I was thinking of cutting my springs in the front to lower the car.
If this is not a good idea how much are the aftermarket springs? How do you lower the car in the rear.?


82 camaro

 

" Before you invest in a new set of coil springs to lower the front of your car, you may want to consider cutting them instead. According to chassis expert Herb Adams, cutting your (Camaro's) springs by ½ a coil will lower your car but still maintain adequate ride hieght.
1. Carfull remove the coil springs following the procedure outlined in you car's shiop manual. Note how the end coils of the spring are bent slightly so that it seats properly an the frame and A-arm. Most stock springs can be trimmed a half coil to provide the proper ride height for improved handling. Mark the spring directly across from the original end (as shown).

2. Cut the spring with an acetylene torch

3. Heat the half coil below your cut to match the spring's oiginal shape.

4. Quickly turn the spring upside down and bend the top coil by pushing down on the spring. {b]Do Not[/b] quench the spring with water; allow it to ait-cool slowly.

5. Paint and install it according to the direction on your shop manual. Realign the fron t end following the recommendation in VSE's Performance Handbook. " - Camaro Performance Handbook

I wouldn't recommend doing this to IROC springs or WS6 spring because doing this will increase the spring rate making the already rock hard performance springs even worse.


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I tried this on my '85 IROC. What a disaster -- 6 months later everything was rubbing on everything in sight after cutting off only one coil.

Ended up buying new springs to fix the problem. Get some springs made for the job I say.

My .02 cents worth.

 

Cutting will lower it and make it stiffer. I would go half a coil like he said above. Keep in mind that drop springs are pretty cheap anymore. A set of four matched springs will handle nice.


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82camaro

 

How much do I cut from my spare set of IROC springs to get a 1" drop?

 

Does Herb Adams really recommend using a torch to cut coil springs? I thought heat would destroy the temper. I've not cut springs on an F-body but have shortened old corvette springs using a new hacksaw blade dry.

 

I was going to use the cutoff wheel tool from work.Then heat and recurve the bottom to fit like it was originally.

 

Herb Adams recommends cutting spring with a cutoff wheel, and then heating the last coil just enough to bend it flat like the original end of the spring.(in his book on performance suspension).
Aftermarket Springs are pretty inexpensive now, but if you're on a budget, there's nothing wrong with cutting the stockers.
I currently have Eibach Pro-Kit Springs and I still had to cut them 3/4 coil to get the ride height where I wanted it.
As for how much to cut off, that will vary, depending on how much the springs are already sagging.It'll take some experimenting.It's time-consuming, I know, but chopping off a little at a time is the only way to get it right without going too far.Once you've cut too much off,you'll have to replace them.
In addition to making your car look and handle better,the shorter springs make it a lot easier to dissassemble your front suspension.I don't even need a floor jack to compress the spring any more,I can just pop it in the pocket and lift up the A-arm by hand to reconnect the spindle to the strut.
Hope this helps.
-Rich-