Composite leaf springs

[jaybee]

Anyone have experience with composite leaf springs like these;
http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Chevy-Composite-Leaf-Springs,4851.html
http://www.hypercoils.com/Products/Hyperco-Composite-Leaf-Springs.aspx

I'm seeing some claims that they give a great ride and excellent grip as long as they're paired with the right shocks.

[enjenjo]

I had them on an Astro Van I owned, they seemed to work fine on it.

[UGLY OLDS]

I,m pretty sure they are OE on all Astro Van's ....  Mine has them & I know of 4 others that do ... They seem to work fine & ride well ....I'm satisfied with them ....




Bob............

[unklian]

Chevy used them on the backs of the Corvette before the Astro vans.

The oval track dirt guys ran them 20 years ago, but I forget the brand.

[jaybee]

Thanks for the feedback.  From the pictures it looks like they're thicker on one end than the other, bet that's to control spring wrap.  The hard core corner turners seem to like them a lot.

On the other hand I asked the same question on a tri-five specific site and I got the answer "If you're going to start changing things you should just back-half the car and go to a four link."  Guess that's why I don't go to that site much anymore--their answer is always to spend money and become close friends with the guy in the brown truck.

[butch27]

On the Astro van they delaminate? somehow and start to sag. The Astro site has an article on replacing them with the spring STEEL ones. Mine are BAD abut it's a '92-still less than 100,000 miles though.

[jaybee]

Thanks for the feedback.  What I'm thinking is, the track day folks speak very highly of the composite springs...fast reaction, good bite, comfortable ride, and about 70 lbs off the car.  There isn't a spring available that comes with what I was considering...an extended 2nd leaf like the Mopar Super Stock springs.  It might be just as affordable to do something like this as opposed to getting a spring custom made or modified.  Either way it'd be a cheaper option than tearing everything off the back end and going to a triangulated four link.

[model a vette]

I changed from the original '68 steel spring on my roadster's Corvette rear to a later composite spring. The ride improved greatly.
I think the composite spring is more progressive than the steel spring. The steel spring seemed stiff thruout the travel while the composite spring gets stiffer the more it has to flex.