Replacing Leaf Springs
Wow, those are the 20231's? Sits lower than I thought it would with the 6 5/8" arch. Nice. :thumbup: Is that with the stock front hanger spring eye location? I may have to get those for my GT...
I wouldn't worry about stiffer springs than 142 lb/in though. From the factory these cars had 90 lb/in springs, the XHD's were 110 lb/in. And, oddly enough, the rear end of the A-bodies was not nearly undersprung as the fronts were. From a handling perspective, the recommended leaf spring rate in the mopar handling guide is 120 lb/in. Which oddly enough matches the Mopar Oval track spring rate.:D Most of the aftermarket springs intended for handling are around 130 lb/in, Hotchkis' springs are 130 lb/in, as well as the custom Eaton's that Peter Bergman (GMachineDartGT) offers through Bergman Auto Craft.
On my Duster I run the now discontinued AFCO 20231M. It has a 121 lb/in rate, and a 6 5/8" arch. My car sits fairly low, the 20231m's basically sit at zero arch. I went a step further though and replaced my rear shackles with leaf spring sliders, which lowered the car another 3/8" or so. The top of my rear wheel arch now sits at 26 1/8", with 26" tall rear tires. Front is at 25", with 25.7" tall tires.
The 121 lb/in bars work well with my 7/8" Helwig rear sway bar, which is still set on the softest setting. The car feels pretty well balanced for handling, and I run 1.12" (300 lb/in) bars up front. Balanced with these cars is not the same spring rate front and rear. I think the 142 lb/in Afco's are a good choice to run without a rear sway bar. With a large rear bar like mine they'd probably be too stiff.
Here go, sorry the lighting sucks.:
Bars are Just suspension 1".
Wow, those are the 20231's? Sits lower than I thought it would with the 6 5/8" arch. Nice. :thumbup: Is that with the stock front hanger spring eye location? I may have to get those for my GT...
I wouldn't worry about stiffer springs than 142 lb/in though. From the factory these cars had 90 lb/in springs, the XHD's were 110 lb/in. And, oddly enough, the rear end of the A-bodies was not nearly undersprung as the fronts were. From a handling perspective, the recommended leaf spring rate in the mopar handling guide is 120 lb/in. Which oddly enough matches the Mopar Oval track spring rate.:D Most of the aftermarket springs intended for handling are around 130 lb/in, Hotchkis' springs are 130 lb/in, as well as the custom Eaton's that Peter Bergman (GMachineDartGT) offers through Bergman Auto Craft.
On my Duster I run the now discontinued AFCO 20231M. It has a 121 lb/in rate, and a 6 5/8" arch. My car sits fairly low, the 20231m's basically sit at zero arch. I went a step further though and replaced my rear shackles with leaf spring sliders, which lowered the car another 3/8" or so. The top of my rear wheel arch now sits at 26 1/8", with 26" tall rear tires. Front is at 25", with 25.7" tall tires.
The 121 lb/in bars work well with my 7/8" Helwig rear sway bar, which is still set on the softest setting. The car feels pretty well balanced for handling, and I run 1.12" (300 lb/in) bars up front. Balanced with these cars is not the same spring rate front and rear. I think the 142 lb/in Afco's are a good choice to run without a rear sway bar. With a large rear bar like mine they'd probably be too stiff.
