METALCLOAK VIDEO: MetalCloak True Dual Rate Coils vs Rock Krawler, Teraflex & Skyjacker | Ride Quality, Flex & More
In this detailed comparison, we walk through MetalCloak’s True Dual Rate coil springs against offerings from Rock Krawler, Teraflex, and Skyjacker, highlighting free length, dual-rate behavior, coil isolators, ride quality, and why our design choices lead to better stability and suspension performance. We explain the engineering decisions behind longer free length, stabilizing isolators, square-end coils, and how our dual-rate transition works at and below ride height to give a predictable, controlled ride.
Complete Transcript with Time Stamps:
[00:00] Hello, my name is Doug Powell. I'm one of the engineers at MetalCloak and today we're going to do a brief comparison of springs that MetalCloak makes and those that our competitor makes.
[00:16] We just like to express that MetalCloak puts a lot into the design process and we don't skip any corners and we add the components that are necessary to make a great ride. So this video will try to show all of those features that we have on our spring sets.
[00:30] Recently Rock Krawler put out a comparison video of what they had in their kits versus what we had in our kits. So much misinformation, so much omission, and so many things that were incorrect that we'll be trying to demonstrate what the truth is. It's what prompted our effort to try to demonstrate again just how superior MetalCloak is in all of our design features.
[00:57] So, this is a MetalCloak. This is a Skyjacker. This is a Teraflex. This is a Rock Krawler. These are all JL front springs. They're all for a two and a half inch lift.
[01:09] We'll start with length. It's really easy for us to look at direct length. I've got these laid out based on a flat on the back here. And we'll go through. I'll come around. We'll go through and look at each of these lengths.
[01:20] It's about 20 3/4", about 20 3/4", about 20 3/4", we are 22 1/4" approximately. The MetalCloak spring is about an inch longer.
[01:37] Well the reason it's an inch longer than these three designs is two reasons the first reason is our systems have more flex. Therefore, when you provide more down travel, you have to make sure that your spring stays seated the entire time.
[01:52] As you'll see in the images, MetalCloak is fully secured. It's fully seated when the suspension is at a full droop. If you look at TeraFlex, not fully seated at a full droop. And once again, when you look at Rock Krawler, not fully seated when you're at a full droop.
[02:10] With our springs, it's a set. We include stabilizing isolators at both ends of the spring. And let me explain what that is and why we do it, because it is very important in our ride quality.
[02:25] As you can see, when we put our spring on the isolator, straight up and down square to the tabletop. Now let's see those that don't take the time to create isolating stabilizers that correct these different issues.
[02:41] This is a Skyjacker spring. They use the stock. They didn't bother to make the corrections. They use a stock isolator. If we put that on there, as you'll see that this is how the spring sits in its natural condition. Well, I can't even let go of it. I have to actually hold it up in order to control that angle.
[03:04] TeraFlex is another example. They do not provide stabilizers or correction pads for theirs. They use the stock. And when you use a stock with a squared end spring, this is what results. I can't let go of this because again, it'll fall over.
[03:24] But here's the difference between a MetalCloak and a TeraFlex. I mean, when you do this and then you load your Jeep and you force it back to center, you're already building in a bow or a buckle into your spring. Bad, bad design practice.
[03:40] We give Rock Krawler credit they did actually produce a lower, they didn't produce the top but they did produce a lower isolator that they provide with their spring. What is interesting about theirs is our spring fits perfectly on theirs and is perfectly vertical when it's on their isolator which just happens to be identical in every dimension to ours.
[04:02] In the case of Rock Krawler they didn't mate the the design of the isolator with the spring because they didn't adjust for the pitch of the lower part of their last pitch on their spring. When I put this on here, you'll see that it can wobble at all locations around where it seats at different spots because the lower pitch of the spring is not identical to ours. So they have a rocking motion that can be produced on the stabilizing isolator.
[04:33] So you'll notice that each one of these JL Springs has a pigtail at the top that makes it smaller, and that is in order to fit in the stock location. And we have what is called a square end spring. So we have taken the top coil, and that top coil is as wide as all the other coils making for a much more stable product.
