can you cut stock springs to lower your car or no???

 

Yes, and with NO ill effects...IF YOU DO IT RIGHT.

How do you think cars were lowered before lowering springs were made? They were cut.

The key is, to not heat up the springs when cutting them. Heat is what kills the rate in them. Professionals trim theirs all the time.

Just don't cut more than a full coil or so, or you'll end up with a short spring& not enough spring rate to support the car correctly.

When I cut mine in the past, I used a sawzall & had the spring sitting in a 5-gallon bucket of water, with only the end sticking out. I used the water to help dissipate any heat. Might have been overkill, but I know I had zero problems....On a autocross car....

 

oh ok lol i dont know how so im not gonna try but im sure its not that hard thanks for the info.

 

Now.....I have done it the same way, but with a 3.5" grinder wheel. Not the BEST way, but the water kept the heat to a minimum.

I just didn't wanna mention the grinder wheel method at first, if you had no problem with a sawzall. Get GOOD blades though, or you'll wear the cheap ones out fast & take forever using new blades, over & over.

 

Yes, as Steven explained. However, why not simply buy what you need?

JamesC

 

Ever hear the phrase, "money doesn't grow on trees" ?

Grinder with a cut off wheel should work fine if he doesn't push too hard and just lets the wheel do the work, but clamp the spring to something and use two hands on the grinder for safety.

I had a grinder rip out of my hands and fillet my leg open. You get to have the nurse shoot you full of local, and then scrub the grinding material out with a plastic brush and watch all the blood pool up, then get all kinds of stitches.

IF you're lucky and the cut isn't that deep.

Mathius

 

Sounds like you're making my case for simply purchasing what you need (even if that means saving for awhile).

JamesC

 

 

I've cut a few sets, no injuries.

I'd say your chances for success outweigh any chance of failure/injury.

As with anything in life.....Don't rush it & just be careful.

 

How about using a portaband? Slow-moving blade that cuts like butter... I'm seriously considering doing this to get the front of my GTA back to stock height after the LS1 is running. How'd it handle Stephen?

 

No complaints & did well in Autocross....Just too bad the 305/TBI combo blowed, for HP!

One of our club "professionals" rode shotgun....
"Punch it!"

"I am..."

"Oh...Sorry......"

 

Whenever I get around to cutting my springs I'm planning on using my portaband. It wont heat the springs. Trust me, I use one at work regularly cutting various pieces of steel.

 

Yep - definitely one of my top 5 favorite tools.

 

I didn't cut myself, cutting springs on my car, I cut myself on the job using an angle grinder that wasn't in proper working order because the company was cheap as hell. It didn't have a handle OR a guard.

If you use two hands and clamp your work down and use proper safety procedures you'll do fine.

Paying all kinds of extra money for something you can do yourself is just stupid. You must have money to burn. Must be nice.

I personally wouldn't use a portaband Not saying it wouldn't work, I just haven't had much luck with portabands, particularly on solid steel like that. They work better on thin wall stuff.

Thick stuff tends to pop the blade. 'Course I don't use'm that often. If you think it'll work for you, go ahead.

Mathius

 

I'm apparently stupid quite often. Thank you for your diplomacy. I'm retired after 30 years in the trenches, and after carefully watching my pennies, I do have a bit of expendable cash. Yes, it is nice. Good luck.

JamesC

 

Portaband or Sawzall seems like a lot of work. I've always used a metal abrasive 7" cut off wheel attached to the old Skilsaw to cut everything from Springs to exhaust pieces. Of course the proper way would be to attach it to a chop saw or grinder. Either way just keep the flammables away cause it's going to send some sparks. It will go thru a spring so fast that heat is NOT going to be a problem. Much cheaper than replacement sawzall blades too.

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...056&lpage=none

Not advocating using it in an unsafe manner, of course. Just an option to those expensive blades.

 

I've had cut springs (while not stock ones, they are aftermarket lowering springs) on the front of my daily driver 04 Colorado for right at 40k miles. No ill effects, no problems what-so-ever. It rides rougher but that is a product of the springs being stiffer to begin with than me cutting them. I used a cut off wheel for mine and no water. No problems with heat at all.

A friend of mine has cut 1.5 60 ft times at the track in his old 98 Z28 on stock cut springs and 17 inch drag radials. He said it rode just like stock. Only was a couple inches lower.

My advice is to go back some new stock replacement springs for a ws6 car and then cut them. Shouldn't be too expensive to get and will handle better than old worn out high mileage springs.

 

I regularly cut solid 1"-2" solid stainless steel rods with a portaband with no problems what so ever. It cuts right through usually under 10 seconds. If you're popping the blade off then you're binding the saw in some way such as not cutting straight or pinching the blade in the cut.

 

<shrug> That's likely. I can count on one hand the number of times I've used one.

I usually prefer angle grinders, small air cutoff wheels, or hand snips, depending on what I'm cutting. I have a set of power double cuts, but they're still in the box. I also have an air nibbler, but it doesn't leave a very nice line without some kind of a guide. I have one of those air body saws that works pretty nice.

