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08 leafs vs 08 icon leafs?

1K views 10 replies 5 participants last post by  OCVeloMan 
#1 ·
im looking to soften up the rear of my 2006 f350 dually. right now i have a 7" icon lift with 2.5 resi shocks up front and 2.5 smooth body shocks out back. the front is great, the back not so much. i have icons 5" leafs with a 2" block. i am looking into possibly switching to the 08 leaf set up. i know these are supposed to ride better. so question is do the stock 08 leafs ride better or would the 5" icon leafs ride better? stock would obviously be the most cost efficient but the icons would offer the lift i need and are supposedly supposed to ride better. anybody with first hand experience between the two?
 
#2 ·
no one with 08+ icon leafs?
what about the carli leafs? cant imagine they are that much different?
thanks
 
#7 ·
I will chime in here on the Carli rear leafs. I will say the ride is awesome it will completely change the trucks nature. Well worth the money in my opinion. Moving the hangers forward is a little work but not too bad.
That said I do have one problem with the Carli leafs. The axle centerline is going to be forward nearly a inch. I didn't like the look at all myself and since I needed a 1" block to get the rear up to 7" I drilled a 7/8 offset in locating pin holes to recenter my rear axle.
I'm running 38" tires and it was obvious how close it was to forward fenders so I did fix it on my truck. If a forward axle isn't a issue to you don't bother.
There's also a guy that sells the blocks with offset springpin holes in them but can't remember name at the moment.
But all said the Carli springs ride awesome.
 
#8 ·
Icon did massive redesign with 08+ leafs. Now they use poly spacers between each leaf at the base, as well as pads at the ends. Don't know of anyone else doing this. Deaver pads the ends to promote movement, but not the base. Each steel leaf actually never contacts another. Allows the programmed rates to work without introducing friction into equation. Truely a leap forward as far as leaf packs. If I were to upgrade from my Deavers I would go with the icons.
 
#9 ·
To be clear, poly spacers separating the leafs with the use of some isolation material at the ends of the spring (sliders) will reduce friction; it will not eliminate friction as you've implied. Leafs springs will ALWAYS be a friction based design and the friction is taken into account when spring rates are determined (spring rate is always a bit lighter to compensate for the friction so it acts nearly identical to the rate you're after). Further, our spring rates are determined by seat of the pants feel for that reason. What works on paper, doesn't always work in application. We go through several sets with each production design to ensure each leaf Rides the way we want it to ride regardless of the estimated rates with which we started. I digress....

The sliders only marginally reduce friction; heck, most guys that run their trucks as hard as we do don't have sliders left after the first few months and I noticed no difference in the ride quality. I was told that the sliders do more for noise than they do for ride quality but I noticed no difference in ride or noise levels when mine disappeared.

A word of caution, too. This isn't a new design or revolutionary breakthrough; factory leafs have included leaf separation at the center pin for years. Those type of flat, thick, short travel leafs can handle that amount of stress at the center of the leaf without over-relying on the next leaf's support. Now, make the leafs thinner and double or triple the amount of leafs, extend the travel by about 100% and apply the same philosophy and you have leafs that work together, not independently like the factory leafs. This makes for a MUCH better ride, but you start separating the leafs from each other and making them bare the load more independently while traveling way more and you have a recipe for cracked springs.
 
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