I've got a set of 5 leaf springs on my 55 210 2dr and they are way too stiff and I would like to remove some leafs but I'm not sure which ones to remove, any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks, Knub
I've got a set of 5 leaf springs on my 55 210 2dr and they are way too stiff and I would like to remove some leafs but I'm not sure which ones to remove, any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks, Knub
56 Nomad, Ramjet 502, Viper 6-speed T56, C4 Corvette front and rear suspension
Other vehicles:
56 Chevy 2-door BelAir sedan
56 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
57 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
1962 327/340HP Corvette
1961 Willys CJ3B Jeep
2001 Porsche Boxster S
2003 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Duramax
2019 GMC Sierra Denali Duramax
If you notice in the link I posted, there are two different 5-leaf springs from the factory. Do you know which one you have?
One has all the same leafs as the 4-leaf spring, plus one additional leaf at the bottom that's .290" thick.
Here's the stackup of both 5-leaf springs.
3721072
.347"
.347"
.313"
.313"
.291"
3721090
.347"
.347"
.347"
.347"
.291"
And the 4-leaf is like this:
3720952
.347"
.347"
.313"
.291"
So going from the 4-leaf to the 1072 spring, all they did is add an additional .313" leaf. If you have the 1072 spring, I'd just remove that one and it should be the same as the 4-leaf. Not sure if that's #3 or #4 but you could compare the lengths to a 4-leaf. Shorter springs are stiffer than longer springs of the same length.
Going from the 4-leaf to the 1090 is a different story. All the leaves except the first two and the last one are thicker.
Measure the spring thicknesses to determine which one you have. If you have 0952 it may require removal of more than one leaf.
56 Nomad, Ramjet 502, Viper 6-speed T56, C4 Corvette front and rear suspension
Other vehicles:
56 Chevy 2-door BelAir sedan
56 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
57 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
1962 327/340HP Corvette
1961 Willys CJ3B Jeep
2001 Porsche Boxster S
2003 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Duramax
2019 GMC Sierra Denali Duramax
Thickness is not the whole deal.
There is a desired progression of length for each leaf from shortest to longest. You can see a discussion of that on the Eaton Detroit springs website. I don't think they give you the math they use though.
So I doubt that the lengths of each component are the same for the 5 leaf vs. the 4 leaf. In other words there's not just an "extra leaf" you could remove from the 5 to make it a 4 with the same characteristics as a factory built 4 leaf.
As I recall, at least some factory 5 leaf springs do have a rather short leaf as the last leaf. That might be the one to remove.
I really doubt you want to remove the 2nd or 3rd leaf no matter what.
Rick, thanks for this info, i will try to determine which leaf or leafs to remove as this is not a factory set, its aftermarket!
Thanks, Knub
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