composite springs

[rtgreen]

whats the straight scoop on composite leaf springs? soft hard street strip? are  they better than stock or super stock?   looking for street handling.    thoughts?

[Brads70]

I've had them on my car for almost 10 years now? They work great but they will require good shocks to keep up as composite springs react much quicker than steel springs. Here is a post I made on my install.

https://forum.e-bodies.org/wheels-tires-brakes-suspension-and-steering/12/composite-rear-leaf-springs-on-an-e-body/59/msg353#msg353

[dodj]

@Brads70
What do composite leafs do for you compared to regular springs? Pros, cons?

[Brads70]

@Brads70
What do composite leafs do for you compared to regular springs? Pros, cons?

Weight is the biggest pro .
Different rates are available , steel springs usually are not unless you go to racing springs, usually circle track stuff.
This is from Hypercoil's web site...
"Key Benefits of Composite Leaf Springs
70% lighter than steel
Retain their designed arch, preventing sagging and chassis inconsistency
Do not corrode
Provide more side bite off the corners
Customers report 5X plus the life of traditional steel leaf springs "


As for the con's
#1 is price they are not cheap.
#2 they will require an upgrade in shocks as I found they react much quicker than steel. Likely double adjustable shocks.
# 3 they are not as durable as steel, meaning you have to watch how they are mounted so they don't wear on something such as u bolts
Currently they don't just bolt in on our e-bodies they will require superstock spring hangers and even then I found they were out by 1/2" 
Under a hard impact they will break unlike steel that will usually bend. But I thought if my car gets hit that hard the leaf springs are the least of my worries ...

[MOPAR MITCH]

I've been using Flex-A-Form fiberglass mono leafs for competition AX/HSAX/HPDE events... street driven as well!  Flex-A-Form makes the GM Corvette mono-leafs (at least from the 4th gen 'Vettes).   I've had mine since mid-1980s.

Lighter weight (about 20# total for both... vs ~60# factory steel leafs), custom-made to meet my desired specs... 5" uncompressed arch, weighted down with cat to approx 1" arch (nearly flat.... always better for improved handling).

Mine are 225#/inch.

They do take a while to settle down... weighted takes about 1-2 weeks.

As also stated, they react quicker than steel leafs.