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I ordered heavy duty springs for the rear of the car to take the extra battery weight. The 10 or so Lead-Acid batteries I'll put in the trunk will weigh over 600 lbs. With removal of the fuel tank, 14 gallons of gasoline, and the muffler I've saved somewhere around 100 lbs. So the net gain in the rear of the car is about 500 lbs. A local automotive spring shop tried to sell me the springs from a Ford Focus wagon and said they had a higher load rating. I later learned that they wouldn't be the right choice for carrying an extra 500 lbs. Instead I contacted Coil Spring Specialties (www.coilsprings.com). I provided them with the part number of the stock rear coil springs and told them I needed to carry an extra 500 lbs. of static load. They shipped a pair of custom made heavy duty springs within a few weeks for about $200.

An interesting story about getting the existing coil springs part number. I called the parts department at the local Ford dealership and they were able to look it up using my VIN. However, I happened to be talking to another Ford dealership that week and asked them for the same information. I gave them the same VIN but they gave me a different part number for the stock springs. Just to be sure I then checked with a third dealership and went with the part number that matched from 2 out of 3 dealerships.

Updated 5MAY2008 CHS