I’m ‘still’ in the middle of rebuilding the front-suspension. I’ll be going back together with the full PST performance parts soon (before the 347 goes in). I also purchased a set of front drag springs from PST. They are taller than the OEM by about 2-1/2”. The new springs have 11 coils and the OEM’s have 8-1/2. The new springs are 18" tall and the OEM's are 15-1/2". Just by simply putting my weight on them, I can’t tell any change in compression resistance. I can, however, feel less resistance in tension (expected). I purchased my car as a rolling chassis, so I have no idea what ride height the OEM springs gave the car (too high or too low, just right?). Actually, I don’t even know if the springs in the car were OEM but that’s a moot point. My question is this, has anyone here used the drag springs from PST (or similar length springs from another mfg)? If so, what was the ride height like? Did you need to cut them down to lower the front-end? I will probably put the springs in the way they came (full length) and cut them down only if needed after the engine is in. Having said that, I’d like to know if other Maverick/Comet owners have done this swap and what to expect out of the new springs. F.Y.I. the car is intended for strip-use only (and yes, I expect the Maverick to pull the wheels slightly at launch). Thanks in advance, Rick edit: added spring lengths
I havent used the pst springs, but I'm very happy with the heated stock springs. We heated them until we got the right "stance" and left it at that. It's also a drag car. Seems to work quite well with the home-made "cal-track" traction bars on the rear. Oh, we also use suspension limiters on the front to limit how far the front will raise. The idea here is that if the front end is all the way up on the springs as you're going down the track, air will be going under the car and slowing you down. We didnt notice much of a mph increase, but the 60' times did decrease a good bit....if I remember, it was almost a full tenth. As it is now, the car leaves almost perfectly, pulls the left front about 2-3", holds it there for 20 feet or so, then just dances on the pavement until I hit high gear. For a stock suspension setup, it really does work well.
Thanks for the reply. Sounds like a bit of 'black art' is in my future (ie., heating springs and adding lift limiter) to achieve the optimum e.t. (and consistancy). I hadn't thought about the lift limiter. Now that you mention it, I *have* seen a few other cars that tend to lift way too much all the way down the track. Not only does it slow them down (I suspect) aerodynamically, but it looks like it is a bear to keep it straight as there is too little weight on the front end to allow the front runners to get a grip (not a good feeling at 105+/- mph's I'm sure). Can you pleases give me a description of your suspension limiter (ie., what are the device(s)? chains? adjustable brackets? home-made, supplier? pics? etc.,)? I'm guessing I'm gonna be doing a lot of testing and tuning this year to get the optimum combination of tire size (roll out, grip, stance, etc). While I'm on the subject, what size runners are you running? Thanks for the help and good luck again this year in the points chase. Be safe, Rick
