Update:
Last week I drove Herc nearly 800 miles on a vacation to Carolina Beach NC. The 800 lb coil worked well but I do think it may be slightly stiff - it did ride like a 1 ton pickup truck. That's okay with me but maybe not for others looking for a softer ride. Remember that I have permanently removed my anti-swaybars, and the 800 lb coil on my left side seemed stiff enough that on right hand turns I almost wouldn't need an anti-swaybar at all. I don't know how much the coil will "settle" and loosen up over time though.
One reason I went all the way to 800 lbs is that I have read posts from some of you that tried 700 lb coils and they seem to have settled down over time, and the posts I've found seemed to suggest that those with 700 lbs wish they had gone higher. My vehicle is heavy and a 4x4 so I knew that 700 would be too light for me. Also I was planning to install a winch which would have resulted in even more weight up front. Because of other needs I cannot budget a winch now so that is put on the back burner. After all this is considered, I think the smart thing for me to do is split the difference between the 700 lb some of you have tried and the 800 lb I just did try, and go for 750 lb coils on mine and see how that pans out over time.
Also, as I mentioned in an earlier post on this thread, I now believe that the 14" long QA1 shock is slightly short and this trip sort of confirmed that. I did spend a couple of days at the 4x4 sand dune area north of Carolina Beach and got some good bounce and wheel travel to feel out the shock length, leaving me with the impression that I wish I had gotten the 15" shock.
I'll make my decision in a few days, but at this time (now that I've tested my original guesstimated setup) I believe that I'll permanently install 15" QA1 shocks with 12" 750lb coils.
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