Leaf Springs for SD Axle Upgrade

[divemaster5734]

The last axle conversion kit is due to ship. Am using Sky Offroad RS front and rear conversions.
Those will take '08-'16 SD leaf springs.
I will be adding bags in the rear, but probably not for several months.
My quandary is deciding which springs are best.
I realize the more leafs means higher rating, but also means worse ride when empty.
I'm guessing the Bronco clip and two bench seats might add 500lbs. to the stock F350 weight.
The 3 or 4 leaf sets are a better ride, but much lower rating.
That said, a soft ride equals mushy turning.
I drive mostly winding mountain or rural roads, and don't want to create a pig in turns to get best straight line ride.
I know there's several people here that have already crossed this bridge and am hoping for some insight and possible lessons learned.
Just like a modern vehicles ECU, there's no one setting that's perfect for everything, so I'm hoping for better turning without needing a kidney belt to drive it.
It won't be towing anything until next spring, and I'll have the bags installed by then.
All I have is theory to go on, hoping for some real life examples.
Thanks.

 

[KansasIDI]

It depends. I prefer more springs, despite the harsh ride. My truck is very heavy, especially in the rear, has 20 leaf springs per side. Kind of excessive unless you’re pulling a trailer all the time or have a very heavy bed like I do. Best part is you can put 30,000 pounds on a bumper pull trailer behind my truck and it doesn’t even squat down an eighth of an inch.

The way I see it, is that if it’s a truck, and you’re gonna pull, you want the capacity. Even if you don’t use it every day, to have it and not need it, is better than if you need it and not have it

 

[IDIBRONCO]

so I'm hoping for better turning without needing a kidney belt to drive it.

The way I see it, is that if it’s a truck, and you’re gonna pull, you want the capacity. Even if you don’t use it every day, to have it and not need it, is better than do you need it and not have it

I tend to agree with KansasIDI here. You can go with a heavier spring pack and then run lower pressure in the rear tires until you're going to pull a trailer. That will help to offset the stiffer ride. On my Blue Truck, I run 45 PSI in the front and 35 PSI in the rear tires until it's time to be more than a commuter. I like the ride a lot. It's not squirrely until I get on a not so well maintained road and then it's only slightly. That's only in the front and I'm used to it by now.