LEAF SPRING vs COIL SPRING

Leaf springs and coil springs play an important role in a vehicle&#;s suspension system. Both types of springs help improve steering stability, ride comfort, handling, and traction.

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Most modern-day cars use coil springs while leaf springs are common in older vehicles. Although coil and leaf springs serve a similar function, there are advantages and disadvantages to each.

WHAT ARE LEAF SPRINGS?

Leaf springs are a common component of older suspension systems. They consist of metal sheets in various sizes stacked on top of each other. Leaf springs were predominantly used before the late s. You can find them in many vehicles, from horse-drawn carriages to the Model T.

Since leaf springs spread the weight of a vehicle over a wider area, they&#;re used on larger vehicles like trucks, vans, and heavy-duty pickups today.

How Do Leaf Springs Work?

Leaf springs flatten as they encounter force, which helps dampen the bumps and jolts of the road. The metal leaves are perpendicular and curved toward the road. They flex under pressure and can handle very heavy loads.

Leaf springs are connected to the vehicle by leaf spring shackles. These free-hanging loops allow the leaf springs to change in length to adjust to different road conditions.

LEAF SPRING SUSPENSION PROS AND CONS

Despite the shift toward coil springs, there are still many advantages to using leaf springs. Their simplicity, strength, and reliability make them great for off-road and commercial applications. They aren&#;t without their disadvantages, though.

Leaf Spring Pros

Simple Design

In a leaf-spring suspension setup, the spring supports the axle. This simple design makes them easy to install, upgrade, and repair. You can replace individual leaves or adjust the flexibility by adding or removing leaves.

It&#;s easier to modify leaf springs to enhance performance, increase ride height, or improve tire stability and handling. Coil springs have a much more complex suspension setup compared to leaf springs.

Reliability

Along with their simple design, leaf springs are a reliable form of suspension. It&#;s one of the reasons they were commonly used in vehicles before coil springs became popular. Leaf springs were low cost but dependable.

The strength and heavier weight of leaf springs add to their reliability. Higher unsprung weight in a vehicle can increase the wheel&#;s contact with the ground. This means better traction in muddy or slippery situations.

Superior Hauling Power

Leaf springs have a tight structure that allows them to distribute weight across a wider area. As such, they can handle heavier vertical loads compared to coil springs. They can also support the weight of heavier vehicles. Many commercial vehicles come equipped with leaf springs because of their hauling power.

Leaf Spring Cons

Reduced Approach and Departure Angles

Leaf springs don&#;t allow for the same approach and departure angles as coil spring suspensions. Because of the way they fit under the frame of the vehicle, they can impede wheel travel when on too steep an incline or decline.

Leaf spring shackles also affect these angles. Altering the shackle length will add some height. But this also affects the caster angles, which can negatively impact the approach and departure angles. This is primarily an issue for off-roaders.

Prone to Axle Wrap

One potential issue of using a leaf spring setup is axle wrap. Axle wrap is when the rear axle housing twists when heavily accelerating. This can not only break the leaf springs, but it can also cause the driveshaft to come loose. The transmission could also break in the process.

Shackle Inversion

Another potential issue for leaf springs is shackle inversion. This is when the leaf spring shackle moves past its designated axis of movement and gets stuck.

Shackle inversion is a common problem encountered when off-roading. When this happens, the entire suspension system is inoperable and can cause further damage to the vehicle if you continue to drive.

Both axle wrap and shackle inversion don't occur with coil spring suspension systems.

WHAT ARE COIL SPRINGS?

Most modern-day vehicles use coil springs in their suspension setups. The coils themselves are basically giant springs that are wrapped around shocks or struts. Coil spring systems work with a variety of control arms, shock absorbers, and linkages to provide suspension for each wheel.

How Do Coil Springs Work?

In most coil spring suspensions, a central coil provides the bulk of the dampening force. A series of arms from the suspension connects to the wheel and keeps the wheel attached to the vehicle, allowing it to flex. Because each wheel can adjust to the road conditions individually, this greatly improves ride quality.

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COIL SPRING SUSPENSION PROS AND CONS

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There are several benefits to a coil spring suspension, including greater flexibility and comfort. Considering the robustness of coil springs, there aren&#;t many problems with this form of suspension. That being said, they can be more expensive and aren&#;t suitable for very heavy vehicles.

