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Author Topic: Spring rates for corner carver/daily driver & new leaf spring advice  (Read 13284 times)

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Offline Pintosopher

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Re: Spring rates for corner carver/daily driver & new leaf spring advice
« Reply #30 on: March 03, 2015, 12:54:52 PM »
I ran both 2.0 and 2.3 engines in my race cars. Stiffer springs will only help on a smooth track. There is a fine line between spring rate and road/track condition. Too much rate and your worse off than stock. Big bars / good shocks / lowered / 7" or 8" wide wheels / GOOD TIRES will give you MORE car than you can drive unless your already a racer or named Dale Jr. All those other mods are just fine tuning and are only necessary AFTER all the other mods are done. Tires will make the biggest improvement of all the things you can do to a Pinto bar none. Stock springs will work just fine for now!!!! And watts linkage? Just ask anyone who has raced a 79/85 Mazda Rx 7 about them. The watts linkage is removed and replaced by a panhard rod as the first mod to a Rx 7 racer. Quite reading all that west coast BS in the so called car magazines. They just want you to do their dirty work and then tell them if those mods really work. And all the mods in the world will not make your Pinto handled like the new breed of cars and still be streetable.
While I agree the Watts Linkage is too much to fab into a Pinto Unibody properly ( mega $ to subframe and Heavy) I have been racing My Pinto in Solo 2 and Hillclimb without any Panhard rod. My car has really stiff rear leafs, and that may be why it works better without the Panhard rod than it did with. My Road racing buddies said to let the rear float enough to take set, you'll find it's more controllable. Of course, they also said if I had light rear springs, I might need that Panhard rod to keep the car from wildly rear steering in Solo 2.
 I prefer that my Hiney tell me how much steering input to try, there are so many other ways to get it to turn on the Street without knocking your fillings out.
 Dick And Steve and others have been there, I'll weigh in on their side unless I stumble on a new law of physics..

 Pintosopher, Bigger bars help but you'll still get plastered at Last Call ;D
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Offline Srt

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Re: Spring rates for corner carver/daily driver & new leaf spring advice
« Reply #31 on: March 04, 2015, 06:23:17 PM »
Bigger bars help but you'll still get plastered at Last Call


ok, now back to our regularly scheduled programming...
the only substitute for cubic inches is BOOST!!!

Offline 82expghost

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Re: Spring rates for corner carver/daily driver & new leaf spring advice
« Reply #32 on: March 07, 2015, 05:48:41 AM »
Everything I'm doing with the leaf springs I'm doing is because I ripped it all out to put a 3.73 LS Explorer 8.8 under it. The Landrums claim they're for lighter weight cars than a stock Pinto going by the specs, you have no issues with them on the street?


I acually never heard they are for lighter cars, and i have no issues with them on the street, the 150s are stiff thoe, you feel it when you hit a bump, thats why i said go lighter, and maybe lighter shocks. But i like my car like that, i love the gokart feel.

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Offline 82expghost

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Re: Spring rates for corner carver/daily driver & new leaf spring advice
« Reply #33 on: March 07, 2015, 05:55:39 AM »
82expghost: How much did the Landrum springs lower your car from stock? Someone in another thread said they dropped it 3"
they lowered it about three inches, the rate is what makes the difference, they get allot stiffer as it compresses more, think thats called progresion rate or somthing? when i put them on, it was sitting lower, but the spring didnt even really start to compress.
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Offline 82expghost

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Re: Spring rates for corner carver/daily driver & new leaf spring advice
« Reply #34 on: March 07, 2015, 06:18:48 AM »
23 turbo weight goes up what i would say significantly, first, all that exrta cast iron 75# give or take, intercooler piping and intercooler (non stock and on front) (40#) and where the extra weight is makes a difference. as for rear ends, i love welded diffs, but i like to get squirely, but for a daily, ls/posi/locker all the way, so you dont anoy those pesky law enforcers
98 taurtus, now in heaven
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Offline Srt

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Re: Spring rates for corner carver/daily driver & new leaf spring advice
« Reply #35 on: March 08, 2015, 04:44:05 AM »
i went to a 'softer' single leaf rear spring simply because the car was getting more street use than any thing else at the time.
 
it was a big improvement over the stock multi leaf spring in that not only was 'steerability' (is that even a word?) under hard braking was so much more predictable because i could 'feel' what the rear of the car was doing. 


I could feel the weight shifting, setting itself and as a result i could use a lot less steering to stay the course (meaning not oversteer into the weeds).


that said, i really do love a car that can be thrown around at will!!!






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