need help with hotchkis leaf springs

[firebirddady69]

so I installed the 2'' lowered leaf springs from hotchkis on 68 camaro and the car only dropped 1/4 inch. should it drop significanty? or does it have to settle in? or did they send me the wrong ones? can someone give me some advice.
thaks
tony

[badazz81z28]

Did you set the car back on the ground BEFORE you tightened the bolts? You need too.

[Rod]

a 1/4 maybe all you get, it depends on how worn out your old leaf springs were, if the old leafs were original? chances are they were sagging almost two inches from stock

loosen all the bolts and bounce the suspension a few times before you tighten the bolts again

[David Pozzi]

I put the 2" on our 68 Camaro and we needed to add a 1" lowering block to get it right. Hotchkis also makes a 3" drop leaf.

[TheBandit]

Leafs tend to settle in the first few hundred miles. I would drive it a bit before you make any changes.

[mrr1999]

I put the 3" drop in my Camaro. I kept everything loose, lowered the car and let it sit for a day. Once tightened, the drop was perfect. They do settle a bit in time, as well.

Also...the amount of drop is relative. It may have only lowered your car 1/4", but that's 1/4" drop from an old spring. Hotchkis is saying it drops 2" compared to a new, stock leaf spring. Maybe call wherever you bought them from and see if they will exchange them if they are really far from where you want the car. If not, a 1" block will do it, as the good Mr. Pozzi noted.

Good luck.

[Hotchkis]

so I installed the 2'' lowered leaf springs from hotchkis on 68 camaro and the car only dropped 1/4 inch. should it drop significanty? or does it have to settle in? or did they send me the wrong ones? can someone give me some advice.
thaks
tony

Firebirddady69 – Do you have pictures of how low your car is? Have they settled at all? Keeping the bushings loose until you put a load on the suspension can help. Our springs are designed to lower the car 2-inches from the stock height. If your car had sagging springs, it’s definitely possible that your car only dropped a ¼”. We took factory ride height from dimensions GM had from 1968 when the cars rolled off the factory line. The great thing is that you can install some lowering blocks if you want your car a little lower.

Here’s a sales brochure shot of a stock Camaro. The manufacturers were notorious for “sandbagging” (sandbags in the cars for extra weight) their cars for press shots because they look cooler when they are lower. This one probably had some bags in the trunk and it still looks high.

[DippedInSauce]

Firebirddady69, just a word to the wise. Use caution when driving with those springs as mine snapped completely in half while driving 35 mph to the gym. Another set had a improperly locator pin and caused damage to my rear panel.

[Smoker03]

Wow, you pullled up a really old thread here. Im guessing you have pics that you can post to substantiate the claim.

[Tom Welch]

Yes, post photos or correspondence with the vendor to substantiate this, otherwise most of us will call bs on you.

[Ron.in.SoCal]

Futher, IMHO you don't need to clutter up other threads all over this site. Just one will do.

I will also say John Hotchkis is one of the coolest dudes in the industry I have met. Never been in your situation so I cannot comment on the design/service issue.