coil over 4 link or leave springs ?

[taylor1969camaro]

i bought a 1969 camaro w tubeular sus in front coil over w 3 inch drop , leave spring in back w 3 inch drop ,,,, my ? is should i upgrade the leave springs to coil overs whats the pros cons i understand thats its about 1000 dollars ,, i only want to talk about chaning the rear the front is staying the way it is i can post pics if sum1 asks me im new to protouring builds but am very excited also new to this forum seeking some good advice cheers

[mitch_04]

Well, I'm a grammar Nazi, so I am going to recommend slowing down and checking your spelling and punctuation a little more (Leaf springs, tubular suspension, someone).
Anyways, back to your questions. First off, there is a ton of threads that discuss these things, you really should just browse, browse, and browse some more on this site first. There is amazing information that you won't find it books. That being said, grabbing a suspension book for $20 will give you a great jump start on understanding these things.

Since you asked, and I've already spent the time writing this, I'll give you my opinion. Coil overs are easily adjustable for ride height/preload. Well designed leaf springs can do amazing things, but a 4-link or 3-link with coilovers will be, generally, easier to tune. Leaf springs don't have much for tuning available. Are you planning on doing the work yourself?

[Rod]

leaf spring suspension is very easy to tune, very easy to assemble at home, and can be very fast with no modifications. Coil spring suspension requires a little more patience to tune most can be assembled at home, and can be very fast with no modifications. If your car already has a quality leaf springs invest your money in a very good shock, for example, an adjustable, and not all coil overs are built the same, so don't shop price, shop objective. And a great set of sway bars, wheels and tires, subframe connectors, driving skill, all these things will go a long way to make you fast

[astroracer]

I agree with mitch on the slowing down and spell checking and with Rod on the leaf springs. It all depends on what your goals are for the car. Really think about this because spending money on equipment you are not going to use is, well, useless... If this is a street car and will never see a track (or just occasionally) keep the leafs, get some good shocks and drive it.
Mark

[taylor1969camaro]

yea not a drag car just wanted to know performance diffrences ,, so i dont think i will be adjusting them often just driven all i want is super good handling ,, what are some good shocks yall could reccomend

[Z06killinSBF]

I'd get some 10way adjustable QA1s and have at it. Actually the basic QA1s are really good for street.

also, look into leaf spring sliders. Also, some fab work can be done to "toe in" the leafs. There are lots of adjustments that can be made for leafs.

[Jon @ Hotchkis]

Hey Taylor. I will echo what Rodney and Mark have said, leaf springs can be a great suspension component; they are a nice, simple platform, and they can be tuned fairly easily.

You said that the leafs on the car are a 3" drop, I'll assume either Hotchkis or DSE, if so they are already a great starting platform with the design incorporated into them. A nice set of shocks will be a great pairing for them.

Take our Fox Tuned 1.5 shocks (http://www.hotchkis.net/19671969-camaro-firebird-hotchkis-tuned-15-street-performance-series-aluminum-rear-shock.html) for example, they are specifically valved for each application, and thanks to their digressive valving, they ride smooth on the street and grip great at the track.

And by not shelling out more cash for a multi-link setup, you can use the money you saved to upgrade another area of the car.

Let me know if you've got any questions about the springs or shocks, I'd be glad to help. :cheers:

[1966longroof]

As stated above, Leaf Springs are fairly easy to adjust/tune. More importantly....they are very forgiving and great for the novice and/or budget minded. Don't forget Good Bushings and STOCK LENGTH Shackles,

[Rod]

yea not a drag car just wanted to know performance diffrences ,, so i dont think i will be adjusting them often just driven all i want is super good handling ,, what are some good shocks yall could reccomend

Super Good Handling.....that would be both.....okay let me explain, it's simple both suspensions achieve the exact same results, the difference is in how you drive. I drove my car for one year in stock form with non-adjustable KYB shocks, I drove my car for the second year with Hotchkiss performance parts, and I used a QA1 shocks and the car was fast, I switched to the Hotchkis tuned shock and the car was faster then QA1, I was able to drive my car to use top finishing results for nearly a year as a leaf spring car. The key is to use quality components with good company backing, I have personally found that the car and my driving style agree with adjustable shock

[taylor1969camaro]

bad ass i thank u again im going to research qa1 shocks

[mitch_04]

For my own knowledge and not to hijack, but how do you tune leaf spring suspensions? I guess I figured it'd be easier to tune link style suspensions with coilovers. Maybe the correct wording is that link style suspensions have more tuning options, and leaf spring suspensions leave less variables so they would be easier because they are simpler?

