Modification of Leaf Springs

[68Formula]

Few years ago I had some leafs built for my first gen f-body. They are five leafs and a little stiffer than I'd like. Also they haven"t settled much so the rear sits about 1 inch higher than the front. I'd like to take a little stiffness out and lower the rear slightly at the same time.

I"ve heard that having a leaf that is biased towards the front gives a better ride while acting as a traction aid. Will cutting the rear-most section off of a leaf help with my goals? Where would I cut it?

Or should I just remove one leaf, and which one? Thanks.

[dhardison]

In the past I've removed the lower leaf (short one) from a 5-pack multi leaf. While it did improve ride quality, it made spring wrap much worse (i.e . excessive wheel hop). In my opinion your choices are:

1) Have your current leafs de-arched. This will not do anything to improve ride quality or traction, but will give you the look you desire.

2) Purchase lowering leaf springs from a company like DSE, Hotchkis, etc. This will reduce ride height and at least on my car they reduced wheel hop. My Hotchkis leafs seriously reduced ride quality, but not everyone has experienced that effect.

3) Purchase replacement leafs from a company like ESPO (http://www.espo.com). I've purchased leafs spring kits from this company in the past. They have excellent customer service, the quality of their springs are very good and they can make custom height leafs for your desired ride height. Their web site leave a lot to be desired, so you're better off calling.

HTH,
Dan