A suspension system includes a composite leaf spring attachment system having
a
bracket, a mount and a shear damper mounted therebetween. The mount is rectilinear
in cross-section to receive a rearward leaf spring segment of the composite leaf
spring. During flexing of the leaf spring, the rearward leaf spring segment of
the leaf spring slides within the mount. The shear damper in combination with sliding
of the leaf spring through the mount accommodates this longitudinal lengthen during
flexing. Also, due to the width of the of the leaf spring segment the shear damper
may alternatively be utilized alone to accommodate the flexing of the leaf spring
as the significant width of the composite leaf spring provides a large mounting
platform for a significantly large shear damper heretofore unavailable with relatively
thin conventional steel leaf springs.