I have Strange struts with 275 lb. springs on my Sunfire and have always questioned if the front end was to stiff. If I press down on the suspension the front end does not move at all and I am not a small person. Shouldn't there be some give?

I have 200# on my 3rd gen and can’t move the front much either but think it’s because of the 1 way adjustable street struts on the car. If you move the struts to the absolute softest settings in both directions, you might be able to move it.

I have 150lb 12" springs on the front of my 3rd gen Camaro.

Is it a big block car? That seems very much over-sprung, IMHO.

quote:

Originally posted by Little Chief:
I have Strange struts with 275 lb. springs on my Sunfire and have always questioned if the front end was to stiff. If I press down on the suspension the front end does not move at all and I am not a small person. Shouldn't there be some give?

If it's not sitting on the bump stops, yes you should be able to move it.
Being a strut front end, I'll assume you aren't looking for a lot of travel.
We've always aimed to get the front to sit just above the stops at rest. That does sound like a lot of spring.
Have the springs checked, they can and do go bad, one way is by "taking a set".
Also remember your race car takes every bump your truck and trailer roll over.
Race car suspensions get worn out in the trailer, more than on track.

quote:

Race car suspensions get worn out in the trailer, more than on track.

AGREED!! My car had a new pair of Lakewood 70/30 front struts / coil overs on when I bought it. Less than 5 years they were shot and I didn’t tow much then. I replaced with a set of KYB street struts single adjustment and still work today 13 yrs later with well over 100k miles towing.

I’ve wore out 2 pr of rear shocks, both with rebuilds on them. I bought a new pr of AFCO’s this spring and did this to limit the rear travel in the trailer. This may look cheap/stupid, but has limited rear to less than 1/2” travel over the roughest roads in the Midwest while trailering.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: markemark,

No Jim it's an aluminum headed sbc
I always felt like it was a very stiff front end. Mild steel full tube chassis, without me it weighs 2475.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Little Chief,

how far does the weight of the car settle into the strut or spring

Rusty it's been a minute since I checked that but I will tomorrow after work.

quote:

Originally posted by markemark:
I have 200# on my 3rd gen and can’t move the front much either but think it’s because of the 1 way adjustable street struts on the car. If you move the struts to the absolute softest settings in both directions, you might be able to move it.

I had the hood off today and put a cable tie on both sides of the A arm limiter and can move the front corner 3/4” in both directions pushing and pulling the top front radiator brace. I could easily run 175# springs but only using a 10” length spring so that the tower opening did not need to be enlarged.

I am 250 lbs. and can stand on core support and can't make mine move at all,even jumping up and down.

Did you set both the compression and rebound of the front struts/ shocks to full soft prior to trying?

When the 70/30 struts failed in my car you could move the front 3- 4” by hand.

I agree with others that if using coil over struts you have too heavy of a spring.