[cobalt327]

This is probably all well known to you already, but in case someone else isn't aware, Eaton makes a material for using between the leaves, shown being used HERE:



Skyjacker makes teflon replacement leaf spring wear pads.

Along w/clean, smooth spring surfaces and smooth-acting spring mounts and/or shackles along w/the removal of a leaf should help to tame the ride some, if the OEM parts were going to be reused.

[OLNOLAN]

"I can find a hundred men to tell me an idea won't work. What I want are men who will make it work." Herbert Dow, founder of the Dow Chemical Co.

Hats off to ya'll, Now we're cooking with gas!

I'm starting to get a better feeling about this now, the input is giving me alot of food for thought.

The corner load/spring rate multiplier figures were very eye opening. If I'm understanding it correctly,from one end of the scale to the other for example on a 2000# front end, 1000# corner load would equate to a 26#-230# spring rate. The rear weight of 1365#/682# corner load would equate to a 18#-157# spring rate.

Based on weight, the middle of the sports car range would equate to 184# front and 126# rear spring rates. I think I'm getting it. So my spring choice is going to be more of an educated guess than a shot in the dark. Plus I can talk shop with the man at Eaton to see how he feels and what he can build for me.

Thanks by the tons for getting me started, its really hard to find folks who will take the time to discuss it.

This discussion may resume after I find out what Eaton can do.

Many Thanks, Nolan

[OLNOLAN]

Mark, I may have the liners done with the new springs. The reading on Eaton's site is pretty interesting regarding the liners, slip pads, grease, etc.

For example, back in the day, I used to grease between the leaves or shoot oil in every crack and crevis to make my old '58 ride smooth and squeak free.
(along with concrete blocks in the bed) What I didn't know then, was the oil and grease will break down chrome carbon steel!

According to Eaton, you can tell if a big leaf spring truck has had a long term power steering leak by noticing a sagging front end on the same side as the power steering pump!

Do you remember when the trick of the week was disassembling the leaves, packing with grease, reassembling and wrapping with wide electrical tape to waterproof? Haa Nolan

[BillyShope]

Originally Posted by OLNOLAN

...for example on a 2000# front end, 1000# corner load would equate to a 26#-230# spring rate. The rear weight of 1365#/682# corner load would equate to a 18#-157# spring rate.

One more time: This is wheel rate, not spring rate.

You're talking a range which spans almost an order of magnitude. This is meaningless. If you want a vehicle which rides like a luxury car, you can't start with a beam front axle. The compromises I described resulted in the introduction of independent front and rear suspensions.
http://www.racetec.cc/shope

[cobalt327]

Originally Posted by OLNOLAN

What I didn't know then, was the oil and grease will break down chrome carbon steel! According to Eaton, you can tell if a big leaf spring truck has had a long term power steering leak by noticing a sagging front end on the same side as the power steering pump!

I honestly did not know about the carbon steel/oil thing- thanks for that!

Do you remember when the trick of the week was disassembling the leaves, packing with grease, reassembling and wrapping with wide electrical tape to waterproof? Haa Nolan

The only "trick" I used on leaf springs was to add spring clamps to the front of each leaf to stiffen that forward section when drag racing. My old A-body was coil-sprung...

Anyway, good luck and I will follow along w/interest.

[BillyShope]

A couple more comments that come to mind:

Some of the autocross cars have wheel rates over 600 pounds per inch! The tire has a rate of approximately 1000 pounds per inch, so these cars are essentially oversized karts.

Before the ground effects cars were banned from Trans Am racing, it's my understanding that the constructors were considering simply doing away with the suspension springs.

We've all driven karts, at one time or another, and we didn't miss the suspension on a smooth kart track. But, driving or riding on city streets is another matter! I remember, back in the fifties, getting a ride into work with another Chrysler engineer. His car was an Elva http://www.elva.com/elva-history.html. Appreciated the way it handled, but my tailbone was glad to reach the parking lot!
http://www.racetec.cc/shope

[OneMoreTime]

Rule of thumb the smoother the track the stiffer the spring..If the car is too stiff then it will "pogo" and get loose in the chatter boards or rough portions of the track. main thing to understand is that the spring rates and shock valving is a variable component in setting up the car..Of course we now have cars with computer contolled active suspensions that adjust on the fly to road conditions going from soft ride to stiff when excessive body lean or roll is detected. Back in the day we carried several sets of springs and used the rebuildable/revalvable shocks to try and find the happy spot for the particular car and driver on a particular track.

Sam

[THERACER]

This is getting interesting for sure, great info here !!!!