Leaf springs / tire scrubbing
 

So i have 255/160/15 in the back which " should be " fine. I also have the vette brake fiberglass springs. Well every bump in the road (decent bump anyway or dip) they scrub. And with a pasenger forget it, even worse.


So i guess my question is will going back to a 5 leaf spring with some comp eng slider bars fix this?


I ordered a set with a +1" ride height.

Your thread title and description are a little misleading. Are you saying the tires scrub on the leaf springs, or the fenders? If you're bottoming out on the fenders, how much space is there between the sidewalls and leaf springs? Your wheels might not have enough back-spacing for the size tires you have.

I'm running the same tire you are in the back and I've got room to spare with no scrubbing anywhere.

I believe I have a 4.5 inch backspace on the rim.
I am running a 5 leaf spring in the back with a 2" drop.
I am also running a set of Competition engineering Slide a link's adjusted with a quarter inch gap which doesn't allow the springs to bottom out.

Hope this helps.

Where is the tire scrubbing the body? Is it the quarter panel lip or the inner wheelwell? With the right wheel offset and a rolled quarter panel lip on a ’69 Camaro you can get a 275-wide tire to fit comfortably fit in the rear without scrubbing. Do you have pictures of the wheels on your car? This would help us give more constructive advice.
What sort of driving are you doing with your car? This might determine if steel leaf springs may be better for your application.

those are AR-23's 15x7 fronts 15x8 rears

69SS427

Sounds like we are running exactly the same tire and rim sizes, although you havn't given us the back spacing, I'm going to assume it's 4.5 inches.

You said earlier that you were thinking of getting some Competition Engineering Slide a Links. Before you get new springs, get the Slide a Links and install them and see if that stops the travel which is causing the scrubbing. (I'm assuming the raised white letters are getting scrubbed off?)

Reason I'm saying this is because I went from a 235 with properly adjusted slide a links to a 255 and forgot to re-adjust them until I drove the car down the road the first time and it rode like a bucking broncho! After properly adjusting the slide a links, I dropped about a half an inch between the wheel well and the tire.

For street use, you want about a quarter inch gap when you adjust the slide a links if you want a decent ride while maintaining straight launches off the line (no fish tailing) Unfortunately, it really stiffens up the springs and doesn't allow the front half of the spring to flex. I know Hotchkis can explain this way better than me, but that's the reason the car dropped half an inch when I adjusted them for the taller tire. With the shorter tire (235), all the pressure was on the slide a links while the front of the spring was basically just there for looks... It certainly wasn't doing anything lol.

Anyway, I think the slide a links would resolve your issue with the tires scrubbing, but it raises another concern that maybe Hotchkis can answer. And that is, are the fiberglass springs stout enough to handle the added pressure that the slide a links are going to impose upon them?

Not exactly sure but they are ar23 rims heres what i found on those:


AMERICAN RACING AR23
SIZEOFFSET
15" x 10"--4415" x 7"--5,--615" x 8"--1916" x 7"--616" x 8"+0

i have 15x8 's on the back


either way i think im going to go back to a 5 leaf with the comp bars and make sure it doesnt scrub anymore.

I dont trust those fiberglass springs at all, makes me nervous they are gonna crack. I have a 427bb not that its a super powerhouse but im concerned.

Hi 69,
I'm running the same rim size as you. 15-8's on the back with 255/60/15 and 15-7s with 215/65/15 on the front, plus I'm running a 2" drop coil in the front and a 2" drop in the rear spring. With my new exhause, I can even drive over a set of rough RR tracks and I'm fine!

When you say comp bar, are you talking about this? Below is what I'm running as well.

http://www.catalograck.com/ImgVD/COE/C2100.jpg

I hear ya on the fiberglass springs though, my intuition just tells me it's not right with a BB :icon_bricks:

This is a picture of when I first put the new tire / rim on the car. Keep in mind, after I adjusted the slide a link, it dropped about a half inch.