First,I know that the buggy spring is the traditional way.But I see a lot of cars with coilover setups. Just wondering about pro's & cons of buggy spring vs coilover rear suspension
I've always had the traditional buggy spring rears but am building my current rpu project with coil overs, so I will find out shortly how it differs. My one Son has them on the back of his T bucket and the ride is fine. Initially, I would say the major benefit to coil overs is the ability to dial in ride height by either moving the mounting point up or down a hole or by turning the adjustment ring at the bottom. It does seem like there is sometimes a problem in selecting the correct spring rate because there have been lots of posts about coil over cars having a harsh ride at times. While there are charts telling you what spring rate you should buy, it seems that the real test is once the car is on the road. Don
The heavy leaf springs add weight over the axles to smooth the bumps. The leaf springs Henry used are actually softer than the recommended coil over springs. I have coil overs on my roadster. They are less than half to recommended rate. It is easy to change rate and ride heigth with them. I have the stock set up under my coupe. The cars ride about the same. I have a roll bar on the roadster and also being lower, it corners well as the coupe does not. I feel that the coil over rate should be about 15-20% of the SPRUNG weigh. Weigh the back of the car and subtract 300 lbs to get close. So if the back of the car weighs 1000 lbs, subtract 300 ,and get 700. I would start at 140 and go DOWN from there. I have 115's on my roadster. The next car I build woud have a '40 front spring on the back.
Softer is always better, spring wise. Many of the hot rod kits I've seen in the past have 200lb rear springs. GADS! Forgot to add on what Don said, the convenience of coil overs is not only to easily change spring rates but also to adjust ride height with a twist of a threaded ring. All super easy / nice. Some of the newer units also come with really small diameter springs, too. Gary
Like I said above, coil overs are easy to tune. I like and have used both style springs. I have an advantge on using the leaf springs. I built a spring test rig so I can determine the deflection vs. load for front and rear springs. This lets me determine rate. I have a load cell and a position indicator. I can set up varius length springs and hang them on shackles. It is easy to get the spring rate right and also know what the finished ride heigth will be when installed. I would be less likely to use the leaf springs with out the calibration rig. I have calibrated several '40 springs and they work well. The coil overs on the roadster work great! You will not get leaf springs to work as well as coil overs because of the friction. You pays your money and you takes your choice.
I have the transverse springs on the front and back of my Deuce pickup and the ride is good,,not great but it's a short wheel base hot rod that I built about 7 years ago ,,no complaints. I have coil overs on the rear and a transverse front spring on my '32 sedan,,I built the sedan over 15 years ago and it rides great,,no complaints. If I was to build them today,,the truck would have a different rear spring,,softer,,and the sedan would have a transverse rear spring,,times change,ideas change. But I'm happy with the sedan and could care less if people like MATACONCEPTS likes it or not. HRP
Just drug my bucket home and I'm sitting right here at this juncture. What springs are best, cheapest or most readily available? Also, let's see some setup pics...thanks!
I am collecting parts to build a roadster at the moment and I have also pondered this very question. I think I have decided on a traditional setup though - I just think it looks better with the style of the car. However - based on previous experiences I think I would probably have to say that using coilovers results in a better riding/handling car. Since I have already chosen my wheels - which will end up with some period correct bias ply tires on them - it just didn't make sense to me to utilize a modern suspension when it would just end up wasted on antique wheels and tires. I don't plan on doing any road racing in this car...lol.
I have both and they both work. I like the buggy spring look better. Looks more traditional. But ride is pretty damn close.
I have coilovers on the back of my roadster.... hindsight is 20/20. My next one will have leaf springs... they look better from the back.
I'm not going to point you to one over the other. I'll just point out that like coil overs, leaf springs vary a lot and can be tuned. Using the '40 front spring on the rear is typically a fairly soft ride. Front springs vary a bunch as to how many leaves and the thickness of each leaf. Add or substract leaves as needed. Springs with nylon slide buttons or a polished and greased spring ride better that stock. My point is, that as you can tune a coil over car, you can also tune a leaf spring car.
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