ANOTHER REAR SPRING QUESTION

[BandBSTANGS 15]

Rob, who has been my guidance and solver of problems fdound some information on the BOSS 302 REGISTRY about rear springs and ride heights.

the article mentions that a/m spring suppliers (SCOTT DRAKE) sells one size fits all mustangs and when measured the springs have in excess of 7 inchs spring arch vs a #42-441 spring (Boss 302 replacement) has a 51/2 inch arch. (D0ZZ-5560-C)

Amazing, that is just about how much too high my car sits with Scott Drake 4.5 leaf mid-eye springs.

Can anyone verify this and if this is the truth save eveybody from wasting their money on springs from suppliers that don't have a clue what their lowering springs actually do.

In defense of Scott Drake I did buy these from Summit, but they are listed as Scott Drake 4.5 mid eye LOWERING springs

[RPM 1,190]

With the plethora of threads on many websites complaining of this problem, I believe it 100%. I took this pic from a 65 GT350 which shows a pretty darn straight leaf, which is unlike any aftermarket leaf I've bought or seen.

 

 

 

 

[1969_Mach1 333]

There are other members here that had that same issue with Scott Drake leaf springs, ride height too tall. Like others they are clearly not very application specific.  I haven't had any ride height issues with my Grab-A-Trak 5 leaf mid-eye springs. 

 

Those Scott Drake springs set the ride height too tall.  But keep in mind you cannot use the old sagging original springs as a reference.

[BandBSTANGS 15]

I need to solve spring/ride height issue sothat I can get my drag radials under car and properly roll 1/4 wheel lips prior to paint

[Spider69 16]

I changed for Grab-a-Trck 4 and 1/2 and the car is at the perfect hight

[MikeStang 247]

Running 4.5 leaf reverse Eyes and mine is Perfect... Got them from (John) at  Opentracker Racing

[barnett468 418]

.

you can see if there is a place near you that can re-arc them.

[cavboy78 28]

MikeStang,

 

For reference, could you post a pic of your ride height with those leaf springs? I have 5 leaf mid-eyes and they are higher than I wanted, but i bought them years ago from CJ Pony or Mustang Depot, etc... I have since learned that there is more too it than simply number of leafs and the eye location. I was thinking of going through John for a set and installing this winter.

[MikeStang 247]

here ya go

[MikeStang 247]

Rear tires are 275/40/18s

Front tires are 255/40/18's

[BandBSTANGS 15]

After I installed the mid-eye 4.5 leaf springs from Scott Drake and the car went up a little over a inch, I carried my original springs to a local spring shop and asked them to re-arch the springs, added a 1/2 leaf to assist with wheel hop and to drop rear of the car 1.5 inches. Put the re-arched springs under the car and now the 1/4 is 3 inches higher over tire than original..

I'm at the point that I'm going to take a leaf out of the Scott Drake springs and see what happens. The new springs are 175 lb and has the rear to stiff.

So unless I can find a spring that works with out modification....here we go.

[MustangBobby 28]

Mike, you should post more pics of your ride.  That is nice looking.

[cavboy78 28]

Thanks MikeStang! You have about the same ride height I have in front, but you are lower in the back.  I even have lowering blocks on mine and they still sit higher than yours.  Looks like i just added another item to the winter to-do.  Great looking car BTW.

[RPM 1,190]

.

you can see if there is a place near you that can re-arc them.

 

This would be at the top end of my list.

[1969_Mach1 333]

You may have to call the Scot Drake springs a loss and try a different brand.  I would explain the issues you had with the Scott Drake springs to whoever you are buying from and be certain they will accept returns or exchanges if you are not happy with the final ride height.

 

The ride height cannot fairly be compared to that with 46 year old worn out stock springs.  Originally these cars had a fairly tall ride height.  But 46 year old leaf springs that were typically soft to provide a smooth ride to begin with are almost always very worn out giving the car a ride height much lower than stock when it was new.

[MikeStang 247]

^{Be sure that you have Greased the rubber or Poly bushings very well, and before you tighten them up put the car on the ground with the weight of the vehicle on the springs and bounce that puppy up and down a bit, maybe even take it for a slow ride around the block with the bolts a little loose, then bring it back and with the car still on the ground tighten up the shackles and front bolt.}

^{My springs actually took a few thousand miles to come all the way down to where they are now and they are pretty damn low.}

^{I can scoot up under the rear of my car and my chest hits the gas tank before I get to the rear end and Im a small kinda guy and forget about getting under the car from the side with it on the ground.}

^{My front end has Coils from OpenTracker Racing also with about 1 full coil cut off of it.}

^{If I put 17" tires and wheels on the rear I would need to cut even more off of the springs to level it out.}

^{As it sits now its almost perfect.}

^{Thanks for the compliments guys.}

[MikeStang 247]

I had a mis print, my Front Tires are 17's and rears are 18's

[1969_Mach1 333]

+1 with what MikeStang said.  If you are using rubber bushings on the leaf spring eyes they should be tightened with the car on the ground and at its normal ride height. 

[BandBSTANGS 15]

I've got absolutely nothing to lose at this point with the Scott Drake springs so I've decided to remove a leaf from springs. Spring rate is 175Lb and is a little stiff. My question is do I remove the next to bottom spring or the next to top spring? I would like to drop rear of car approx 1 - 11/2 inches and soften the back of car to hopefully help weight transfer.

 

Any suggestions?

[BandBSTANGS 15]

t car looks like with oem springs re-arched (the wrong way, they were supposed to be lowering them)

[MikeStang 247]

Wow looks 4 wheel driveish HAHA.

Did you grease the bushings and tighten the bolts after the car was on the ground?

[Rsmach1 71]

Well if you're gonna keep those springs I see lowering blocks in your future.

[BandBSTANGS 15]

Well one good thing about the 4wd look, the drag radial fit with no rub. Different story when the car gets down where I want it.

 

I refuse to add lowering blocks, I'll keep dicking with the springs until something works. The springs on the car in the pictures are the originals that were re-arched the wrong way.

 

I'm going to start changing the Scott Drake springs around to try to get ride height correct, which means that the 1/4's have got to be rolled as 8 inch magnums have too much offset to outside and tires will rub 1/4 wheel lip in the center. If the rims additional inch had been to the inside the wheels would have been perfect  (sigh)

[MikeStang 247]

^{Just order some springs from John at Opentracker Racing and be done with it....screw all that swapping around shit}

[BandBSTANGS 15]

Mike, what was that credit card # again????