MikeStang 247 Report post Posted February 22, 2018 Good evening Gents. Have a few questions with regard to ride quality with relation to rear leafs, shocks, tire selection and ride height. My car had reverse eye leafs and was to low and rode a lil to rough for my taste so i added 1" longer shackles and saw no real height increase. I decided to swap to a 4.5 leaf mid eye spring to raise it more and it helped to the tune of right at an inch, however the ride is still bone jaring on these Louisiana roads. I currently have 275/40/18 Rear tires, Rancho adjustable rear shocks set to soft, cal tracs and my axle is about 2" from the frame bumpers. I know the 40 series sidewalls aint helping but the only other size 275 i can get is either a 55 or 60 and not sure if a 60 will fit. Consequently my best friends car is set up identical to mine but his ride height isnt as low, he has Koni rear shocks and runs a 285/35/17 and his car rides much smoother than mine. Literally my car feels like a damn log truck and its beating me and the car to pieces in short order... Any suggestions? Cal tracs have been adjusted every which way and dont affect ride quality Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jpfll 11 Report post Posted February 22, 2018 I’m not familiar with the Rancho adjustable shocks, but I can tell you that i recently swapped out KYB GR-2 shocks for Bilstiens and the ride went from harsh and busy to more pliant and planted. I thinks shocks have the greatest affect on ride quality over springs or tires. I’m running a 5 leaf spring with 275/40-17’s. Not sure if the cal tracks have any affect on ride. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
barnett468 418 Report post Posted February 22, 2018 what is the rear spring rate? it will always ride like a truck with your tires, just need to live with it or get smaller diameter rims and at least 60 series tires. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BuckeyeDemon 211 Report post Posted February 22, 2018 what length rancho shocks? or more important, at ride height, how much shock travel is available? are the shocks bottoming out? or is the suspension bottoming out? 1 DocWok reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikeStang 247 Report post Posted February 22, 2018 Barnett like I said my best friend runs a 285/35/17 and his ride is MUCH more pleasant than mine is but i know a larger sidewall will help some. Buckeye, I was wondering about the shock length also..there is about 1.5"-2" of compression left in the shocks if I recall from last time i looked which dont seem like enough to me personally but i was told that with the angle in which tgey are mounted that should be enough...Thoughts? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikeStang 247 Report post Posted February 22, 2018 And im not sure on the spring rate barnett, i just called John at Opentracker and told him I wanted 4.5 leaf mid eye springs for street performance Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SM69Mach 68 Report post Posted February 22, 2018 I switched my shocks to bilstein shocks and it made a huge difference. I am running 285/35/18 in the rear and with no spring change, just a shock change it was night and day. I am fairly low as well, but have not measured how much room I have to the bump stop. I can do that this weekend. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
barnett468 418 Report post Posted February 22, 2018 3 hours ago, MikeStang said: And im not sure on the spring rate barnett, i just called John at Opentracker and told him I wanted 4.5 leaf mid eye springs for street performance just arbitrarily installing unknown spring rates is not ideal. since you don't know the spring rate, nobody can help you with possibly suggesting a different spring rate and stiff springs also contribute to harsh rides. anything over around 135 lbs is going to feel noticeably stiffer and the stock rate on a non boss small block car is far less than that. since your friend is using the same springs as you, the first simplest thing to do would be to buy the same shocks he has. if it still rides too harsh then swap wheels with him and see what that does. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikeStang 247 Report post Posted February 22, 2018 Well I need new rear tires anyhow and found some 275/55/18 Michellins Locally at NTB for 165 each which imho is a great deal so im gonna have some more sidewall now to help out, Shocks will be next i think if tires dont help Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
barnett468 418 Report post Posted February 22, 2018 6 minutes ago, MikeStang said: Well I need new rear tires anyhow and found some 275/55/18 Michellins Locally at NTB for 165 each which imho is a great deal so im gonna have some more sidewall now to help out, Shocks will be next i think if tires dont help those are massive tires and it will look like a truck and they will likely hit the inner wheel wells under some conditions. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikeStang 247 Report post Posted February 22, 2018 Yeah its a pretty big tire but i have a narrow rear end and aftermarket rims and the car kinda swallows the 275/40/18s I currently have on it.. Guy at tire shop said they will mount them and if I dont like them we can try something else or put my old ones back on. Hey at least maybe it will raise the ass end of the car up a bit Haha Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
