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#1
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Lowering the rear on a B-Body?
I just put new wheels and tires on my '72 Charger, and they don't seem to fill out the wheelwells properly. The rear tires are 255-45/17s, and have an overall height of about 26", which I thought was the stock height. I know part of the problem is that there are adjustable shackles on the rear, but the holes that are currently being used on the shackles are only about 1.5" different from the stock-height holes, and I don't know if going back to the stock holes will lower the car down over the wheels enough.
I know that you can have leaf springs de-arched, but does that adversely affect the handling or the life of the springs? Scott Gardner |
#2
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Just a little heat
across the main leaf about midpoint between the rear shackle and the next leaf with a wet rag by the bushings should do the trick.Car on level and tape measure from the bumper to the floor to even it up.
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#3
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A de arched spring will create a handling problem as well as those 17' wheels. Good article about not using them in Car and Driver. The bigger wheels add unsprung weight ( soemthing a 42 to 4500 lb Charger does not need), it also increases your stopping distance ( again something your heavyy car does not need), and they will not give you any straight line traction due to little to no side wall flex. Then you also loose your slip angles for proper handling, which means it will break loose under cornering when you least expect it. The aftermarket wheels are not tested like stock ones are and Car and Driver said they are prone to cracks due to there added weight. I would go back to 15's and a proper size tire for your tipe of driving. You'll get better handling and straight line traction too.
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#4
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Scott,
If the shackle is the Just Suspensions part (same as Prothane, I think), I found the stock adjustment to be a little taller than stock on my A-body, but that might not be the case on a B-body. I also have an adjustable front hanger from AR Engineering, set in the lowered position. Between these two, I came out about 1.5 lower than stock in back (picture is before lowering). I would avoid de-arching the spring unless it was a last resort. The cheap thing to do is play with the rear shackle and see what that does. If that doesnt give you what you want, you may have to go with a larger (taller) tire out back. On my Valiant, Ive got 245/45s (25.7 tall) on 17x8 Mustang Cobra wheels, and theyre as tall as I can go without rubbing in front, and about as wide as I can go without rubbing in back on hard corners (autoX racing). I wouldnt worry about any negative handling issues with 17s. Sure, if you go to a bling-bling chrome 20 with a spinner, your handling is going to suffer because that wheel weighs as much as my Cobra wheel AND tire together (about 45-50#). The original tires on my Valiant were 6.95-13s on a 4.5 steel wheel. They WERE light, but the 205/70-14s I replaced them with were better. The 225/60-15s were better still, even though they did weigh a little more than the 14s. I feel the same way about the upgrade to 17s, which in my opinion is about the largest wheel you can get light, strong, and affordable in the same wheel. Good luck, and |
#5
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If you just want to do a quick lowering job with out ruining anything just turn the front rear spring hangers over. This will lower the car and if you don't like it , just turn them back over. You may have to slot one pair of the 4 holes or switch sides with the hangers but it's not real difficult. Just jack it up till the load is off the springs and use good jack stands for safety.
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#6
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The problem with flipping hte hangers over without restoring the ride height is that you loose forward bite on acceleration or exiting a corner under power. Not a good idea. Every change to the suspension usually creates another problem unless it is done as a package front and rear to keep it balanced. And het front presents more problems than the rear ever will .
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