Schmucker

Which spring combination should I go for, 460 front, 330 rear or 550 front and 360 rear? Pretty much the GT Plus kit or the Extreme GT Plus or whatever they call it that is a step above. Can't decide. I don't mind a harsh ride, but I do mine an excessively harsh ride. It's crunch time for me and this suspension and I need parts. I'm going to eventually put 17 inch wheels on if that matters. The 17's will probably require the car to be lowered a tad to get the right look, but that won't be for another year or two, depending on how long these tires last (read: how many burnouts I do with new engine). Car is a small block and will always be a small block if that matters.

Darkness

550/360 and you wont regret it. Good for the twists and still good for the city!

Later :cheers:

8T1-7T9 BIONIC VETTE

:iagree:
550/360.....With 17" wheels car will handle very well. :seeya Cappy

GrandSportC3

I use 460/330 combo.. and I didn't regret it... It's tight enough for the strip and great on the street...

:cheers:

Olivier

Schmucker

TTT, have to know more opinions.

terryrudy

haha, I split the difference. I went with 550/330. I wanted the softer rear spring since the rear spring seems to dictate the harshness of the ride since you're practically sitting right on them. But definitely go with 550s in the front. :)

YOu can see my site below for more pics of the stance with my 550s.
-terry


[Modified by terryrudy, 3:33 PM 1/15/2003]

BeaterShark

I have the 460 springs up front and the dual mount fiberglass spring out back. I have the rear on the second to stiffest setting.

If I had it to do again, I would have bought the 550 springs for the front. I believe these will also lower the front about 1". If you plan on lowering the front any more than an inch, I'd go with stock springs as when you cut them, you are increasing the stiffness of the spring.

Jvette73

I got the 460 coils and 330 monoleaf + Bilstien shocks and am totally satisfied with both ride quality and handling. Much better than stock. I also put in a complete poly graphite bushing kit with greasable front swaybar bushings. I would do it all the same again.

nastee383

:iagree: I've had that combo for years and the car handles AND launches well at the strip.

Gordonm

Also got the 460/330 setup. I had the 550 coils in the front and it seemed a little harsh. If I had very good 17 inch tires and planned on racing I'd probably go with the 550. If I was going that far I would go with the mono spring on the front and dual mount on the rear for more tunability. The 460/330 setup is a nice comprimise. Good handling with a decent ride

The Money Pit

I run the 550/360 combo. For a comparison in how it rides,borrow somebody's 3/4 ton 4x4 and go hit some pot holes. That should give you the idea. I wouldn't trade down for anything!

Schmucker

Looks like the 550/360 are going to be the better option for me, unless someone wants to tell me different. I like g-forces, so it may be the better way to go.

Ganey

See 77 Facts on my website. FE-7 550 w/ VB rear.

adam

The VIP article stated that cutting a coil off the springs would improve the
rate by about 20%.

So a 330# spring would go to ~400#
a 460# spring would go to 550#

Hmmm, is a 550# spring just a shortened 460# spring?

Gator81

Put the 460/330 combo from Vette Brakes on my '81 last year. Very happy with it. Included a complete set of poly bushings, which combine with the spring rates to affect ride harshness. Cut 2/3 of a coil off the 460's to get the ride height right (NOT lowered - just back to original ride height!).

Just for running around town, short trips, fun runs, whatever, the ride is just fine. Longer trips on the freeway, with those awful expansion joints, are a little tedious. My other vehicle is a 3/4 ton GMC truck, with 10-ply-rated tires, and the Vette rides much rougher.

I must say that the upgrade from stock to those springs did not increase ride harshness as much as I thought they would, and that I can now understand why some guys go with the 550/360 combo. But where I live, a "cruise" can easily be two or three hundred miles, and I don't think I'd want springs any stiffer than what I've got. If all I ever did was autocross, drag race, and cruise the boulevard on the weekend, then stiffer springs would probably be a good idea.

Tom73

How about a different approach :D

Why not go with softer springs for a better ride :) and then go with heavier sway bars to keep the car flat in the corner? What is being accomplished by heavier springs? It keeps the outside of the car up when cornering so you will not get too much body lean. Right? Well that is what sway bars are for, to stop body lean. So why not try softer springs and heavier sway bars, could be the best of both worlds.

tom...

Gator81

That was my thought exactly, Tom. 1.125" front bar, .75" rear bar with the 460/330 springs.

bowtie racing

:iagree:

73 LS-4

If your going to be running 17" tires and drag racing it, think twice about the heavy springs. becouse on your rearward weight shift you'll be fighting those rear springs at launch, in other words you won't squat if the springs are too heavy, that along with a narrow sidewall tire will create a lot of traction problems. The 86 Z-51 of my step-fathers is a perfect example, the car just refuses to squat under acceleration due to the very stiff springs making it extremely hard to get any traction out of, it's easier for me to launch the 73 with 100ft/lbs more torque becouse the 73 does squat well and both run the same size tires. Tom has a good point with the lighter springs and heavier swaybars, I'm running the stock BB springs with heavy swaybars and it does very well in a corner and still gives me good weight shift under hard acceleration.

:cheers:
Pat Kunz

gkull

IMO shocks have a big part in what the ride is like. Just change your shocks compression/rebound and damping ratio. 40/60 50/50 or 60/40 makes a world of difference on ride quality For drag racing and weight x-fer run 90/10 fronts and 30/70's on the rear

If you intend to go to wider low profile 17's in the future 460 and 340 or 360 would be a good choice. get bigger sways with the adjustble spring end links so small bumps let your suspension work and big bumps or cornering brings in the full force of the sway bars.

personally I uses bigger springs because I have a boarderline street car.