I could see coilovers in the front if the stock leaves are shot.
Why? The car is so light do we really need a stiffer shock?
curtissb posted:More information is needed to answer any question about spring rates and shocks. The stock spring rates front and rear are 100#. I race my car and have 200# in front and 250# in the rear. It actually still rides well enough to drive on the street. There are a million different combinations for the suspension. You have to decide what you are going to use the car for first, then start tweaking the suspension.
@curtissb thanks. Good start.
IaM-Ray posted:Why? The car is so light do we really need a stiffer shock?
Coilovers are not synonymous with stiffer shocks. They will give you a higher spring rate though. Ride quality is based on both spring rate and shock valving with respect to axle loading and suspension type and geometry. Plus tire sidewall height and pressure.
WOLFGANG posted:I could see coil overs with adjustable shocks (like Koni or Bilstein) - especially if you have oversize wheels/tires.
You first. The shock towers look pretty flimsy to me.
Coil-overs work right when they are the only spring in the system-- otherwise, they would be more correctly deemed "helper springs".
No, I like my spring rate as is. Not gonna happen. Just discussing the "whys" of it all.
The shock towers look pretty flimsy to me. The picture was only an example of the older Koni adjustables. (New ones appear to be yellow now). It looks like the adjusting collar and sleeve are steel by the rust. Seems most of the new ones are alloy. I like the idea that you can adjust the stiffness from comfort to aggressive. They do get pricey.
WOLFGANG posted:The shock towers look pretty flimsy to me. The picture was only an example of the older Koni adjustables. (New ones appear to be yellow now). It looks like the adjusting collar and sleeve are steel by the rust. Seems most of the new ones are alloy. I like the idea that you can adjust the stiffness from comfort to aggressive. They do get pricey.
I've got the Koni adjustable shocks on my car-- but I was talking about setting up the car with a beam and true coil-over suspension.
In that case, the torsion leaves would be removed and replaced with something that allows the control arms to float. The spring over the shock ("coil over") would be attached at the control arm on the bottom (plenty strong), and the shock tower at the top. Since the entire car is held up by those attachment points in a true coil-over suspension, I was pointing out that the stock towers are pretty flimsy for the job.
Greg, Stan was talking about the beam. The front beam shock towers were never designed to carry the weight of the car.
Nevermind. Edited, Stan got to it firstest.
You could remove that center beam grub hex bolts or adjuster bolts and let the torsion leaves to float. I don't think the shock towers are strong to support the total weight of car - like Danny pointed out.
I had a '72 VW bus (T-4 engine) that I put air shocks on in the back - that thing could haul a of firewood with them pumped up.