Front coil recommendations?
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Front coil recommendations?
Posted: April 02 2008 01:03 PM
 
TOM CASTER (aka 50pickup) [ View ] [ tomcaster@hotmail.com ] [ Car Ads ] [ Blogs ]
POTTERVILLE, Michigan
 
I'm planning to lower my ride at least 3". it has a 73 Chevelle/Monte subframe with all original parts. Looks like stock ride height. I will be installing 2" drop spindles and 1" lowering coils or maybe adjustable QA-1 coil overs. It will get all new bushings & ball joints of course. Does anyone have recommendations or warnings for QA-1 products. Thanks
 
 
Comments
 
Posted by dixie  -  04/02/2008 04:23 PM
SOUNDS LIKE U HAVE IT PRETTY WELL LAYED OUT, I RUN QA-1 ON THE REAR NO PROBLEM GOOD LUCK.


DIXIE---- CRUSIN IN THE SUNSHIE STATE OF PARADISE FL.
jim grace [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] dade city, Florida Charter Member since January 2006
 
Posted by 50pickup  -  04/03/2008 08:50 AM
Gee, I thought there would be more opinions out there on this. The local rodders say just cut the big old GM coils down, but with my mech. design background, that just rubs me the wrong way. Others say don't waste your money on QA-1, too expensive. Would the ride be much different with shorter Eibach springs and my existing (newer) gas shocks, compared to QA-1s? I like the height adjustability available on the QA-1 coil-overs.Thanks
50pickup [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] POTTERVILLE, Michigan
 
Posted by ol bear  -  04/03/2008 09:04 AM
I THINK WHAT YOU REALLY NEED TO LOOK AT IS CONTROL ARM TRAVEL AND DECIDE IF YOUR GOING HAVE A COIL BIND PROBLEM ,, TAKE A SMALL TIE WRAP AND PUT IT ON THE SHOCK SHAFT,NEXT TO THE BODY OF THE SHOCK ,,DRIVE THE CAR AS U WOULD NORMALLY AND SEE JUST HOW MUCH IT HAS MOVED , KEEP IN MIND BAD ROADS TOO ,, ALWAYS LEAVE ENOUGH ROOM FOR ERROR ,, LOWERING THE CAR WITH SPINDLES -2 IS OK , WHEN U GET INTO SHORTER SPRINGS U MAY HAVE AN ISSUE ,,,,,,,,,, LES , AKA OL BEAR ,,,, QA1 IS A TOP FLIGHT PRODUCT ,, CONSULT WITH THEM ON SPRING RATES 1ST ..
OL BEAR [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] crown point, Indiana
 
Posted by Crazyhorse Rod Shop  -  04/03/2008 10:11 AM
this is a common problem with a cut and butt clip. ends up high. the dropped spindles will help but also lower your scub line. cutting coils is stupid advice. it ruins the ride by making the spring stiffer. qa1 bought carrea some years back. it is your best bet on lowering it but you can only go so far before you mess up the geometry .if you do another truck use the camaro/nova clip. it lowers the truck and you do not have to change anything so the ride and drive is much better and the geometry is maintained .
dont poke the porchdog........he bites [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] BLUFF DALE, Texas Charter Member since March 2003
 
Posted by ol bear  -  04/03/2008 12:21 PM
no call waiting in bluffdale ,texas,,,,,,,,,,,, les aka ol bear
OL BEAR [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] crown point, Indiana
 
Posted by 50pickup  -  04/03/2008 12:36 PM
Well, my scrub line is about 11", so I got a ways to go! Chevelle subframe wasn't & wouldn't be my choice. TOO HEAVY! It was in the truck when I bought it. Odd thing is, the newer frame rails are dropped a couple inches below the old rails, creating a step that raises the whole truck! At least I've got a flat floor without a trans tunnel! If I had my druthers (& money) I'd put a whole new TCI or FatMan rolling frame under it!!!! The lower control arms hang down at a pretty good angle now, so I could drop it with lower springs, a reasonable 1"-2"amount without screwing up the steering & handling. This was told me by a GM Engineer/rod builder, who is also an NSRA Safety Inspector, who crawled all over it.

