The new C6 is supposed to stick with leaf springs. Can someone tell me what on earth leaf springs do for you or against you? It seems like an awfully heavy way to get suspension. So do vettes have shocks, springs, and leaf springs in the back or what? I'm real confused.

 

actually I believe the they are lighter and simpler.

You know what a leaf spring is right? just a curved peice of spring steel that you see under trucks, sometime stacked a couple thick.

What they do in the vettes is connect the ends of the leaf to the the a-arms.

 

Vettes use composite (lightweight) transverse leaf springs. The leaf implementation allows for a very low hoodline in front without any coilover push/pullrod trickery. The mass of the spring is kept very low.

Some pics and stuff here:
http://www.c5howto.com/index.php?article=20

 

I wasn't trying to say they are bad. I was just curious as I have only seem them on trucks and vettes. Do any other sports cars use them?

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by s2kpdx01
I wasn't trying to say they are bad.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Legal Bill

 

There is also a packaging issue involved. The Corvette leaf spring setup allows closer to ideal camber and toe curves with the A-arm suspension, primarily because all the space that a coil spring would take up is available. It's similar reasoning as to why the F1 cars have gone back to torsion bars instead of coil springs. They do tend to sag and take a set (lose spring rate) more rapidly than a coil spring, but if done correctly, there is little to no loss, and can be a gain in the overall suspension geometry.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by s2kpdx01

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Mrsideways

 

I've heard more than one well-respected Z06 refer to their car's handling as like a big Miata's (which, in my mind, is a compliment).

Steve