Does anyone happen to know the weight of the unsprung parts of these trucks? I am trying to get reasonably accurate data to help inform a decision about coil springs for a P38.

Wheels, brakes, axle tube, axles, differential, trailing/radius arms

The front is a bit more than the rear given the track and drag arms and hubs that are a bit heavier.

 

Walt, keep your EAS! I know you’ve had it for a long time and know how to maintain it, but the Air Suspension is so good.

 

I would have liked to, but the lack of reliability became a problem that I could not overcome. I always felt like I was 'one fix/solution' away from achieving reliability. But there was always one more thing.

 

this is why i switched over to coils. i hated doing it, but my wife was afraid to use the RR due to the EAS. one too many faults while traveling.

 

What springs did you install? How do you like them? What do they do well and what could use improvement.

I suspect far too many P38s are on springs that aren't fully optimized for the application. There doesn't seem to be much variety and I am still searching for someone that really put the time, energy, math, and a bit of trial/error into finding a set of springs that approach the ride of the air bags. This may be why so many are dedicated to keeping the vehicles on air...alternatives are merely mediocre.

So I (and my son who is actually a mechanical engineer) am going to start building spreadsheets, taking measurements, and talking to experts. Any help, ideas, information, or experiences are welcome.

 

nice! i'm sure that information in place will be great for the P38 community.

i'll go back through my records to find out which conversion kit i purchased. can't find it in my emails, so searching analog files now.