1967 With RRS struts and spring rate.

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Author Topic: 1967 With RRS struts and spring rate.  (Read 9948 times)

Offline Dwayne

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Re: 1967 With RRS struts and spring rate.
« Reply #25 on: May 13, 2022, 03:17:28 pm »
Is it really worth mucking around with that system any more? Seems to be most unsuitable and is spoiling your enjoyment of your car.  :thud:

Any reason why you can't just fit normal '67 Mustang suspension, available from any of the Mustang parts suppliers in Australia, and happily drive off into the sunset? The stuff is relatively inexpensive. I mean, go back to basics with the simple factory design that the majority of us owners still use. :bolt:

Don't take that the wrong way, no offence intended, but I thought it worth asking the question. :thumb:

He'd have to put original towers back in, and then also an entire new RHD steering setup.

Offline AussiePhil

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Re: 1967 With RRS struts and spring rate.
« Reply #26 on: May 13, 2022, 03:23:22 pm »
Hey Luke,
You’ve got what you’ve got, we’ll massage it until we get it right.
The system may be 10-15 years old, but our cars are 50+ years old.
McPherson struts and coil overs are a great innovation and taken over the world.
You get rid of a heap of moving parts, wear points, top arms and extra ball joints.
Yours is just not set up yet.
Maybe the bloke you bought it off didn’t understand it and made it worse.
I’m sure with a bit of tinkering and reporting back to the forum we’ll get it right.
I’ve been tinkering (Enjoying every minute) with my car for six years and it might be right next year! Hahaha 🤣

Cheers Phil.
If you've never buggered anything you've never done anything!
But if you've buggered a lot maybe you're not very good at it!

Two for one is good but four for two is better!

Offline AussiePhil

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Re: 1967 With RRS struts and spring rate.
« Reply #27 on: May 13, 2022, 09:43:22 pm »
Hey Luke,
I’ve just looked at a pair of Tein VE Commodore Ute coil overs on Gumtree and they have a very short helper spring with less compression fitted at the bottom.
Have a look, you’ll get the idea.
You may be able to set up something like this to give you softer ride.
Cheers Phil.
If you've never buggered anything you've never done anything!
But if you've buggered a lot maybe you're not very good at it!

Two for one is good but four for two is better!

Offline FB.65.68.70

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Re: 1967 With RRS struts and spring rate.
« Reply #28 on: May 13, 2022, 09:50:32 pm »
Ive got RRS struts on my 68 with a 460 big block.
RRS made a blunder with shipping my struts originally with small block springs, initially setup with quite a bit of preload  so they sacked out.(Mine are a later version then yours with Lovells blue springs.)  It wasnt untill I got past their sales people and talked to their engineer did we realise the mistake and they then sent a set of big block springs.
Since then, really happy with the way it handles, great system .  And with the RRS rack, steering is fantastic even with a lightly larger turning circle.
I'll see if I can find the old small block springs and check if they have the label still on them. Will let you know the outcome.


« Last Edit: May 13, 2022, 09:52:11 pm by FB.65.68.70 »

Offline Dingo80

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Re: 1967 With RRS struts and spring rate.
« Reply #29 on: May 14, 2022, 09:38:52 am »
Even if you do lose some height, have you still got a bit of adjustment at the bottom of the strut to fix this? Mine ride height needs to come down about an inch and would still have maybe another inch of thread left at the bottom of strut after

Offline lukep6470

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Re: 1967 With RRS struts and spring rate.
« Reply #30 on: May 14, 2022, 09:52:03 am »
OK I will report back with my homework.  I measured the initial ride height from the pivot point of the lower control arm as I figured that was the most precise point to do it.  I then backed the springs off by exactly 5 turns on both sides and drove the car backwards and forwards a few times to settle the suspension.  This lowered the car by the same amount as what I had lowered the springs (Just over 1cm or more than the width of the lock nut).  I then tried a bump that I know makes the car thump and got the same result :-(

I also took a photo of the spring with the car on the ground and as you can see it is quite compressed.  If I go for a lighter spring I will just have to compress it more to get the same ride height.  I think 67FBGT is right it is the shocks that are the problem.  Are the newer adjustable shocks the same 4 position adjustment or are they different?

The motor is a Dart 347 with Alloy heads and an 8 stack.  It does however have air and steer so that adds quite a bit of weight over the front.

I will have to put the pics up 1 post at a time due to server limits.

Offline lukep6470

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Re: 1967 With RRS struts and spring rate.
« Reply #31 on: May 14, 2022, 09:52:25 am »
Pic 1

Offline lukep6470

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Re: 1967 With RRS struts and spring rate.
« Reply #32 on: May 14, 2022, 09:57:10 am »
Strut at full extension

Offline lukep6470

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Re: 1967 With RRS struts and spring rate.
« Reply #33 on: May 14, 2022, 09:57:34 am »
Strut with wheel on the ground

Offline lukep6470

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Re: 1967 With RRS struts and spring rate.
« Reply #34 on: May 14, 2022, 09:57:59 am »
Where I measured ride height

Offline AussiePhil

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Re: 1967 With RRS struts and spring rate.
« Reply #35 on: May 14, 2022, 11:18:01 am »
Hey Luke,
Good homework.
I reckon you can drop it some more but those springs are very compressed with the weight on it.
Flat conical springs are overloaded. I think you say they have passed their helix angle.
If you are looking for heavier springs VPW are a local agent.
You may not have to go much, 325Lb/in.
Cheers Phil.
« Last Edit: May 14, 2022, 11:28:57 am by AussiePhil »
If you've never buggered anything you've never done anything!
But if you've buggered a lot maybe you're not very good at it!

