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deaver vs. RE springs for DD

Curtis_H

Curtis_H

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Central Iowa
I have done some searching but have yet to find a solid comparison from someone who has run both. My rig will not be a prerunner/jeepspeed build per say, but I love blasting down some dirt roads now and then and would like to be able to do so with as capable a rig as possible. However, this is my DD, and both my wife and I have bad backs, and we do alot of long trips in this rig, both pulling the boat and other trailer. I will eventually be going to a radius arm setup, and want to be somewhere around 6" of lift on 33's, so I was looking into the RE 5.5" springs, but I wondered how they compared ride wise to a more expensive spring like the Deaver. I also saw Crash's thread where he was running 11 leaf nationals, anyone have any experience with these springs? I know there is quite a price difference from RE to Deaver, but if the ride is better it would be worth it to me. thoughts?
 
Ironically I would imagine the cheaper RE spring would ride better on the road than the Deavers, but then again I don't know as I've never run Deavers. XJJeeper19 may be able to chime in a bit more, I believe he's run both.

The Deavers will DESTROY the RE's on the go fast stuff though, so depending on how much you want to haul ass, will decide for you. That being said, RE leafs handle the go fast stuff pretty damn good. Andy (SilverSLK) used to run his (I believe) RE 5.5's on the go fast and it performed nicely. You can't go wrong with either realistically.
 
crazyjim said:
Ironically I would imagine the cheaper RE spring would ride better on the road than the Deavers, but then again I don't know as I've never run Deavers. XJJeeper19 may be able to chime in a bit more, I believe he's run both.

The Deavers will DESTROY the RE's on the go fast stuff though, so depending on how much you want to haul ass, will decide for you. That being said, RE leafs handle the go fast stuff pretty damn good. Andy (SilverSLK) used to run his (I believe) RE 5.5's on the go fast and it performed nicely. You can't go wrong with either realistically.
Click to expand...

Andy actually had the Deavers in the front to Jim, and they did damn well.

I had a chance to run the Deavers in the front of my XJ for a while, and they are definitely a nice spring, on and off the road. If you are looking to do any go fast stuff, Deaver is by far the way to go.

The one thing I will say is the RE seems to be flexier.... .
 
The deavers I have are great but don't flex super well ( rear ) they are quite stiff untill you get going a speed bump at 3-5 mph is like a mountain but that same speed bump at 45 is a pebble. Hope that makes sense. With a bad back I would go with a softer rear spring. I'm running the 9 leaf packs they do sell a 7 leaf pack that may be softer. Don't get me wrong I love my setup deavers front and rear. But it's a bit stiff for the slow stuff.
My .02
Chad
 
Totally makes sense Chad!!

Also, one other thing to note, Deaver will modify, or custom build a pack any which way you need it (if you carry a lot of cargo, if you drive a ton on the street, if you need it to be a little on the softer, or lower side). They have a reputation for being "flexible" ahhahaha with their builds to satisfy customers needs!!
 
Approx what is the going "street price" for the Deaver leaf packs and coils? I saw on their site $275 for a pair of coils, couldn't get the leaf page to open :(

What vendors are good to deal with on these, or are they only sold through the company?

Thanks.
 
woody said:
Approx what is the going "street price" for the Deaver leaf packs and coils? I saw on their site $275 for a pair of coils, couldn't get the leaf page to open :(
Click to expand...

Woody I would guess you are using FireFox like I am.
Try IE and you can open the leaf pack page.
Price listed on their site is $702
I'm not sure about the "street price" for the leafs.
But I just picked up a set of coils that were never even installed by the previous owner.
He was asking $200 and I talked him down a little from that.
 
