[Monte Busselman]

How long is your buggy leaf? How long is too long? I'm thinking about 19" for mine, good, bad, opinions? Rear springs are stock Wag rears with an extra top leaf with the eyes cut off (the CRASH recipe). Thanks for the help, Monte

 

[TrailCarnage]

I am not sure with a single leaf. When I ran 3/4-ellip, I had 63" Chevy's on the bottom with a 24", 3-leaf pack on top. I clamped on 6" of the pack. I never pinned them down on the road and they did quite well.

 

[GrnMchn]

I want some buggy leaf info as a well.

 

[Wilson]

I want some buggy leaf info as a well.

Come look at my truck, my stuff is fo sale

 

[ikeaboy]

it seems that the longer you make the buggy leaf, the less it has to push down to drop the shackle a certain amount..(allows more of the flexibility of the spring to do the work, instead of downward force) which means wheel hop and climbing shouldnt be as much of an issue.

the only problem i see is that the further forward you move your clamps, the more torsional load you place on the whole clamp setup.

 

[Monte Busselman]

the only problem i see is that the further forward you move your clamps, the more torsional load you place on the whole clamp setup. [/B][/QUOTE]

I would think the load on the clamp would decrease with a longer leaf, it's easier to twist a long piece or material than a short one.

 

[ikeaboy]

maybe i meant lateral load?

aw hell.. if you push the shackle sideways, that load..

i'm thinking more of a cornering situation than an articulation one.. the longer the leaf the more leverage the shacke/spring/axle has against the clamp.

sorry for the confusion

 

[ToyFamily]

I ran a 24" buggy also with chevy's and it was my DD for years no probs....I even had a spare but never needed it I bolted through it with two holes at the end....

 

[Monte Busselman]

maybe i meant lateral load?

aw hell.. if you push the shackle sideways, that load..

i'm thinking more of a cornering situation than an articulation one.. the longer the leaf the more leverage the shacke/spring/axle has against the clamp.

sorry for the confusion

This thing is pretty much a trail only rig, I'm not concerned with road manners, but I agree a longer buggy would cause some lateral instability in the rear end, add to that a welded 3rd and I'll bet it would be a little hinky around town.

 

[Nate C]

Buggies are a waste of time and $...seen em in action many times and one of my friends has em. How much flex past Chevys do ya need?

They also tend to induce wheelhop and they go clunk, clunk, clunk down the trail unless they're pinned.

The longer they are, the hinkier they are on the street.

 

[4RnrRick]

I'm using a mazda leaf cut just past half at 28" long from end to the spring eye. This means you have to cut of the OEM bump stop bracket off the frame rail in the rear. It provides about 6" of addition drop.

I don't have it pinned and I do drive it regularly on the road with no problems. The only thing that you have to be careful of is full on emergency stops. Kinda scareing the first couple times. The rig still feels in control, just the butt comes way up in the air!

As for the clanking and banging thats easiely fixed with a poly bump stop or a couple sheets of mudflap rubber zip tied to the leaf.

As for axle wrap that is cured by a traction bar. I personally would never run double shackles and pefer a buggy any day. Since a buggy actually applies some down force on the tires while flexing hard. A double shackle only opens up due to the tire weight.

 

[OOP'S]

Here is a write up on Buggy Leaf that is a bit different. I think Brandon is still running this on "Mo"

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/suspension/buggyleaf/index.html

 

[Raptorman57]

Here's a shot of mine. I have 23" from center of spring eye to the end of my spring plate clamp dealy bob. I've heard alot of people say that buggies suck and alot of people say they like them. I think it's a personal preference. I've never run a buggy set up till now and if I don't like it after I use the truck a few times I will either go regular shackle or a 4-link coil set up.