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Here is one we havent discussed in a while! My CMC has been lowered pretty aggressively in the rear. This was done before I purchased the car. I'm currently the stock spring plates.

Considering upgrading (?) To adjustable spring plates for my swing axle. I see prices range from $99.00 (empi) clear up past $400.00 (Sway'a-way / CB).

Anything i should know before considering this upgrade(?)?

Is it an upgrade? Any brands to avoid?

Ted

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Short answer- no it's not an upgrade. Why-

Adjustable spring plates were originally built for the offroad crowd and are way heavier (quite literally!) than need be for a street car. And once you adjust them you'll probably never look at them again, so why bother a- spending the extra money and b- carrying around the extra weight for the rest of your days? You'll also find that when you eventually widen the rear rims 1" (to the inside) for wider tires that the inner sidewalls will clear everywhere but the adjuster blocks.

Save your money, Ted, and when we meet you'll buy the first 1/2 dozen... Al

PS- How's the 5 speed install going? (oh, I just kill myself sometimes!!!)

Last edited by ALB
ALB posted:
Terry Nuckels posted:

Tony is installing the Swayaway's on Penny this week along with new Bilsteins.

 

Save your money on the spring plates, Terry. What are you going to do- change the ride height every weekend?

Al, I like to have the ability to change the ride height depending on the type of driving I'm doing or whether I have a right seater. The other little niggle is that I can't dial in my rear end perfectly - one side is always a bit off. 

Btw...when is your speedster going to be up and running? I think it's time to start a new thread with a wager as to who will be first - you or Greg. 

I guess I have a little different opinion than Al, I think they are nice to have.   I bought the Appletree Automotive set for about 100 bucks and am pleased with the quality.  

You can play with the torsion bars and adjust as close as possible, however after driving and settling there is always a little tweaking that you will want to do.  I have made fine adjustments on my torsion bars three times (good thing I have usable torsion bar holes!), but I still use the adjustable spring plates for final fine tuning.  I agree, once you get it where you want, you will probably never adjust again.  But I like fiddling with stuff and it’s one more way I have to make adjustments!   Lol. 

James

Terry Nuckels posted:
ALB posted:
Terry Nuckels posted:

Tony is installing the Swayaway's on Penny this week along with new Bilsteins.

 

Save your money on the spring plates, Terry. What are you going to do- change the ride height every weekend?

Al, I like to have the ability to change the ride height depending on the type of driving I'm doing or whether I have a right seater. The other little niggle is that I can't dial in my rear end perfectly - one side is always a bit off. 

Btw...when is your speedster going to be up and running? I think it's time to start a new thread with a wager as to who will be first - you or Greg. 

It's your wallet on that side that is causing you an issue. 

Last edited by IaM-Ray

If he buys the Sway-Aways, he won't have the wallet problem........  

When setting up the rear torsion bars on my Spyder, I would remove the shocks and pull the axels/housings from the arms and measure from the center of the bolt hole on the shock tower to the top of the arm while lifting the arm by hand removing the slack.....   The measurement I wound up with that worked for me was 11 3/4 in.           The car had adjustable plates, but after centering the screws and adjusting the ride height as above, I never touched them again....   My .02

Last edited by LeonChupp

Since getting my car on the road in 2000, I have adjusted the rear height exactly three times:  Originally when built, when it ended up a bit high and I later saw photos of other people's cars which were somewhat lower.   Next time in 2004 when it seemed a bit low (I went whole hog on resetting it and the tires were rubbing on the inside of the body when hitting rolling bumps).   The last time a few years back when I installed new torsion bar bushings.  Other than those times, I never look at the height, I just drive it.  It's probably a consistent 1/4" - 1/2" low, but so what?  Makes it look like the white, East Coast version of MUSBJIM's car, so I just drive it, and watch out for dips.

My 2 sense.......the spring plates are for  that tuning of the rear suspension ride height. Just like fine tuning the carbs or improving the drivability by installing a 5 speed......  i noticed several cars over the years with different rear ride heights. This gives one a chance to correct that along with adjusting corner weight.....but that's another subject 

the empi spring plates are junk. I found the bosses from left side to right welded slightly in different locations.  Again it's like building a high performance motor and buying olive oil for lubrication........

Last edited by Anthony

Sway Aways are in. Tony had to bore out the faux torsion bar caps on the body to get the old spring plates out. New Bilsteins on all four corners - the shocks in front were totally dead. Front end lowered, rear end lowered and evened out. Penny is a lean, mean badass machine! Handles much better. All wheel alignment next week.

Robert M posted:

Have you made a decision about which set you're buying Ted?

I have not. I'm waiting to see pictures of Terry's install.  Plus then I'd need to commit to leaving the car 'down' for a while.  Not sure I'm ready, yet.

Terry - what was the issue with removing the old spring plates? What year is your car? I'm wondering if you have the 'long' collar version?  Now I'm nervous about trying to swap mine out. 

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