hello. will going with mono springs improve the ride of the old 58?im looking for some drop also. any luck out there with this setup? i know a guy who pulled out leafs, but got a real springy ride.he wasnt happy with that. thanks john
[updated:LAST EDITED ON Sep-16-04 AT 05:41 PM (CST)]Johnnybee, I was hoping someone would respond to your ? as I have a 58 also and really would like to know any pro's and con's going with a mono leaf spring vs,removing leafs too! Anyone have an answer to this ?
Hey guys, I can't respond to what it will do to a 58, but I just put monoleafs on my 50 Chevy. I had previously removed some leafs to lower the front. After driving like that for a while, I got nervous when they looked like they were bending. I used a 3 inch drop set of monos, along with new high pressure shocks on my truck. The end result was lowering it about the same as the worn out stock springs with 2 leafs missing. The after ride is a little bouncy (for lack of a better term), but much better than the previous ride, which was harsh. As of this point, if I was to do it again keeping the straight axle, I would probably use mono leafs again. I did talk to one company that will make multi leaf springs, that will also lower the truck, and they claim give a more flexible smooth ride. The extra smoothness is due to the multi leafs being able to adjust rate depending on how much they are bent, better than single leaf. Don't have any feedback on that, but price was similiar on both. I opted to upgrade to power disc brakes while at it, and what a difference in stopping power. I strongly recommend it. Hope this helps, for what it's worth.........Mike
I had the bushings replaced on the old springs as well as having them re-arched,and the ride with those is quite acceptable(but I also installed front and rear sway bars).I think the sway bars were very helpful.
I agree with Lee,I think the swaybars would make a big improvement. I have sway bars for my 58 and cant wait to try them out!
p51 mustang i know one gentelmen who pulled leaves and that wasnt the way to go. very springy ride. the guy who mention multi leafs sounds like a idea. one single spring makes me a bit nervous. more so when carrying a load, if you can do that with these springs.john.
Correct me if I am wrong, but even on a multileaf setup, there is only 1 main leaf that is attached to the shackles and mounts. That being the case, the only difference I saw with the mono leaf setup, is that it would be less flexible than a multi leaf one. On mine I did install a sway bar, but don't know what difference it made, as I did all the change at the same time.....Mike
This is just my opinion FWIW,I think if I were to remove some of the stock springs and if the ride was a little springy than maybe the key would be in what type of shocks do you use ? go maybe something more heavy duty as in maybe a coilover to maybe dampen the ride more (Just a thought in this area) Also I am leaning towards the Mono leaf myself,I really dont see a problem with them as I had an 82 full size Blazer w/the stock negative arch springs that I dont think were any thicker than the mono leaf spring I plan on putting on my 58.the Blazer being a 4x4 in all I never had a spring break on me,and dont plan on driving the 58 as hard as I did the Blazer.again this is just my thought&opinion.The only thing I am concerned as far as going with the one mono leaf setup is,Man there is not alot of room between the spring and the bump stop!(have to watch out for the speed bumps and the bubble gum in the road) :+
p51mustang. coilover hum sounds intresting. how would you go about selecting the right size coil? ive seen some off road guys use two shocks on their trucks. hey we will get them handsome 58s to ride good someday!:7
