i had the stock ones on my car for a while and am running a 5 speed. they would wrap up like crazy. i too thought that the stock springs would be better since they are softer to aid in weight transfer but they were so sloppy, when i switched to 5 leaf it made a huge difference. it felt a lot better off the line with a lot more control. one idea might be stock replacement springs. the stockers i had were probably 37 years old so they were worn out, a new set might give the best of both worlds, but im not sure. ive also heard of guys having good success with the stiffer ones.