lowering a wagon

[81msw79]

I am looking into lowering my wagon . most lowering springs are made for the coupes . is there any company that make a true elcamino/wagon lowering spring that has a rides nice with a decent weight rating . really don't want to run airbags if not needed.. or are custom springs and coilover setups the only way to go? shooting for 1" to 2" drop

belltech seems to be the only company that does not suggest airbags but they also do not know the spring rate.

 

[ssbrewskyaz]

I think to get what you're looking for you need to back into the question. Find a member that has one of the printed G-Body parts catalog and ask them to make a copy of the spring rate chart for your specific car. Once you know what that number is, you can compare that rate with the rate of the springs from various spring suppliers i.e. Hotchkis or etc. Essentially, if you purchase lowering spindles for the front with a spring that has a comparative rate to the OE spring, the car should ride similar to stock. Same can be said for the rear.

The question becomes, is the car you're building the way GM built it? For example, was it originally a V6 car and now a V8? Did it have a 200 trans and now a 700, steel wheels vs aluminum and etc. When you begin splitting hairs, it all matters. ...

:arrow: :arrow: :arrow: :wink:

 

[81msw79]

lowering the front is not the concern . I can use any lowering spring for that since it is a small block car. the concern comes to the rear since the wagon has a stiffer cargo spring from the factory to compensate for the heavier rear. factory rear springs are rated at 167 lbs. coupes are between 150-158. rims don't suspend the car so I don't see how that is a huge a factor in spring rate. hotchkis suggest helper bags for elcaminos and wagons cause they are designed for coupes. same with st and eibach.
belltech said thiers will be fine with no bags but don't know what the spring rate is.

 

[Longroof79]

Ed,
Have you considered going with 2" drop spindles, and maybe A-body rear springs in the rear? My car isn't lowered as yet, but I'm considering MOOG 5660's up front and A-body springs in the rear. I also have cargo coils in the rear which work great carrying a load, but it also raises the car a little higher than I want it to.
A lot of wagon guys use airbags in the rear to help compensate for load carrying with lowering springs.

 

[ssbrewskyaz]

My bad, I guess I assumed you were building a hotrod. Never even occurred to me that you would be using the wagon to haul junk around. Personally, I think airbags are way overkill unless you're going to be running at max Gross Vehicle Weight all the time. How much weight do you anticipate carrying around, even if only occasionally? Pretty sure a set of coil-over shocks will be able to offset the springs for the load carrying capability unless you're really heavy and most of the time.

:arrow: :arrow: :arrow: 😳

 

[Longroof79]

Scott,
I like the idea of using coil overs in the rear over air bags. I didn't even think of coil overs. What's even better are adjustable coil overs to adjust ride height and load. Some, I'm sure, could be cost prohibitive compared to air bags.
I would like to be able to haul some junk around and maybe pull a small trailer.

 

[81msw79]

wagon is more of a street cruiser. it will have a bit of pep but not a race car. plan to put a small 10" sub which probably weighs about 20-25 lbs with enclosure ,and I would be adding a hitch to carry my bike rack and 2 bikes. both bikes would weigh between 30-40 lbs each depending which bike I have on there and the rack is about 75lbs alone.

without the rack I cannot see putting anything heavier then maybe a rear end or a set of 4 rims with tires in the back of the car.

 

[81msw79]

jack, the springs in my wagon are tost. the car already sits 1 1/2" lower then stock cause the springs are sagging pretty bad. so since I need to swap them I figured I would find whatever kept the same ride height and still supported the car. I could go with stock v8 springs and drop spindles but did want a slightly firmer ride. I would love to get it to lowered and ride/handle about the same as my 02 blazer xtreme. what are the moog 5660 made for and how much will the a-body springs drop the back? do they fit right in without mods?

 

[Longroof79]

Ed,
The MOOG #5660 springs are for an S10. If I'm not mistaken, they're for the 6 cyl. model, whereas the #5658 are for the 4 cyl. model. But before I go any further, I don't know if you've seen this chart before. It should help you out with different spring combinations to help you determine spring rates between standard stock and heavier duty.
http://www.maliburacing.com/coilspring.htm
So you're in the market for new springs anyway? In my opinion, Hotchkis, Eibachs, etc. are over priced...and besides, their rear springs would most likely need to use airbags to supplement ride height and load.

Springs do settle some, but not a whole bunch. I have F41 (#5606) springs up front and cargo coils in the rear. At the time I was running a taller 70 series tire and living in NYC, so with the terrible road conditions it couldn't be lowered.

 

[81msw79]

yeah the roads here do need some help. my blue wagon has factory replacement springs from summit racing. that car is staying stock height. I picked up an 83 wagon that I want to keep the lowered look on. the s10 springs there will be 2 types. there is the normal model springs and then the xtreme package came with a slightly stiffer spring that lowered the them 1.5" from the factory. I just don't know how much of a weight difference the front of a Malibu and the front of an s10 are. I am sure the motors are not a huge difference since the 4.3 is a cast iron head and block just like a sbc. cant see more then a 60-70 pound difference.