Chassisorks coil over spring rate selection for street

Wow, I thought I'd have a hundred responses by now, guess I have to do what people did before the internet... Find out on my own.:yes:

I don't have the Chassis Works clip but on my Checkered racing clip I run 350 lbs. springs with my SBC. If the 550lbs springs didn't jar your teeth I would consider 500 or maybe even 450 but take a 50lbs. jump if you choose to experiment. The nice thing is springs are an affordable hit for the return.

Contact TechGuy on here he works there.

chassisworks tech guy said if 550 lb springs are too rough try 450 springs which i thought was still high, I'm looking for the best ride possible i'm not really concerned with corner carving and g's just cruising and enjoying my car after being apart 12 years in the garage...

I recognize your front end is too stiff but coilover shocks don't have the range of motion of standard coil spring suspensions. If you were to spring your car to the softness of the car stock it would bottom out as the length of wire is much shorter in a coil-over. The next time I buy springs it will be from RideTech. Their springs have fewer coils and allow a greater travel before coil-bind. Be sure to have shock bumpers to protect your shocks. Not only will it save your shocks but in emergency situations your suspension won't shoot to infinity and lose any control you may have had. They also don't need to take a set.

I have A Heidts and just changed from 450 to 400 and is a much better ride on the street. Now I may need to go lower on the rear

S.Humrich said:

I have A Heidts and just changed from 450 to 400 and is a much better ride on the street. Now I may need to go lower on the rear

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An astute observation. Quite often a driver will get the front to stick and next time out the rear will come around. Drive carefully till you know for sure.:yes:

Pragmatist said:

An astute observation. Quite often a driver will get the front to stick and next time out the rear will come around. Drive carefully till you know for sure.:yes:

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yeah i have 250 on the rear and its adjusted all the way soft and all though its better its not what i want. i talked to chuck church at the mini nats and he told me he had 175 180 in the rear so that may be where im headed

What is it with the 550 lb. springs?
I'm running an all aluminum LS engine with a fiberglass hood and 550 lb. springs on the Varishocks.
The spring rate is teeth/window rattling as you know. I would suggest a navigator to help you spot for pot holes.
The springs cost at least $100.00. So, instead of guessing wrong, I will weigh the front end of the car. I will give this info to a tech at Varishock & hopefully get a "calculated" recommendation.
Good luck. And thanks for reminding me of another issue I need to address prior to getting my car back on the road.

dumps said:

I am curious what coil-over spring rates people are using in their Chassisworks front clips for street duty? I have a 67 with Chassisworks street machine clip and sway bar, 550 lb. coils on single adjustable shocks set on the middle setting and running a LS1... When I first ordered the clip I was going to run a small block but decided to go ls instead, I figure chassisworks recommended the 550 lb springs for the added weight of the sb. Now after putting a few hundred miles on the car with no change in ride quality I think it's too rough for the street and wanted to see what other people with experience with this are using.

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I forgot what mine are. I'll take a look tonight and get back to you.

Mine were 600# and the ride was decent IMO, now I went with longer travel coilovers and 250# springs for drag racing.

It's stamped on the spring. Bet their 550!

66 BADBOY said:

I forgot what mine are. I'll take a look tonight and get back to you.

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Dang, I took a look tonight, and I cannot find the numbers. I know they are on there and how they look because I see them on my rears. I'll have to dig back through my receipts and see which ones I ordered. All I can say is my car rides PERFECT. I wouldn't change a thing about the spring rates in front or rear (TCI 4 link with Varishocks)

If your car rides perfect, knowing that spring rate would be really helpful to a lot of people.
Thanks for looking.

66 BADBOY said:

Dang, I took a look tonight, and I cannot find the numbers. I know they are on there and how they look because I see them on my rears. I'll have to dig back through my receipts and see which ones I ordered. All I can say is my car rides PERFECT. I wouldn't change a thing about the spring rates in front or rear (TCI 4 link with Varishocks)

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I have a Heidt 4 link in my 67 and changed from the stock supplied Heidt rear coilovers to Afco double adjustable. 5" stroke and 150 lb springs. HUGE improvement. Don't know what came stock from Heidt, no detail on the spring. Not cheap for double adjustable shocks. The 150 lb spring with the longer shock allows the shock to be in the lower shock mount hole and the shock in it's reccommended travel position. Might have to tighten the adjuster if we head out on the Power tour with a trunk load of stuff. I'm about 4-5 threads up on the body of the shock currently.

The 150 lb springs seem to be right on the money for my application.

it's important to make sure the different styles of coil over applications are noted... not all are the same or use the same style spring.

i think in this situation i'd be wanting to compare only the CW style coil overs...

i have a Heidt's MustII clip that i converted to the beehive style coil overs, it's not the same style set up as you're using. i think the recommendation to get the car weighed is a good one. i'd think it'd be a helpful tool...

anyways... best of luck to ya and why doncha post a couple pics of your car? let's see what you're working on. :thumbsup:

I called the tech guy at chassisworks for a recommendation on the spring rate and he said guess what... 550 lbs! After I told him literally 3 times it rode rough he said drive it and if it rides rough go to maybe 450 lbs springs. I guess the go-to spring rate for all applications at chassisworks is 550 lbs. Maybe thats the best all around rate and I'm in the wrong just seems generally high to me.

Interesting. I spoke with a guy at Varishock that said 550# was way too much spring. He recommended going down to around 400#.
Again, I don't want to guess at this. I want it to be right. So, I will weigh my front end and call Varishock back.

dumps said:

I called the tech guy at chassisworks for a recommendation on the spring rate and he said guess what... 550 lbs! After I told him literally 3 times it rode rough he said drive it and if it rides rough go to maybe 450 lbs springs. I guess the go-to spring rate for all applications at chassisworks is 550 lbs. Maybe thats the best all around rate and I'm in the wrong just seems generally high to me.

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dumps said:

I am curious what coil-over spring rates people are using in their Chassisworks front clips for street duty? I have a 67 with Chassisworks street machine clip and sway bar, 550 lb. coils on single adjustable shocks set on the middle setting and running a LS1... When I first ordered the clip I was going to run a small block but decided to go ls instead, I figure chassisworks recommended the 550 lb springs for the added weight of the sb. Now after putting a few hundred miles on the car with no change in ride quality I think it's too rough for the street and wanted to see what other people with experience with this are using.

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Before you go any further you need to put the car on scales and find out what the front & rear weights are.

This info is needed for correct spring application.

Al