constant rate or variable rate springs Which ones you chose and why or why not? So far all I know is variable rate is $10 more........... These would be for the rear of my wagon. Which I often forget there is 30ft of car behind me and take turns so fast, I gotta toss open the door n stick my knee out so I don't roll over Id like to stiffen that up, a rough ride is no big deal ,cars that handle, ride like gokarts going across a freshly plowed corn field.
Variable Rate on mine. I drive mostly empty which for a 2,775 lb car is more like a tank in a rock mine. But when I hook up the trailer, I need just a bit more stiffness, for the 300 lbs of tongue weight.
i always prefer variable rate springs. the basic concept is the more you compress it the stiffer it gets. so if you corner hard you should get less roll. I like it for rough roads. You are less likely to bottom out. You do give up ride quality though.
Still haven't bought any, was hoping to find a deal. If I had 85+ electra you can get them for $25 on ebay. Right now rockauto.com is the cheapest for about $75 shipped Only thing I question is if variable weight would even work. The springs are small height wise on the wagon. If you don't count the first 2 small coils that hook intot he spring cups, I only have 5 coils not that far apart. It only sags about a 1in to low on the left rear. [Had a blown shock for to long on that side.] Doesn't look like enough room for a vairable coil to even work right in such a small space.
The variable rate springs will be shorter than the standard spring. The variable rate spring will have 2 or 3 TIGHT coils and then 2 0r 3 standard coils. The logic is that for normal driving, the standard coil is picking up the load and transferring. Then on a deep or sharp bump the tight coil will react faster and then transfer that energy to the rest of the spring. For the wagon, see if you can get variables with a taller profile, as to not lower the car. You might have to use a coil spring compressor to get them in. But once the weight of the car is on the spring, there will be no issue. Here is a set for 53$ with free shipping. HTH, Dave http://www.autopartsexpress.com/searchitem.epc?lookfor=CC623
Ended up getting some of these for the front, I don't have the cash to rebuild the whole front end as once apart it would be foolish to put back 30yr old parts just to change two springs but Im also tired of having to be careful on bumps n dips at speed. Was gonna just get two shock but these ended up being a cheaper route and had no idea they even sold them for the front. $64 for 2 was a good deal. http://www.autozone.com/autozone/pa...entifier=281196_77458_7413_&_requestid=626519 New ride and comfort is amazing. I am now just gonna get a set for the rear and skip changing those springs too.
Wish I would have known that. I bought a new set of variable rate springs for my 90 6000 wagon back in the day, to keep it from sagging. Didn't work.
This thread seems to have skipped a year:16suspect1:. The right rear of my wagon was saggin' and I put air lift 1000 helpers in the rear springs. The ride is a little stiff, but it made a ridiculous difference in handling, and no sag with the back full of kids and groceries:2_thumbs_up_-_anima Just make sure you put separate fills for the two bags so you can compensate more for the sagging spring, and be very careful filling them, they fill very quickly.
The rear springs took a back seat to the front end that was bottoming out on me, first I thought it was cause of lower profile tires [205/70s over stock 225/75s], then soon found both shocks were blown out. Still went back to stock tires all around though. Those new shocks for the front came with coil springs on them to help restore comfort n ride height were a deal to good to pass and ended up better then just putting shocks on it. Im thinking Ill use those for the rear too.
Here the info they give on the front and rear sets. Features & Benefits The Front & Rear Spring Assist (Load Carrier) by Gabriel® combine shock and spring technology to reduce the loss of ride height in ongoing loaded conditions. The constant-rate front coil springs can help improve stability and restore or maintain ride height, while the variable-rate rear coil springs provide 500 lbs. per pair of load capacity. And like all Gabriel shocks and struts, Front & Rear Spring Assist feature a super-finished chromed piston rod for superior corrosion resistance and a leak-proof piston seal which extends product life. Front load carriers combines shock and spring technology Constant-rate front coil springs can help improve stability and restore or maintain ride height Variable-rate rear coil springs provide 500 lbs. per pair of load capacity [Not to exceed Vehicle GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating). product does not increase payload] An economical solution for heavier duty use
I'm glad for some positive feedback on the coil-overs. I have been toying with the idea of putting these on the back of my Century http://catalog.monroe.com/catalogPart/monroePartSearchFromECatalog.do?partKey=357890&partNumber=58427&catalogKey=383&methodName=initialiseMonroe&catalogCode=monroe&locale=EN&loadStatus=ACTIVE And replacing the springs with these http://www.airbagit.com/product-p/baga-110.htm That SHOULD give me a slightly more forgiving ride than I have now. I would put a sway bar on the rear at the same time in order to preserve my cornering ability. I'm hoping to find a salvage part that I can make work. Can't be THAT hard, right?
We used a set of the coil over helper springs on my Mom's 72 Dodge Dart when the leaf springs sagged. They worked a treat. There is one concern, though, if you carry a LOT of weight regularly. The shock mounts can weaken, and eventually snap. We were warned about this on the Dart when it was only 3 years old. As for the wagon, I've had both kinds of heavy duty springs. The variable rates do sag more when you first load the vehicle. They also ride softer than the heavy duty single rates. Both work well. For the handling in the corners, I would give thought to adding the heavy duty front and rear anti-sway bars from the "Handling Package" that was available on the sedans and coupes. I had an 84 Delta 88 2-door with that package, and the hefty bars front and back made a HUGE difference to the handling. The other thing to think of is the tires. A 235/75 has a LOT of sidewall, 176.25 mm. You could do a plus one conversion and go to a 235/65R16, which has a sidewall height of 152.75, and run them at the max pressure on the tire. That, combined with the anti-sway bars should fix the cornering really nicely with virtually no adverse affect on the ride.
My LCA's have holes for a rear sway bar, but been told that the body mount type is better, a rear sway bar off a 3rd gen camaro/firebird looks like it would be easily modded but haven't gotten into that yet. shock mounts on a Buick could hold up a tank, shock would break first.
