Project update : Springs and things

It is a little known fact that the shocks in the front of a P38 are generally 2 inches longer than the shocks in the rear.

We decided to take advantage of this by swapping in a set of front shocks to the rear.

On the upside we would gain more down travel from the shocks and this would allow the rear axel to flex like the Hulk on steroids.  Okay, the Hulk thing may be a little much but you get the idea. The downside is the spring would definitely fall off the lower perch or come out of the upper bucket. To remedy this issue we reached deep into our bag of tricks and pulled out a set of X springs from our friends at X Eng.

The X spring will not only act like a cone, it will also provide downforce to help keep the axle on the ground. With both wheels on the ground longer you maintain traction and stability. Above and beyond the intended use of the X spring it was  extremely advantageous given the limited space and lack of cones for the P38.

 The X springs axel mounting configuration offered us another advantage over traditional cones.
 As you lift the truck the axel tends to wrap or point the diff up. This will cause the spring perches to sit at an angle. With the Spring perches at an angle it makes it extremely difficult to keep the spring on the perch. Most people will strap the springs to the perch. This will cause the  spring to sit constantly in the shape of the letter C. With the X spring in place this was no longer an issue.  As you can see the Lower spring and bucket allow the spring perch to twist without fear of becoming disconnected.

Here is a few forklift flex pictures and the  articulation is quite good.

Front fender flares earning their keep

With the truck in the air we decided it was a good time to put on a set of Terrafirma drilled and slotted rotors. I cannot say enough good things about these rotors. We have used them on every project truck thus far and they have preformed above our expectations.

Here is a video of the X spring working


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIsMQyQOYg4

And the poser pic