Super stock spring

[cbodybob]

I remember back in the day when Super Stock springs where popular. Especially on B body cars. The guys would un clamp the rear of the leafs. So when the car launched the leafs would spilt open or seperate. What was the purpose of this. Don't see very many B body's anymore. A lot of A body's now and they don't do this.

 

[Badvert65]

It was a combination of extra clamps on the front spring half and fewer on the rear spring half. This let the rear axle torque lever against the body (chassis) and push the rear axle into the pavement (by pushing against the body). The more rear 'lift' you got at launch, the harder the tires were being planted. I still do this on my cars.

 

[cbodybob]

Hum. I figured as much. I may try this on mine & see if it helps. I did the SS springs, CE adjustable shocks & a PTC converter at the same time. Car just had its best 60 foot ever. It's just not consistent. Next two passes it spun bad. Should have just changed one thing at a time

 

[Badvert65]

The number of clamps added/removed is different from left and right. I believe the passenger side is usually stiffer as the torque tries to lift the rear on that side.
-Matt

 

[cbodybob]

Good info. The right side is what's spinning. So bad I can fell the car kick out

 

[mopar 3 B]

Do you remove all the clamps behind the axle?

 

[cbodybob]

Do you remove all the clamps behind the axle?

I only have one on each side at the rear. Excited. Want to get back to a track & see if the car likes it

 

[383man]

Myself on my 63 I just run the 3400 lb SS springs and the MP longer rear shocks. In fact the springs are just the way I bought them since they were clamped in the front which I usually add some extra clamps in the front but I actually never did on the springs I am running now. I bought them from Mancini as they had them listed as the 3400 lb SuperStock springs. Thats all I use as I took the pinion snubber off since it did not seem to hook any better with or without it. You can see some of the SS springs in this pic. My car is mostly pretty consisdent as last year at Cecil County in Md I made 4 passes and ran :
10.81 as it spun a tad since it was the first pass of the day and then it ran:
10.76
10.76
10.76 all at 124 mph with my best 60 ft a 1.50. Really it ran 10.76 three passes in a row and I drove it 45 miles to the track. Its not a great 60 ft but its about average for a street car thats driven to the track most of the time that can run 10.70's and is just SS springs and 90/10 comp shocks up front. All the rest of the suspension is stock.

This year I only got to the track once at MIR in Md and it ran:
10.85
10.87
10.89
and 10.85. The tires were a year older and had been driven on the street for the past year but it still had four passes within better then half a tenth. I honestly feel if I went to Cal Tracs and got them dailed in right I could maybe get my 60 down in the mid 1.40's and maybe pick up a tenth ? Just not worth the $800. dollars for a tenth on my budget.
But alot of cars also went away from SS springs because of to much body movement as when you run the Pro Tree and need a great reaction time you dont want all the body movement that leaf spring cars have. For me or bracket racers running a full tree you can get away with some body movement but alot of classes you cant and of course they run 4 links and ladder bars and so on.
But for a guy like me with just an average street/strip car on a tight budget they work ok and are a cheap enough suspension that can atleast keep you in the ballpark. Ron

 

[Mike Gaines]

Wow, That is a great combo for those 10.70s and 10.80's. This is what I am shooting for, sooner or later.

 

[dvw]

If you have a sure grip or a spool one side can't spin. If the car pulls to one side on launch one tire is carrying more load. This is generally the left rear as engine rotation and drivers side weight add load to the left. The first move the axle housing makes on any car is away from the body. Removing spring clamps at the rear of the leaf will allow the housing to be "thrown" out of the car easier hitting the tire harder. If the car is spinning and has adequate rebound (extension) control by the shock this will help. If the shock doesn't have adequate control it will spin even more. If the car isn't spinning, the unnecessary housing movement will slow the car down.
Doug

 

[Budnicks]

I remember back in the day when Super Stock springs where popular. Especially on B body cars. The guys would un clamp the rear of the leafs. So when the car launched the leafs would spilt open or seperate. What was the purpose of this. Don't see very many B body's anymore. A lot of A body's now and they don't do this.

Here's a video that shows some of what happens
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UORxRhfjf7E

 

[Cranky]

The number of clamps added/removed is different from left and right. I believe the passenger side is usually stiffer as the torque tries to lift the rear on that side.
-Matt

The driver's side is the one that's supposed to get the stronger (more leafs) spring. Preloading the chassis also helps. The engine torques to the right and the rear end torques to the left which plants the left side tire and lightens the right. This is why you always see the right side spinning with a non Sure Grip (or spool) setup.

