RE: Sport springs question, 84 Spider

["Richard & Julie Arnold" <rarnold@domain.elided>]

On August 22, Greg McNair wrote:
>I'm not using my car to autocross, and would probably prefer the normal
>spring ride height for the rears.  The fronts can stay as-is, I don't
mind >a bit more bite up front.  If anyone knows the unsprung dimension
of the >stock rear springs, would you mind passing that info along to
me?  If the >stock springs provide a considerable lift to the rear end
(1"-2"), and >would provide more cushion to my ride than sport, I may
want to go back to >the stock setup. Problem is, this car is second-hand
to me, and I don't >know what a stock Spider should ride like.<

Greg, According to CarDisc for early 1970's Alfa's, the stock rear
spring should be 17" with no load and about 9" with load.  I have a 1973
Spider and a 1976 Spider, both with STOCK springs; however, the '76
Spider has Bilstein's and the '73 has Sachs shock absorbers.  The '76
used to be squatty in the rear as my '73 and many other Spiders' are.
My point is this, changing to high end shock absorbers could solve your
problem. Since switching to Bilstein's, the '76 rides level; that means
the rear of the car is fully 1" higher than both the ' 73 and what the
'76 was in 1978 when I acquired the car.  Also, I have not scraped the
sump guard, at any speed,  since making the switch.
Best regards,
RAA
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