RE AND CHERYL

I've been consittering lowering my car by cutting the springs. I only want to lower it about an inch and I don't want the crapy ride of stiff aftermarket springs.

Anyone done this? What results have you had? How much should I cut off to lower it about an inch?

Eff

I wouldn't recommend it... but it's your car.

Your springs will loose tensil strength if you cut them

Red96Lt1

I think a big thing is when you cut them you will probably heat them up around where you cut them. This will harden them and make that area more brittle.

Also, the lowering springs are stiffer so that you don't bottom out as easily, and for performance.

Hyperspeed97z28

I agree with this statement..

Aftermarket's are only around $150

nathan96

Be prepared to buy new shocks too, since you will be in effect requiring more from them with the decreased strength of the cut springs. Also you have to cut exactley one ring or they will also not sit balanced on the car. There really are no pros to doing this.

Black_Z28

Not to mention that you'll get a nice bouce when you go over bumps. You can do it, but I never would.

brain

I am curious if any have actually done it, and can give solid info, as opposed to saying don't do it. If I remember right, Jordon cut the rears of his stockers to get the right height and spring rate. Remember, they are going to get stiffer when you cut them. I have a spare set I cut, but haven't had the time to put them on yet.

RE - If you do it, do a search first. There is a thread that says how much you should take off of the spring to lower it the proper amount. An inch off the uncompressed spring is a LOT more than an inch compressed.

nathan96

A friend and I tried this on a ford probe that he had. The ride was really bad, and it did not get stiffer, it got bouncy. The worst was stopping. It would bounce like the struts were bad immediately after we did it. He had to replace the struts about 3 monthes later and just bought a set of eibachs. I agree that it is possible, but unless you know the rate at all of the areas on the spring it is almost impossible to get it right. If the spring was a single linear rate one like they use in race applications then just trim it down to get the height you want.

JordonMusser

what you are confused about is that(as stated by others) cutting the springs will probably make the STIFFER than aftermarket!

Just pony up the skrilla for some $150 aftermarket springs, you will be much happier. If you are worried about ride, make sure you get some shocks too. Bilstiens are a good choice

slimdawson

According to Herb Adams(suspension guru) there is nothing wrong with cutting springs.

Cutting springs increases stiffness. Which is good on a spring that has less room to travel. If the car bounces you need new shocks. That is what they control.

I cut mine and lowered it drastically. I would say about 2 inches. Only negative I ran into is ride heighth obviously but damn it looks good.

INFERNO

I did. I cut 2 coils off the front and 1 off the rear. The car rides better than a friends with an Eibach setup. The only thing I did was NOT use a torch. Just a cut off wheel. You have to cut full coils off otherwise it won't sit in the mount correctly. This does not apply to the rears becuase if you cut them it just won't sit right anyways.

XxXTransAmXxX

If you need a set of Stocker's to test with incase you don't like I'll do $40 on my stockers

GCEZ28

I cut mine with a cutoff wheel over 4 years ago. Nothing has broken. I got SLP Take Offs for $20 and SLP Take Off shocks for $20. $40.00 total. There was a guy on this site that had done all the trial and error and he posted how much to cut. It worked perfectly, dropped the car 1 3/4", and the ride has been fine. It's time for new shocks again and this time I am getting the Eibach sportlines and probably the KYB GasAdjust shocks. Also rear control arm relocation brackets.