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dennis68
12-04-2004, 04:17 PM
Hey, I just got done installing some new front coils and adjusters. I wound up with 750lbs Tru-coils and 5.5" adjusters. Holy *****, what a difference. I went from "I could keep up with the late model stocker F bodies" to "WOW, where are the Vipers". No signs of push at all, still running without a sta-bar, but it feels good anyways. Anybody contemplating front suspension on an A or F body needs to think about looking at AFCO, Speedway or Landrum. The springs are pretty inexpensive if you want more or less rate and height is easily adjustable.

Q ship
12-04-2004, 06:17 PM
Denny, where did you get the adjusters? I saw Carl C's site with pics of his Landrums, but they don't list them on their website. Any problems with the install? And finally, how much were the springs? Thanks!

dennis68
12-04-2004, 07:08 PM
Speedway and AFCO both sell them. I paid 150ish for a pair of springs and adjusters. HERE (http://www.jackazzmotorsports.com/images/springs_001.jpg) is a pic of what UPS dropped off.

yody
12-04-2004, 08:32 PM
how does it ride? like a cement truck? How hard is it to adjust the height? Do you think a roll bar on the front will help? with such high rates you might not need much of one

gmachinz
12-04-2004, 08:47 PM
A word of caution about Landrum springs (leafs). I have heard nothing but bad news regarding Landrum leafs for Camaros among 2nd gens. They break and bend under HARD accelaration-and, they lose their spring rate quickly if the car sees a lot of track time causing one side to sag. When I did the Calvert Racing GP a couple months back, a lot of guys were switching to John Calverts split leaf and slide-a-link design. I have yet to hear a complaint from anybody using John's suspension pieces. -Jabin

dennis68
12-04-2004, 10:32 PM
Thanks for the heads up Jabin, these are coils though.

Yodi, it rides very nice. I was totally prepared for the locomotive harshness, not at all. In fact it rides better than before because it stays off the snubbers, firm instead of harsh. I think I will still play with a sta-bar, a small one just to see if it adds anything.

Ride height adjustment is very easy, just break the lower ball joint loose and lower the arm enough to remove tension from the spring. Then stick your hands up in the upper seat and make the nesessary adjustment. I would guess a rookie could do it in 30 minutes, takes me about 10. Funny thing is with the added rate I wound having to run the adjusters all the way down just to keep it the same height it was before. If I needed it any lower I would have to cut the top seat of the adjuster.

79T/Aman
12-05-2004, 07:25 AM
HALLELUJIAH ! finally more people finding out that heavy front springs don't cause your car to ride like a "cement truck", suspenssion 101, front springs= control and the rear = comfort or ride quality.

dennis68
12-05-2004, 08:05 AM
You know, I actually wonder if I couldn't use a little more fornt spring. It works very well but still has some roll if I push it, or maybe I should try to dial it in with a sta-bar. Any thoughts?


BTW, all driving analysis is done on my local freeway on/off ramps-no actual track yet.

Q ship
12-05-2004, 08:51 AM
Denny, with the 9.5" spring being at the end of the adjusters limits you could get 8" long springs from Landrum (http://www.landrumspring.com/pages/coil.html) if your adjusters give you enough travel. Then you could also experiment with differant rates. As 79 T/Aman says, the rear spring rate has more affect on the ride. Thanks for posting about these Denny, something else I don't have the money for right now!! :nopity:

Norm Peterson
12-05-2004, 09:25 AM
I'd probably tune from here with sta-bars for a daily driver, though I'd still first run through the numbers for front and rear ride frequencies and find where the flat ride speed is. If it's too much lower than where normal driving, or any intended possible driving happens to be, you may well benefit from a little more front spring (or a little less rear spring). Flip-flop the above if the flat ride speed is way beyond anything you'd ever be able to average.

What you're trying to eliminate is a 'pitchy' ride. If the car simply rises and falls as you go over normal smooth heaves in the road, you're in pretty good shape frequency-wise. But if the front and rear suspensions seem to be working opposite to one another (and your head always seems to be moving front to back as well as up and down), there's too much pitch. Better shocks will reduce this, but the more thoughtful approach is to not demand pitch damping of the sprung mass from the shocks. Let the frequencies push the pitchiness away from your normal driving speeds instead.

PM or e-mail me if you'd like me to toss this problem at Version 1.6 of a spreadsheet that I've put together (with a little input from and several reviews by Jim Wurth).

Norm

79T/Aman
12-05-2004, 11:19 AM
Hey Dennis,I have 780# springs on my 79 t/a ride great but that pontiac is a bit heavyer than a sbc, I have a 1 1/4" front bar w/heim joints and it turns flat as can be and I'm still running 15" tires

zbugger
12-05-2004, 11:38 AM
Dennis, do you still have the stock bar? If you do, run that. That will tell you where you have to go. It's also gonna tell you where you have to go with the rear. I still gotta find a way to get a ride...... Hmmm...... I should go get some Jelly Belly's......

dennis68
12-05-2004, 01:12 PM
Can't run a stock bar now. Going to have to run a speedway style bar. The steering linkage is in the way of the OE ends. That's why I don't have one anymore. I took the rear one off too so as not to induce a bunch of oversteer.

I have an extra 1 1/4 sta-bar now with new poly bushings....maybe I'll put in the classifieds.