Which Leaf Spring to use?

[prayers1 153]

I Just changed gears in the rear and felt it was a good time to replace the original Leafs and air shocks.  A local guy near me is a Mustang distributor and had a set of Scott Drake C5ZZ-5560 HD 5 leaf standard eye springs.  I bolted it all up and left all bolts loose to relax the suspension, I also placed an all steel 3 1/2 ton floor jack in the trunk to see if anything would settle by the next day.

 

Well, for my liking it's too tall, tire height is 26, the left side from floor to wheel lip is 28 1/4" and the right 28 5/8"s.

I'd like to get it at 27 1/2.

 

I thought the C5ZZ-5560 HD 5 leaf standard eye spring would be perfect, it advertizes stock ride height with a little stiffness.  The stiffness is what I want, because of the wide 295/50 tires.

 

Here are some other options:

C5ZZ-5560 RE, 5 Leaf Reverse eye, lowers 2" from stock height

C5ZZ-5560 HPME, 5 Leaf Mid-eye, Lowers 1" from stock height

 

Or will the C5ZZ-5560 HD 5 leaf standard eye settle more or not?????

 

What is standard ride height????

 

Thanks guys!

 

[Rsmach1 71]

Usually takes at least a week for springs to settle, and that's with regular driving. You can always adjust your ride height with lowering blocks with those springs. I'm guessing you are trying to avoid tire rub with those 295s so don't go too low. No real way to tell which spring will settle more, every spring is different.

[BandBSTANGS 15]

I bought the Scott Drake mid-eye 4 !/2 leaf spring and it Raised my rear by almost a inch. We never take into consideration ageing and sag in springs. I would go reverse eye and my are definitely stiff enough..

[BandBSTANGS 15]

My tires are 245 60 15

[prayers1 153]

BandBStangs- Do you recall what your starting point was. How far above the tire did it raise.

 

Mine is approx. 2 1/2" from height of tire.

[BandBSTANGS 15]

This is what my lt side measured with stock springs. My ride height from side to side was off about same height amount as yours with rt side sitting higher.

I'm trying to get my 1/4 lip approx. 1/2 inch above tire.

[det0326 179]

prayers 

 

I know you probably don't want to use lowering blocks but you are about within an inch of where you want to be . So if you put a set of lowering blocks

under it at least you have some adjustment when the new springs settle.  Just my 2 cents.

[prayers1 153]

The measurements are w/o the floor jack in the trunk, with it in the trunk it only lowered it a 1/2"

 

Some of you guys must know by now, how much do they settle?

 

Summit has a set of C5ZZ-5560 HPME, 5 Leaf Mid-eye for $98.96 each plus addition $8 shipping.

 

Should get the 1" lowing or use a 1" lowering block and hope they settle another 1/2"????

[1969_Mach1 333]

I don't drive my car much.  But the 5 leaf mid-eye springs from Mustangs Plus did not settle much.  At least I cannot say I ever noticed a difference.  Several years ago I read an article from a spring manufacturer that mentioned properly sized springs should only settle 1/2" in their lifetime.  Eyeball judging from old pictures of these cars when new, they were fairly high, so the ride height you have now is close to original.

 

After you obtain the ride height you want maybe fabricate some bump stops to limit suspension compression so you won't have to worry the tires might rub once in a while with only 1-1/2 inches of clearance.  You never know, maybe you'll hit a pot hole on the highway.  If they rub hard enough the car might get out of control.  Not to mention the damage to the quarter panel.

[BuckeyeDemon 211]

consider removing the shocks from the lower mounts  and bouncing the car up and down in the back.  you might find the springs may not be protecting your car from the tire rub by very much at all, even with the higher rate.

[prayers1 153]

I have already with the shocks off  bounced the car to the point until it was like bouncing a basketball.

I have not bottomed out while doing the same.

 

I'm at a spot that I don't want much time to pass, a few folks say drive a while, if I do then it might be too late to return them. The guy I bought them from is 5 miles away so its a fast and easy return.

 

I can get a get of Mid-eyes from Summit in a few days.

 

I see I have 2 choices, re-arch them or Mid-eyes.  I don't have any experience of this situation, so I looking for some help.

 

The car now looks like a 4x4, I'm waiting for the front coils to settle, which I can live with, but 2 1/2" above the rear tire is a little high.

