[tonyvol]

Hey everyone, is anyone using Hotchkis 3" drop leaf springs on a 67-68 Camaro? I'm trying to decide on if I should go 1.5" or 3".

Thanks,
Tony

 

[Steiner]

These are Global West L16 1.5" drop and about a 2-2.5" drop in the front. 3" would put it in the weeds and (to me) be tough to balance out the front. Now, I don't know how the '68 arch dimension compares to a '69.

 

[Jeremiah]

I have ran the Hotchkis 1.5" drop leafs on my last two cars with 1.5" blocks added to lower the car to the right stance. I thought about going with the 3" drop leafs on my current car but I like being able to tune the ride hight with the blocks.

 

[Steiner]

^^^

That's kinda what I was thinking. You can get a 1.5" spring lower but can't get a 3" spring higher.

I should add that I had to use 6 degree shims to get my pinion angle correct which might've added a little more drop. It's a big friggin' shim.

 

[camsdad]

Hey Steiner,
What size wheels and tires ya' have there?
It looks like ya' have 18's or so on the rear and 17's up front.

 

[Steiner]

Kurt, they're 17x8 and 17x9.5.

 

[camsdad]

Kurt, they're 17x8 and 17x9.5.

Interesting,
I finally have my ride sittin on all four for the 1st time in 9 yrs.
Hotchkis 1-1/2" rear leafs and 2" front coils on the same wheel sizes as yours and with Nitto's front and rears.
Of course she is still gutted and in final mock up stages but my ride seems to sit higher in the rear and lower up front a bit.
I have thrown some extra weight in the trunk to try to simulate the normal extra weight (Less a tank of gas) Didn't seem to make much of a difference for the rear stance.
Currently I have about 1-1/2" from the top of the rear tire to the rear wheel well lip.
Guess I will find out for sure if I like my stance when she is all put back together.

 

[camsdad]

Ohh, and one more thing Steiner,

Your ride looks bitchin awesome. :thumbsup::beers:

 

[Steiner]

Hey, thanks a lot. Try taking the rear shocks off, loosening the front eye bolts. and loosening all four shackle bolts for a while. I left mine like that for a few weeks with the axle on stands while doing other stuff.

 

[tonyvol]

Interesting,
I finally have my ride sittin on all four for the 1st time in 9 yrs.
Hotchkis 1-1/2" rear leafs and 2" front coils on the same wheel sizes as yours and with Nitto's front and rears.
Of course she is still gutted and in final mock up stages but my ride seems to sit higher in the rear and lower up front a bit.
I have thrown some extra weight in the trunk to try to simulate the normal extra weight (Less a tank of gas) Didn't seem to make much of a difference for the rear stance.
Currently I have about 1-1/2" from the top of the rear tire to the rear wheel well lip.
Guess I will find out for sure if I like my stance when she is all put back together.
.

Thanks for replying Kurt. I'll have to keep that in mind when doing the install.

I have ran the Hotchkis 1.5" drop leafs on my last two cars with 1.5" blocks added to lower the car to the right stance. I thought about going with the 3" drop leafs on my current car but I like being able to tune the ride hight with the blocks.

Jeremiah good point about being able to have some adjustabity by going with 1.5" drop leafs.

Hey, thanks a lot. Try taking the rear shocks off, loosening the front eye bolts. and loosening all four shackle bolts for a while. I left mine like that for a few weeks with the axle on stands while doing other stuff.

Steiner, sweet ride. Thanks for responding and sharing the experience and tips. I will be ordering Hotchkis 1.5 drop leafs. I hope I can get the balanced look you have. Are you running coil overs or coil springs in the front?

Thanks,
Tony

 

[Steiner]

Steiner, sweet ride. Thanks for responding and sharing the experience and tips. I will be ordering Hotchkis 1.5 drop leafs. I hope I can get the balanced look you have. Are you running coil overs or coil springs in the front?

Thanks,
Tony

Regular coil springs.....Eibach 1" lower coils and Bilstein shocks with SPC lower arms that are supposed to have another 1" drop built in.

 

[Andrew69]

ohh, and one more thing steiner,

your ride looks bitchin awesome. :thumbsup::beers:

x2!

 

[rojo]

I saw Steiner's car at a show a couple of weeks ago, didn't know it was his at the time. A very sweet ride indeed. :yes:

 

[6D9 Matt]

Love the stance Steiner! I agree... might be the best idea to get the 1.5" drop leafs and if you decide to drop some more, add the blocks. Just going straight to the 3" drop may lead to you not liking it and buying all new leafs, etc.

 

[Hotchkis]

Adding lowering block is an inexpensive way to adjust your ride height and a great way to do it if you’re trying to gain the perfect stance. Just be careful because moving the axle centerline further away from the spring can induce wheel hope because the axle housing gets more leverage to twist the leaf spring.


Here’s Carl Casanova’s ’68 with our 3” drop leaf springs in the rear.

 

[Steiner]

Alright. You guys are starting to embarrass me. Stop it. Tony, it looks like your wheel arch will be higher than mine based on those pictures of Carl's ride. With the way they changed them less drop looks like more on mine due to flattening out the wheel arch.

 

[67Rally]

Adding lowering block is an inexpensive way to adjust your ride height and a great way to do it if you’re trying to gain the perfect stance. Just be careful because moving the axle centerline further away from the spring can induce wheel hope because the axle housing gets more leverage to twist the leaf spring.


Here’s Carl Casanova’s ’68 with our 3” drop leaf springs in the rear.

I love that stance. I have the 1 1/2" drop leafs that haven't been installed yet. It almost makes me wish I had gone with the 3" leafs. I'll have to wait and see if 1 1/2" is low enough, or if I'll add the lowering blocks and risk the increased wheel hop. Although I will say that I'm very happy with the 2" drop in the front from your springs.

However, twice in the past several months I have submitted the suggestion on the Hotchkis site to include the details of the suspension mods done to the cars along with the pics in the G-Ride section. Otherwise it's just pics of a bunch of good looking cars with no useful info. So once again I submit the same suggestion. This would make it easier for people to choose the correct suspension components and eliminate the guess work.

 

[Hotchkis]

Brent – Those suggestions have not gone unheard. We’re working on revamping the G-rides section to reflect what suspension adorns each customer vehicle. Our marketing department is hard at work with this and upcoming events like the GM Full Size open house this Saturday at our headquarters and SEMA in 2 weeks, so changes will take a little more time.

Thanks again for your suggestions. They were great!

 

[67Rally]

Brent – Those suggestions have not gone unheard. We’re working on revamping the G-rides section to reflect what suspension adorns each customer vehicle. Our marketing department is hard at work with this and upcoming events like the GM Full Size open house this Saturday at our headquarters and SEMA in 2 weeks, so changes will take a little more time.

Thanks again for your suggestions. They were great!

Thanks, I understand that changes take a while. Glad to hear they didn't go unnoticed.

 

[53vicky]

This is my 67 with 3" hotchkis rears and 2" fronts.
Very happy with the stance and performance....1 1/2" does give you the flexibility of adjusting height with blocks but the 3" is my case just worked perfect.