barnett468 418 Report post Posted February 22, 2018 6 minutes ago, MikeStang said: Yeah its a pretty big tire but i have a narrow rear end and aftermarket rims and the car kinda swallows the 275/40/18s I currently have on it.. Guy at tire shop said they will mount them and if I dont like them we can try something else or put my old ones back on. Hey at least maybe it will raise the ass end of the car up a bit Haha lol, well yeah, in that case you don't have anything to loose. just don't forget to check if it is your suspension bottoming that is causing the problem instead as someone mentioned. post before and after photos too if you want . we all like photos, lol. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikeStang 247 Report post Posted February 22, 2018 Will do bud..May get me a cheepo set of shocks to measure some lengths just to see if my Ranchos are longer than stock. Heres how she sits now 1 bigal2330 reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
barnett468 418 Report post Posted February 23, 2018 wow, that is very cool. i like it! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BuckeyeDemon 211 Report post Posted February 23, 2018 if you have 1.5 to 2" of compression left in the shocks, then that should be more then enough (to the point the axle should hit the bumpstops before the shocks become the limit. I believe I had original type replacements springs that were around 138 lbs/in. I didn't think they were stiff at all. Personally I think the shock has a bigger impact on ride quality than the springs do (I had ran Koni Classics, Calvert (heard they are rebranded rancho's) and alston double adjustables on the same spring... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
copb8 97 Report post Posted February 23, 2018 Sweet looking car! 1 RPM reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Johns Summer of 69 14 Report post Posted February 23, 2018 I have 18s on my car now (previous owner put them on) and it looks great, but it can be rough when the roads are not new and smooth. Also my wife's car is a Kia Soul with 18s (factory upgrade) and its the same ride with much newer suspension technology. I believe there's not enough tire to absorb the bumps in the road. When these tires wear out, I plan on going to a 17 inch wheel. I know its not going to be a world of difference, but it will help. Also you get what you pay for in the shocks you purchase. Just my 2 cents... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rangerdoc 22 Report post Posted February 23, 2018 I'm running the Scott Drake version mid-eye leafs (whatever they really are) and coilovers up front. I have 69 specific street valved Bilstiens from StreetorTrack. By far the the shocks made the greatest difference. Went from KYB gas-adjust (too harsh), GR2 (comfy but vague and too bouncy). Love it with the current setup. I''m running taller tires than you, but even they didn't help with the KYBs. FWIW, I've tried various springs and shock combos on my '08 and '11 mustang as well. I found the shocks/struts to make the biggest difference vs the springs (as far as comfort goes). It isn't a coincidence I have Bilstiens on my '08 Bullitt. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikeStang 247 Report post Posted February 23, 2018 Well they rolled the 275/5518s out next to the car and i knew they were a no go LOL. Think i may consider some 17" rear rims for better tire selection Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
barnett468 418 Report post Posted February 24, 2018 2 hours ago, MikeStang said: Well they rolled the 275/5518s out next to the car and i knew they were a no go LOL. Think i may consider some 17" rear rims for better tire selection thats kinda what i figured but you could cut your wheel wells to get them in there, lol. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grabber70Mach 107 Report post Posted February 26, 2018 Hey Mike good to see you around again. What ever happen to those springs we talked about a while back? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikeStang 247 Report post Posted February 26, 2018 Hey Grabber, you want those 4.5 leaf reverse eye springs?> They are laying out by my buddies shop in Lake Charles, I can box them up and send to you but they are heavy as hell and not sure what shipping would be on them. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikeStang 247 Report post Posted February 26, 2018 Made the Race Armada Tx Poker Run again this weekend without incident or problems, but man those Texas roads are getting as bad as the Louisiana Roads are LOL. Got to lay some hate down on a new Charger as well as a 68 Camaro.. I was actually quite surprised the Charger didn't put up more of a fight since it was the scat pack set up or some such non-sense and we went from about a 60 Roll.. He was with me on the jump but soon as the Ol Stang hit 6k and shifted from 3rd to 4th it looked like he slammed on the brakes LOL. 1 RPM reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