So I'm going with the QA1 C/Os & the drop spindles, etc.
50pickup [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] POTTERVILLE, Michigan
 
Posted by Crazyhorse Rod Shop  -  04/03/2008 12:40 PM
like i need to know one phone parasite is waiting while i get rid of another i dont even answer most times if it says private or unknown. they drive me nuts crawling from under a car , run to the phone and hear " can i speak to the owner or who handles health insurance "............. they get a dial tone.
dont poke the porchdog........he bites [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] BLUFF DALE, Texas Charter Member since March 2003
 
Posted by Crazyhorse Rod Shop  -  04/03/2008 12:42 PM
scub line is the lowest point of suspension . usually the lower ball joint. the qa1 shocks are your best choice.
dont poke the porchdog........he bites [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] BLUFF DALE, Texas Charter Member since March 2003
 
Posted by 50pickup  -  04/03/2008 01:43 PM
Ohhhhh! I'm runnin 215R70x15 radial tires so I got some wiggle room I think. I'll get the tape measure out & check! Would save a lot of money if I could do it safely without the spindles!

What is a minimum safe scrub line height????

Say Shine this truck came from around your neighborhood (Dallas area) so it's no rust & low mileage. But I think it was red back then!
50pickup [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] POTTERVILLE, Michigan
 
Posted by aosborn  -  04/04/2008 10:31 AM
The scrub line is the point(s) on the underside of the car that would touch the ground if you were to take the tires off the wheels, put the wheels on the vehicle and set it down on the ground. That can be anywhere on the chassis, exhaust, trailing arm mounts, etc. Having parts below the scrub line is a safety issue as well as a ticketable offense in some areas. Lowering your car with any method can move parts below the scrub line. Drop spindles are the best way to lower a car if the suspension was installed too high because it doesn't change the angle of the control arms. Trimming the coils to lower only an additional inch will not be a problem, and will generally improve the camber curve of the front end by pulling the tire into more negative camber on compression which is what you want for improved handling. You will not get coil bind, max out your ball joint angles, or run out of shock travel doing what you are planning.
aosborn [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Olympia, Washington
 
Posted by Crazyhorse Rod Shop  -  04/04/2008 07:46 AM
cutting coils is never the answer unless you dont care how it rides. removing one coil destroys the spring.
dont poke the porchdog........he bites [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] BLUFF DALE, Texas Charter Member since March 2003
 
Posted by 50pickup  -  04/04/2008 08:19 AM
My scrub line is 7 5/8" as is. What is considered the minimum dimension??


I agree w/Shine, of course! The tight wrap at the end of a coil spring is there to distribute the loads smoothly across the spring, Those loads or reactions move around as the A arms cycle up & down. When you cut off an inch or more, you're bearing on the loose end of the coil and have created a POINT LOAD which is not good for the spring or the suspension or the ride & handling. Besides that full wrap is needed to keep the spring in place. I hope that made sense!?
50pickup [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] POTTERVILLE, Michigan
 
Posted by Crazyhorse Rod Shop  -  04/04/2008 08:26 AM
i dont like to play with scrub line myself. the lower ball joint is always my concern. basicly when you have a flat tire everything needs to clear. spring rate are figured by the thickness of the coil and the length. you start cutting and you screw up the way it works. thick short spring will ride like a buggy. do your qa1 shocks and dropped spindles and you will be fine.
dont poke the porchdog........he bites [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] BLUFF DALE, Texas Charter Member since March 2003
 
Posted by aosborn  -  04/04/2008 10:54 AM
When you are lowering a car you need to do two things concerning the spring rate. Increase it proportionally to keep the car from bottoming out hard since you have reduced the travel distance on bump or compression, and control the spring occilliations more accurately because of the reduced travel and the stiffer springs. That is one of the best arguments regarding the use of drop spindles, they don't reduce suspension travel. Yes, cutting a spring does increase its stiffness, and that is usually a good thing. Cutting one coil, or enough to lower the car one inch will increse the stiffness maybe 5%, I doubt you will notice it. When the spring is installed with no load it does only contact at one point in the spring pocket, but when the car is sitting on the ground, look up in there and the spring is fully seated, and unless you are jumping the car and your rebound bump stop is missing those springs will never move, if they do move they are too short and the spring design needs to be recalculated. Yes, cutting too much off the springs and you are in trouble. To answer 50 pickup's question, your scrub height is the distance from the lower edge of the wheel rim to the ground. It is typically a different dimension front and rear because of different tire heights. Like any other system on a motor vehicle, there is no modification to one part that doesn't affect other parts, you have to think of these things as a whole package, not just a bunch of parts hung onto a frame.
aosborn [ View ] [ Email ] [ Blogs ] [ Car Ads ] Olympia, Washington
 
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