parabolics. As this forum's lone SUA advocate:D, I definitely favor progressive, multi-leaf, custom springs with poly pads, military wraps, bolt spring "clamps". I think they provide the best ride thru good leaf slide and fight anti-axle wrap via thick spring packs. Reduced clearance is the drawback, but I think that close to the wheel is not a major clearance concern compared to crossover or diff height which is where major hangups most often occur.

AFAIK, HFS springs are basically custom springs that were made to match a stock weight Cruiser (by app). Alcan can make the same spring only they could make it to exactly what you Cruiser weighs on a scale. If your Cruiser has a weight real close to what HFS springs are designed to handle, then they'd probably be better if for a better price. If Alcan can come close to the price, I'd go custom all the way. Be sure any scale you use is accurate. Some scales are found inaccurate usually due to profit motivated neglect.

One unique thing to consider: If you add longer shackles to handle the extra articulation longer lift springs provide, then be sure any off-the-shelf springs are made to accomodate extended shackle length to keep caster either stock or where it should otherwise be without needing shims. Alcan can add or subtract more arch from one half of their springs to add or remove castor as needed to accomodate longer shackles while maintaining proper castor without resorting to shims. Alcan can also do this for the rear springs to keep the pinion at the proper angle for no driveshaft vibration. Or, at least, no vibration induced by a change in pinion angle.