hello,

I had a group of questions concerning springs for my 84Z.

I plan to upgrade my springs with linerar rate springs all the way around, seeing as thats what stock springs are. I have found some from a stock car racing site and can get most any thing I desire from length to pig tails to spring rates. A set might cost me about 100$ but ill know for sure once i find out what ill get.

my question is this, I would like to lower the the car 1 inch on all 4 corners with these new springs. Do i need to change the spring rates from stock to stiffer (say add 50lbs or so) or can they remain the same rates with similar ride and handle characteristics to stock.

i would not like progressive rate springs, the car didnt come with them, and i feel that they wouldnt be as good.

ps. I also planning on getting the 36/24 sway bars or spohn sway set, lca relocation brackets, adj panhard, and bilstein HD's

 

Ideally youll change more than just springs when you lower the car because all of your suspension geometry will change. So to get the same ride quality you would need to use the same rate springs and all the necessary parts to get the geometry right. With just changing springs you would never get the exact ride you had before.

 

Even though your car did not come with linear springs from the get go you do not want them if you are performance minded. Progressive springs will out perform any linear spring during "spirited" driving. You do not want the same spring force cornering at 10mph as you do 90mph do you? If you want a 1" drop I would look at the Eibach Pro Kit, BMR, or hotchkis springs. They all advertise around a 1" drop. All other kits go lower. You get whay you pay for for engine and suspension parts.

 

i do know other things need to be changed when lowering my car, thats why i mentioned the adj panhard ro and lca relocation brakets.
Are there other things i need to change, fix, tweak if im only lowering the car 1 inch?

If getting a spring 1 inch shorter and having the same spring rates as stock is the same as cutting the stock spring 1 inch, what advantages/disadvantages would i have with adding spring rate to the spring.

my guess is better handling, rougher ride. would adding 50lbs rate be noticable, would 100lbs?

my guess so far is that ill replace the rear springs with 5"x11" springs with 125lb or 150lb spring rates, for the front ill use 650lb or 700lb spring rates on a 1" short spring(i still need to get the front spring dimensions, oops)

i haven't looked too hard at progressive rate springs because the way it seems to me is that the spring is soft and gets harder the more compressed it gets, that to me translates into slop, why when im driving spirited would i want any soft spring at all.
i like the stock springs but want a small improvement, that improvement being 1" lower and a ever so slight stifening of the spring rates, i am asking if this can be done

forgive my persistance, i want the best solution, and i want to explore linear springs first.

 

Yes you will need both. Cutting your stock springs will not yeild the same rates as any new or aftermarket spring. Numbers cannot be determined without testing when cutting. A few searches should tell you the srings rates and drop for every spring out there for our cars.