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2" Lowering Blocks or 2" Lowered Leafs

14K views 15 replies 7 participants last post by  ioldsnut 
#1 ·
Right now, my car is mocked up with 2" lowering blocks in the rear. Up front I have a Heidts clip with coil overs. The car is sitting pretty close to where I want it in the back, but with the 2" lowering blocks, there is not a lot of space between the lower shock mounting plate and the ground. I am leaning towards putting on a set of Caltracs, but they hang down at least another 2" or 3" below the shock mounting plate. Has anyone here at SNS used leafs that are 2" lower than stock? Who sells them? and what other pros and cons should I be thinking about when deciding between usning 2" blocks or a set of 2" lowering leaf springs?
Thanks
Ron
 
#2 ·
caltrac sells a -2.5 inch split mono leaf vto lower your car. johnh with a blue 73 bb nova has them.
you seem to have the cheapest way to go for now unless you are willing to spend a little money. i thought i could just use the leafs- but it turned out that i needed the caltrac bars to mount the shocks as well.
 
#3 ·
If you decide to use lowering blocks make sure the traction bars you choose will not be lower than the lip of the wheel.NHRA rules state nothing can hang below the lip of the wheel.Reason is in in the event of a flat tire the traction bar will hit the ground before the wheel possibly causing loss of control.I removed my lowering blocks and used dropped split monos to achieve the same height.
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the answers guys. I'll measure to see how low the Caltracs will sit in relation to the bottom of the wheel. Does anyone know if the lowered leafs start off as the same length as standard leafs or do they start off as shorter springs. In other words, if you measured around the length of the spring, from eye to eye do they measure the same or do the de-arched ones measure longer? Will the shackels (in my case, sliders) be located any differently? If I had my current springs de-arched, the distance between the spring eyes would increase right? I have already located and welded in my sliders and I do not want to have to move them further back.
Ron
 
#6 · (Edited)
id call calvert - they are fairly good at answering these questions.
regarding what you asked about the springs:

in theory, LOWERED calvert split mono would have less of an arch but the same length- so they can still fit the stock mounts/shackles.

quick question:
are your existing springs- stock- if so, im wondering just how much sag they have in them?
before the split monos- i loved my cars stance- so i bought calvert -1's thinking they were lower than stock springs. they ended up being 2inches higher- so i put ~1inch lowering block on it.
it still sits ~1/2 inch higher than id like it- but im pleased overall.

my point being- you may not need -2.5 springs if your springs are already sagging a lot now.

i plan to put my moroso trick springs on tomorrow- if so, i will post a pic of its stance.

steve
 
#8 ·
My springs are stock replacement monos from Calssic industies. They have been on the car for about 2 years. I don't think they have sagged any, other than the normal settling With the 2" lowering blocks, I like the rear ride height. I have 2" dropped spindels up front on a Heidts clip with coil overs. Overall I want the car to sit pretty low. I'm working on the rear end today. Once its back in the car, I'll make some measurements to see how far the traction bars will hang down. I'll call Calvert racing on Monday.
Ron
 
#9 · (Edited)
edit:
can you post a couple pics the back and side of your car?
are you planning to race it?
if not, you might not really benefit from the split monos- just good rear shocks
+/- the caltrac bars.

some people have issues with the front of the caltrac scraping- but caltrac has tried to remedy this with a low profile piece- basically just removed the bottom hole off the mount.

not uncommon for people to have ~2-3 inches from the ground.
i will try to measure mine tomorrow.

steve
 
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