composite rear spring?

[xanax4]

i was thinking about switching to the composite spring as my rear spring is starting to sag, can anyone who has one give me the pros and cons thanks rick

 

[cmegga]

Just took out the origonal fiberglass and went to a vettbrakeproducts compsite this spring. I went with the 330 lb , they say its best weight for a daily driver.

I was very very pleased, I did the shocks at the same time so Im not sure how much diffrence is coming from the spring alone. A much smoother softer ride, it used to hit the bumps hard and no I just kind of glide over them. And no noticable loss in handeling from what I can tell.

I would definitly recomend this spring, however their is definitly some labor involved in the switch.

 

[Vette/Berlina-coupe]

Rear/transverse-spring, -multi-leaf vs. mono...

Hello Rick: -since the Mono-leaf spring of fiberglass&resin was introduced on the '81C3-Vettes, I don't know what the above respondent is refering to (unless some of them had the seven to nine leaf steel-spring of 1980 and before), --or perhaps he has gone to some later aftermarket of Kevlar or carbon-fiber composite construction! The standard old fiberglass/Mono-spring is plenty good, -but just be sure to install the softess (lowest spring-rate number) unit available; --owing that you want your shock-absorbers to be controlling your vehicles body and wheel inertial-forces, not your spring (think of the spring as just there to barely hold the body-up to desired resting-height, ---that's it!)! The original heavy (hence having about three-times more inertia, thus substantially less-responsive in keeping the wheels on the road than plastic) multi-leaf steel-spring employed the now arcaric 1920's principle of inter-leaf friction as an aid in the control of inertial-forces; --however, the mono-leaf combined with the new generation of improved shock-absorbers provides a far smoother-ride in combination with superior inertial-control. What generally causes either a plastic or steel transverse-spring to break, -is an ineffective shock-absorber (which allows the spring to over-flex and absorbe shock it is not designed to withstand). Oddly, -upon introduction of the C4, Vette/chassis-enginners demonstrated they heavy-handedly didn't then comprehend the "notion that less is more", -and went way to stiff (extremely high spring-rate, -that would jar the fillings out of your teeth!) on the Mono-spring, --instead of specifying properly designed 2-way/Shock-absorbers along with stiffer Anti-roll Bars that could give the control they later in C5's came to understand was attainable via finesse rather than the absurd ride-harshness a stiff-spring creates (all retro bolt-on do-able in a C3). If you indeed switch to the plastic-spring, make sure you include the metal/heat-shield to prevent exhaust-pipes radiant-heat from cooking the plastic!! --To complete the upgrade/change-over, find discussions elsewhere in this forum about which of the latest shocks appear to be preferred for reasons of cost and performance...
~Bob VonHeck in sandiego calif.
;stupid :dance

 

[JohnZ]

i was thinking about switching to the composite spring as my rear spring is starting to sag, can anyone who has one give me the pros and cons thanks rick

Unless your steel spring is extremely corroded with visible material loss, chances are all it needs is to be disassembled, cleaned, painted, and re-assembled with new liners. In loaded condition, it will be nearly flat by design - it's very rare for a Corvette rear leaf spring to "sag" unless it's had significant material loss from corrosion. NOBODY makes a decent steel replacement spring with the correct shape and rate to maintain correct ride height - save yours if you can.