im going to try to put this argument to bed once and for all. there are advantages to both systems. but lets start with the basics. with no visuals you will have to use your imagination. there are real problems with leafs when u start tring to push the limits of the car. lets take just the front axel,in a long stright run like the highway the leafs will help maintain stabiliti. but as soon as you start to corner thats where the weakness shows up. when in a hard right hand turn the lft side loads up and the rt unloads right. now at this point all is well but lets throw a bump on the inside of the turn . when the tire hits this bump the top of the spring comp. and the bottom streaches. with this action u will now upset the postion of the tire and the chassie at the same time which causes that floaty feeling. coilovers do not do this. this is the main advantage to them. but u will need stiffer sways to get the same stiffness in a givin turn. now that being said the real reason to buy coilovers is ONLY for those who plan to drive the car in the top 10% of its capabiltys. at that point it will make the car more confident feeling. but if u dont plan on driving that hard dont waste your money, go buy some chrome parts insteed. hope this sheds some light on what seems to be a big mystery.

 

coilovers are lighter too right ??

 

Sorry to break you bubble but springs work as good as long as you are not changing spring rates for each track. I have VBP springs and there are no coilovers going past me period. On any car.

 

John is correct.

I have DRM coilovers and GM Racing T1 sways and it handles like it's stuck to the road with velcro.

But my comparison is between this setup and previous slammed base suspension with Bilstein Sports. Not an apples to apples comparison.

 

Vinmatrix,
Your analysis of the leaf spring is flawed. There is no direct link between the leaf spring and the wheel. It rests on the lower A arm and is free to slide to accomodate suspension movement. The wheel geometry is strictly determined by A arm, steering link and spindle geometry. So even if the top of the spring is in compression and the bottom is in tension this phenomenon has no effect on wheel position or geometry. The only draw back of leaf springs is the cost and difficulty in changing the spring rate. I am also concerned with the loads imposed on the upper shock support by coil overs that it is not designed to handle.
I do a lot of road racing my self and no coil-overs are passing me either...
Shirl Dickey

 

there not always lighter, because u have to take in account the weight of the spring and shock at each wheel. so a coilover with a long spring and or a oil resa. can be alittle on the weighty side.

 

but im not talking about a dirct link im talking about the FACT that if you hit something in the road after the spring is loaded, u will get a lift from the spring pressure accross the car. were not talking about total susp. geom. that a whole new subject. where onlycocerned with springs and shocks. coilovers do not upset the car or make it feel wobbly in the corners when it hit rough pavment. now i never said that leafs whernt good just not the best option for racing. i persoally own a 2000 with coilovers and 2001 z06 with leafs and i u can tell a huge diff. between the 2 but its mostly felt when im racing or pusshin the hell out of the cars.

 

This thread is going to put this debate to sleep? There is many ways of making a car handle and be fast out on the track. I have seen many different setups over the years. The spring is only one thing in the whole big picture. I sell coilovers not leaf springs because of a few reasons. They are easier to change rates, ride height, corner weight and no more "cross talk". We didn't just put springs over a shock and called it a great package. We spent a ton of time getting the package together to make a off the shelf.
To make a long story short. You can make a leaf spring work great. You can make a coilover suspension work great too.

Randy

 

finally someone who gets it.there are good ways to do both but crosstalk in a race situation can cost u the race,car,or even (god forbid) your life. now thats very extreme sucum. but theres a reason that the top teams run coilovers.

 

One may feel better because it is a different rate? How many will swap spring rates on coilovers for each track they run? Only the pro's and not even all of them. Coilovers are great too. What ever you have it needs to be setup right with the shocks and entire suspension including tires. They could be gold leafs or coilovers and if they are not working as a system you may as well place a crutch under each corner of the vehicle.

 

Pros and cons to both. For racing, closed course, being able to change spring rates with the coilovers is a plus. However they are heavier and the weight is higher off the ground than the leaf, a negative. Crosstalk is a neg for leafs on very bumpy courses, but how many race on that bumpy a track?

For the street you're gonna set a spring rate and leave it there, so why pay extra for the adjustability of coilovers? On the street, if yu are driving so close to the limit to feel the extra weight and higher CG of coilovers OR the crosstalk of leafs I don't want to be on the same road as you, you are a hazard to all.

Truly, for 99% of Vette drivers, I don't see a reason to switch to coilovers.

 

Hopefully the weight issue it soon put to rest with the proliferation of titanium springs. They're used on at least one Ferrari, and are readily available in the aftermarket for motorcycles.

 

 

This is all academic and nothing is being "put to bed" as far as I can see.

I went with Doug Rippie Motorsports coilovers with shortened and revalved Bilstein shocks plus GM Racing T1 sways because I wanted the almost infinite adjustability this setup allows me.

Coilovers are not for everyone (not just because of cost) but it works perfectly for me. I absolutely love them and they allowed me to lower my center of gravity to the practical limits on the street. By the way, my car is a 99% street car with 1 or 2 forays to a roadrace track a year - and I drive more than 25,000 miles a year.

 

EG:

How do you drive that thing without hitting something? It looks like the spoiler is touching the ground sitting there! Mine is only lowered about a half inch an it rubs something a couple of times a day.

David.

 

Nice picture!!! but the valence cover looks like it's almost tounching the ground. You don't have problems with scooping crap up into the radiator do you? I've been thinking about lowering my 99 vette too

 

LMAO.

There's nothing wrong with the leaf spring. It works very well in this application.

Coil overs have advantages for ease of rate and ride height adjustments.

There's nothing fundamentally wrong with the leaf spring. A spring is a spring is a spring.

 

I don't see how you can get any critical cross talk with the leaf springs. Just look at the way the leaf springs are bolted in.

On a bumpy track, a dual spring setup can be a small advantage with coil springs. On top of the main spring you put a second spring that is fully compressed most of the time. Eibach calls it a tender spring, which is weaker than the main spring, but not as week as a helper spring.
If a wheel gets unloaded, the tender spring start decompressing and keeps the wheel to the ground. In the same situation a single spring setup (leaf or coil) may lift the tire completely, so there may be an extra margin of safety if everything is setup properly.

Till

 

The sencond spring that you are talking about works great if you have a short spring with a long shock. If the setup is done right the sencond spring is not needed.

Randy

 

I'm surprised with everyone discussing "Cross-Talk" with the leaf and no one mentions "cross-talk" with the sway bars. Especially T1 bars!
When the sway bar moves it has a direct effect on the opposite side. With the spring, it's not really the case. Look at how the spring mounts.
When one side compresses, the other does not exert an equal force downward. With a sway bar, the only time one side doesn't exert opposite force on the other side is if the wheels hit the same dip on a road while driving in a straight line.

By the way, if you've ever had the leafs out, you'll see how light they are.

Jon S.