Thanks guys, I've been digging through some older threads as well trying to find extra opinions. I did notice that a lot of people noticed the SS springs raised the rear a fair bit. How much taller then stock will the SS springs be? Or whats the height of the rear with the SS springs? floor to top of wheel arch seams the most appropriate measurement...
I know I can use the higher spring mount on the hanger, but there was a lot of talk about it stuffing the pinion angle - so shimming would be needed. Wheres the best place to get shims etc?
The B-Body upgrades book I have mentions using the same leaf springs on both sides for 'auto cross' etc. Which is why I was going to go that way, looking for all round performance rather then straight line stuff. Has anyone on here done it? Does it lead to noticeable twist in a hard launch?
Thinking that twin passenger XHD's (7 Leafs) or Twin Drivers SS springs (6 Leaf) might be the way to go.
Could I add a Caltrac or 'Assassin' traction devices to either set up later? Found mixed comments when I searched.
Also, thanks to the guys that mentioned custom made ones, but I'm based in Australia. So some where like SUmmit where I can get MP springs for a good price and bundle the postage cost with other products is just more financially sensible. I'd hope that mopar performance springs would be good enough quality any way!
I have a set of SS springs on my 70 Roadrunner that I put on back in 1985. Six leaves on driver's side and 8 leaves on passenger side. The passenger side (with the 8 leaves) sets lower than the driver's side. The SS springs raised the rear bumper of my car about 4 inches (or more) vs. the stock springs. I have the SS style front shackles, so I moved the front leaf spring mounting bolts to the upper holes (lower holes = stock location) and it lowered the car BUT even with 4-degree shims (the max that is recommended) it was not enough to get my pinion angle correct (or even close to correct). My choices were to cut/re-weld the spring perches to correct the pinion angle OR to move the front spring bolts back to the lower/stock SS front spring bracket holes and add 2" lowering blocks (which is what I did & the rear end now looks about stock height, maybe 1" higher). The downside to the 2" lowering blocks is that my "slapper"/bolt-on traction bars wouldn't clear the ground anymore so I had to use an adjustable pinion snubber and everything seems good now.
It's a tough call & I've been thinking about CalTrac's / newer SS springs / XHD springs / two of the same side SS springs / ladder bars / etc.
1. CalTrac - I'm reading they're bumpy and rattle on the street & not that cheap, but I'm leaning that way. It seems like you really need to use the CalTrac mono-leaf springs with the CalTrac bars, so my rearend lean would go away and the car would set even, maybe even hook better at the track.
2. New SS springs - likely will still sag on passenger rear like I have now. It doesn't look that good, but it is how Mopar designed them to launch straight at the track (I do drag race 4-5 times per year). Some people say you can adjust the passenger torsion bar a little higher and sort of hide the passenger rear sag, so I might give that a try first. FYI- my SS springs don't feel all that bumpy
3. XHD Springs - I'm not hearing a lot of good things about their quality, so I probably won't go that way
4. Ladder bars - I just might do this. It's old school and kind of "track only" but that's never stopped me before.
5. Two of the same side SS springs - This seems like the cheapest way to a)get the car to set even and b)get a quality spring and c)not spend a fortune. The problem I have with this is that I do race the car and I'm afraid that it will launch sideways if I don't use a left/right SS spring. This does seem like a good idea for a street-only car.
6. Springs 'n Things / St.Louis Spring / EMCO - all seem like a better option that the XHD springs (better quality) if you want the car to set level, give a pretty smooth feeling ride and you don't drag race.
My two-cents
