vwbob16

HEY GUYS I SPENT THE LAST 2 DAYS READING ALL OF THE SPRING VS SPRING THREADS HERE AND WOW I MUST SAY NO ONE CAN AGREE ON ANYTHING WHAT A BUNCH OF BS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! RATHER THAN BUY A SET OF LOWERING SPRINGS I CUT MY WS6 SPRINGS 1 FULL COIL IN THE FRT AND 2 FULL COILS IN THE REAR IT LOWERED THE CAR 2 FULL INCHES AND IT RIDES LIKE STK. I DID REMOVE THE BUMPSTOPS FRT AND REAR BUT FOR THE LOOK I WANTED AND THE RIDE ALL I CAN SAY IS BITCHEN!!!! I WOULD GO AS FAR AS TO SAY IT RIDES BETTER THAN STOCK !!!!!!!!!!!! NO BOUNCE NO PROBLEMS

SLP_GTA

iTrader: (1)

do you have any pixs, love to see how it looks with a side shot

xpndbl3

iTrader: (5)

2 rear coils....that thing has to be on the ground. I cut half a coil and removed the rubber isolator on the rear of my car and it dropped it a ton. Front is 1/2 coil removed as well.

JamesC

iTrader: (5)

Let us know if you feel the same way about ride quality in, say, six months.

JamesC

DJP87Z28

No bounce because there is no travel left in those cutoff springs.

vwbob16

DJP87Z28 I CAN PUSH DOWN ON THE BACK OR THE FRT BUMPER AND IT HAS PLENTY OF TRAVEL NO METAL TO METAL THE KEY IS TO REMOVE THE BUMPSTOPS LIKE I SAID BEFORE IT DROPPED IT 2 INCHES. I WILL POST SOME PICS SOON. TRUST ME I AM 42 YEARS OLD AND HAVE LOWERED PROBABLY 20 OF MY OWN VEHICALS, EVERYTHING FROM IMPORTS TO TRUCKS . I HAVE USED BELL TECH KITS SPINDELS FLIP KITS LOWERING SPRINGS YOU NAME IT SO I WILL KEEP YOU GUYS POSTED ON HOW THIS WORKS OUT .
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SteelTownMadDog

iTrader: (2)

42 YO and you still don't know how to turn off cap locks? Impressive.

SLP_GTA

iTrader: (1)

HEY, BE EASY ON US OLD GUYS, WERE NOT HIP LIKE YOU SNAPPERS

I would think one coil off the front and 1/2 in the rear would give the best look.

Thats why I reqested a photo to see how low the front looks.

JamesC

iTrader: (5)

Hey, at 42 vw's just a pup

JamesC

SteelTownMadDog

iTrader: (2)

I'm 36, so I'm far from a "snapper" also.

racing geek

iTrader: (5)

I would also like to see some pics of the car. I've been thinking of some new springs when I put in some Koni's and was wondering if I should lower the car a little.

I'm 16 so I guess that would place me in the "snapper" category.

crazynights

iTrader: (3)

Where they the 5662's for the front? Where the rears CC635?
I'd love to see a pic of the stance as well.

Guest

I cut a full coil off the front of my WS6 springs. That was a mistake. I ended up having to run a spacer just to get some travel. No way you have travel of any significant amount and once you find that out, you'll be bending a control arm where the bumpstop used to be.

Batass

Its bad to pull the bumpstops out anyway, the only thing to stop travel then is your shock, and that will be smoked quick. You should only cut your bumpstop. I have seen this firsthand. Also when you cut a spring it makes it stiffer. It takes out the progressiveness. It may feel nice now, but JamesC is right. 6 months to a year down the road it will sag and turn to poop.

Spend the money, buy some real springs. All that work in the front to cut them?? I paid 50 bucks for mine.
42 yrs old and you said "the bomb".

vwbob16

Look you guys need too listen up i measured the distance from the ground to the center of the front and rear fender wells. It was 28 inches stk now the front measures 26 inches and the rear is 26 1/8 with the stock rubber isolators.

