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1981 Rear Spring

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Old May 12, 2026 | 09:35 PM
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Default 1981 Rear Spring
330Lb Composite or 9 Leaf steel spring from Central Springs?

Opinions?
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Old Yesterday | 12:09 AM
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360 lb low-arch composite from Van Steel.

https://www.vansteel.com/products/36...mposite-spring

If they still make 400 lb, even better.
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Old Yesterday | 03:20 AM
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330 - 360 composite spring. Never heard of the company the OP mentioned.
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Old Yesterday | 06:09 AM
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Maybe the OP meant Corvette Central?

I put a Van Steel low arch composite spring on my 82.
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Old Yesterday | 10:42 AM
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Which Van Steel spring did you use? I can get a 400, but was told it may be too strong for my car.
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Old Yesterday | 10:43 AM
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I was advised a 400 was too strong and should stay in the 330-360 range, so I cancelled my order for a 400.
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Old Yesterday | 01:39 PM
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Originally Posted by ddthecat
Which Van Steel spring did you use? I can get a 400, but was told it may be too strong for my car.
I put a VSC-63330 composite spring 330lb. I went for a cruiser ride not a dragster.

JT
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Old Yesterday | 09:11 PM
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Originally Posted by ddthecat
Which Van Steel spring did you use? I can get a 400, but was told it may be too strong for my car.
I have a VB&P spring (Van Steel bought the molds, and makes them the same way). It was a 360 lb spring, shortened at the factory, and re-marked "385 lb" (Higher spring rate due to the shortened arms).

It's not stiff enough. And my 80 starts 250 lbs lighter than a 79, plus I dropped the spare tire, (and the composite spring saves 40 lbs, too).

If I were starting from scratch, I'd go with a 400 lb Van Steel low arch composite, and double-adjustable QA-1 shocks in the rear. YMMV.
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Old Yesterday | 10:14 PM
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And I run the softer spring with a 3/4 inch rear sway bar and Bilstien shocks.
I love the combination.
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Old Yesterday | 10:24 PM
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Originally Posted by 4-vettes
And I run the softer spring with a 3/4 inch rear sway bar and Bilstien shocks.
I love the combination.
I should add, my current spring uses the same B8 Bilsteins, and has a 9/16" sway bar. The bigger sway bar is an oft-cited solution, too.

It's not as bad on my current roads, but I often encountered unsettling dips where it seemed that the rear was bottoming out while driving straight. No amount of sway bar can fix that.
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Old Yesterday | 10:32 PM
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Thank You All,
I decided to go with the 330lb Composite Spring from Van Steel, I already just installed KYB Gas-Adjust Shocks all the way around, new HD front coil springs also.
Fingers crossed...
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