Cutting Springs.

[sebspeed3]

sooo yea i know what everyone will say. save it. im just wondering.

i have roadmagnets. prolly going to get coils in the future but i want like 1inch drop in the front..

now what am i going to **** up if i do a little snip snip?

its not a deff i just want opinions. am i going to sacrifice anything?

 

[LOL WUT]

sooo yea i know what everyone will say. save it. im just wondering.

i have roadmagnets. prolly going to get coils in the future but i want like 1inch drop in the front..

now what am i going to **** up if i do a little snip snip?

its not a deff i just want opinions. am i going to sacrifice anything?

So you already have roadmagnets and want another 1 inch drop? Cutting your springs is nothing but dangerous. There is no "right" way to cut springs, the right way would be to save time and a headache and just wait until you can get the coilovers. You have the potential to "**** up" a lot by cutting your springs, when doing so you can take away from the overall strength of the spring which could cause it to fail. I am sure that doesn't sound like too good of a time to you.

 

[Wagonbacker9]

i am a lot less against cutting as I am torching them...but its still just not a good idea. they're engineered to specific geometry and material specifications, and just isn't something you should mess with. deal with your ride height, or put something else in there that will give you what you want.. do it right.

 

[sebspeed3]

yea yea im dealing with it. i was just curious. was never really set on doing it. i knew there were problems involved but i need clarity. i like the back height.

need an inch in front.

 

[240ka]

how much of a drop you think you have gotten from the RM's in the front in rear. i thought RM's pretty much slammed cars

my dropzones have given me a even 1.4 drop in the front and rear. if the back looks just a smizz lower, its b/c i have a 15(sub) and 2 amps in my trunk

sell the RM's and get some dropzones. you will get money back since the DZ's are 110 shipped. my shocks are fine, have been riding on the DZ's for about 10k miles

 

[funksilver07]

DON'T DO IT....cheapln' out on this mod is not worth it.

 

[Wastegate13]

What year is it? In the old days people cut and torched springs because if you wanted to lower the car that was the only way to do it. It wasn't "right" then and guess what, it's not "right" now. Do things once, do them the right way.

 

[09speed3]

My friend cut his springs on his mustang and i can say it drives like s***.

 

[mr_mazda329]

Dont(flame2)

 

[Boosted03MSP]

Wow, cut springs. ricer mod. LOL Dont do it. You car will handle like s*** and you will get an uneven drop. (ricer)

 

[Falango]

It's been said, and will be said again, DON'T DO IT!!!! Your car will not handle the same at all. There's reasons why companies produce springs for us to put in if we want to drop the car.

 

[mazdaspeed32007]

what are you a 1988 crx? seriously

 

[meicalnissyen]

sooo yea i know what everyone will say. save it. im just wondering.

i have roadmagnets. prolly going to get coils in the future but i want like 1inch drop in the front..

now what am i going to **** up if i do a little snip snip?

its not a deff i just want opinions. am i going to sacrifice anything?

you will stiffen the spring rate and lower the car
the problem is with the seat. if they are closed end, it tends to be a problem since they are meant to sit on a complete circle. when you cut even a little, then you create an open end and they tend to sit crooked, rub the strut etc

if they are stock open end then the perch has a little pocket for the end to nest in and a ramped shape part way around.
perfect for a little trim.


How much ? .................... ah just like adding salt

you can always trim more, you can't put it back

I have not looked at the fromts, the backs are quite small
there a 1/4 turn would be a good start full turn would be a rather slammed ride. thats a guess of course. but I have 6 full sets of springs on a shelf in my garage for the rolla. and I have trimmed several of them, made perches etc

remember, a spring is nothing more than a coiled torsion bar, you are in essence twisting a long bar when you hit a bump. If you cut the bar shorter you have to twist a shorter bar which makes for a stiffer rate. ultimately you would get to the yeild point, but in this application you'd coil bind way before that

Oh, a torch?? ugh a 4" die grinder or a drill with a cutoff blade works fine

one other vital thing

your struts are set to work with a specific spring rate by altering the rate you will have an oversprung, underdamped car which WILL handle worse than stock

 

[Wagonbacker9]

you will stiffen the spring rate and lower the car
the problem is with the seat. if they are closed end, it tends to be a problem since they are meant to sit on a complete circle. when you cut even a little, then you create an open end and they tend to sit crooked, rub the strut etc

if they are stock open end then the perch has a little pocket for the end to nest in and a ramped shape part way around.
perfect for a little trim.


