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Spring difference 82-92

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Old Jul 17, 2023 | 06:49 PM
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Spring difference 82-92

Hey all. Is there a difference in the springs in these cars. Specifically interested in the front springs, I found a set that says they値l fit later year 3rd gens but I知 not sure if there is a difference. I have an 85 trans am and I知 looking to use the springs.
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Old Jul 17, 2023 | 07:55 PM
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Re: Spring difference 82-92

The same springs "fit" all of these cars. Several other kinds of cars as well though I don't know offhand which ones.

"The same" is a whole other matter. There were dozens, if not hundreds, of tiny variations in length, rate, etc. Some not so tiny. AFAIK there are only a handful available in the aftermarket though; maybe 25 or 30, probably less than 50 in any case. But as far as "fit", yes, they all "fit" the same.
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Old Jul 17, 2023 | 10:40 PM
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Re: Spring difference 82-92

Originally Posted by sofakingdom
But as far as "fit", yes, they all "fit" the same.
Gotcha, was just curious as to why the springs I was looking at said 88-92. I didn稚 think there was much of a difference but we値l find out
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Old Jul 17, 2023 | 11:23 PM
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Re: Spring difference 82-92

Posts 1583 and 1584,
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/ltx-...ml#post6404837
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Old Jul 19, 2023 | 12:26 AM
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Re: Spring difference 82-92

Originally Posted by Jayson_305
Hey all. Is there a difference in the springs in these cars. Specifically interested in the front springs, I found a set that says they値l fit later year 3rd gens but I知 not sure if there is a difference. I have an 85 trans am and I知 looking to use the springs.
"Found..." Depending what that means things could be dramatically different, new, used, factory springs, aftermarket springs, AC Delco and Moog springs sort of qualify somewhere in between...

Without getting much deeper into that, not knowing what you're looking at, early cars had the same spring codes as later cars, from the factory but they sat distinctly higher, the springs sat higher. Kind of irrelevant now since 40y/o springs will be in all sorts of different states of sagging at this point, many sit close to as low as aftermarket lowering springs, and then you have some odd sets that still seem to sit as high as they did from the get-go, it's random at this point. Moog lists their springs for specific applications but they never offered as many options as the factory used and they all tend to sit high. Some AC delco springs translate to the Moog springs. In either case, you end up approximating and trimming the springs to what you need, and for some reason, a lot of Moog PNs are in very limited supply or not available at all. I just spent a bunch of time going through them for another project and I was more limited by what was available. Aftermarket springs are their own beast, they'll list "X lower than stock" but who knows what they're measuring from different manufacturers all have different ideas about what is a good stance. Your best bet there is trying to find pictures of cars with them installed.
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