Good Point....but, the unweighted tire scenario is backwards...when drooped, the Revolver's tire is pressed harder to the ground than a conventional shackled rig's.

(NOT unweighted...MORE WEIGHTED)



A simple experiment allows one to measure the weight of the conventional shackled tire on the ground, vs the weight of a revolver shackled tire.

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Based on the experimentation I did before mounting revolvers, it appears that, as a conventional shackled leaf suspension is pulled DOWN BY THE WEIGHT OF THE AXLE/TIRE, flexing the leaf arc to droop the tire....there was a change in resistance part way through the cycle.



In other words, from compression/ride height, the weight on the tire was fairly proportional....

...as the leaf was loosened and the tire drooped, the weight on the tire lessened, as the tension of the leaf spring was relaxed...but, at the point where the leaf was exerting ZERO force, the weight of the axle/tire was PULLING the corner down, rather than the leaf PUSHING it down.



So - If you ever changed a shackle, you know there's THAT POINT you NEED when the shackle is unweighted, and the bolt can be slid out, etc....well....THAT'S pretty much the transition point. (Leaf stops pushing down the tire, The axle's now PULLING on it)



This transition point is where the leaf goes from supporting the truck/pushing the tire down onto the earth for traction, to instead progressively unweighting the tire, reducing the force that the tire is pushed down with.



At the limit of leaf support, the shackle (Calmini lift shackle in this case...), swung down, and provided a lot more droop, a few inches...this swinging motion relieved some of the tension pulling the leaf down, and allowed the tire to continue downwards with less resistance than if the leaf alone was responsible for all of the travel.

The amount of shackle swing was the difference between the two ranges...where the support range of the leaf let off, the shackle swing allowed additional droop, until the end of the swing was reached, and once again the leaf was the limiting factor, hanging the tire.

When a conventional shackle swings, its the same unweighted effect on the suspension...the weight of the axle is providing the droop force...)



Doing the same thing with the revolver shackles yielded almost exactly the same scenario.

With the revolver, the leaf went through the exact same compression, ride height and extension cycle...but, when the droop exceeded the leaf's support range, the shackle started to swing, and then, unfold, and it swings and unfolds by the difference between the two ranges...the same as the regular shackle....

When the revolver was unfolding, the tire had more weight on it, as there was less PULLING the tire UP, than did the regular shackled version.

When the tire was fully drooped, the tire would unweight exactly as did the regular shackled version, and the tire would hang.

It hung a bit under 2" lower than the regular shackled version.

On the way down, I had more weight on the tire, and therefore I could expect better traction with the revolver shackle than the regular shackle, once past the transition point, and the same traction above the transition point (BETTER traction drooped, ~ the same otherwise)

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So - alot of people forget that their leaves do not push the tire down past that transition point, ....and that the axle weight is what is PULLING the tire down as opposed to the leaf PUSHING it down....

......meaning some traction weight on the tire is lost as the tire progressively fights more and more resistance on the way down in a droop, until that resistance STOPS the droop, stopping further wheel travel.



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I could get almost the same effect as a revolver by simply using a longer lift shackle....I made some rough measurements, and the extra swing of a longer shackle lets the ends of the leaves get closer together/deeper arch....very similar to the effect of the revolver.

I decided to go with the revolver, as while I wanted the travel, I didn't want the associated lift height issues.

The X rides smoother, handles about the same, and the tires go up and down following the terrain...I have almost 2" more travel, with about the same lift I had before, and no downside.