I finally got around to changing out my used up Calmini front lift coils, after having another collapse and dropping the Tracker about an inch on the drivers side, again. This is the third set of Calmini coils I've been through, and although they all have eventually collapsed, I can't say it's entirely their fault. Due to the kind of modifications I've done to my front end ( widening, modified control arms, etc.) they ( front coils ) are probably stressed more than normal. Rather than drop in another set of Calmini Lift coils I found a better solution, coils from Suspension Spring Specialists, distributed by FOA out of Las Vegas NV.
These coils are a straight rate, with the coils wound much further apart than the Calmini coil. They can be ordered right from stock in various spring rates and lengths.  I chose the 550 lb rate at 16", much longer than the Calmini coil, but I had a good reason for that. Because of the widening to my front control arms I lost about .5" of lift right there. I also modified the coil pocket in the control arm to provide a better seating angle for the bottom of the coil, and straighten out the " bending " of the coil once mounted. Lost another inch +- there also. To compensate and get back lost lift I ended up using a 1.25 " spacer on top of the Calmini coil.
I did have to trim about 2" off the bottom of the SS coils for ride height adjustment and to leave a pigtail to fit the bottom of the control arm. Does not seem to effect the ride quality at all.
Because of the way the Calmini coil is wound, they are susceptible to coil binding. On our type of IFS the Calmini coil is actually somewhat bent when measured from top to bottom, causing the back side of the coils to be much closer together than the front. When the suspension cycles the inside coils will tend to bind acting like an early bump stop, prematurely wearing the coils. The suspension specialist coils are spaced almost twice as far apart, providing more room for movement and less opportunity for binding.
After having them in for a few days now I have to say I am totally happy with the way they ride, and the quality of the coil.
One thing about these coils, they are not an exact fit to the upper coil mount, requiring some mods or an adapter. I got my upper coil adapter from SR Customs ( Mudchild on this forum.) They are  a quality built machined aluminum part and fit perfectly.

All in all a good solution for anyone having collapsing issues with Calmini coils. These coils provide a much more consistant and controlable ride and better flexing than the Calmini coil, without the coil binding.

Without all of your mods, I also ordered a couple of springs, and in a 16"
length, but I found the higher rate coil only needs to be about 14" and then
trim the lower end to give it a pig tail to fit the A-arm pocket.

I also got a 650 rate and found it to be a little stiff at the longer length, but
a 650 at a close to stock length I think would work well with a widened and
heavier front end like with a bumper and winch

Wild

sweet! I need to take my front apart soon and will consider this mod. Is there any other colors? damn I would hate to have to keep blue under there.

also I know you have been through a strut or two....whats your favorite? the new Gabriel's I got were bad out of the box.

The coils I ordered were Eibach and came in red and silver
so I guess if you wanted you could paint them

The coils I ordered were Eibach and came in red and silver
so I guess if you wanted you could paint them

yea anything would work, I just dont like having the blue underthere and people thinking Im a fan of a certain (so called) off road lift kit builder.

I previously got a set of 600 lb coils from SS and never did get them installed. Got as far as trimming the bottom to fit and then realized I needed the adapter to get the tops to fit. Still got them stashed just in case these turn out to be too soft down the road, but the 550's feel great for now.

Jluck, still using OME struts, mostly because I got a new set for almost nothing. Next time though I think I'm gonna go with the Bilsteins. The shaft is about 3 times as big a diameter.

I'm running OME that my brother gave me when he decided to go straight axle.
He wheeled them harder than I have but I went to the dunes in may and worked them pretty good!
I like them, they handled the whoops and bumps pretty well. The ironman rear springs and shocks
Didn't really cut the mustard, I really needed to take the spare tire off.

I couldnt warrant spending that kind of money for Bilsteins or OME struts. I went with NAPA sensatracs they are Monroe Sensatracs rebranded and half the price, 50$ a strut is reasonable.

One thing that is absolutely amazing is how much those strut towers bend and move around, it is almost like the towers are intended to have flex joints! LOL
A strut tower bar is required in my book, I was thinking of a spacer on top similar to the majority of lift kit strut spacers and a simple heavy plate steel "bar" across the top of the engine(not alot of room) tieing the struit towers together.

I couldnt warrant spending that kind of money for Bilsteins or OME struts. I went with NAPA sensatracs they are Monroe Sensatracs rebranded and half the price, 50$ a strut is reasonable.

One thing that is absolutely amazing is how much those strut towers bend and move around, it is almost like the towers are intended to have flex joints! LOL
A strut tower bar is required in my book, I was thinking of a spacer on top similar to the majority of lift kit strut spacers and a simple heavy plate steel "bar" across the top of the engine(not alot of room) tieing the struit towers together.

cheap is good but longevity is better IMO. like I posted earlier,I got new Gabriel's and they were honesty just from day one (no wheeling at all).I'm OK with more money spent up front to not be back under there every couple months. and did you know you can use  exhaust collector flanges for building tie bars? 2.5" (I think) are the correct size for the strut spacer bolt pattern.

For the money and the warranty, I like the Monroes.  I had Gabriels on the front and went through THREE struts in a three year period.  The Monroes have been on for a year now and so far- so good.  In addition, I like the Monroe rear shocks (Crown Vics) over the Gabriels because the upper sandwich bushings are twice wide as what the Gabriels were.   The Monroe shock bushings use more of the support surface on the upper shock mount of the frame.  They are more bushy!!!

I couldnt warrant spending that kind of money for Bilsteins or OME struts. I went with NAPA sensatracs they are Monroe Sensatracs rebranded and half the price, 50$ a strut is reasonable.

One thing that is absolutely amazing is how much those strut towers bend and move around, it is almost like the towers are intended to have flex joints! LOL
A strut tower bar is required in my book, I was thinking of a spacer on top similar to the majority of lift kit strut spacers and a simple heavy plate steel "bar" across the top of the engine(not alot of room) tieing the struit towers together.

Absolutly, strut bracing is a great idea. I did both an across the engine strut brace, and externally braced the strut towers in the wheel well. worrth the effort. I also used Chevy exhaust flanges for the bases.

As far as struts go, I think whatever works for everyone is cool. Myself, I can't imagine a stock strut holding up for long under the weight of 32x11.50 tires, and heavy wheeling. Mine take some serious abuse, and I don't expect them to last more than a year, if they do I'm quite happy.

Thnx for the tip on the chevy flange, how much room is there between the engine and the hood skeleton for a cross bar?

Just a few inches, so I had to fit everything very carefully.

Thnx for the info, I hadnt really looked at how much room there is, I have a trick for measuring the available space(used during constructing composite aircraft wings).