rear springs

[cobal]

could anyone please tell me what length and poundage rear springs I need for my viper, it has jag suspension and a chevy engine. At the moment it has 4 gaz shocks but only 2 springs fitted at the rear, as the previous owner said it was the best handling setup he found for the car, it seems to ride ok but the mot testers recomended that I fit another 2 springs ( 4 matching ) The paperwork I got with the car says the kit came from Bournemouth in 2001

[hfbradley01]

Originally Posted by cobal

could anyone please tell me what length and poundage rear springs I need for my viper, it has jag suspension and a chevy engine. At the moment it has 4 gaz shocks but only 2 springs fitted at the rear, as the previous owner said it was the best handling setup he found for the car, it seems to ride ok but the mot testers recomended that I fit another 2 springs ( 4 matching ) The paperwork I got with the car says the kit came from Bournemouth in 2001

Hi

I also think you should have 4 springs, Iain - I think you are better placed to answer this regarding length and poundage. There is a conversion you can do to fit 2 shocks and 2 springs and by all accounts it gives better road holding. Some of us Viper owners are considering this option for the future.

Cheers

[mylesdw]

It's quite OK to run two springs instead of four on the Jag rear, and two dampers as well for that matter. If the the stiffness of the rear suspension is acceptable leave it alone, if not just replace the two springs. I can't speak for Vipers but as a guide, my Ram has 2 x 150 lbs per side (300 lb total per side) and the new Ram chassis use only one pair of shocks. The rate will vary from one chassis to another depending upon the angle at which the units are mounted.

[cobal]

thank you for your comments, I was not sure about the set up of my car as it seem odd that it set up this way, I have not been able to use the car much yet and understand they can be a little tail happy so I wanted to get the best setup to start with. any other comments, tips about setting the handling up will be gratefully recieved. Is the handling on vipers on par with some of the other cobra kits

[mylesdw]

I can't see any reason why increasing the number of shocks and springs should make any difference to handling. In theory, one pair of shocks and springs will always out-perform two pairs because the latter has higher unsprung weight.

[cobal]

will only having one spring per side twist the suspension, or cause any other bearing-bush wear?

[mylesdw]

That lower wishbone is designed to take the much larger torsional loads caused by having no upper wishbone. Every time you accelerate or brake, a large twisting force passes through it; the twisting effect caused by having one set of springs is tiny by comparison.

[cobal]

thanks for your help, just need some rain free days now to get some miles on her, and attend some of the meets. I will leave her as is for now and see how she goes.

[Iain]

Originally Posted by hfbradley01

Iain - I think you are better placed to answer this regarding length and poundage.

Howard,

I'm not so sure myself. If you remember, my car sits like a 4x4 at the moment so it looks like I am getting new springs (and maybe even new shocks)

You could try ringing Bob Busbridge at Cobretti. The Cobretti Viper and the Classic Replicas Viper are more or less the same so he might be able to give you some advice there...

Regards

[cobal]

Yes, as I understand the viper kit was made by several different people that is why I said that the kit was from a supplier in Bournemouth. Can anyone tell me who was making them there? I will contact Cobretti to see if he can help as I would still like to know what spring rate and length the makers recomended in case I decided to go to four springs.