Two for one is good but four for two is better!

Offline FB.65.68.70

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Re: 1967 With RRS struts and spring rate.
« Reply #36 on: May 14, 2022, 02:42:50 pm »
Phil ,
325 springs will make it ride like its solid they are for a big block.
I found the tags off of the small block RRS strut springs , they were p/no 65-275
bigblock springs like I have in my 68  are 65-325.
they are both 10 inches in length.
Luke , whats your shocks set to ?  They have a setting of 1 through to 4 . RRS normally set them to 2



Offline lukep6470

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Re: 1967 With RRS struts and spring rate.
« Reply #37 on: May 14, 2022, 03:09:53 pm »
Phil ,
325 springs will make it ride like its solid they are for a big block.
I found the tags off of the small block RRS strut springs , they were p/no 65-275
bigblock springs like I have in my 68  are 65-325.
they are both 10 inches in length.
Luke , whats your shocks set to ?  They have a setting of 1 through to 4 . RRS normally set them to 2

Good to know WRT to BB spring rates.  I've tried them from 1 to 4 with little difference, when you try to shake the car side to side it barely moves.  How compressed do your springs look with the car on the ground?  If you bounce it over a speed bump you can feel the springs compress once then it rebounds and that's it.

Offline Dingo80

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Re: 1967 With RRS struts and spring rate.
« Reply #38 on: May 14, 2022, 04:46:52 pm »
There no sign of any leaks is there? Maybe the struts are faulty.

Offline lukep6470

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Re: 1967 With RRS struts and spring rate.
« Reply #39 on: May 14, 2022, 05:04:59 pm »
They seem to be as dry as a bone.  It's always been like this.  I've been doing a bit of reading and it seems QA1 springs are thicker than most other brands and seem to be more prone to binding. 

I might be exaggerating how bad this is as I have actually put up with it for about 12+ years now but it is something I would like to address. 

Offline AussiePhil

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Re: 1967 With RRS struts and spring rate.
« Reply #40 on: May 14, 2022, 05:12:00 pm »
Hey Luke,
I definitely think your coils are to soft.
There is definitely marks on those springs where they have bottomed out.
Lowering it like I said is not right!
I think we need to jack it up high, to high and take it for a drive.
That’s not going to help either! I think you need heavier springs!
On this case I’ve changed my opinion so much.
Cheers Phil.
« Last Edit: May 14, 2022, 06:36:46 pm by AussiePhil »
If you've never buggered anything you've never done anything!
But if you've buggered a lot maybe you're not very good at it!

Two for one is good but four for two is better!

Offline lukep6470

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Re: 1967 With RRS struts and spring rate.
« Reply #41 on: May 14, 2022, 09:34:30 pm »
It looks like QA1 redesigned their springs in 2015 to use thinner wire and less coils for the same rate and length.  They must have done that for a reason.

Offline AussiePhil

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Re: 1967 With RRS struts and spring rate.
« Reply #42 on: May 15, 2022, 07:16:43 am »
Hey Luke,
I’ve had another thought, if they’ve wound the springs up to hard plus the weight of the car the springs would compress like that, wind the nuts down another inch.
The front will be low but if you’ve got 7” rims and 225 tyres they will only scrub lightly if so.
Cheers Phil.
« Last Edit: May 15, 2022, 07:18:30 am by AussiePhil »
If you've never buggered anything you've never done anything!
But if you've buggered a lot maybe you're not very good at it!

Two for one is good but four for two is better!

Offline trav68

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Re: 1967 With RRS struts and spring rate.
« Reply #43 on: May 15, 2022, 10:34:16 am »
I think your going into coil bind then spring rate will go basically infinite.

Given you know required compressed length ( and current uncompressed), rate required and approx corner weight I would just track down some new springs to suit. I have Hyperco in my coilovers.

Offline lukep6470

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Re: 1967 With RRS struts and spring rate.
« Reply #44 on: May 16, 2022, 10:03:46 am »
I don't think installing RHD 1960s engineering is the real fix.  Except for hitting a big enough bump to cause the springs to bind the car drives great.

I have ordered a pair of 300lb Eibach springs.  I will fit them, set the car to the same ride height and report back. 

Offline trav68

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Re: 1967 With RRS struts and spring rate.
« Reply #45 on: May 16, 2022, 11:01:42 pm »
What is your static compressed spring length?

Offline lukep6470

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Re: 1967 With RRS struts and spring rate.
« Reply #46 on: May 20, 2022, 01:31:50 pm »
OK I have fitted the new springs.

BTW they are Strange Hypercoil 300lb springs not Eibach like I said previously.

RESULT!!!!  I set the ride height to 10mm higher than it was originally set (Still lowered for a 67) and I cannot make the suspension thump like it used to.  I went as fast as I safely could over a bump that I know shows the issue at much lower speed and there was no noise from the suspension at all!!!  It just went over it like a late model car.

The new springs have fewer coils than the QA1 springs so I probably would have been fine with 275lb rate.

Anyone with the silver QA1 springs in their RRS setup they need to go IN THE BIN!!!!

Offline Dingo80

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Re: 1967 With RRS struts and spring rate.
« Reply #47 on: June 06, 2022, 05:25:24 pm »
That's a good result. Bit late but got mine stripped and found this tag on them.