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I have a question for the bronco guys out there that run leaf springs, what type of springs do you run because our buck the crud out of us and we run dever superflex h-57. I dont know which way were going to go with the bronco yet, if we want to keep it and do some suspension upgrades, or if we are going to sell it and build something lighter and faster.

I had a great time at the Cascarita 125! It was great to meet the Smith Racing crew, and be able to see their operation in full swing!

I'm no expert on suspension set up, but I would try going with more rebound, and compression damping on the back shocks, before switching springs.

I wonder if the rear shocks got hot in those whoops, and faded?

Thats a fine line.... too much valving will create more heat and fade faster.... correct?

Well, it could be your rebound is set to high. The major job of the springs are to maintain ride height and support the vehicle. If that is being done? Then the shocks control the movement of the axle. Without shocks the rear end should not be rock hard but not like a wet noodle either. For racing we run a little on the stiffer side but it obviously has to cycle to use every bit of the suspension travel.

Now for the shocks. What characteristics is it doing? You said bucking, but in what curcumstances? Like landing off a drop, hitting a bump or rise in terrain or through a wash board section. Going slow through a wash board section can even make a well setup truck buck, so I mean at 40mph+.

It the rebound is set to high, you can get bucking. If you are bucking when you come off a drop the you may need to up the compression shims. I am assuming you are using race shocks. If you are running anything under 3in dampening shocks as a single in the rear in a race application you may be having overheating of the shock oil.

When ever we are testing and doing the shake down for a race we get everything warmed up for about an hour and then check the temperature of the shock body's. Off hand I don't remember what the acceptable temp was but maybe someone else can chime in on that. I am thinking 190°F but I may be wrong on that.

Hauls Assington wrote:I had a great time at the Cascarita 125! It was great to meet the Smith Racing crew, and be able to see their operation in full swing!

Great pics Haul Assington.

Wrightracing.net wrote:Well, it could be your rebound is set to high. The major job of the springs are to maintain ride height and support the vehicle. If that is being done? Then the shocks control the movement of the axle. Without shocks the rear end should not be rock hard but not like a wet noodle either. For racing we run a little on the stiffer side but it obviously has to cycle to use every bit of the suspension travel.

Now for the shocks. What characteristics is it doing? You said bucking, but in what curcumstances? Like landing off a drop, hitting a bump or rise in terrain or through a wash board section. Going slow through a wash board section can even make a well setup truck buck, so I mean at 40mph+.

It the rebound is set to high, you can get bucking. If you are bucking when you come off a drop the you may need to up the compression shims. I am assuming you are using race shocks. If you are running anything under 3in dampening shocks as a single in the rear in a race application you may be having overheating of the shock oil.
When ever we are testing and doing the shake down for a race we get everything warmed up for about an hour
and then check the temperature of the shock body's. Off hand I don't remember what the acceptable temp was but maybe someone else can chime in on that. I am thinking 190°F but I may be wrong on that.

We are running FOA 16inch smooth bodies and there already set at light rebound, thats why I was asking about the leaf springs.

Smith racing wrote:We are running FOA 16inch smooth bodies and there already set at light rebound, thats why I was asking about the leaf springs.

Save for some by-pass's. Smooth body will not get you were you need to be at race speeds.

BDKW1 wrote:quote="Smith racing"]We are running FOA 16inch smooth bodies and there already set at light rebound, thats why I was asking about the leaf springs.

Save for some by-pass's. Smooth body will not get you were you need to be at race speeds.[/quote]
Thanks for the info I will half to keep my eye out for a pair, what type of by-pass' s do you recommend 2tube, 3tube , just curious.

Ya, I have to agree on the bypass shocks. 3.0 would be best. FOA is not really a race shock. They work ok for the daily driver that sees dirt maybe once a month at most and is mainly a trail rig.

A 3 or 4 tube would be best to give you compression and rebound control at different speeds. King or Fox are best for customer service and parts. Make sure to run Viton seals. I would suggest a full rebuild if you buy used shocks. The owner of shockseals.com is a member here on GFB. He can get you the best stuff needed for racing.

I saw these puppies on Race Dezert.

http://www.race-dezert.com/classifieds/ ... s&id=80305

Hauls Assington wrote:I saw these puppies on Race Dezert.

http://www.race-dezert.com/classifieds/ ... s&id=80305

I like those, notice they have the same overlapping tube layout as Fox's on compression. This allows you to run a much stiffer shim pack and still be able to get enough mid-stroke flow to keep it from getting harsh.

Well guys were prepping the bronco for our next race in a few weaks. The bronco is getting a new
hi-performance manuel fuel pump, was going to put two electric fuel pumps but im saving those for the other project, im going to put a fuel filler neck on it finally and got two more General's for spares, and I need to install the new radios I got.

Well I got the front suspension bolted up on the f-150 so I can do the car shuffle, with the truck out and try and fit the bronco in today to work on it.

Well guys my son and I have been working late nights for this race. We have put the new fuel pump. changed front coil springs, still installing the rugged radios in the trailer and bronco, and many other things. We are first in the points so if we do good and just finish we should be good (knock on wood). This track is hard packed and some sand pits so it will be the best of both worlds.

If your 78 is anything like another 78 bronco we all know, you'll be bringing home the championship! Git'er done!

Broncodawg wrote:If your 78 is anything like another 78 bronco we all know, you'll be bringing home the championship! Git'er done!

Yea are only worry is the front axle so were bringing a spare Dana 44 high pinion from my parts bronco to slap in if any thing happens. Thanks yea were probably going to be the only leaf springed truck in our class and solid axle in the race but that still doesnt stop us.

Driving out.

Well we won the championship, our first race was flawless, second race we had fuel problems again and broke off our front axle truss, but we didnt even get a podium this time because they keep putting trucks with us that are 1450 and 7s, so time to build up the ranger to give them a run for there money.

More pics