I am redoing the horribly soft suspension on my 86 sport coupe... and i wonder why v6 springs are more expensive than v8 springs... but thats not the point... I found springs from napa, they have a 421lbs spring rates... but i found it while searching for v6 models...

http://www.napaonline.com/masterpage...Spring+-+Front

will these springs make my car sit higher in the front? I dont know for sure, but the free height is 14.63, opposed to the 15 something on the v8 springs, i just wanna know if i could use these without my car looking like its accelerating all the time... i am gonna use Koni GR-2 shocks and struts, they affordable...
and i also got some sway bars from a 94 Z28 with an LT1, i belive these will help handling...
Thanks for the help...

 

That 421lbs spring rate sounds right for a V6 spring. V8 springs are like 750 I think. If your front springs are really soft and worn out like you said, then yes it will raise the ride height a little. If your worried about that "accelerating" look, just replace the back springs at the same time so the car keeps its same stance.

Koni GR-2? I think you mean KYB GR-2.

Those swaybars you got won't fit your 86 SC. I believe the 4th gens use a slightly different shape for their swaybars... so... they wont help the handling at all.

 

V8's have various rates. Spring rates can be found in the following link:

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/susp...a-springs.html

JamesC

 

yeah kyb... my mistake... yeah im doing the suspension all around... because i think the springs are still the factory ones... and the shocks... well lets just say my car floats... how much would poly bushings help handling? because im thinking about getting the whole set... thanks for the info by the way...

 

If it's floating, I'd suggest, struts/shocks along with new springs first, then see what you think.

JamesC

 

JamesC, know anybody who tried the Vogtland springs from Hotpart? Didn't mean to hijack, I'll start a new thread!

 

that is the current plan. i already ordered the shocks and struts... next check will be springs... front and rear... i figured while i was down the replace the bushings... a master kit cost around 140 bucks... and it will improve the handling a bit...

 

Often the master kit will contain pieces you won't need. Should you wish to start slowly, I'd suggest sway bar bushings (greaseable), end links, a trans mount, and since you're planning on springs, a-arm bushings. After that, go wild. Check my Car Details, if you wish, for what I did.

JamesC

 

I agree with James about the master kit. Just go through the car and see what needs to be replaced. I would reccomend getting some high quality ball joints and tie rod ends while you are at it. Polyurathane will stiffen the car. Poly in the sway bars will affect the feel of the car a good deal.

A word of caution about polyurathane in the rear lower control arms-

In the LCAs, the polyurathane can create bind in hard cornering. This bind is caused by the LCAs not being able to work as they are designed to. As the rear suspension is designed, the rear of the car moves over the rear axle (imagine the axle as fixed and the body as mobile). When the car enters the turn, the body tries to move to the outside of the turn due to momentum, while the axle tries to remain in place (you hope). Now, if taken from a helicopter view, this motion must have some affects on the suspension linkages. The most appearent is in the LCAs. As the body moves over the axle, the LCAs are put into stress. The factory bushings allowed for this by flexxing and allowing the energy of the movement to absorbed and dissapated easily. Polyurathane is stiffer than the rubber, and doesn't allow this disapation so nicely. They can cause the bind I mentioned and snap back into their original postion. I've had this happen to me on several occasions, and it's interesting to say the least.

 

yeah i heard about that... so greaseable sway bar bushings... good call joints and the rod ends... i an pretty sure i will be happy with it... thanks for the help...

 

 

The 421 lb. spring rate corresponds to Moog part no. 5606.

If you can determine the Moog part number for the springs you want, go comparison shopping here:

www.frugalmechanic.com

You might be able to save a few bucks and use them to help pay for your speeding ticket. I just ordered a pair of Moog 5660's (598 lb. spring rate) for $54.21 with free shipping. Summit sells the same springs for $64.39 plus S&H.

My research reveals that GM has used the same configuration for front coil springs with various spring rates on a wide range of vehicles for several decades. What may be considered as heavy duty or high performance springs for an F-body may be stock replacements for a full size wagon or pickup truck.

Cheers!