Beleive me it has plenty of TRAVEL front and rear no BANGING no metal to metal.

I have rode in plenty of rough riding lowered vehicals I do plan on reinstalling the bumpstops after i trim them.

Also please tell me how a set of 20 year old springs are going to sag from cutting them ??

We also have a Sat night late model stock car that we have springs that we have cut before and after 5 seasons they are still the same. We know this due to the fact that we re rate the springs every year to make sure they are still the same.

I will keep everyone posted on how this works out and if they sag or anything changes i will let you know

Guest

Take a picture of the space between where the bumpstop was, and where the contact point is up front.

vwbob16

Here are a couple of pics

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/j...16/bobs010.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/j...16/bobs009.jpg

Batass

Well I hope it works out for ya. I just dont see why you wouldnt buy a set of engineered springs. They're cheap.
Also arent cut springs illegal? I think they are in my state. Many shops turn them away at inspection time.
As far as the 20 year old springs go, I think a part of the spring will be moving/flexing that never really has before. Before the weaker progressive part soaked up bumps, now the stiffer section has to. Flex/movement=wear.

But maybe I'm wrong, and these work out great for you for years.

SLP_GTA

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for posting the pixs, the rake look like the BOMB I'm in my 40s

Don't let the know it alls crap on your thread... I'm glad to see it worked out for you...

Also can you post a side pix level with the car, thanks in advance

racing geek

iTrader: (5)

If you want a good picture of the rake then you would want the camera to be level with the ground, not the car.

Stephen

iTrader: (12)

My wife's autocross got cut WS6 springs too. 1/2 coil cut up front, 3/4 coil cut in the rear. Handled great. And had ZERO issues in autocross.

Up until around '85, what did everybody do? They cut their springs. I doubt were many, if any, pre-manufactured lowering springs before that, beside maybe for lowered trucks.

Benny K

iTrader: (1)

cutting springs is one bad thing in my opinion...especially if they are 20 years old...

It's illegal in Switzerland per example and the authorities sure have their reasons...
I bought a set of lowering springs and the ride is faaaaar superior to the sagged stock springs...

just my opinion...

vwbob16

Benny K have you ever tried it? HHMMM Thats what i thought LOL i am sure that lowered springs are fine but i am here to tell my car rides very nice and i have ridden in over 50 lowered cars and trucks so i know what a rough ride can be like and i know what a smooth ride is Thanks Bob

Dewey316

So is washing your car on Sundays. Where is the logic?

Someone bring the tech on why it is so "unsafe".

vwbob16

Its not unsafe

Batass

Well im sure they arent illegal just for fun. Its illegal here in the states in places too. Someone must know why........
I used to get a lot of angry looks in Germany on Sundays. It was my only day off. Tuning my car, riding my dirtbike.......even got a 5000 dollar fine once, but that was slightly unrelated.

Alright, you CAN cut your springs if you do it the right way,meaning how you cut them, and with what tools, and not change the spring rate or even increase it. But its risky. And you should do it in small increments so you dont cut too much. Meaning, cut, install , test drive, remove, cut, install, test drive. Back in the day it was practiced because there werent many spring options to buy. In today's world there are many options.

They can be unsafe if some rookie cuts them, they dont match, or the front and rears dont match. Car handles like absolute dog crap. Poor kid slides off the road and dies because he heard that "cut springs are the bomb". A little extreme there but I believe thats why they are considered "dangerous". Somebody must have screwed up along the lines somewhere. Just because they work for you, congratulations, welcome to thirdgen.org, but it doesnt mean they will work for somebody else. YOU arent cutting the spring for them.

Dewey316

It is because a lot of stupid people, think that any modification to any car is unsafe.