I absolutely hate using a saw zaw. I've used them out on the job often, and they do nothing but fatigue your arms and take double the effort of a grinder. But there are areas where you can't use a grinder, so you do what you have to do.

Mathius

 

i have cut the springs in both of my third gens. the first time i used a saws all with cheap blades, took forever so i bought one of those blades with the grainy sh*t epoxyed on it. that worked a little better but was a really fat blade.
my second car i used my air angle grinder with a 3in cut off wheel, whized right through them. i dont rec cuting anymore then 1 full coil, even that is a bit excessive. and make the springs as even as possible, otherwise youl be leaning.

 

i have a book, its titled performance modifications for third generation camaros. it was definately a good book, and in the suspension chapter it had this step by step on how to cut your springs, the dude in the picture actually used an acetylene torch and a 50 gallon barrel of water to dunk it in after, what he did was cut half a coil and then while it was still hot, flipped it around put some weight on it to kind of pigtail it and then dunked it in the water. how effective it was im not sure. but if its in a book it has to work right?

 

Not necessarily. There's no need to bend the free end after cutting, provided you cut the correct end. Being able to bend it in the first place is an indication that it's lost its temper.

Read that book and it's kinda weak, especially compared to what's on these boards.

 

And...Using a torch only introduces heat, which is what you are trying to avoid doing in the first place. Water or not, you've introduced heat, with is a bad thing.

 

So your saying the 1 1/2 rounds I took out of the front and 3 1/2 out of the rear was too much? To me it rode better than anything I'd driven except for potholes and speed bumps!!!

 

Depends on the type of springs you started with. Heavier duty springs for our vehicles will have fewer coils, maybe 8 or so and will drop more for one coil removed than a lighter spring with, say, 12 coils.

 

I took the rounds off of a RS 6 cyl Camaro....... can't remember how many it had...... the car handled great...... just had to stay on top of obstacles coming at you!

 

well the 1 1/2 round i took out of my v8 z28 spring put it on the bump stops, maybe this is why you think it handles so great, you might have more travel then i did, due to your rs springs.

i have takein 1 1/2 out of the rears on a v6 spring out of a berli and i had tire rubbing issues. 3 1/2 would be cutting my spings in half. personaly id rather fit 11.5in slicks and be able to launch still, then dodge obsticles that u never incounter on the strip.
after loosing an oil pan, my crossover pipe and a header to a construction site manhole i will never go that low again.

 

yea, never use a torch, lol, but doin this, i wanna lower down my car all the way around, so do i cut the same amounts out, like say a coil all the way around, it will be less but its an example? or do i measure where it will be, and should i compress the spring when im done, and put a chain link in there to hold it together like stock?

 

There's no set rule of thumb because different springs may drop more for the same amount cut. Age of springs is a factor as well. It's a pain, but the only way to get where you want is to cut a little off then see where it sits. Cut more off if it's still too high.

With a brand new pair of MOOG replacement TA springs (not IROC-I wanted a little give to my ride) I cut a half coil and dropped my front end down roughly an inch. It's still higher than it was when I got it with the sagging stockers.

 

Determine how your car sits, before doing any cutting. Mine sits 1" higher in the rear.

So, cutting the same amount should bring it down, to the same 1" difference.

To get it down PERFECTLY level, it'll be tricky. Maybe 1/4-1/2 coil more, off the rear than the front.

 

genaral rule for cutting springs is 3/4 of a coil give 1 inch of drop. and realize when you cut a spring its gonna change the rate of the spring, it will make it a litttle stiffer cause it has mess mass to absorb any pressure placed on it.

 

"after loosing an oil pan, my crossover pipe and a header to a construction site manhole i will never go that low again."

Man does this sound familiar!!!!!! I was in the same boat with mine. The only reason for mine riding well was the fact that with cut springs, new shocks and struts, and I ran a 205-60 front and back! At the same time I eliminated all bump stops as well. I agree on never dropping one that low again.

 

so would you guys suggest getting the wheels and tires you want BEFORE cutting so you dont cut to much that you have a tire rub?

 

Thats why my car isn't lowered yet....I'm waiting to put my new back tires on.....315s.

 

315s?? holy hell lol. im only putting 275/60's on haha. how low do you think youll even be able to go after those monsters get under there?

 

I've got 275s up front.....I'm running 285s out back right now.....I've run 295s with ZERO fender mod before & 315s don't require TOO MUCH work to fit.

 

hey a quick question, when you guys cut your springs for a 1-1 1/2" drop did you get new struts to? if you did what kind of struts do you get? (dont need top of the line crap, just some cheapies from autozone) if i dont NEED to replace my struts, my cars gettin lowered tomorrow

 

Nope....I never replaced my struts in the cars I cut the springs in.

 

Same here....... I used what was there!!! CUT..... DROP.......DRIVE!!!!!!

 

Don't forget to get a new front end alignment after cutting the springs!

 

thank you guys! nascar race is over so im bout to head out to the garage thanks again