I need to figure out the sprung weight of a car to get my springs right.. gonna guess I need about a 2k scale??? more would be better then i could measure corner weight, but guessing 2k would work there also,... what scales to you guys use???
We borrowed a set of 4-wheel scales from a round-d-round racer friend a couple times thru the years. Showed where we were and why we were there to start from. They're plenty expensive, but those guys need them more than most the rest of us. Takes about 30 minutes to get results -- well worth it.
found this, 2000 lb.. trailer hitch weight scale, bought 2 so that should work??? I can also check spring rate to see where they're everyone here already knows how to check the rate of a spring, so won't bore you with that, but knowing how much weight you have will cut down the spring hunt...
Used 4 wheel scales numerous times at the shop setting up race cars and playing with 4-links, playing with adjusting the suspension to see how it loads the tires on the corners of the car. Interesting stuff ! But it's a good starting point for you to figure out springs needed...
Try a feed store, or a place that grows hay. Some trucking companies have scales in the yard too. I’ve used these places locally for multiple projects. I have connections with these places.
This is a bit left field. Our local rubbish dump has scales on the way in/out to measure how much rubbish you dumped. Hook your car trailer up and weigh the lot. Then do the same with your car on the trailer.
If you do go to a certified scale with a 2 or 3 panel system put the front two tires on one and rear tires on another so you can at least get a front/rear weight.
I do the bathroom scale method and it works fine. Also have put some newspapers in my trunk and taken them to the waste disposal place. Weigh before dumping then weigh after. Free accurate weight of my car and earned $3.37 for the paper.
You local Love's / Flying J truck stop will have a certified scale. Ask the attendant if you can weigh. You should be able to get the weight of each axle, each corner if you are sneaky. The down side, is the accuracy will be +/- 50 or +/- 100 lbs. These things are used to weighing 80,000 lb trucks, not 2,500 lb cars.
I need to know how much weight the springs are holdin up not the tires like if you weighed the car before the front and rear end went in the sprung weight is what goes on the springs...
These are cheap. Have a gantry, (or a good beam) and some slings ? https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Hanging-Industrial-Backlight-Construction/dp/B0C8KLP3VG This one is $40 & 2200lb, they have other sizes. Good luck, Mike
Right, I kept my mouth shut before because i wasn't sure if you had a rolling chassis yet or didn't yet purchase any springs at all. A few ways to do it. You could rig up planks and set the unsprung chassis itself across the scales as others have mentioned. Then add half the weight of springs and shocks (shipping weight listed on the seller's info?) If it's on rolling stock already, i think the easiest way might be to weigh the entire car, then subtract the axles, rolling stock, and 1 half of each spring and 1 half of each shock. I'm not positive about the driveshaft, but i'd****ume half of it as well. That may be splitting hairs though regarding spring rate... You could probably unbolt enough items to let each end of the suspension to slack down on to scales while the rest of the car is up on jack stands. -rick
this is a type that i've used. just make your own and sit the tire at a 1:4 ratio between the ground pivot and the plate on the scale. make sure both ends are equal height. The plate has a channel iron welded to the bottom in an upside down V that balances right on the vertical bar sticking up at the 1:4 point. Whatever you place on that plate will be 1:4 on the cheap scale. Instead of a bolt, the scale end on the one I borrowed has a bearing that allows IFS cars to settle down instead of remaining in a jacked up suspension position but thats the nice thing about solid axle cars like yours as well as my gasser.... Since you only need them to get your springs purchased and not to dial in a race car, borrow a set, or building them and sell them off... sorry its just the address and not a link-you'll just need to copy/paste into address bar... http://mybearhawk.com/finish/wb2.jpg -rick
here's where it's at, while the cars on the plate, The scales I ordered are 2000 lbs.....I'm gonna put the 2 scales on the 2 rear corners so I can get the sprung weight with out thr rear spring in.... then know how much weight the springs have to hold up... the scales I got are to measure trailer tongue weight
I dont know if you meant to attach a pic or not, but it sounds like you got it figured out. Half the weight of anything between the axle and chassis (shocks, springs, radius arms) are also considered unsprung weight, but that is more for dialing in a car for competition, not a simple spring rate like you're doing. -rick
That's what I thought you meant. I guess you could weigh the rear axle****embly out of the car, then measure the front axle****embly out of the car.****emble everything and weigh the entire****embly and subtract the combined axle weights. Or you could call up the spring company and tell them what you have. If it is a hot rod supplier, they can suggest the correct springs. I was a bit soft on my rear springs (coil over) on my Model A. I called Heidts and they suggested what springs to use.
If you can find a truck scale that isn't busy you can usually do it without a fee as long as you don't need them to print out a certified weight slip. I had to get a trailer I built weighed at a certified scale and pulled it on the scale with the tow rig off the scale. put the trailer jack down, popped the hitch loose, lifted the trailer off the ball about an inch, had them get the weight and pulled off the scale while they were printing out the slip. It took longer to go in and pay for the slip than it did to weight it.
I borrowed four corner race car scales when I was changing springs on my truck. I first weighed all four corners with me and a passenger in the cab ( as driven ). Then I placed jack stands under the frame rails high enough to hold the tires off the scales. I removed one end bolt of the leaf springs so the weight of the axle, tires, brakes, and springs were then on the scales. I had an extra leaf spring so I weight it so I would know what half its weight was, same for the shocks. I think I added a few pounds for half the driveshaft as well. It didn't have to 100% accurate but I was pretty close. For the front I guessed at the draglink weight and half the spring weight based on the rear one I measured.
here's a pic of the ones I found..2000 LBS.. everyone knows how to check the weight rate of springs and how they are measured, so gonna jump foward.... ever spend days pulling leafs, or pulling coil overs and changing springs...???? all because you were missing to most important measurement ,... how much weight does it have to carry..... and at what height @ ride height,,, but just to check,... does every one know what a 300 lb coil spring is -means????
I'm pretty good at getting springs and shocks spot on,.. this is a ref. vid to show the extreme terrain , put is the same principle as a hotrod on a wash board road... if springs and shocks are right, so is the ride...
The theory is to find the sprung weight of a car sitting on the tires, all you need to do is measure how much weight you need to lift, to lift the car body 1.5" to 2" up. The tires will still need to be on the ground, then all you are lifting is the weight supported by the springs. Since the spring rate is equal to how many pounds it takes to compress the coil spring 1", lifting it 1.5" to 2" should be enough to lift the body and not start lifting the axles, tires and wheels. The simple bar scale and an engine hoist should do the job, you should be able to get a fairly accurate measurement on both ends of the car. For each individual spring weight capacity, you simply divide the scale reading by 2 to get the number for each coil. Since most coil springs are labeled in specific increments, you should be close enough to get the job done. If you want the entire weight of either end, jack up the hoist until both tires on that end are off the ground.
Springs rates are X amount of weight to compress 1 inch. I suspect your 300 lb spring is just that, for every 300 lbs applied, it will compress 1", 600 lbs 2". 1200 lb, 4 inches, etc..........
did you see the scale post # 20... I can set it on a floor jack and do the same thing...if the springs are off the car and it's sitting on jack stands under the frame all i have to do ijack up till there a space between the stand and frame...
correct... whats nice with a scale is you can get spot on for compression.... to set up for G outs...did you watch the video?
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