??Shackle reverse??

[mmcj7]

I just bought a cj7 frame because mine has some bad spots and I was going to get this frame ready for a fall swap. The PO told me He had already done the shackle reverse to the front. What is the advantage of this? Open class, I know someone can help.

 

[GotWood]

My YJ drives noticably better. It is more geometrically correct. Think about a trailing arm suspension. Moving the pivot point to the front is just more natural. Some people will say the shackle being on the front is better for rock crawling because as the suspension is compressed, it forces the wheel forward into the rock. With the pivot on the front the tire moves in a backward direction.

 

[mmcj7]

For a trail rig which would be better?

 

[burrellsjeep]

This has been debated to death on pirate, I am a Coil guy, So I am not much help, Just what i have read for a buddy with a Cj,

TO MY UNDERSTANDING, the stock shackle set up on a wrangler is the best for off roading. It is set up so when you hit the gas while you are climbing a steep hill your rear end will actually raise up a little bit and your front end will suck down slightly. The same thing goes for going down hill, when you hit the brakes the front end will actully raise up a little while the rear will slightly suck down (how warped your springs are will play a factor in this). For these reasons I will stick to a stock shackle set up rather than a shackle reversal or coils for that matter. My uncle has coils and every time he goes up a steap hill or rock slab he has to suck his front end down with his winch or it just releases on him.

I have one of each. A SPUA Shackle reversal and a SPOA with rear springs up front.

SPOA The spoa handles like crap and wanders all over the place on the street. Even shifting gears gets it pointed in a different direction. I primarily wheel it off road only. It flexes like crazy and holds off cambers very well....

SHACKLE REVERSE. The shackle reverse is really stable on the street. It tracks straight and stops just fine even under hard braking. I drive the shackle reverse on the street alot and wheel it a little.. It flexes like crap and it feels tippy on off cambers. There's very little flex in the front suspension.

So, I guess it depends on your plans for the rig..... On road or off.

 

[jeepman13]

^yes lots of threads about pro's/con's on pirate. the general consensus from what i've read is shackle reversal handles better on the street, but can cause the jeep to nosedive under hard braking. most people seem to think shackle forward is better for climbing offroad as burrellsjeep has posted.

couple of other things to think about are that b/c the tire moves backwards under compression a good shackle reversal needs to lenghthen the wheelbase. this can also limit the tire size somewhat.

edit: jeez i forgot. there is a whole other debate about whether this is better on a soa or sua setup becuase of the relatively flat springs or the heavily arched springs. basically some guys believe its better for sua and not needed for soa.