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TRW made the 80-82 rear composite spring. Muskegon Corvette parts has it listed but out of stock. The springs from Van Steel will work too.
Found this for you:
TRW made the 80-82 rear composite spring. Muskegon Corvette parts has it listed but out of stock. The springs from Van Steel will work too.
Found this for you:
Van Steel in 2021 stated springs made in USA. The less expensive spring says TRW "engineered" meaning it might be made in China
In addition Van Steel has 330 lb which sounds like a better choice for you
Van Steel in 2021 stated springs made in USA. The less expensive spring says TRW "engineered" meaning it might be made in China
In addition Van Steel has 330 lb which sounds like a better choice for you
Vettco says "Made in USA" for the TRW engineered spring.
Get the van steel spring they bought the tooling from VBP when they closed up. They are really the best option. That TRW thing has a tendency to ride high and be harsh. There are a thousand posts on this subject.
Or don't. Here's a thread where someone tried the TRW/Hyperco kayak paddle spring first. Though a long thread, reading through the post will still take less time than buying the wrong spring, and having to switch again.
Looking for information on composite rear springs for my 82. It's a cruiser to ride to the ice cream shop etc...
Van Steel has several low arch springs to select from, not sure if they manufacturer the spring or just buy them.
Most other suppliers seem to get them from the factory and direct ship to you so no clue who made them.
JT
Doesn't your 82 already have a composite spring from the factory?
The ONLY spring to consider is the low arch Van Steel spring. In fact it's the only style of spring Van Steel offers now. I would recommend the 330 rate spring. I've had it on my 1980 Corvette since the mid 90's. These spring were originally made by VB&P. Van Steel bought the design/tooling from them when they closed operations.
Doesn't your 82 already have a composite spring from the factory?
The ONLY spring to consider is the low arch Van Steel spring. In fact it's the only style of spring Van Steel offers now. I would recommend the 330 rate spring. I've had it on my 1980 Corvette since the mid 90's. These spring were originally made by VB&P. Van Steel bought the design/tooling from them when they closed operations.
Yes, my 82 came from the factory with a composite spring... what Bubba did with it I have no clue. The spring Bubba got out of the junk yard and put on is a 7 leaf steel spring.
I just ordered the Vansteel 330 with the 8" bolts.
Sounds like you already bought yours, so I'm a little late to the party, but wanted to add more data for you or anyone in the future.
I went with VanSteel's shortened 360# spring and 10" bolts, because I knew I wanted to lower the car. I have it paired with RideTech's Dual Rate 480/700 front springs and Bilstein's B6 and B8 shocks. I believe the RideTech springs are meant to be paired with their composite spring, which is like 250# or something, so I do find the front a tad soft (and high, because I swapped in a lighter LS1 engine) - I'll likely swap those out at some point.
All in all, I really like the VanSteel spring - rides great, not harsh at all, but does feel like a sports car. And the ride height is perfect with the shorter spring and longer bolts (in the rear, at least). That said - take my opinion with a grain of salt. My first car was a 350Z that I drove for 10 years, so I personally like a slightly harsher ride...but the 350Z was WAY harsher than my C3 in its current set up. With this set up, it's currently comfortable but sporty - not plushy like your typical 60's car out of Detroit, but also not harsh like a modern racecar. Just harsh enough to feel sporty, but soft enough to be comfortable for a daily/street car.
Yes, my 82 came from the factory with a composite spring... what Bubba did with it I have no clue. The spring Bubba got out of the junk yard and put on is a 7 leaf steel spring.
I just ordered the Vansteel 330 with the 8" bolts.
JT
Are you sure?
Not to second guess you, you absolutely bought the correct spring for your intended use.
82 Corvettes with the FE7 option (gymkhana suspension) came with 7 (or 8) leaf steel springs (depending on who is counting). The real telltale is the rear swaybar (which anyone can add, I did) or the "FE7" option listed on the dealer invoice. That you can get from GM for $50-.
Not to second guess you, you absolutely bought the correct spring for your intended use.
82 Corvettes with the FE7 option (gymkhana suspension) came with 7 (or 8) leaf steel springs (depending on who is counting). The real telltale is the rear sway bar (which anyone can add, I did) or the "FE7" option listed on the dealer invoice. That you can get from GM for $50-.
At this point I'm not sure of any history of this car LOL. I see no evidence of a rear sway bar being installed and of the 25,407 Corvettes built in 1982 only 5,457 had the FE7 Gymkhana Suspension for $61.00 so only a 1 in 5 chance it had the FE7 option. Is it worth $50 to know, not for me.
A little late to this discussion but anything you may want to know about our cars can be found at:
gmheritagecenter.com
I looked up the suspension section for the 82's below:
Gm lists the same 1 1/8 inch front bar for both base suspension and gymkhana cars with the 7/16 inch rear bar only for the sport suspension, as we know. The front coil are 260lbs which are marshmellows and with that big front bar on the base cars with no rear bar, as I remember when these cars were new, it will plow/understeer badly when pushed to handle. The base cars only came with a VERY SOFT composite spring rate at 183lbs, which is VERY SOFT, which could be why the OEM owner ditched it for a steel spring, since you stated the car originally had a composite spring.
The gymkhana cars came with an 8 leaf steel spring, official in the literature above ^. The chance that your 82 has a steel spring or composite but no rear bar, the good bet is that it is a base car, in my opinion. Not too many folks with 82's bought these cars for all out performance back or were installing the 7/16 inch rear bar if not originally equipped then since GM was pushing more luxury than sport in this last C3. The 8 leaf steel spring most likely was rated like prior gymkhana/sport suspensions on C3's like my 78 L-82 4 speed at 298lbs, although not listed in the literature from gm heritage center.
One more comment concerning composite springs is the composite spring rating is NOT a 1:1 swap to steel springs, meaning my 298lbs gymkhana sport OEM steel spring would be softer with a 300 lbs composite. Back in 1986 when I installed the VBP 360 composite, that vendor recommended 360 lbs composite for the replacement for the steel sport spring from GM ( still on the car BTW). If I ever replace it, for my car heavily tilted for performance, I would probably go for a 420 spring composite. The 300lbs composite to replace the OEM 183 GM composite would definitely be stiffer than stock but not as much as the numbers would have you believe, since composites are rate differently than steel springs.
Last edited by jb78L-82; Oct 28, 2025 at 04:55 PM.
Composite Rear Spring for 82