I am still waiting for some sort of rational or reasonable explanation as to what about it is unsafe.

grthrawn

the unsafe part is your cutting a twenty something year old spring. the spring is now going to be stiffer than it was before so not only does it have the last twenty years of abuse in it but now its going to bend more than it had to before and could possibly break. im not saying it shouldnt be done i plan on doing it on the t/a here next week when the suspension comes out. you just actually have to cut them dont use a torch.

Stephen

iTrader: (12)

When I cut the ones in my wife's autocross car, posted above, I had them sitting in a 5 gal bucket of water, to disperse any heat, and used a cut off wheel. Not a torch, not a simple grinder, but a real disc wheel.

It's more "It's unsafe, IF YOU DO IT WRONG." than just "Cutting is bad...period." It's all in the execution.

Guest

Getting the car on the road is unsafe, just look at last years death stats.

I had less fender space than that with 1 coil cut off and my spacers up front.

vwbob16

HERE IS A SIDE SHOT

DIGGLER

iTrader: (1)

cutting coil springs with a cutoff wheel does not change the spring rate.... where did you guys get that idea?
im guessing you were told about people HEATING their springs to lower the car. this would for sure change the spring rate and the springs will begin to sag afterwards since the spring is weakened from the heat. those guys dont even take the springs out of the car when they heat them.... just hit it with the torch and wait for the vehicle to settle down.

FormulaL98

Wow, i think your car looks good down a little bit. i owned a 90 formula that we cut the springs in and it also handled and the ride was no different that i can recall. my current formula will also be getting dropped a lil too here shortly, but im at school til may (sucks, no firebird). and everyone is gonna have a diff. opinion on whats right and whats not, but if it works and does well leave it alone. it looks like a solid TA, i doubt he would do anything that would not benefit the car. and cut ws6 springs work soo get over it

Batass

It does look good, but I think cutting springs ranks down there with retreading slicks, paper mache body kits, and leaf blower turbos.

Guest

Race teams cut springs, so that makes their cars junk eh?

Removing coils will increase the spring rate, part of the factor in the rate is the number of free coils. So cutting them will change the rate no matter what you do.

BMmonteSS

I feel stupider for reading this thread.....see you just made me make up a word.

I'm one of the biggest advocates (big word I know, it means I support it) of cutting springs. As long as it's done within reason. By reason I mean you sit down and calculate what your spring rate is going to be and how much travel you will have left and decide if the rate is stiff enough for the amount of travel you have.

I can tell you that your spring rate is around 900 lb/in, and you have less than 1.5" before your tire tags the fender well. There is no spring stiff enough to run with only 1.5" of travel. In fact I believe that INDY cars have more suspension travel than that. So unless you are getting over 1500 lb/in springs you need to rethink running this low.

Also running without bump stops is a recipe for disaster. What happens when you decide to get off the boulevard and do some cornering you'll bottom out either the tire or the A-arm and your spring rate quickly goes to infinity and that corner of the car will instantly loose traction hopefully only killing you and not that family of four you just passed.

I run IROC springs cut 2 coils, the only difference is that I have weight jacks. I've found this works great with 3" to 4" of travel, much less and I'm on the bump stops too much. I run a relocated bump stop as well as adding extra clearance for the tire. There is nothing wrong with running a car low, you just have to be willing to modify the car to keep some travel in bump.

vwbob16

I assure you that it hasnt bottomed out yet and no the tires do not hit the fenders. I have put it into a full sideways drift in the empty parking lot at work and no problems Like i posted earlier i will be putting shorter bumpstops back in Thanks BOB

slow_90firebird

Those pics of the car actually look pretty good. That looks like the perfect stance to me. If only it wouldnt drag on every speed bump!

Just curious, if you cut a 1/2 coil, or a 1/4. or even 1/3 coil off, how do you properly index the spring in the LCA? Also, do you cut 1/2 on the top, 1/2 on the bottom? Or just one end?

The other reason I would rather buy a set of springs is so that if I didnt like the effect of the lower car, or couldnt get out of the driveway or something, I could always go back.

grthrawn

what size tires on it front and back?

vwbob16

245/50-16