Thanks!

[Opentracker 4]

I would go with the mid eye leafs. I haven't had a set of leafs settle a huge amount. I don't think your going to get a full inch drop from where you are now just by driving the car for a while.

[prayers1 153]

Here's what it looks like.

 

[prayers1 153]

Can 1" lowering blocks be used with traction bars?

 

Here's a front view

[Opentracker 4]

You can but having the rear end housing spaced an inch away from the leaf springs gives the torque leverage to stretch, bend or break the U-bolts. The lowering blocks can crack as well. If you try the lowering blocks, keep an eye on them and don't do any hard burnouts. The lowering blocks would be a good way to test if the mid eye leafs will work for you. 

[prayers1 153]

John, do you think the Mid Eyes will work. I noticed on the other forum you thought not because of tire width.

Now with a front view you can see that it doesn't stick out.

[1969_Mach1 333]

I have 5 leaf mid-eye springs on mine.  I started with 5 leaf standard eye springs.  In my case, both springs were from Mustangs Plus and the same manufacturer.  Based only on my experience the mid-eye spring will put your tire too close to the quarter panel lip.

[prayers1 153]

1969_Mach1  What dia. tire do you have and how many inches away is the lip from the tire.

[1969_Mach1 333]

prayers1,  I measured for the first time, believe it or not,  My tires are on the original Chrome Styled Steel Wheels my car came with.  Anyway, the tire O.D is slightly under 26", about 25-7/8", I think the spec is 25.9", and from floor to apex of quarter panel lip is 26-3/4" on the passenger side and 27" on the drivers side.  That measurement is with about 1/8 tank of fuel, no spare tire in the trunk, and the battery is still in the stock location under the hood.  These springs are the Grab-A-Trak springs that Mustangs Plus sells.  These have been on the car for a long time, 15 years.  But I rarely drive the car, and its just around town.  It may have seen 300 miles in that time.  Yeah, I'm the type that enjoys working on them more than driving them. 

[Opentracker 4]

I think the mid eye spring will hold the fender lip above the tire but driving the car over just a medium sized bump, the tire would hit the fender lip. With a full tank of gas and someone in the back seat, it would be worse. Sorry to say but the ride height you have now isn't safe from tire rub. With some weight in the car, the car could easily have tire rub.

 

 

If the fender lip hasn't been rolled, it would cut the tire, not just rub it.

 

It looks kinda cool the way it sits. I like it but it's your car and your the one that has to be happy walking up to it.

[1969_Mach1 333]

I agree with Opentracker on this one.  I think to safety obtain his fat tire look, at least mini tubs should be installed then he can get the tire inside the lip of the quarter panel far enough to easily clear it.  I'm sure that's an expensive venture.

[Opentracker 4]

I put 275's on the back of our 68 Ranchero without any mods, not even rolling the fender lip. The wheel I used on the Ranchero had 5 1/4" of backspacing on a 8" wheel.  Your tire should fit in the wheel well with the right backspacing.

 

How much room do you have between the inside of the tire and the leaf spring?

[Rsmach1 71]

X2 with Opentracker, any lower and you will have rubbing issues, and your car looks awesome as is IMHO. A side note, loose the traction bars and get some caltracs, they work much better.

[prayers1 153]

The battery is in the front and I have NO rear passengers.

 

I have 3/4" from the leaf spring to tire with 15x10's 5.5bs.  I haven't tried them yet, but the 275's are on 15x8 with 4.5bs, that tire is almost an inch taller than the 295's.

 

My height is approx 28 1/2" with a full tank of gas.  So, if this the stock height measured on my vehicle, then shouldn't the mid-eyes that are an 1" lower than stock put my height at 27 1/2".

 

I use to have air shocks set at 27", I got minimum if any tire rub, only over bumpy terrains.

[1969_Mach1 333]

Keep in mind the 1" drop for the mid-eye is not an exact number.  Mine looked to drop more than 1" when installing the mid-eye springs.  It may be like your front spring issue was and you have to make an educated guess, try what you think will work and see if you get the results your seeking.  Its definitely your choice.  If I wanted a fat tire under my car I would select something a little smaller and not worry about tire rubbing.  I wouldn't want to have to replace new tires or fix body damage because of tire rub.