If you have a sure grip or a spool one side can't spin. If the car pulls to one side on launch one tire is carrying more load. This is generally the left rear as engine rotation and drivers side weight add load to the left. The first move the axle housing makes on any car is away from the body. Removing spring clamps at the rear of the leaf will allow the housing to be "thrown" out of the car easier hitting the tire harder. If the car is spinning and has adequate rebound (extension) control by the shock this will help. If the shock doesn't have adequate control it will spin even more. If the car isn't spinning, the unnecessary housing movement will slow the car down.
Doug

When the engine torques to the right, it's putting a lot of load to the right side of the car but when the rear end torques to the left, it's placing more load on the left rear wheel. This is one of the reasons why the SS springs are biased to the right side. Also, even if the car isn't spinning and you have a lot of rear end movement, it can also slow the car down due to excessive pinion angle change due to the excessive movement.

 

[cbodybob]

Rear suspension

This is all good stuff. Thanks to you all. Here's what I did. I installed 2 inch lowering blocks, removed the 1 short stiff leaf on the driver side & both short leaves on the pass side. Car now sit 2 9/16 lower in the rear & is near level on the rear. The front went up 1/4 inch. Did a few dry hops on the driveway at only 1200 rpm launch & now it really lifts the left front & squats the right rear. Was almost violent. May have to put those leafs back in. But for now I think I am going to do s TNT just to see how it does. The pic of the car in my driveway is after I lowered it

 

[cbodybob]

Good video Budnicks

 

[dvw]

This is all good stuff. Thanks to you all. Here's what I did. I installed 2 inch lowering blocks, removed the 1 short stiff leaf on the driver side & both short leaves on the pass side. Car now sit 2 9/16 lower in the rear & is near level on the rear. The front went up 1/4 inch. Did a few dry hops on the driveway at only 1200 rpm launch & now it really lifts the left front & squats the right rear. Was almost violent. May have to put those leafs back in. But for now I think I am going to do s TNT just to see how it does. The pic of the car in my driveway is after I lowered it

You do not want the right rear to squat. What is happening after the initial hit the axle housing is being pulled into the body and away from the pavement. The reason the R.R. sets higher with SS springs is that it will be loaded harder. Raising the rear also raises the center of gravity allowing easier pitch rotation. So what you have done is remove pitch rotation and made the R.R. spring weaker. My bet is if it has enough power that it will spin right after the hit and want to drive towards the right at the starting line. Let us know.
Doug

 

[cbodybob]

You do not want the right rear to squat. What is happening after the initial hit the axle housing is being pulled into the body and away from the pavement. The reason the R.R. sets higher with SS springs is that it will be loaded harder. Raising the rear also raises the center of gravity allowing easier pitch rotation. So what you have done is remove pitch rotation and made the R.R. spring weaker. My bet is if it has enough power that it will spin right after the hit and want to drive towards the right at the starting line. Let us know.
Doug

Doug you are right. I completly agree. However my rear shackle was almost 90 degrees. Now after thd changes it is more to normal looking. I think I am going to try it like this at a TNT. I may also try to stiffen the right rear shock to controll the squat. Again my drive way is not a fair comparison to a track. I can always reinstall parts removed. I may also unclamp the back of the leaves. I will let you know how the car responds. It ain't got much power.

 

[Burnsey]

the reason we did this is to let the rear work better it worked best with adjustable pinon snuber 1 in clearence the front part of springs acked like soild traction bar.

 

[cbodybob]

Yep I have the adj snubber. I took it off because the SS springs had the rear raised so high it was not needed. Keeping it with me so when I get a chance to make a few passed I can try it both ways. Had some time to think on this & the comments & believe I should have left those small leafs in. But still Going to make a few hits just to see how the car responds. Can easily put them back in.

 

[cbodybob]

Well I took the car to a TNT today. I made 3 passes. All the the 60 ft was 1.89 my 330 foot was 5.51, 5.51 & 5.49 as it was getting cooler. My ET was 8.59, 8.58 & 8.56 Staged shallow at 1500. Instead of 1900. Car launched good & straight. No burn outs. 2 dry hops each pass. So I think my changes worked. I need to go to a different track soon & see if it's as close. I think I can manage with those numbers & win rounds. Happy Boy ! Hopefully the photogropher took some of my car so I can see how it came off the line. There was a lot of cars there ( guessing 100) so the track prep was very good

 

[Budnicks]

sounds like you had fun too, that's what counts,
Improvements will come with tuning & a few changes latter

what were the expectation, did you do/run what you were expecting to ?

keep us posted

looser converter maybe more rear gear too,
might probably help the 60 ft's, which will help the overall ET's too,
allot of the et is made up in the 1st 330 ft, especially the 60 ft

8.50's 1/8 mile is 13.30's 1/4 mile {8.50 x 1.57 (conversion to 1/4 mile) = 13.345}