Fiberglass leaf springs

[bronco9588]

I have a 73 charger and need to replace the leafs. Anybody recommend or not recommend composite leaf springs.

[Stoga]

Unless you have some sort of specific performance plan, wouldn't it be cheaper and more authentic to just use standard steel springs?

[ehostler]

Not a lot of information to go from. What are you planning on doing with the car? Fair weather driver, daily driver, street/strip, strip only, circle track?

[bronco9588]

street/strip

Im looking at caltracs and they appear to boost your 0 to 60 feet acceleration times. Also lightens the car a good 50 to 70 pounds.

[john briggs]

hypercoils have been making "glass" springs for over 5 years now and they work well in the dirt track world. They have multiple rates. I have seen some of the ends brake off after some pretty extream track conditions and crashes though...
Im not sure that going lighter on the rear end stuff for a drag car is the right thing to do...thats weight in the right spot.

Lighten the front end up and leave the steel springs where they are

[cudabob496]

Caltrac had a mono-leaf break once.
The guy that created Caltracs told me he didn't recommend them for the street.
If you use a monoleaf, and it breaks, you and your car will self destruct on the road. It would be catastrophic! Totally out of control, flipping over, etc.
ESPO makes a great spring. I just put their HD leafs on. In fact, I have a brand new pair that are 2 inches over stock height for tire clearance for my 72 Cuda, that I will sell at a good price. They cost me almost $400. I ended up going with the stock height ones.

PS Fiberglass can chip, crack, and even break if not cared for properly. That, and the result of a monoleaf breaking kept me from going that route.

[valiant64]

Espo or MP SS springs. Alot of people had complaints about the SS springs, but I've been running them in my 3,900 lb street car for several months now, & have had no problem with them sagging or otherwise. Traction is much better than with the stock springs I replaced, though.

[rr6pak]

Personally, I wouldn't use them. Composite will break, especially if you plan on using them for drag racing. I'd stick with good 'ol stuff.

[ehostler]

For a street/strip vehicle, I would go with ESPO for the springs and the the Competition Engineering Slide-A-Link.

[cudabob496]

Originally Posted by ehostler

For a street/strip vehicle, I would go with ESPO for the springs and the the Competition Engineering Slide-A-Link.

Doesn't look like they make slide a link for E bodies?

[ehostler]

You may have to send them an email. I thought they were going to begin making different lengths for the different MOPARs.

[DJM]

Ever thought of just adding a leaf. Cheap and effective. That is all that is done here:

[dave5711]

Originally Posted by bronco9588

street/strip

Im looking at caltracs and they appear to boost your 0 to 60 feet acceleration times. Also lightens the car a good 50 to 70 pounds.

I'm running the caltrac mono's on my car(with the bar setup). I don't think they are composite??? but whatever. They work well, and were reasonably priced.

Car is street and strip driven.

[ehostler]

And yet Calvert Racing does not recommend them for street use. I'm pretty sure that they are not street legal either.

[dave5711]

I don't know what the criteria for an illegal leaf spring would be, but mono leafs are used on many factory applications.

GMC safari vans had composite monoleafs for many years.

Do what you want, but lots of guys run them on the street, without issue.

If we are going to get all preachy about safety, none of these old cars should be on the road. In a crash, they are Too heavy, too ridged(no crumple zones), no airbags, lap belts, inadequate brakes and suspension, with excessive power, and limited traction. Might as well squish them all I guess.

[DJM]

Originally Posted by dave5711

If we are going to get all preachy about safety, none of these old cars should be on the road. In a crash, they are Too heavy, too ridged(no crumple zones), no airbags, lap belts, inadequate brakes and suspension, with excessive power, and limited traction. Might as well squish them all I guess.

I would much rather be in one of these old heavy cars in a crash than in the tin boxes they have now.
You want to hear limited traction take some of these newer idea thard high milage large diameter with no side wall tires out on ice or snow and you will see what no traction is like. They have 0 to none with no side wall give to them.

[ehostler]

Hmmm... My truck weighs a lot more than my '69 Coronet. It also has no crumple zones. IT has excessive power as well. In a crash, the new car will loose, as all of its crumple zones do just that.

I simply pointed out that Calvert Racing does not recommend them for street use and that they may not be street legal. You were the one that climbed up on your soap box and started getting all preachy.

[Zach H]

I have been a car guy for a little while and I have seen all kinds of light weight and high performance parts. This is the first I have ever heard of such an animal as composit or fyberglass leaf springs. Does any body know what the weight difference would be? Or price difference? Does it improve axle wrap or traction issues?

[Ray Bell]

Didn't early Camaros have them?

Or were they just monoleaf spring steel?

