Budman68

What is the advantage, other than weight.

vettes1st

Some say they ride better. I prefer the original myself. I won't trade even given a choice. Just my thoughts. :chevy

Gordonm

The fiberglass spring will not lose its spring rate. The steel spring over years will sag and lose some of its rate. I prefer the fiberglass spring but others like the steel. I feel the glass spring gives a smoother ride.

Frankenvette

yes the fiberglass spring won't rust or loose it's spring, but a steel spring won't crack. I have read several postings on this forum about cracked fiberglass springs.

Ganey

Wt. is enough reason. Get VB.

Ganey

Gordon

I have had to adjust mine. Mine has a much harder life than most.

:cool:

Most of the cracked fiberglass springs have been the normally excellent TRW products which are made by someone else for them. Also improper install.

flynhi

I've tried three VB springs and one TRW. One of the VB springs broke and the others were very bouncy - I was unsuccesful in controlling this with shocks.
The TRW is less bouncy and much more controllable.
GM has been using composite springs since 1980 in Vettes for a reason.

Eddie 70

The ride on the fiberglass spring is alot smoother. Sometimes it is a little bouncier on my car I think though. I do have newer KYB also. Maybe I have the wrong shocks for the spring though.

Larry B.

WRONG!!!! When I took my 9 leaf spring out to change the side yokes, I had a broken leaf. Luckily it wasn't bottom leaf or my car would have been draggin' it's *ss. :skep: Ask C3 grandsport about his broken STEEL spring,


[Modified by silvervetteman, 11:32 AM 12/29/2002]

phxraptor

Are you saying the stock glass spring in my L81 will never lose its rate or need to be replaced providing it does not break ??

gdh

[QUOTE] It is also a good idea to use a heat shield or use exhaust

Never thought of doing this, thanks for the info. :cheers:

zwede

I tried 3 different VB glass springs. #1 snapped in half. number 2 and 3 were different rates as I hated the bouncy ride. Also tried different shocks. Finally gave up and got a later model wide 9 leaf steel spring and the ride is now good. All the bouncing is gone.

Titanium Rat

get a 7leaf gymy spring,,,kind of a rough ride but great for the backroads :cool:

mengbar

I'm a big fan of composites, especially in the area of springs. Just keep in mind a few facts. You Vette guys know the trials and tribulations associated with factory fiberglass (vacumn formed) and bargain basement fiberglass. They are not all created equal.

A buddy on mine was telling me several months ago that his fiberglass spring broke and I asked him to send me a piece of it. Sure as hell it snapped just past the drivers side bracket. I took a cut-off saw to it and it had a bunch of little voids in the center. It was probably trapped air bubbles.

I'd base my decision on getting a quality OEM glass spring. I'm sure GM has they're act together, but some of the jobbers....ehhh who knows.

I'd love to do a x-ray on a fiberglass spring....hmmmmm. :smash: :p:

mrvette

Zwede, I tell you straight up what MY experiences with my '72 L48 stick vette are.....
as a more or less 'stock' car, mechancally anyway...the thing road what I thought was 'rough' in the as s end.....harder than my '87 was anyway...

but in the total rebuild process of the entire suspension...I replaced and sold the original spring...I THINK it had 9 leaves......not sure though...

at any rate I bought/installed a VBP fiber spring and KYB shocks...7 years ago...about all they had at the time...along with their rear sway bar....

so I noticed a HUGE improvement.....left it alone....

SO upon moving to Florida here some time ago....I started reading about steel springs, and such....picked one up...a 7 leafer....plugged it in...and went for a ride.....immediately took it out and back to the fiberglass....

I dunno, but the glass is NOT perfect...maybe better shocks..maybe something else...but the overall ride is better than stock...either performance or soft cruising springs....I think it's a 380?? lbs spring...the fiber VBP....

at any rate the ONLY time I object to the ride is over some bridges here in Florida...the construction sometimes has 'undulations' to itl..on a recurring basis, and THAT will upset the suspension into a rather uncomfortable oscillation that makes me change lanes or something...like stamp on brakes....I"m sorta wondering if the problem is not more shock absorber related than anything else....

GENE

GrandSportC3

A steel spring won't crack??? Right - they just break!!! :eek: :eek:



:cheers:

Olivier


[Modified by GrandSportC3, 7:14 PM 12/29/2002]

killain

I have a TRW 330 lb spring and it's a LOT smoother a ride than the original 9 left steel spring. But then it is the TRW copy?

BSeery

If you get the correct shocks to match the composite spring, the difference in ride is amazing.

I am using the 9 position externally adjustable shocks from Mid America with a 340 lb spring.

If you look up at the tool bar of the Corvette Forum, click on "Tools", then click "Tech Tips", "C3" there is a write up I did on the installation of a composite rear spring in a C3. Very easy job to do.

hunt4cleanair

My 78 had an aftermarket fiberglass spring on it along with dual exhaust. One day while out cruising...suddenly while pulling up into a strip mall...the bottom fell out of it! The spriing had collapsed the rear end was dragging on the street.

Later I learned that the spring was not recommended for applications where the exhaust system was not stock. The excessive heat compromised the spring adhesive...it literally had a melt down.

Now that was years ago and I'm sure that is not the case...but that's my experience with fiberglass springs.

Stephen Irons

My view, from across “The Pond”, where the roads are a whole lot worse that the US, is to go for the Fibreglass spring. I changed out the metal spring on my ’78 a few years ago now, for a TRW unit from Mid America, and the improvement was wonderful. But, I did follow local advice and went with a full set of Koni adjustable shocks. They work both ways, not just on the rebound and you can make them as stiff as you like. I stuck with the soft setting, but even this controls the bounce enough for UK roads I guess you ma want to go one “click” up in the US?

We take the car over to Europe fairly regularly, loaded with luggage, and the new spring still rides great, and the car still sits level even when loaded.

I have read the posts about cracked fibre springs and I’ve kept a close eye on mine, particularly as I have a non stock exhaust. But so far and with many fully loaded trips under it’s belt, it is OK. I guess the heat shield advice might be good, but I also think that installation methods may contribute to broken springs in some cases. As I say, mine was a TRW unit, and I followed the instructions to the letter!

Incidentally, at the same time I replaced the Strut rod bushes with Poly, and re set camber etc. From experiences with friends carts I also noticed that the fibre spring makes removal of strut rods etc easier if the job is not all done at the same time. Something to do with the fibre version not flexing so much when pressure is released I think.

And, form an aesthetic point of view, the fibre version is easier to keep clean, and I think looks neater from the back of the car!