FJ40 Mojave Leaf Spring Suspension
 

Flexibility? Articulation? Please note this rig has no hard top, rear doors, or
aftermarket bumpers which when added will actually increase flex and articulation.

When we designed our new Mojave leaf springs for the FJ40, we wanted a spring system that would deliver the best ride quality, articulation, traction, wheel travel and control in the original spring under axle configuration available anywhere. Compare our design features, the effort we put in to reducing inter leaf contact and friction, our spring rates, number of leafs in each pack, load carrying design, and spring eye design. You'll quickly find every desirable feature in a leaf spring for the FJ40 is found in these springs.

Contact between the individual leafs in a leaf spring assembly results in friction, which inhibits motion. The amount of force required to overcome this friction and start movement is called stiction. Some manufacturers install plastic inserts at the leaf tips to help lower the stiction level. On our Mojave Leaf Springs we have taken this one step further and installed spacers at the center flat section of the spring where it mounts to the axle. This virtually eliminates interleaf contact, and dramatically lowers the stiction level of our Mojave leaf springs. This allows our springs to react to irregularities in the road surface, while other leaf springs with higher stiction levels will not even deflect. The benefit of this design to ride quality, traction and handling are somewhat obvious.

Long Travel by design. By using a lower spring rate and higher initial arc, our springs have more potential wheel travel than our competitors that use higher spring rates and lower initial arc. As a wheel on your rig droops away from the frame the spring is pushing downward as it tries to regain its natural shape and free arc. This downward pressure on the tire gives it traction at its contact point. Once the spring reaches its natural arc, it is no longer pushing downward, and traction is correspondingly reduced. A spring with a high spring rate and low initial arc will reach its natural shape at less droop than a spring with a lower spring rate and higher initial arc. The spring with more arc will maintain more contact pressure over more of its travel than a spring with less arc. Basically lower spring rates with more arc delivers more potential travel, articulation, and traction.

One of the most visually apparent features of our Mojave springs are the Berlin Eyes. The spring eyes hold the bushings that attach the springs to the frame by means of a pin or bolt through them at one end and shackles that allow movement at the other end. On leaf spring suspensions the springs also act as the control arms and locate the axles in relation to the frame, and transfer acceleration and braking forces into the chassis through the eye. The Berlin eyes concentrate these forces at the centerline of the eye, reducing lateral deflection and stress on the eye itself. This makes the Berlin eye the strongest of leaf spring eyes. Another benefit of this design is better control, and maximized wheel travel. We also use large eyes to accommodate larger bushings for increased flexibility and ride quality.

To help lower stress and further improve life span, leaves are shot- peened on the tension side. We also incorporate a flat axle seat area which allows the U-bolts to be tightened without having to bend the springs flat at the seat.

Our Mojave springs are designed to be used with a front shackle reversal kit to improve ride quality, decrease bump steer, improve handling, improve approach angle, and increase wheel travel and articulation. http://www.man-a-fre.com/technical_info/shacklereversalopinion.htm

Our Mojave FJ40 leaf springs are sold individually,
Or in sets of 4 springs with bushings,
Or as a set of 4 springs with bushings and a front shackle reversal kit,
Or as a full kit with greasable shackles/pins/U-bolts/bushings/shackle reversal kit/extended SS brake lines, but without shocks
Or as full kits that include either Old Man Emu Nitrocharger Sport Shocks, or Heckethorn Shocks, and an OME Steering dampener.FJ40 Mojave Leaf Springs, Spring rate
Front Spring 7 Leafs 225 lbs/in
Rear Spring 6 Leafs 170 lbs/in