[Rod]

For my own knowledge and not to hijack, but how do you tune leaf spring suspensions? I guess I figured it'd be easier to tune link style suspensions with coilovers. Maybe the correct wording is that link style suspensions have more tuning options, and leaf spring suspensions leave less variables so they would be easier because they are simpler?

the first things about leaf springs is ride height the higher the ride height the more the car oversteers, and the lower the car is and it pushes, a bearing in the front eyelet allows the leaf to move(articulate) and creates more traction, stiffer rear shackle bushings reduce body roll, the sway bar needs to be adjustable soft to stiff and ALWAYS you need an adjustable shock to control dampening, you can get more involved and change the leaf spring mounting angles (moving the front eyelet up from stock, change anti squat) hope these few tips help

[ROBS6T8]

the first things about leaf springs is ride height the higher the ride height the more the car oversteers, and the lower the car is and it pushes, a bearing in the front eyelet allows the leaf to move(articulate) and creates more traction, stiffer rear shackle bushings reduce body roll, the sway bar needs to be adjustable soft to stiff and ALWAYS you need an adjustable shock to control dampening, you can get more involved and change the leaf spring mounting angles (moving the front eyelet up from stock, change anti squat) hope these few tips help

Great article in PHR Rod!
I'm very happy with my Hotchkis leafs. I just wish I would have went with the 3" drop. They just came out and there weren't many pics out there. Do you have lowering blocks in the rear? I thought you did. Thanks. And thanks for your insightful contributions to this site! :twothumbs:

[Rod]

Great article in PHR Rod!
I'm very happy with my Hotchkis leafs. I just wish I would have went with the 3" drop. They just came out and there weren't many pics out there. Do you have lowering blocks in the rear? I thought you did. Thanks. And thanks for your insightful contributions to this site! :twothumbs:

THANKS Robert!

I do use lowering blocks on the leafs, a 1 inch block on the car seems to give a pretty good neutral handling point to start with, and then I purchased 2 other sets of blocks (2 inchers) and cut them down on a band saw, one set to 1-1/4inches, and the second set to 1-1/2inches, and I used them to tune for the tracks, I always started with 1inch and about 30% of the time i ended up with the 1-1/4inche block, I did use the 1-1/2inches at one of the Run to the coast events and again at Return to the coast, and at both events the rear sway bar was set at the stiffest setting, at Return to the coast my little leaf spring car was the 4th fastest car there, proof that leafs are FAST

[ROBS6T8]

THANKS Robert!

I do use lowering blocks on the leafs, a 1 inch block on the car seems to give a pretty good neutral handling point to start with, and then I purchased 2 other sets of blocblocms (2 inchers) and cut them down on a band saw, one set to 1-1/4inches, and the second set to 1-1/2inches, and I used them to tune for the tracks, I always started with 1inch and about 30% of the time i ended up with the 1-1/4inche block, I did use the 1-1/2inches at one of the Run to the coast events and again at Return to the coast, and at both events the rear sway bar was set at the stiffest setting, at Return to the coast my little leaf spring car was the 4th fastest car there, proof that leafs are FAST

I'm set then! Thank you for the info. I'll stick with the 1.5 inch drop leafs and use blocks. I have 1.5" blocks now and will play with those. I need to get rid of my afco sway bar and get the Helwig. Some different shocks. Ridetech or the Hotchkis? That is the question. :) I have the single adjustable varishocks up front.

[marolf101x]

We (ridetech) have "OE" smooth body replacement shocks as fixed valve and rebound adjustable. All with a 1,000,001 mile warranty.

[ROBS6T8]

We (ridetech) have "OE" smooth body replacement shocks as fixed valve and rebound adjustable. All with a 1,000,001 mile warranty.

Thanks Britt.
I was going with your 4 link, but after some research, I believe the leafs will be more than sufficient.

[Rod]

I'm set then! Thank you for the info. I'll stick with the 1.5 inch drop leafs and use blocks. I have 1.5" blocks now and will play with those. I need to get rid of my afco sway bar and get the Helwig. Some different shocks. Ridetech or the Hotchkis? That is the question. :) I have the single adjustable varishocks up front.

the Ridetech shocks are the very best you can get, I would recommend the single adjust Ridetechs, I used them on all four corners and the car handled awesome

[ROBS6T8]

the Ridetech shocks are the very best you can get, I would recommend the single adjust Ridetechs, I used them on all four corners and the car handled awesome

Are you talking the HQ series shock?

[Rod]

Are you talking the HQ series shock?

yes, sorry about that....HQ(handling quality) the single adjust shock worked great! I loved them so much I stepped up to the triples now!!

[ROBS6T8]

Ouch! Triples? I'm far from being able to use those... baby steps! :) Looking forward to meeting you at one of these events. Maybe Marina? I'm thinking of going to Buttonwillow for my first testing! I haven't seen any threads regarding people from here going to Buttonwillow in September?