Coil Spring Pros

Greater Flexibility and Comfort

Although coil springs are like a rigid slinky, they&#;re more flexible than leaf springs. The greater flexibility offers a wider range of suspension movement. The coil spring&#;s ability to bend and flex is what helps absorb bumps and potholes in the road. The stiffer the spring, the rougher the ride.

Customizable

Each individual piece of a coil spring suspension system can be changed, altered, and upgraded. Many off-roaders opt for coil spring systems so they can customize and fine-tune them to their desired specifications. You can customize your spring's function and stiffness by choosing between linear, progressive, or dual rate springs. Stiffer springs and tougher sway bars are better for off-road applications.

There are also many modifications you can make to coil spring systems for performance reasons. For example, you can install panhard bars on your Mustang if you want to limit axle movement. Because coil springs have a wider range of motion, they allow for finer tuning compared to leaf springs.This makes them the optimal choice for performance vehicles.

Performance and Off-Road Capability

When it comes to off-roading, coil springs allow for the most articulation. Whenever you see images of Jeeps that look like they&#;re in the middle of a contortionist act, that&#;s a coil spring suspension system in action. Along with unparalleled articulation, coil springs offer the best approach and departure angles. With a well-tuned coil spring suspension system, your vehicle can conquer seemingly impossible rocks.

Coil springs also improve handling when it comes to performance driving. During cornering or sharp turns, the springs will compress. This will increase the firmness of the suspension to control bumps and body roll. Yet they maintain a soft, comfortable ride when cruising down straightaways.

ARE COIL SPRINGS BETTER THAN LEAF SPRINGS?

Whether coil springs are better than leaf springs will depend on the type of driving you engage in most. Both suspension systems are suitable for most driving applications.

Leaf springs are better for heavier vehicles and those who may need to haul more weight. They&#;re also simpler but less adjustable than coil springs.

Coil spring suspension systems are better for performance driving as you can fine-tune your suspension. They offer greater comfort and flexibility for improved handling.

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Leaf springs are treated like archaic tech, as they aren&#;t found under any of the latest industry-leading performance cars, and are often used as a point of reference that shows how &#;dated&#; a particular design is. Even so, they&#;re still prevalent on today&#;s roadways and can still be found under some production-line-fresh vehicles.

The fact that they&#;re still used in vehicles today makes it clear that the discussion of &#;leaf springs vs. coil springs&#; isn&#;t as simple as it seems. Sure, coil springs are great, but leaf springs sticking around after all of these years surely means there are situations where the older way is superior. And if you&#;re working with the same budget as the rest of us, you&#;re not rolling on the latest and greatest suspension designs anyway, meaning it&#;s worth learning a little more about the two.

Relax. We&#;re not in for a massive info dump that&#;ll overhaul your way of thinking. A brief overview of the basic differences between these two suspension types is all you need to get a grip on which is better when. 

Basic Spring Types

Springs have multiple jobs in suspension systems. For one, it supports the weight of the vehicle while allowing for up-and-down movement of the wheels. They absorb bumps and help compensate for uneven surfaces while working to retain the set geometry established by the automaker. Springs are as much to thank for a comfortable ride as they are for a driver&#;s control over the vehicle. Not all springs are the same, though. Different types are used for multiple reasons, with the most common on vehicles today being coil springs and leaf springs. 

Suzuki DRZ400 Coil Spring. Hank O&#;Hop

Coil Spring 

Coil springs are exactly as the name describes &#; a coiled spring. If you&#;re driving a late model vehicle, there&#;s a good chance you&#;ll find these supporting both the front and rear, while older trucks and some cars generally feature them exclusively on the front end. Depending on the application and the suspension configuration, these can be found as an individual component or mated to the shock absorber as a coilover setup. 

Leaf springs beneath my Dodge Charger. Hank O&#;Hop

Leaf Spring 

Leaf springs setups, consist of a single (mono-leaf) or pack of semi-elliptical steel springs (multi-leaf), with the axle mounted to the center or slightly offset in most instances. Typically, you&#;ll find leaf springs in the rear of a truck, but they&#;ve been used in a variety of different vehicle types over the years, including performance cars and motorcycles.

