After speaking to Lou Mondello about the experiences of various club members on tarmac rallies, I decided to try out something new on my roadster. First, the springs. Springs keep the bottom of your car from scraping along the road, and they also control body roll, both laterally and front to rear. Looking for some serious cornering ability, we fitted 15mm, 780lb springs to the front – about 50% stiffer than standard. These have worked well, with less diving under breaks and great turn in, but it’s the rear end that is the key to this car’s improvement. The rear springs have been replaced with single, tapered leafs from a Volvo 360. Single leafs have been used in rally cars for a long time, and DSRC member Horton Poulter’s ’67 Bluebird SSS was greatly improved with them. Weighing about half of a standard rear leaf, they locate the rear axle better than a traditional leaf (no slipping between springs). The Volvo springs, however, are stiffer than the standard Datsun springs – so if you’re going to do this, you do need to upgrade the fronts to balance the car. Step two for my car was shock absorbers. Like many here, I already had Koni shock absorbers in my roadster. However, the factory valving that Koni set for the Datsun roadsters seems to be much stiffer in the rears than in the fronts - which sets up that oversteer problem, and doesn’t control the heavier front end very well. So the valving was swapped, front to rear, essentially. So, the results. It’s hard, of course, to compare fairly between a sagged out suspension and new race setup, but fortunately I was able to drive a couple of other Datsun roadsters around the same time as we finished the changes on mine. The differences are instantly obvious. The new setup, very hard on the front and more compliant at the rear, makes the car much more willing to change direction. Quick left/right snatches (as through a chicane) are much faster, with less body roll and instant turn in. The rear end only comes out when provoked, and when it does, it does it with a lovely progressive feel. In short, the rear end is much more compliant, giving good traction even on bumpier roads. What surprised me, though, is how much nicer the ride has become from what it ever was. Bumps and uneven roads are handled with aplomb and railway crossings aren’t the terror that they used to be. All in all, an excellent result. Subjectively, at least. For more objective results, Alan Field’s car has since had similar changes made, and it seems to have had good results on the track. There's been a fair amount of input from many people and sources (Alistair, the handling guru in Queensland, Lou Mondello, a number of rally teams, and some good books, including Carol Smith's "Tune to Win"). I’d like to thank them all for the way that my car has turned out, and turns in!

In case anyone else is wondering, Yes, I do have my composite leaf springs installed. I'm running with the standard replacement KYB gas shocks and everything seems just fine, thankyou very much! I haven't done any racing or autocrossing, but in some mildly spirited driving I was very happy with both the ride and handling. Other than being a lot smoother riding than the old worn leaf springs there didn't seem to be much to talk about. Smooth, solid, and lighter. As far as the debate between composite and steel, I am firmly on the side of composite for at least a few reasons: 1) Safety - as much as some people seem squeamish about something as weak as fiberglass holding the a$$ end of your car up, everything I've read (on the internet no less) points to it being SAFER than the steel monoleaf. This is not a new technology. Corvettes have been using composite monoleaf springs since the mid '80s. There are many other vehicles which use/have used them from the factory. They are made for pickup trucks, 4x4s, all the way up to the big rig 18 wheelers....as well as in many forms of racing. If it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me. 2) Weight - Losing weight is good for both gas milage and acceleration. While Will may have a point as far as the wieght balance of the car, a few things I've pointed out before, such as moving the battery to the back, etc. can help the weight balance. On the other side, will you be racing or pushing your car to the limit? If not, even with everything else stock, I doubt you would notice anything other than the better ride in everyday driving. If you are racing, and need to add weight, you can corner weigh your car and put the weight where it will do the most good! Moving the battery from the engine bay to the parcel shelf/trunk WILL help balance the car, as will removing the stock 4/7 blade fan and shroud and installing a lighter electric fan, remove those heavy stock metal horns and put in a new LOUDER lighter plastic one.......... Remember Colin Chapman - "Adding power makes you faster on the straights. Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere". ??Did I read somewhere that you want to eliminate as much unsprung weight as possible? And the leaf springs are counted as approx. 50/50 sprung/unsprung wieght?? 3) Ride height - With the eyes 'reversed' on the springs, my car sits pretty much level with the stock front springs. No lowering blocks required. 4) Choose your spring rate - Match the stock springs or go right up to 200+. I'm happy with the 180 lb rate on mine, but I'm no expert....... As far as the actual performance/handling/ride it's likely they are comparable, tho the composite is supposed to have an edge in reaction time, it's probably not noticeable to most people. To be fair, it's not easy to compare unless you've tried them both. So, like everything else on the car, this can be a game of compromises. Consider your options - newly manufactured stock style leaf springs (easy bolt in, what the car was made for), steel monoleaf (modified 28[?] yr old Volvo spring?), or made to order fiberglass composite leaf spring. Of course, I'm biased. I am not by any means trying to hurt anyones business. If it wasn't for Stephen bringing up the monoleaf dicussion, we wouldn't still be at it 28 pages later and trying to decide what is better. It probably should come down to the individual and what the use of the car is.