What a difference 8 cylinder front springs make from 6 cylinder springs! The V8 swap killed those 6 cylinder springs! Oh well at least I've got suspension on the front now and some needed ground clearance!. Only took a couple of hours and some "creative" words to do the task.
when i swapped a 302 into a I6 '71 car, the I6 springs give me just the stance that i wanted and didnt have any trouble out of them...
i replaced my 8 cyl springs with 6 cyl springs as well. gave me the perfect stance once i cut off 1 1/2 coils.
edit dave beat me This thread is very old, and by reading your signature if your looking for that front end drop your going to need to change springs or cut some off. Being that you already have 6 cyl springs and 6 cyl engine. The drop effect works with v8 cars cause the 6 cyl springs are lighter spring rate and not made to have a v8 sitting on them. Once you put heavier engine on lower rate springs you get a drop effect.
So you would rather have me make a new thread? I understand that, but what I am trying to get out of this is - Did they use OEM V6 Springs? I understand you add a V8 to V6 Springs it will naturally drop. I have to replace my front springs due to failure. I am rebuilding the front end next weekend, so trying to gather everything prior to doing so. I am also looking for suggestions as to what brand of coil springs I should use. I already plan on taking 1-1.5 coils out.
Yeah probably a good idea to start a new thread on the subject. As for what springs to buy go into detail in a new thread on what type of performance your looking for and what type of driving you plan on using it for. Lots of different spring rates for lots of different applications, there is no one size fits all.
Daily Driving, Better Cornering and Handling, and Weekend Drag when I get the 302 dropped in towards the end of the summer.
Mine has factory I6 springs and they work just fine with the V8. I assume you are talking about factory I6 springs. Mavericks didnt come with a V6. Unless your talking about different V6 springs. I'm guessing its just a typo.
It is a drag racing trick to put lighter 6 cylinder springs in a V8 car. The idea is that, because they have less resistance, they allow a lot of front end rise for weight transfer to the rear wheels upon launch, and then let the front end settle down a bit lower for better aerodynamics at the fast end of the track. They are not good for an improvement in overall handling. For that, you would find a higher rate spring would help. When you do that you start to compromise ride quality and comfort. These would also need to be the right height for the stance you are after. There are a lot of springs available for Mustangs, and might be a good starting point, but probably will need to be installed and then checked for height after being run for a couple of weeks to let them settle a bit. If the ride height is too high, then cut them. I am looking for better handling and will probably be shopping for front coils in the 450lb/inch range the next time I go into the front suspension. Any higher than that is probably going to be pretty harsh. IIRC, stock V8 coils are 300-320, but I'm not sure. Did a quick search and didn't find stock specs. Global West makes some good stuff. Applicatiions that fit a 67-70 Mustang will also work with our cars.
For what it's worth, I'm using 67 Mustang big block springs, I think I cut 2.25 coils off.(memory isn't what it used to be..) I just remember cutting 1.5 coils and having to pull the &*#%$ things back out to cut off more, thinking 3/4 more... btw: rides good, has KYB's all around, Addco front and rear bars, Shelby drop. You would have to cut more w/o the Shelby UCA pivot drop.
