Just installed aftermarket 1" and 5/8" sway bars and a 330lb fiberglass spring in my 68 Vette. The handling and ride is much better, however the rear spring seems to offer more bounce on the road than the stock steel spring did. Is this normal or are my Delco gas shocks not cutting the mustard? I also have 255/60 15 tires on the car. Any thoughts?

 

You need shocks that are properly set up for the composite spring. Vette Brakes sells some custom valved KYB's that are designed to work with the spring. Standard shocks don't offer enough rebound damping to remove the pogo effect.

Shannon

 

sb69coupe is right. I put the KYB GR-2 silver shocks sold by VB on my 1980 and they helped. They are not a performance shock but the do the job on the street.

 

I recommend Bilstein Sport shocks from VBP or shox.com.

 

Darrell's 68-If you really want to upgrade go with VBP front monoleaf composite spring. :D
Dan

 

VetteDan, have you test drove your new suspension? How do you like it? This is part of the group purchase we are planing.

 

Are the Bilstein's worth the extra $ over the GR-2's for street driving? Do they ride about the same or are the Bilstein's much stiffer?

 

Don't know about the GR-2s but the Bilsteins seem well balanced for fiberglass springs and cured my bouncing problem.
It was worth the extra $ to me to get it fixed. Also, remember that Bilsteins can be rebuilt inexpensively. So, over time the total cost comes down.

 

71,454,4spd- I've been using the mono-leaf set up for over two years. I love it. It has made a big difference in auto-xing. I still need to finish the rear suspention so I can get all I can out of it. :smash: :smash: :smash:
Dan http://www.vetteworksonline.com

 

I currently have the 330# spring with standard KYB shocks in the rear. I wasted my money on the GR2 shock for the rear and found them to be very bouncy. Like a pogo stick. Part of your problem may be with the rear sway bar. Stock suspension Vettes don't like them. I had a 72 coupe with the 300# rear spring. I broke two factory sway bars in two weeks. They both snapped at the same spot. When they worked, I noticed a very bouncy type ride. I will wager that if you remove the sway bar, the ride will improve.

 

sd pacecar,
Is your 330 a VB or TRW? Also, in the 15 years or so I have been studying C3 suspensions I have never heard of rear sway bars breaking as you describe. Please elaborate on your broken sway bars - where did they break, what type end links were you using, who supplied the sway bars, what type bushings were you using, etc.

 

I don't believe that the rear sway bar is causing the bouncy ride. I put the sway bars in first, and noticed a huge difference in the way the car drove. It felt connected and very solid when I threw it into turns. So I definitely do not want to take it out. Next, I did the steel spring swap with the fiberglass one, and noticed that the choppy ride went away but now it seemed very bouncy on uneven roads.

Based on what everyone is telling me, the Delco's aren't hacking it and now I just need to figure out what is better, the Bilsteins or the GR-2's. Any other opinions would be appreciated.

 

My whole suspension was rebuilt last year.....evert nut, bolt, bushing, seal, front/rear springs, rear end rebuilt...etc.

I have a TRW 330 Composite w/bilsteins. Ride is smooth not bouncy at all....I do not have a rear sway bar installed. I don't think a sway bar contibutes to the bouncy feeling your getting. Its definitely your shocks.

 

There are two different KYB's, the GR-2's (gray) and the Gas-A-Just (white). We are the only company handling the "composite" GR-2's which are only good up to #330. The Gas-A-Just are a 180psi high pressure shock and will bounce the composite spring worse. The Bilsteins are the best for all around performance and ride. :cheers:

 

Sorry it took so long. I used the factory links and bar (5/8th's I think). The bar only goes on one way, so I eliminated the "installed it wrong" option. The bar made the ride noticebly harsher and not in a good way. I was experiencing moderate to severe oversteer, as well as the aforementioned bounciness. Then one day, I was driving on one of my favorite small stretch of curvy road and I hit the turns at my "normal speed" :D when I heard a distinct " hammer hitting steel" noise. It did not cause me to lose control, but I definately felt the rear slip, for a lack of a better description. I drove home and immediately inspected the rear suspension. I observed the rear bar snapped right after the driver side link, the one attached to the trailing arm.
I managed to get a hold of another factory bar, installed that one and sure enough, it snapped in the same place. At that point, I said forget it and removed all the factory links and bushings. The conclusion I reached and it may be wrong, I felt that the factory bar couldn't handle the quicker response of the mono-spring. Correct me if I am wrong, but aftermarket bars use their own links, attached at the same points on the rear suspension, but locating the bar in a different spot(?). Just a guess really, because it was a few years ago and I have modded every car I have owned, with some of the mods getting blurred, if you know what I mean. Hoped this helped.

 

Charlie,

Thanks for the response. I take it that you do not believe that it is my sway bar/composite spring combo that is causing me the problem. If that is so, then I will order the Bilsteins.

 

OK....but if I'm wrong...do I have to pay for your shocks?! :eek:

seriously....a bouncing ride is most definitley spring/shock related.

 

Coilovers at all 4 corners :) That's what I'm gonna do.