id like to trim 1/2 a coil off the springs front and rear to gain a slight bit of drop w/o spending any of my non existent cash..

when looking and the springs it appears that the last coil is bent down to make a flat seating surface...if half a coil is trimmed, will not having that entire flat section cause a seating problem?

i know a few people have done this. any help?

 

don't do it....you will ruin your ride and your probably attempting this on stock worn out springs so you will drop alot more then normal which will not only be uneven around the car but will cause alot of bouncing while driving making your car look funny.

it may look "cool" when your parked but many will laugh at you and your ride will suffer......that is if you care. save up and do it right, hell their are very cheap alternatives out there that may not be the best but are 100% better then what your trying to do. if you are hurting for funds sell one of your other cars.

 

save up 190...order some intrax springs...2 inch..ride quality is still really good..and..it looks "cool" and handles much better...but..DONT CUT ANYTHING

 

On front springs you trim off the bottom of the spring, and you seat the spring end in between the two drain holes in the LCA.

On rear springs, you may want to bend down some to make a proper seat. See how it ends up with the end as-is.

As far as "you'll ruin the ride, the sky is falling, you'll curse your family name forever" theories... Trimming a spring adds spring rate, so with a proper rate spring, a reduction in length will cause no problems.

If you torch springs to weaken them and make the car settle, that is an improper way of lowering a car. Trimming length from a coil is not bad if you don't heat up the whole spring, just the end that's being cut.

 

IIRC, the rule of thumb is for every complete coil you cut, you drop 1/2 an inch. I doubt cutting 1/2 a coil (dropping you only a 1/4") would really make the ride suffer all THAT much.

If you plan on doing it properly later on with Eibachs, or another lowering spring, I say go for it. But the other side to this that most don't see is... Every time you remove suspension parts, the alignment bill comes. Something to consider.

All in all, I myself will wait to install the proper springs. Components that hold my car up and provide stability aren't things I'm going to hack up. Realistically, performance springs for these cars are CHEAP compared to even smaller GMs like the Beretta. My Eibach Pro-Kit for my Beretta GTZ was $250!

Later.

 

There is no rule of thumb. Different springs use different wire diameters and # of coils to come up with their free and installed heights, and rates. Your rule of thumb doesn't even apply to stock late 80's V8 third gen springs, nor does it come close to applying to Moog replacement V8 third gen springs.


"proper."

"proper."

Who are you, Miss Manners? You have no idea what you're talking about. I've used third gen V8 front springs, Guldstrand front and rear springs, and Eibachs. The only advantage to the Eibachs was that there was no thought process involved in deciding ride height.

 

Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, eh. As for "rule of thumb", I guess my terminology was incorrect. I should have said something to the effect of most people will tell you...

With regards to springs brand, I said Eibach or other lowering springs.

 

Herb adams recommends starting with 1/2 coil, i plan on doing the same i have stock replacment moog IROC springs. Which are about as stiff as guldstrand slalom springs and stiffer than Eibach prokit springs. In my opinion the pro kit i had was junk, too low considering the spring rate. They were softer than factory IROC springs and bottomed all over the place. I also do not like progressive springs. they give better ride quality but allow too much movement IMHO. Do not be afraid to cut your stock springs, use a grinder or chop saw with a cutoff wheel. Just do it in small steps, be prepared to do alot of extra work, and make sure they sit in the pockets like the stock ones did.

 

Laiky,I have similar feelings at pro-kit(especially rear coils)Do you know who makes rear coils at same ride height that pro-kit,but stiffer?

Jari

 

I don't really know. i suppose you could find something in a spring catalog(moog for instance) that is close if you haad the measurements for the eibach. I run the moog replacement NON cargo coil (ther is only one other than the CC for our cars). i think it is pretty stiff, way more than the quoted rate of 107 lbs inch. i am very happy with my spring rates and plan on spending th time to trim them to my liking this year.

 

Laiky, are you planning to re-form the spring ends after you trim them or just leave them as is?

 

i will probably leave them and see how they fit in the isolaters. If its necesary i will reform them. It's only the rears that might need it though, the fronts have an unfinshed end so i don't believe its necessary.

 

Like stated before, Herb Adams, a suspension specialist with tons of experience with the 82-92 F-Bodys recommends cutting the springs. He knows a good bit more than most here claim to...

I cut 1/2 coil off the fronts and 3/4 coil off the rears. This is on the stock 180K mile springs BTW - that never sagged. I used a cutoff wheel and had to heat up the end of the rear springs to reshape them. I let them air cool. The car dropped just over 1" all the way around. It handled better, but slightly firmer. No negatives in my case.

And to Kandied91Z: the only one "laughing" here is the one who didn't spend $200 on springs