Seeing as how Jim threw me under the bus here, I might as well chime in. Right now, I'm running a set of the older 3.5in deavers, with a 1.5in RE boomerang shackle with 14in bilstiens 5125's. To be honest, it's a little stiff here and there, but overall I love it way better than the RE setups I have run in the past. I ran the 4.5in RE's with both a stock shackle and a 1.25 shackle. Both times it rode like crap and sat way to high in the rear. I also pulled one of the longer leafs out of the pack, and couldn't tell the difference. I have also ran the 3.5in RE's with and 1.5in shackle. This setup I could deal with, but with a rear tire carrier and a little extra wieght in the back, it seamed to bottom out going fast down a dirt road.

If you can afford it, buy the deavers. As stated above, they can aslo make a custom pack for you. The deaver top leaf is about an inch longer so it corrects the crappy shackle angle you get from the RE's. Only issue is you need to run a boomerang shackle to keep it from hitting the body when it flexes.

Justin
 
might be the low gears and 37's

but i have had bad luck with re packs holding up

within a year my re 4.5 packs net me about 1.5" and have a lovely little "s" shape in em.

just got some re 3.5's and in about a month they sit at 2" and are already s shaped.

gonna try to stiffen em up by bastardizing them with some stock xj leaves i have lying around
 
I have a very smooth ride at high speed with the 10 leaf national race pack, a boomerang shackle and 18" resi shocks. It further flexes like mad with no sway bar. I think the key to what you require is the combo of the 3. You MUST HAVE a good shackle angle, quality shocks and a leaf pack with the correct length to compliment the other two.
 
where did you buy the 10 leaf national pack? and what did it cost if you dont mind me asking?
 
Curtis_H said:
where did you buy the 10 leaf national pack? and what did it cost if you dont mind me asking?
Click to expand...

I bought them from Giti Gowland who races Jeepspeed. I guess he had an extra set and beefball shackles laying around that i was able to pick up for $500 delivered to sacto with bushings and grade 8 greasable hardware.

Here they are in me garage before instalation

nationals005sm9.jpg

Shot with DSC-T1 at 2007-10-11

nationals003nz1.jpg

Shot with DSC-T1 at 2007-10-11
 
I'm not a jeepspeed type a guy but I have run both Deavers and RE packs and I can say without question that the Deavers stomp all over the RE packs.

I have no experience with their coils but I paid close to 750 for the rear springs and everyone thought I was nuts. In just over a year not once have I been sorry for spending the cash.

I built my jeep for desert exploration and it has seen pretty much every type of terrain. From flat out, high speed desert to rocky mountain high country passes to rock crawling in Moab and they just do whatever you ask them to do. Oh and they haven't sagged in a year which is better than I can say for the three pairs of RE packs I ran before these.
 
DrMoab said:
I'm not a jeepspeed type a guy but I have run both Deavers and RE packs and I can say without question that the Deavers stomp all over the RE packs.

I have no experience with their coils but I paid close to 750 for the rear springs and everyone thought I was nuts. In just over a year not once have I been sorry for spending the cash.

I built my jeep for desert exploration and it has seen pretty much every type of terrain. From flat out, high speed desert to rocky mountain high country passes to rock crawling in Moab and they just do whatever you ask them to do. Oh and they haven't sagged in a year which is better than I can say for the three pairs of RE packs I ran before these.
Click to expand...

Yeah from what i've read i would never go with the RE pack. Even when i was at RE they recomended against any of their packs when i was asking about smooth desert type riding. They said there packs were too short to achieve any type of desired travel in that type of terrain. But what i think he really meant was thay they were too stiff, they sag, and overall just suck.
 
Anyone tried the deaver baja bushing? When I go deaver Im thinking about them but I was wanting to know how they do on the street....
 
they wouldn't sell them to me for street use! he said i would have to much travel with them.....i said it wasn't a bad thing..... he said he wouldn't sell them for street use....
 
so I am in central iowa, and there just arent alot of jeepspeed rigs around here lol. Where would I go online to find used jeepspeed stuff for sale? It's too pricey for me to buy new and I dont mind some use on the stuff, I am not racing.
 
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