Parabolic Leaf Springs

[DjDrewDigital]

Do any of the 4x4 van conversion places use parabolic leaf springs? I heard that they have superior ride quality and much better flex than conventional leaf springs and are as good or better than coil springs.

http://www.parabolicsuspension.com/general.htm

Seems like this is the way to go.

 

[dsw4x4]

I could be way off here but my past experiences with leaves would lead me to believe that parabolics would not be a good choice for such a heavy vehicle I think they would sag and loose their spring. They seem like they would work great for a light vehicle that you want to do a lot of flexing, the draw back to that is body roll and in a big van body roll can get ugly in a hurry. It is a delicate balance making any vehicle handle, flex and ride nice in one package. When you are trying to accompilsh all of that and then some in a tall top heavy van it becomes really tricky. Putting them on a van you may end up with a superior ride but it will handle like a waterlogged noodle with flat tires on the road.
Derek

 

[spencyg]

I think for ride quality, your best bet with a van is a $750 air ride suspension seat. This will provide driver comfort that can't be equalled for 4x the money elsewhere. This is the route I'm eventually taking as back problems + van ride quality = worse back problems. Good luck.

Spence

 

[EMrider]

I think for ride quality, your best bet with a van is a $750 air ride suspension seat. This will provide driver comfort that can't be equalled for 4x the money elsewhere. This is the route I'm eventually taking as back problems + van ride quality = worse back problems. Good luck.

Spence

Having spent a fair amount of $$$ 'upgrading' my SMB suspension, I'm in full agreement. Better leaf springs and shocks do improve ride quality, but given the physics of the van, they can only do so much. And I also want to retain off-road capability too.

I'm fine with the bumps, but my wife is less keen so I am likely to 'upgrade' her seat at some point in the future.
R

 

[ujoint]

I'm not familiar with this type of spring, but I agree that it may not work too well with a full size van. I've seen them used on FJ40's.