Lowering the springs with a torch!

89xr7man

Registered User
cut the springs to lower the car!

I got so many negative feedbacks, let me re-phrase this. I want to lower my car without spending any money. I have spent enough on the rest of it.

I want advise from someone who has cut their springs. The best way to do it. That's it.
 
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Yea thats a good idea.. Take a torch to the spring... Ruin the spring rate and the temper of the metal so the spring can break while ur driving.. :rolleyes:
 
While that's a good point, I doubt that the the metal is tempered to such a level that reheating it would ever cause it to break down the road.
 
thats the ghetto way of lowering your car. If you are concerned with only looks, it is a good way to lower your car.

If you care about how the car handles at all, then go with lowering springs, and performance shocks.

The car will be very bouncy and unstable with cut springs, and will probably bottom out alot.

Justin
 
JustinH said:

The car will be very bouncy and unstable with cut springs, and will probably bottom out alot.

Justin

justin.. just to point out.. if ya take a look at the topic.. hes not cutting them he is heating them up.. big difference.. id rather cut a spring than heat it up..


i have ghetto cut springs on my bird but i have a stock set of springs ima put on it becuase that camber shew.. makes ya wanna puke

Jesse
 
What if....

One was to get a set of progressive lowering springs, like the eibach's that claim to lower your car about 1.5" and then cut like a very small amount out of each coil, to bring that to an even 2" of lowering.... you did it carefully and or had a professional shop do it, what negitive effects could one expect? Bouncing? Bottoming out? Stiffer ride? Poor and uneven handling?

Just curious...
 
Heating springs is DANGEROUS!!!!! Its alright for cars on Monster Garage but NOT for cars driven daily on the street. Any time you either shorten the spring coil or simply increase the diameter of the spring wire you will make that spring stiffer. The oposite adjustments in the spring will result in a softer spring. Ride height is all about spring preload. :)
 
Quite a few people buy aftermarket springs then cut a coil or so off of them.

Thats what I plan to do when I get the Intrax ones that advertise a 2" drop. I will prolly cut 1 or 1.5 coils off of em
 
Cutting is alright as long as its done right and all stress risers are removed. But be advised the spring will be STIFFER! If that is what you are trying to acheive then you're on the right track. My preffered method is to get a spring that gives you the desired characteristics you're looking for without cutting.:)
 
How much work are you willing to do to accomodate that spring? A couple more qeustions, Why do you want to drop the car that much? Are the roads you drive that smooth? Once you have dropped it that much are the suspension components going to be resting in an area where you have enough adjustment to properly line up the wheels? [camber and toe] How do you plan to address the ackerman effect this will have on the suspension?:)
 
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The roads are smooth enuf, its not like I drive it a ton either. It would also still be on 16" wheels, so it shouldn't be to hard to align afterwards
 
Tazer999 said:
The roads are smooth enuf, its not like I drive it a ton either. It would also still be on 16" wheels, so it shouldn't be to hard to align afterwards
I'm sorry, you lost me there. What does the size of the wheel have to do with wether the wheels can be aligned?:)
 
If done correctly, it's a good option.

I have heated and compressed springs on my SC which were done professionally and have been on my car for about 6-8 months with about 10k of driving on them.

IF they are heated evenly, compressed and left to cool naturally to regain their density, it does work.
 
Any attempt to evenly heat 4 different springs is gonna result in uneven spring rates and goofy ride heights in different corners. No one is going to "professionally" do it, that is a contradiction of terms.

Not all springs are made of the same material. Some are heat treated, some are spring steel, some are not. I've been able to cut some with a hacksaw(meaning more or less mild steel) and some just completely dulled the blade. I've cut them with a torch (not the best way, but it works), however a cuttoff saw works best. I always take the load off the spring first, it's just safer.

Successful road racers and autocrossers cut their springs all the time. You just can't always buy springs that get you exactly the results you want. If you really care about ride or handling, then you need to compare spring rates. You'd be surprised. A stock spring with a coil cut off might just give exactly the spring rates you want!

One of the biggest problems with cut springs is that where a premade spring has a "flattened" area on both ends for the spring perch This is lost when a coil is cut off.

BTW, standing on the bumper and pushing down is just plain retarded. I'm thinking that your 180lb fatass is not going to have much of an effect on a spring that already has over 1000lbs sitting on it. Duh.
 
Uhm...that won't work too well...

Ok...
I checked this one out, as it started, apparently, with the original lowriders out in Cali. They would blowtorch their springs on their old lowlows...and instant lowrider. The only problem was, after a year or two, since the spring had lost it's temper (this problem was mentioned earlier in the post), the weight of the car continued to crush the spring down. It loses it's springiness....or something. So, I wouldn't reccommend doing this if your sane. If you really really really just HAVE to have it that low (1.5 in. on a SC is pretty dramatic, and cool enough looking I think), try going with a customized air bag setup. There are a few companies that do those, and the prices aren't too bad, I don't think. Plus, that way you can drop it for show, raise it a bit for go, and really jack it up if you need to get under it. and the ride quality isn't as bad as hydro's....

Ok, ok...so I used to be a lowrider, so shoot me!!!:p
 
Everyone has an opinion, but it's real simple if you just stop and think for a second, if you have x number of coils on a spring rating at y pounds per square inch, and you cut say 1 1/4 coils out, then your car is lower but your left with an increased spring rate because now your coils have less area to travel for spring compression thus increasing your spring rate. You do however, loose some of your progressive spring rate, depending upon the number of coils you cut, but any bouncy bouncy as i see some call it, are only caused by your shocks/struts. And your negative camber would still be the same rather you cut your springs for 2 inch drop or used "profesional" lowering springs. (/ \), 30 bucks to have them realigned takes care of most of that.

So with all my choices and situation for me personally, I'm cutting my springs, hopefully this weekend if I get the right response I need. (hint hint :))

I want a 2 inch drop in front, and 1 1/2 in rear (rear sags now due to trunk wieght) I need to know exactly how much coil to cut for that desired look. Someone whos done it, if you dont know exact, then say you cut 1 1/2 coil and got a 2 inch drop, then it's not difficult to guess that 1 1/4 coil cut would give a 1 3/4 drop. it's on a 94 sc. 3.8

I'm not a carpenter and havnt lowered before, but I can grasp concepts. I've been told that all I have to do is jack the front under the arm so you fully compress the spring, rent or buy some spring clamps, install them leaving the bottom couple of coils free, release jack onto jackstands off the arm to release spring compression (that way you have access without pressure to cutting) cut the desired amount of coil off the bottom (angle grinder with correct blade and friend squirting water to limit heat tranfer), rotate spring to align cut with perch (you do have to make 1 extra cut to cut the left oil coil in half to get it off),jack the arm again, release spring clamps, drop her back down and your done. its not that easy is it, just pop off a tire and begin cutting???? I need step by step instructions if you can gents. I appreciate it. hell, I'll even create a digital slideshow so you guys dont have to keep answering this for everyone.

thanks alot guys.

I'm talking about cutting the springs in place, not removing anything but the tire.

also, someone was asking about coilovers somewhere, well, twisteddynamics.8m.com/coilovers claims they have em, model dz2200co, also dropzonesuspension.com also carries lowering springs for 101 bucks, 1 1/2 lowering on both apps.
 
Im sure you've heard this already, but save yourself the possibility of costly repair work on your suspension and do it right the first time.
 
actually xr I did, I got a message back that for a 2 inch front drop to cut 1 1/2 spring, and for 1 1/2 rear, cut 1 1/4 spring. But thats on the sc, others would be different. can anybody verify those measurements based on there own cut work. thanks guys
 
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