Different Springs for Different Suspension Setups

So, which is better? As with anything automotive, there&#;s no universally superior solution. Only the right tool for the job. Either type of spring has its share of strengths and weaknesses, and selecting which is appropriate depends on a few factors.

There&#;s more to consider than just the basic spring type. As alluded to the brief look at leaf springs, the spring type selected is dependent on other key components of the vehicle&#;s suspension and driveline.

Leaf springs are typically responsible for supporting the vehicle and locating the axle assembly. While advantageous for low production costs and simplistic upkeep, it does generally limit the vehicle to a solid axle setup, which isn&#;t known for comfort or performance.

Coil springs as seen on my TS185 project. Interestingly enough, a suspension system like this matches modern standard in a number of ways, but is viewed as dated nonetheless. Again, there&#;s more to consider than just the spring. Hank O&#;Hop

Coil springs often have a much simpler role as they are simply the springs used in the vehicle, not a structurally definitive component. They are generally present in better designs such as an independent suspension, where improved articulation enhances both performance and comfort characteristics. Coil springs are also often featured in solid-axle systems, such as a 4-link, which is superior to keeping a the axle in place and eliminating issues unique to leaf springs, such as axle wrap &#; something high-performance applications with solid axle leaf spring setups are plagued by.

That said, these are very general overviews with room for exceptions. An example being the Corvette, which notoriously used transverse leaf springs in an independent rear suspension setup prior to the modern mid-engine C8. This is why it&#;s important to evaluate the entire package, not just the type of spring featured.

Naturally, one has to wonder where leaf springs fit in when most suspension systems featuring coil springs are generally superior for most driving situations. Obviously, automakers continue to use them for a reason.

These leaf springs beneath my Ram better illustrate the spring&#;s dual role of supporting the vehicle and locating the axel assembly. Hank O&#;Hop

Leaf spring suspension systems may have some big shortcomings in this comparison, but they pull ahead in terms of weight capacity. Coil spring suspensions are a viable option for most loads hauled by today&#;s motorists, but leaf springs are still the better option for heavy-duty applications. This is why you&#;ll still find them under passenger trucks, vans, and many commercial vehicles. 

Weight and space savings are another potential set of benefits not to be ignored, and Chevrolet isn&#;t the only one to take advantage of them in performance applications of recent times. KTM showed its hand in a recent patent. This patent confirms the Austrian motorcycle company is developing a leaf spring for use in its motocross bikes. Because it&#;s a single leaf, not a leaf pack, it&#;s a simpler, more compact alternative to coil springs that frees up a lot of room at the rear of the bike. While little else is known about the applications it may be used for, it goes to show that there are a few reasons leaf springs still have a place in this world and they should not be written off simply due to their typical nature. Remember, it&#;s not what is used, but how it&#;s used that&#;s important.

Is it Worth Making the Swap?

The wheels are turning. I already know what any of you with leaf-sprung vehicles are thinking. You&#;re thinking about making the swap to a coil spring setup. After all, aftermarket 4-link kits are available, and would really help that truck fly through the trail or your classic hook like never before. 

The swap really isn&#;t that simple, though. You are converting to an entirely new type of suspension system, which presents a set list of issues you may not expect. Every situation is different, but it&#;s not uncommon to have to alter the structure of the vehicle to some degree and relocate parts due to their original positioning being heavily influenced by the original suspension system. That said, for all-out performance, it&#;s hard to beat what coil-sprung suspension systems bring to the table. 

Coilovers from Peter Nelson&#;s BMW 128i. Peter Nelson

But in all reality, the price will determine what&#;s going to work best for you. Most of us will have to make do with what we&#;ve got. That&#;s not as bad as it seems, though. 

It&#;s important to remember that leaf springs have been around for as long as cars have. That means countless builders have had many years to figure out different ways to make them work for virtually any driving situation you could imagine. While many of those modifications have been forgotten over time and buried by marketing for new and shiny suspension systems, a little bit of archaeology is all it takes to uncover them.

A good example of this is the leaf-link system I recently discovered in my old Direct Connection book, which was put to work on some serious drag cars of the era. Sure, a coil spring setup is probably better in a number of ways, but it&#;s proof that there are ways to make anything work.

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