I have had my car weighed and it needs to be a little heaver on the drivers side front.

How, besides coilovers, can I adjust the stock springs to even things out?

Cutting springs would work but that would change the spring rate at the corners.

Shims under the spring? Hmmm does anyone make shims? Are they safe?

 

Keith,
You had it "scaled" with you IN the car and a 1/2 tank of gas right?? The only real adjustment is the rear spring bolts.
...redvetracr

 

since your looking at balance that close, i am assuming your planning a little racing?? if so, you may want to considder re-locating your battery up there. i haven't done it, but heard of it being done. this will also have the added benefit of making it 10 second legal at the drag strip! Brian

 

Yes I have scaled it, my boss is a Porsche guy and he has a scale :smash:

It's off far enough that I'd like to do something about it. Not enough adjustment with the rear.

Oh, no I wasn't in the car, but the Wife was with my son sitting on her lap :cheers:

It's just that I've got the sprigs out, I really don't want coil overs ( OK I don't want to spend the $$) and since it is the drivers side front it seems more important considering the track I usually run at is mostly right hand turns...

Move the battery?
not enough difference...
10 seconds? :rofl: yea I'll need that!

 

Not sure how you have your motor mounted but that is an easy way to move weight up front. Only takes 1/8 - 1/4 in moves and you can really make a change to the left and right front weight set up.

Another option is to replace both front springs with new ones. Your left front could be weeker than the right front thus making the weight in front sit off.

How off in weight are you?

Also what is your front to rear and diagnal wieghts look like?

 

How many pounds are you talking about?

If you have spring end adjustable sway bars you can actually preload your car from side to side.

I run one inch rubber spring spacers under my 550 front coils to regain some height because I kept hitting the nose into the ground.

Just as a word of advice. IMO you shouldn't even worry about corner to corner weight bias untill you do thorough skid pan testing in both directions to see if you have a major "G-Force discrepency"

The other thing is - Actual lapping events have the majority of turns in one direction depending on if the track is run CW or counter CW. So a correctly setup car not only has weight bias, but is also set with different alignment setting for each wheel. Which actually makes the car worse for one directions turns, but better for the majority.

 

I learned from one of the best, Dick Guldstrand. Setting corner weights according to Dick: disconnect sway bar (Dick likes front bars only!), set rear side/side weights by adjusting spring bolts, go to front and rotate spring (of lightest side) in control arm pocket till side to side is equalized (going back to rear scales while doing this and adjusting out any cross weighting by re-adjusting rear spring bolt lenghts as fronts are being equalized), the control arm pocket may not give you enough adjustment so you can add a big block rubber spacer for additional preload (used in air conditioned big blocks.) The final front spring position will have to be "nailed" by drilling through the sping pocket at the spring "tail" and installing a stop bolt to hold the spring from rotating back once balance is achieved. Check that the sway bar doesn't preload the suspension and it should be parallel to the ground. I have done a few cars with this method and only fought one that turned out to have a really bent frame causing problems in equalizing weights (within a 100lbs is good enough for me after finding that production springs loose tension on an inconsistant basis in my observations.) You can also move parts of the Vette around (battery from drivers to passengers side, ect) to help equalize corner weights. I check the weights with a 1/2 tank of gas and my body weight in the drivers seat. Email me if you don't quite get it (I hope none of my competitors are rreading this!) Eric B.

 

Thanks Solid!
Seems pretty straightforward I should be putting the springs back in in a month or two and want to balancethe car then.

I actually weighed it a while ago, but never got around to doing anything about it. Seems to me it was a couple of hundred pounds, but I can't find my results.... if it should only be within 100 lbs corner to corner, I don't think I'm too far off.

Part of my goal with this mesage was to see if anyone knew how to do it since I don't have a clue.

Corner balancing is really the only reason I would want coilovers, ifit can be done with normal springs, all the better :smash

I'll have to reweigh the car and see what I can do

 

Keith, before you put your springs back in you might consider getting them checked. Most short track guys have a spring checker.
...redvetracr

 

since you have the front apart, why don't you go with the VB&P front transverse spring kit?? it will give you more adjustments than the stock stuff. you can change ride height and spring rate independantly of each other, and get a bigger sway bar to boot. it makes the car handle like a C4 on rails. night and day difference on my car. Brian

 

I don't know why people have to constantly re-invent "the wheel" but, the most vicious vile "pogo stick" ride I ever had was in a Vette Brakes delux suspension kitted car. My good friend has an automotive machine shop and he took in a 1977 Vette L82 for a "hot" 383 build. I was consulted on many aspects and gave some "hands-on" help during the build-up. I was "re-paid" for my work by being allowed to drive the Vette for initial break in and de-bugging. I was not impressed at all by the road manners of the VB package (transverse composite front spring and multi-mount rear composite spring with fat sway bars and Carrera shocks.) The final chore was a full throttle series of tests before delivery. I stood on it pretty hard and the Vette launched and compressesed the rear spring while "blowing the tires away" it then started to hook-up and loaded the front springs. The front springs compressed and unloaded the rear tires for a secondary loss of traction, the front re-bounded and loaded the rear again, the car was litterally oscillating from front to back in a bucking horse mode, I backed out of it before something violent happened and I lost it. I have been to the autocrosses and watched the VB suspension system in action, my 72 LT-1 has basically production F-41 spings (550 in/lb front coils 7 leaf rear with a Guldstrand narrow main leaf, 8" long spring bolts) with big block sway bars (1.125 front 0.625 rear.) The LT-1 will consistantly bettter the VB equipped cars at the races (autocross or drags) and I don't mind the "ride" on the street (most people don't realize how much shock asorber valving not spring rates affects ride quality.) The best investment would be in correctly setting up the rear differential (HD yokes, new spindles, minimum spec settings on spindles, yoke clearances, differential gears, ect.), buying a good set of shocks (Bilsteins are about the best bargin, stay far away from KYB's!), and a spare set of wheels with "sticky tires" for autocrossing or track days. Guldstrand Engineering also sells a rear main leaf (1.5" narrower for better tire clearance) that can be subsituted for the main leaf on the F-41 seven leaf spring (Eaton springs in Michigan make one of the best re-production 7 leaf springs, some of the others on the market I have seen are JUNK!) I really hope my WSCC autocross competition is not reading this! Maybe the car I drove was an older VB kit but, I know GM spent years and millions of dollars in the OEM package how much do you think VB invested? Do what you want, I like my cars safe and simple, I drive them! Eric B.

 

Eric,
i kindly dissagree with you to the fullest extent. i have the complete system on my car and i have never experienced any sort of ill handling that you describe. my 406 is putting out 600 hp, and the VB&P kit loves the power. the stock crap would pull out of alignment every time i just blipped the throttle, not so now with the kit. a couple of things kind of stick out in your complaint. first and foremost, the Carrera shocks. i was told by VB&P not to run them ever. they only recomend the Bilsteins that are specifically valved for your target spring rate. second, you said the car was loading and unloading the rear. this indicates to me that the adjustable spring rates were not matched and the shocks are trash. i know 4 other guys that have the same kit on thier cars, not a single complaint. even the big block guy is tickled pink. sorry you had a bad experience. i guess there is always two sides of the story, and your the first i know of with a VB complaint. Brian

 

Eric - Do you also use Smart Struts? Or have you tried rear Daytona type springs? Have you tried using wider front and rear track widths?

I've been very happy driving around with 550 front springs since the late 80's even in my lightened 79 Vette. it's front end is probably 300+ pounds lighter than stock.