[04:55] Anything that sits on a smaller base compared to a wide squared base, I mean, if you're trying to do a basketball stance, you don't stand with your feet this far apart. You stand with wide. You're trying to be stable. We're trying to be as wide as we possibly can in the design of our springs. Again, trying to add stability anytime that we can add it.
[05:15] Here's the isolator or stabilizer associated with a spring that has a pigtail at the end of it. So you can see it goes into each one of these here and here. This is the one that goes into a MetalCloak spring. As you can see, ours is much larger, much wider, much more stable.
[05:35] We also surround the outside of the coil as well to keep that outside coil stable, whereas the OEM or the pig tail version has no support on the outside. When you use a stock isolator, you're going to see that the isolator itself is off-centered from the spring. So your spring on its perch initially starts out off-center.
[05:57] But now look at the MetalCloak one where we redid the isolator completely so that when you see it, you can't even see the spring behind our isolator. It's so centered. So again, it's a better practice to start out with a centered spring and it's a bad practice to start out with your pigtail off-center and your isolator off-center.
[06:17] MetalCloak has what we call True Dual-Rate Coils. It means that we actually make two complete rates that are obvious and purposeful in the design of our suspensions. And I can't express this enough. If the coils of one of your rates of spring do not fully collapse on one another, fully collapse, they must touch, you are not transitioning to another rate. It's not possible.
[06:43] Now if you look at this video you'll see that when the MetalCloak spring in place at ride height on the vehicle all of those top coils are collapsed and we'll put a feeler gauge in there to see that they are collapsed you can't get something between them.
[06:56] When you look at a TeraFlex at ride height you can put a feeler gauge in those top coils which means that that second rate has not engaged yet. You're still riding on the first soft rate. When Rock Krawler Spring is at ride height, the springs are not fully collapsed. So therefore there is no transition.
[07:16] The way that we test our springs is you set them up in our spring tester, which applies force to the spring. And we take a measurement of that force every one inch. And then once we've collected all of that data throughout its stroke, you'll be able to look at the graph and tell exactly where a MetalCloak spring transitions into its second rate.
[07:38] But what you're going to see on our competitors is it's much more difficult to see any extreme transition into a dual rate. Skyjacker has a little bit of a curve, a slight transition into a second rate. If you look at TeraFlex, again, a very small transition.
[07:55] But here's the most interesting one that I'm going to show you. Remember the "triple rate" by Rock Krawler. You'll see that there's gaps between their coils, so no transition into another rate has occurred. If you look at it, and we actually do plot their curve, and then we're going to put a linear single rate spring curve right on top of theirs, and what you're going to notice is you can hardly tell the difference between a single rate coil and what Rock Krawler calls a "triple rate".
[08:25] We were amazed. We at least thought that we would see small transitions into smaller rates, at least something, but virtually nothing. But if you look at a MetalCloak, there is a specific and easy to recognize and see transition into that dual rate or second rate.
[08:45] Now that transition for the MetalCloak occurs below the ride height. So therefore, when you are riding your MetalCloak vehicle, you are on a single rate at ride height. We're not trying to make you transition between different rates and confuse things, or to make it difficult for your shocks. It's on a single stable rate.
[09:08] The coils have fully collapsed, causing in this imagery, which you'll see a lowering of a virtual bucket, which allows, again, more stability. So MetalCloak's Dual Rate Coils have an obvious spot where the rate one is and rate two. This rate one at ride height will fully collapse. When it's fully collapsed, it's the same thing as moving your coil bucket down.
[09:34] By moving your coil bucket down, you create a much more stable spring because those coils that are collapsed are working to stabilize the single rate portion of the spring. None of our competitors do that at ride height. They have not lowered their virtual bucket in order to stabilize their springs.
[09:55] This comparison today was meant to kind of demonstrate the meticulous effort the MetalCloak goes through when engineering its products. We lead the market in all aspects of suspension.
[10:06] We led the market in adjustable bump stops. We led the market in our 6Pak shocks, having the most flex. We led the market in trying to make our fenders as high as possible to pick up the up travel. Our Duroflex joints lead the market. We're always committed to making great performance, great flex, and a great ride.
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