SUPERSPRINGS SSA17 ON THE FORD F-550

By Peter Garcia, Sales & Service Manager

Unrivaled by any other aftermarket auxiliary springs, SuperSprings are a unique self-adjusting suspension stabilizing system for vehicles with rear leaf springs. As the first product line offered by SuperSprings International over 20 years ago, SuperSprings have become a well-known suspension solution, especially for commercial use in the automotive industry. SuperSprings have continued to be re ned over the years, thanks to an attentive engineering team and valuable feedback from devoted SuperSprings users. The SSA17 is one of those SuperSprings kits, and one of the most popular options of the various styles and sizes produced by SuperSprings International. When it comes to leveling loads and reducing body roll, this kit will convincingly get the job done, the rst time around! With 77 active SuperSprings kits currently, the SSA17 is the 18th most used kit year to date. Here are some of the reasons why.

ORIGINS & REVISIONS

First released back in 2009, the SSA17 has seen a few revisions along the way to relevance. Originally featuring a full eye-wrap where the blades of the SuperSprings completely wrapped around the eye bolt to increase the strength and ability of the kit, the most updated version has since been “relaxed”. As the SSA17 is a double-bladed spring kit (one blade meticulously stacked on another), the strength with which it was first designed became a bit too much as Ford, and other notable vehicle manufacturers increased the capability of their various work trucks over the years. Now, only the top blade of the SuperSprings wraps around the eye bolt, allowing it to t onto a chassis cab with or without top overload springs. To increase flexibility and operational clearance to O.E. features, SuperSprings International rther re ned the SSA17 by shortening the blade length and customizing the shackle con gurations to perfectly match the most common models it was designed to be tted on. This is just one example of the agility of the engineering team of SuperSprings International, when it comes to responding to continuous manufacturer changes to the body, frame and suspension. As Chad Bussanich, our Engineering Manager, put it, “We are constantly making improvements and creating new products to fit the ever-changing designs and new vehicles from the automotive manufacturers, as well as working to solve the problems that vehicle builders and up tters run into with their products.”

What You Need To Know

PART NUMBER: SSA17

SuperSprings for Ford F-450/F-550, Chevrolet/GMC Kodiak/TopKick 4500/5500 | Le /Right Pair | 5000 (lb) Additional Load-Leveling Ability | Made in the USA

HELPFUL HINT: FULL KITS VS. HALF KITS

A key naming and build detail SuperSprings International utilizes to cater to multiple truck types, is the “.5” after a SuperSprings part number. For example, SSA17.5 would signi a half-kit; one SSA17 spring set-up to be installed on one side only rather than two spring set-ups for both the left and right sides. The shackle assemblies on half-kits are configured in such a way that is assumed it is being used to accommodate a truck that is leaning heavily to one side or the other, but typically built with a passenger side installation in mind. Using a heavy half-kit on the leaning side, with a lighter half-kit or no kit at all on the opposite side to off set the varying weight quickly became a popular solution for applications with additional weight on one side or the other such as trucks with tools boxes, water tanks, and crane trucks.

SO, WHY WAS THE SSA17 RELEASED, AND WHAT ARE THE APPLICATIONS IT IMPACTS THE MOST?

Ease of installation, tment, and effectiveness are all reasons for need for a kit like this. Like all other SuperSprings installations, the downtime and extra costs associated with breaking apart the spring packs to add an additional leaf or two at a spring shop is completely avoided. They can be installed before or after the truck is built, and do not require any disassembly or modifications to the factory suspension. They fit a wide variety of trucks and cover a large group of build styles. However, Mark Jutson, our Sales & Service Support Manager quickly points out, the SSA17 was particularly designed to target Class 4 and Class 5 cab chassis models being up fitted for various commercial vocations. Most commonly amongst those, would be its tment to one side of a chassis to correct asymmetrical weight seen on crane body applications. One of the most common trucks seen with these kinds of builds is one of the leaders in Working-America –the Ford F-550 Super Duty. Mark goes on to say, “The release of the SSA17 was the direct result of the very apparent need within the medium-duty commercial truck market for a leaf spring enhancement solution that mirrored the simplicity and successes of our SuperSprings line on light-duty trucks.”

GOT SAG? SWAY LESS.

With the automotive aftermarket world being the beast it is these days, it takes highly reliable parts, products and solutions to everyday problems such as the SSA17 to propel companies, businesses, and services forward and onward. Different entities that find consistent assistance from the SSA17 include, but are not limited to: original equipment manufacturers, specialty truck equipment manufacturers, truck and van up fitters, and dealerships and fleets of all sizes. Although there are specific types of vehicles the SSA17 boosts more than others, the versatility and durability of this kit allow for the ultimate personalization to provide users extra load support and reduce body roll without compromising ride quality on multiple types of applications. If you have a Ford F-450 or F-550 and are looking for something to alleviate most, if not all symptoms that are caused by heavy bodies and equipment then look no further. Give your trucks their abilities back and get the most out of them. Every one of these trucks would ask for the SSA17 if they could speak for themselves!