88 tbird sport stock height? December 20, 2006, 10:57:43 PM When I first got my car, I wondered if the front springs were stock or aftermarket. It's a 3.8 auto. Any parking curb I come up to, the lower air-dam hits it straight on. Does anyone know any measurements to verify stock height? spring length, air-dam to ground, k-member to ground, etc...? I'm the 5th owner of the car, and so I guess anything's possible. Quote Selected
88 tbird sport stock height? Reply #1 – December 20, 2006, 11:04:04 PM A guess is that they all sag. After all the car is what, 18-ish years old. Quote Selected
88 tbird sport stock height? Reply #2 – December 21, 2006, 12:07:50 PM I was looking at springs the other day and i discovered that on partsamerica.com they list the specs of the TRW springs. Anyway this is what it says for 3.8 with A/C:INSIDE DIA.= 3.5 in.; BAR DIA.= 0.64 in.; FREE HEIGHT= 15.38 in.; SPRING RATE= 415 Lbs./In.; LOAD= 1820 Lbs.; LOAD HEIGHT= 11 in.; END 1= SQUARE; END 2= TANGENTIALAnd here is the Sport:INSIDE DIA.= 3.5 in.; BAR DIA.= 0.64 in.; FREE HEIGHT= 15.84 in.; SPRING RATE= 417 Lbs./In.; LOAD= 1695 Lbs.; LOAD HEIGHT= 11.75 in.; END 1= SQUARE; END 2= TANGENTIALAnd a Heavy Duty listing:INSIDE DIA.= 3.5 in.; BAR DIA.= 0.656 in.; FREE HEIGHT= 15.13 in.; SPRING RATE= 462 Lbs./In.; LOAD= 1900 Lbs.; LOAD HEIGHT= 11 in.; END 1= SQUARE; END 2= TANGENTIALLooks like the height of the stock front springs installed is 11" Hope that helps Quote Selected
88 tbird sport stock height? Reply #3 – December 21, 2006, 01:37:46 PM Quote from: 84 Fila;119516A guess is that they all sag. After all the car is what, 18-ish years old.The front isn't very susceptible to sag. Quote Selected
88 tbird sport stock height? Reply #4 – December 21, 2006, 02:17:06 PM Quote from: JeremyB;119575The front isn't very susceptible to sag. ??? What magic keeps the front springs from sagging? Especially on a front engine car that's carrying close to 60% of its weight up there? Quote Selected
88 tbird sport stock height? Reply #5 – December 21, 2006, 04:11:25 PM I made the statement that the front doesn't sag because #1 - I've never seen a T-bird/Cougar with a sagging front end, but many with sagging rears.#2 - I've never read of anybody complaining about a sagging front end, but many complaining about sagging rear ends. I created a spreadsheet that calculated the shear stress at static spring length.The front came out to ~88ksi.The rear came out to ~55 ksi. Therefore, it would seem that the front would fatigue first. But...I haven’t calculated the fatigue numbers yet. Quote Selected
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