Motor City Vette

This morning I replaced my '70's original steel spring with a 330 lb. TRW composite spring. While I was at it, I also replaced my worn-out KYB rear shocks with a pair of AC Delco Reactek shocks. What a difference in ride...it is MUCH smoother than before. The spring and shock replacement took me a total of 4 hours, not a bad job at all (in fact it was pretty simple). If anyone is thinking about a composite spring, I have to say I'm very pleased (so far). Plus, it really "cleans up" the look from behind/underneath. I've heard some people say that the orignal stell spring is about 50 lbs., but I'd say it is closer to 60 - 70 lbs., while the composite spring is only about 8 lbs. The hardest part about the whole job was loosening the original spring hanger bolts. I soaked the nuts/bolts with WD-40 the night before and that may (?) have helped.


[Modified by Motor City Vette, 10:43 PM 7/9/2003]

BSeery

with those shocks your going to have a lot of rebound problems. The mono composite springs need shocks valved for them.

Vette Brakes and Parts sells some KYB's that are re-valved just for the mono springs. You can also check out their other shocks and ask them what are best.

I am using some RCI externally adjustable shocks from Mid America. They work good with my 340 lb rear spring.

MARKUS_P

What about ride height?
I replaced mine, and the distance fender to wheel was much higher than before.
Looking like a 4 wheeler now.... but my car is not completely assembled.
I´m curious if the tail will come down or not.
I have heared many people say that they have height problems after replacing the spring. They all buy the longer bolts but even with these ride height is still too high. Somebody should tell the company that sells them or even better that produces them. :cuss

BSeery

Yeah, ride height is an issue. You will need longer bolts to get it back down there. Problem is most people compare the height of the car with an old worn out spring to the height of a new, much better spring. And usually people are buying a higher rate (330 - 340 lb ) spring too.

Best you can do is lower the back end, but make sure to the frame still has a slope down towards the front end. You don't want the car to look level only to have the frame not level and have the front higher than the rear. They drive horribly wrong when the front is higher than the rear.

Motor City Vette

Actually, there are no rebound issues. I'm extremely happy with the ride. The Detroit area has some of the worst roads in the country (i.e. potholes, crumbling asphalt, etc.) and the ride is excellent with very little rebound. I replaced KYB shocks with the AC Delco Reactek and like this setup much better (the KYB's were quite old).

Someone else asked about ride height. The car does sit a little higher by maybe 1" - 1-1/2". But, it looks good. The old spring/shock setup was starting to sag, so I was hoping to get a little lift. Though, I have seen posts from others where their rear-end height was dramatically higher. But, that isn't the case with mine. Maybe it depends on the spring weight (e.g 300# vs. 330#, etc.), spring manufacturer, etc.???

:cheers:

Bobchad

Glad to hear that you are happy with the brake/shock combo. I have the same one and listening to the posts hear I was a little concerned.