[JVMopar]

'67 camaro's had mono leafs but were steel. All other years has multi leaf springs as far as I know. Corvettes and chev lumina cars had fiberglass springs along with the astro vans. I have seen broken leaves on all of these.


E- your '06 truck does have crumple zones. The frame is designed to collapse in a hard impact plus the bumpers, brackets, body panels are all designed to work together to slow the vehicle down. Everything that bends, deforms, or breaks absorbs energy to slow the vehicle down. This wasn't a concern 40 years ago.

[cudabob496]

Originally Posted by ehostler

Hmmm... My truck weighs a lot more than my '69 Coronet. It also has no crumple zones. IT has excessive power as well. In a crash, the new car will loose, as all of its crumple zones do just that.

I simply pointed out that Calvert Racing does not recommend them for street use and that they may not be street legal. You were the one that climbed up on your soap box and started getting all preachy.

May not be street legal because if one leaf breaks, you are DEAD!!
Not so with a multi-leaf spring. Unless each leaf gets an X-ray to detect flaws in the metal casting, you don't know if you are riding a time bomb! At least at the track, you got all the safety requirements you have to follow! Like I said, one Caltrac monoleaf was known to have broken about 3 or 4 years ago.

[dave5711]

Originally Posted by ehostler

Hmmm... My truck weighs a lot more than my '69 Coronet. It also has no crumple zones. IT has excessive power as well. In a crash, the new car will loose, as all of its crumple zones do just that.

I simply pointed out that Calvert Racing does not recommend them for street use and that they may not be street legal. You were the one that climbed up on your soap box and started getting all preachy.

You are right. It was late when I read the post, and my reply was a tad harsh. Sorry

I get a little pissy when people start talking about some of the racier parts making the cars unsafe, and I thought that was where that was going.

As said, plastic mono leaf springs are legal on factory stuff, so I don't see how the calverts wouldn't be legal, OR safe. At least as safe as factory stuff.


As for the old cars being unsafe compared to new ones, in real life they are. Accept it. Crash tests and safety standards prove it beyond any reasonable doubt. That said, driving in general is an unsafe thing too, so don't worry about it.

[ehostler]

Don't sweat it. It got a little defensive as well.

I do not believe that Calvert Racing has submitted to DOT, to get their seal of approval. Just like Wilwood hasn't submitted their disc brakes. That would be the real difference between street legal and not street legal.

[cudabob496]

Originally Posted by ehostler

Don't sweat it. It got a little defensive as well.

I do not believe that Calvert Racing has submitted to DOT, to get their seal of approval. Just like Wilwood hasn't submitted their disc brakes. That would be the real difference between street legal and not street legal.

Wilwoods aren't street legal? Thats a joke. Probably many many thousands of cars riding around with them.

[djswwg]

i've called comp engineering and no, they don't make an E-body slide-a-link............djs

[ehostler]

Originally Posted by cudabob496

Wilwoods aren't street legal? Thats a joke. Probably many many thousands of cars riding around with them.

Just because many people run them on the street does not make them street legal. The last time that I looked at the Wilwood website, they clearly stated 'for off-road use only'. In other words, not street legal. Yep, they are safer than the drum brakes; however, if they have not applied to DOT, they are not street legal.

They now have a mix of off-road and street legal.

[HankL]

There used to be a custom builder of fiberglass leaf springs in South Carolina, I think the Ram pickup MPG improvement FAQ has a link to his old website.

Volkswagen put out a research paper a few years ago about titanium springs, seems like it had coil, torsion bar and (maybe) leaf spring sections.

You can build leaf springs out of titanium or carbon fiber.

Keeping one leaf of the spring steel with its 'eyes'
and substituting titanium or aluminum for the remainder of the leaves
would be simple enough that a local metals shop could easily do it

Steel below a certain stress level has an
'infinite fatigue life'
and should not develop cracks even after a long life
which is why it is used in springs

If you are willing to replace the springs every so many years
you can use the other low density materials
... including (don't laugh)
wood.... the natural 'composite' material

[cudabob496]

Originally Posted by HankL

There used to be a custom builder of fiberglass leaf springs in South Carolina, I think the Ram pickup MPG improvement FAQ has a link to his old website.

Volkswagen put out a research paper a few years ago about titanium springs, seems like it had coil, torsion bar and (maybe) leaf spring sections.

You can build leaf springs out of titanium or carbon fiber.

Keeping one leaf of the spring steel with its 'eyes'
and substituting titanium or aluminum for the remainder of the leaves
would be simple enough that a local metals shop could easily do it

Steel below a certain stress level has an
'infinite fatigue life'
and should not develop cracks even after a long life
which is why it is used in springs

If you are willing to replace the springs every so many years
you can use the other low density materials
... including (don't laugh)
wood.... the natural 'composite' material

The spruce goose Mopar!
Wouldn't titanium be awfully expensive?