Suspension Setup to Lower Car

[Zombie666]

I have a 68 Chevelle. I've purchased QA1 level 3 handling kit front Andy rear. I also have 2" drop spindles up front. My goal is lower the car to the level shown in the attached photo. The rear Springs are 14" in length and the fronts are (according to the website) are 12.88" uncompressed. I'm sure the spring lengths are designed for stock ride height. I know someone out there knows exactly what front/rear spring lengths I need. At the moment the spring seat is only 1/2" from the bottom of threaded shock body so I can't lower it any further.

thanks in advance for your help.

Perry

[dhutton]

You can’t really compare/specify unloaded spring lengths without knowing the spring rates in pounds per inch.

Sorry if I misunderstood your post.

Don

[Zombie666]

Whoops, my bad. Completely forgot that info. The front coilovers are rated for 450 lbs/in and the rears at rated for 175 lbs/in. If I'm not mistaken the QA1 system puts the ride height in the stock position more or less. I would Locke to lower the car as shown in the photo I attached. My apologies if I failed to ask the question correctly.

Thanks again,
Perry

[dhutton]

Keep in mind that your Coilover shock needs to be roughly centered in its travel at ride height. If you already have springs install them and see where you sit. Then you can adjust the spring rate as needed.

It is a common misconception that coilovers offer a lot of ride height adjustability but that is really not the case because the shock needs to be able to compress or ride quality will suck due to the shock bottoming out.

Don

[UMI Tech]

Perry. Is that your car in the pic?

Do you have the QA1 kit installed yet?

Do you know the P/N of the QA1 kit you purchased?

Do you have a current side view pic of your car?

[Zombie666]

No that's not my car. It's the stance I'm after in mine.

Yes the QA1 system is installed.

HK03-GMA2
https://www.qa1.net/suspension/handl...uspension-kits

I don't have a side shot yet. I don't have wheels yet. But what I've been doing is using a tool called Percy's wheelrite to determine backspacing it does show my overall wheel diameter. Body, doors, front clip and trunk lid are installed no interior yet. So I think my car is loaded pretty well. I have the body sitting on wood blocks being support at the bottom shock mounts both front and rear.

Thanks for the help
Perry

[Zombie666]

I forgot to mention that the wheelrite tool is set for a 19x9 wheel. My goal is 18x9 up front and 20x10 in the rear. You can see the clearance I have between the wheel lip and the small black wire which emulates the tire.

Perry

[dhutton]

Finish the car and then worry about ride height. It will drop quite a bit more when it is completed.

Don

[stab6902]

Finish the car and then worry about ride height. It will drop quite a bit more when it is completed.

Don

Exactly; looks like you're supporting the weight of the front of the car from the spring pockets of the A-arm. The front end will drop substantially when it's actually supported by the wheels due to using the real motion ratio of the front suspension. Think of how much more leverage the weight of the car will have on the spring; it'll be close to double.

[UMI Tech]

I checked out the kit and you're off to a good start I think.

And as mentioned above, final ride height is set when the car is ready to drive. The rear c/o should certainly accommodate. If the front doesn't go low enough you may need to check into a drop spindle.

ramey

[Zombie666]

Ah yes, makes sense. And I do have drop spindles. Thanks for all the help!!

Perry