How much ? .................... ah just like adding salt

you can always trim more, you can't put it back

I have not looked at the fromts, the backs are quite small
there a 1/4 turn would be a good start full turn would be a rather slammed ride. thats a guess of course. but I have 6 full sets of springs on a shelf in my garage for the rolla. and I have trimmed several of them, made perches etc

remember, a spring is nothing more than a coiled torsion bar, you are in essence twisting a long bar when you hit a bump. If you cut the bar shorter you have to twist a shorter bar which makes for a stiffer rate. ultimately you would get to the yeild point, but in this application you'd coil bind way before that

Oh, a torch?? ugh a 4" die grinder or a drill with a cutoff blade works fine

one other vital thing

your struts are set to work with a specific spring rate by altering the rate you will have an oversprung, underdamped car which WILL handle worse than stock

I disagree with the statement that you're actually changing the spring rate... what you are actually doing is decreasing the leverage that the ground has against your car, it sounds strange but after a LONG discussion with a guy that has lifted NUMEROUS trucks, it does actually make sense. the actual spring rate is not changing, but the effect is the same.

the discussion with the offroader was regarding reusing stock torsion bars reindexed and on new crossmembers for an IFS truck... and after about half an hour of him explaining it to me, it started to make sense.

 

[mrdouble99]

you will stiffen the spring rate and lower the car
the problem is with the seat. if they are closed end, it tends to be a problem since they are meant to sit on a complete circle. when you cut even a little, then you create an open end and they tend to sit crooked, rub the strut etc

if they are stock open end then the perch has a little pocket for the end to nest in and a ramped shape part way around.
perfect for a little trim.


How much ? .................... ah just like adding salt

you can always trim more, you can't put it back

I have not looked at the fromts, the backs are quite small
there a 1/4 turn would be a good start full turn would be a rather slammed ride. thats a guess of course. but I have 6 full sets of springs on a shelf in my garage for the rolla. and I have trimmed several of them, made perches etc

remember, a spring is nothing more than a coiled torsion bar, you are in essence twisting a long bar when you hit a bump. If you cut the bar shorter you have to twist a shorter bar which makes for a stiffer rate. ultimately you would get to the yeild point, but in this application you'd coil bind way before that

Oh, a torch?? ugh a 4" die grinder or a drill with a cutoff blade works fine

one other vital thing

your struts are set to work with a specific spring rate by altering the rate you will have an oversprung, underdamped car which WILL handle worse than stock

Are you drunk, because what you said is totaly WRONG !!!

And for the other one who want to cut coils spring you must be drunk too


Buy a 88 civic cut the spring and go on the road and ask your self if you still believe you can cut your coil on your speed3

 

[mazdaspeed32007]

so much work and testing goes into springs so you get the most out of your suspension....i assure you cutting the spring will change the spring rate unevenly at all four wheels bring you unpredictable handling. bad bad bad bad bad idea. so bootleg to boot..... leg. lol

 

[meicalnissyen]

I disagree with the statement that you're actually changing the spring rate... what you are actually doing is decreasing the leverage that the ground has against your car, it sounds strange but after a LONG discussion with a guy that has lifted NUMEROUS trucks, it does actually make sense. the actual spring rate is not changing, but the effect is the same.

the discussion with the offroader was regarding reusing stock torsion bars reindexed and on new crossmembers for an IFS truck... and after about half an hour of him explaining it to me, it started to make sense.

UMM, I imagine his point is that the the torsion bar is shorter (when cut) changing the leverage,
at least that would be my assumtion of his reasoning. I hope I am not putting words in his mouth second hand

that is not actually the case, the leverage is the "length of the pipe" used to twist the torsion bar which, on the car, is a function of the diameter of the coil and its position in the wishbone ie the mechanical ration between the the wheel and the pivot point of the arm an example would be the adjustable hotchkiss sway bar if you put 100 pounds on postion A (closest) it moves less than the same force on position C, the 'rate' (length)of the bar is the same, it is the 'leverage' which has changed

the rate is the force needed to compress the coil a given distance (twist the bar a given number of degrees).
usually expressed in pounds per inch
since it takes more force to twist the 1 foot long bar say 5 degrees than a 2 foot bar the 'rate' is higher


Thank you for your reasoned response, breath of fresh air and as you point out the effect is similar

 

[meicalnissyen]

so much work and testing goes into springs so you get the most out of your suspension....i assure you cutting the spring will change the spring rate unevenly at all four wheels bring you unpredictable handling. bad bad bad bad bad idea. so bootleg to boot..... leg. lol

Na, you can cut em quite accurately, particularly side to side. guessing the effect you will have on the often very different springs from front to rear another matter entirely. the problem is in effect a big experiment, almost always makes the spring to stiff for the amount of drop and mismatches the spring to the strut

best to get a coilover kit

even the "dropzone" et al store bought springs are way to stiff


when you drop the car, there is no free lunch, the suspension has alot less travel to work in so those struts are almost never up to the task

 

[Wagonbacker9]

(deadhorse
(deadhorse
(deadhorse
(deadhorse
(deadhorse
(deadhorse

 

[meicalnissyen]

(deadhorse
(deadhorse
(deadhorse
(deadhorse
(deadhorse
(deadhorse

(iagree)(iagree)(iagree)

NUFF SAID