Question on lowering

[LovemyProtege]

Does anyone know about cutting you springs to lower your car about 2". im wanting to lower it but i don't have the money right now to buy the springs and get them installed. Is it bad for the car and if not how does it do for the ride(usa)

 

[jsahyoun]

Bad for shocks, and it will ride like s***. Not to mention it will handle like s***. Buy springs. Look around get them fir under $200.

 

[tonkabui]

if you cut the springs, you will destroy the suspension's rebound and compression properties. don't do it. you also run the risk of the spring popping off the perch, causing you to lose control of your car. don't do it. your ride will feel like you have no springs at all. don't do it. these springs are linear rate springs. the shorter they are, the smaller the spring constant, the weaker the spring. don't do it.

what you can do is save up a little money and get sprint springs, progress springs, or goldline springs. they are all in the low $100 range.

 

[LovemyProtege]

ok thanks for the advise. i will definetley save up the 155 then and then get them done

 

[pro5]

Lowering Springs

You could do what I did and purchase a Eibach Pro-Kit for $250 Canadian. Shop around and you'll love the ride.

Go to Canadian Tire or Auto Zone and rent a Compression jack ($45/day). Then if your somewhat mechanically inclined take out your springs and install the new ones yourself. Make sure you rent the jack though or you'll end up killing yourself (Spring unloading from compression).

I was able to lower my car in three hours, then I took it to a wheel alignment place and the car drives just like stock (a little stiffer though) now. I drive it all year round as it is only lowered 1.6"

Check within the forum to see if someone has posted specific's on how to lower the car yourself. If not then take it to a trained mechanic.

pro5

 

[RX7jeff]

Wow,...some very negative posts here,...of course you can cut your stock springs,...it's been done FOREVER, I mean as long as coil spring suspension has been around.
Jeez,...if the springs are already on the car you can heat the springs and let the weight of the car bend them down to acheive the desired effect,(Jesse James did it last week on Monster Garage?!), you can also still buy all kinds of wonky spring clamps too which compress your springs on the car OR push the coils apart while on the car(?!) to change ride height.

BUT;

Notice I said "ride height",...if you are using the stock spring and shorten it without stiffening the springs(or lowering the weight of your car and/or payload) you are going to have a greater tendancy to bottom out the suspension, IF the shocks are what bottoms first that is going to have an effect(a bad effect!) on the shocks, maybe(some shocks have built in bumpers).

I ran cut stock springs on my RX7 race car, mind you it was completely stripped and weighed way less than stock, but it worked at the time.

Also shortening your stock springs is going to change the "geometry" of your front end the SAME as someone using $300 Aftermarket springs,...this is pretty straightforward.

Handling is another huge topic(which we could, but won't spend the rest of our lives debating),...while a lower ride height is good, lower AND stiffer IS generally better.
Mazda probally spent $$$$$$$$ and time/testing with the assistance of supercomputers and engineers getting the mix of ride height/shock damping/spring rates organized,...playing with their setup is a real bag o' monkeys. Some people are up to it.

There's my .02$ worth.

ps: if you can get the the money, buy the springs!!!!?!?!?!????

 

[Notorious]

I wouldn't cut the springs especially if you are looking for a 2 inch drop. When you cut off coils there is less material for the spring to absorb making for a crappy ride, but real killer is gonna be the handling. On my civic we put on some springs but it raised the rear end. We then cut a coil off and put them back on and that made for some scary handling. It was extemely tail happy.

 

[BLURSPEED]

I think coilovers are the best choice. They are more expensive but at least you can lower and raise your car when you want. As for cutting springs it's not the best idea. I knew this guy that cut his stock springs in his civic and boy was that thing super bouncy. Anything more than 2 coils will affect your suspension badly. On my MSP I lowered the car with Sprint lowering springs. Unfortunately I had the same problem as other MSP owners where the springs lowered the front and didn't do much for the rear. I decided to get a coil cut off from the rear. The ride wasn't affected at all. Honestly though I must say that the factory springs feel better than the Sprint springs.

 

[rednecks_r_us]

I installed the Eibach pro-kit on my car with the help of a friend. It took only about 4 hours. We didn't rent a spring compresser we just compressed them out in the street just incase something went flying. The stock springs were pretty weak and nothing went flying. The springs on my 66 mustang require a spring compressor ou you will get serioulsy hurt.

When we did the suspension on the Mustang the spring compresser slipped off the spring and broke my father - in -law's finger.

So as compaired to the Mustang springs the mazda springs are weak. The Eibachs are so much better. It took two of us to compress them to get them set. But we didn't need to use any special tools.

The only main consern is the bolt/nut that attaches the rear sway bar to the rear tower is brass. It is a soft nut that is on there really good. Some WD-40 and a good breaker bar was necessary for mine. Be careful that you don't strip that nut.

Other than that it was really to install them your self.

Our club web page has links to some parts places with decent prices.

http://www.mazsports.com/

 

[zmepro]

do not cut your springs

 

[LapisBlueProteg]

goto adventon.com for the springs!!!

 

[rednecks_r_us]

goto adventon.com for the springs!!!

That is where I got my Eibachs. Their customer service is awesome and the prices are good to.

We have them in our links of our club webpage.

 

[bryan_giovana]

Cutting springs is a thing of the past because you couldn't buy specific springs for lowering your car. I went with the Progress springs for $160 at my local tuner store.

You don't have to rent the spring compressor either. Go to Autozone or Pepboys and you can borrow one. They may ask for a deposit, but you get it all back when you return the tool.

About installation: I installed my myself. It took a Saturday afternoon and with help of a buddy you can do it in a few hours.
Don't spend the money with a mechanic. It's not necessary.

WAIT....SAVE THE MONEY! AND BUY SOME SPRINGS