The front of my car seems to have a large tire to fender gap. Could I just run lowering springs in the front only without any problems? I just installed new bilstein struts, would they have to be changed? Any other changes necessary if it can be done?

 

If they're fresh Bilsteins then that's good, tehy can handle the increased spring rate and new suspension travel range that lowering springs will give you.

You did imply you replaced or at least removed and put back in the shocks.

Are your front springs indexed properly? Did you put the rubber isolators back in the rear?



There are two holes next to each other on the A-arm, the end of the spring goes right in between those two holes. That picture shows where it needs to be.

There are also rubber isolators on top of the rear springs. They're about a half inch thick, so if you forgot to put those back in, they will lower the rear of the car by that much.

 

Measure the height from ground through the center of the wheel to the fender lip. Measure the front tires and back tires.

 

I got the springs indexed as close as I could just by looking at where they were positioned with the factory control arms. I now have UMI tubular a arms that don't have the holes in them for indexing. I will measure it when I get a chance. Im thinking it just sits too high because it has a fiberglass hood, no ac, aluminum heads, etc.

 

You may have just cut 100 lbs off the front of the car, that's very possible.

A lot of people trim springs down to get the stance right. I would pull the springs out and chop half a coil.

 

If I ran lowering springs only in the front, would the car handle alright? Who makes a good kit as well? The two I have read the most about on here are the Eibach pro-kits and the Hotchkis springs. I imagine that roughly a 1 inch drop would put me at a good heigth.

 

It would probably handle very weird(at the limit) since the spring rates in the front and rear wouldnt correspond at all. You may get lucky.

Just trim half a coil, either off your stock springs or off lowering springs. Even old Chip Foose trims coils off his cars to get the stance right. As long as you keep the spring cool it's just not a big deal. Angle grinder with cutoff wheels and you taking your sweet time and you'll have it done in 10 minutes. Trimming half a coil off of a lowering spring (in which case I recommend you put them in the rear also) will likely make for a softer spring than trimming off the stock spring, if that matters to you.

 

Im not really a fan of cutting springs if I don't have to. Would it still handle wierd if I bought lowering springs with close to stock spring rates?

 

Well I did a lot of research about trimming springs and it does nothing detrimental to the spring structurally or functionally. The only problem is that springs get stiffer as they're cut. Any serious hot rod builder cuts and trims their springs all over the place to get the stance right. Aftermarket lowering springs are a relatively new invention.

Because your car is so much lighter in the front than stock thirdgens, any spring set for a thirdgen isn't going to let it sit level. When people swap to LS1's they mess with the weight balance so much that it's impossible to get the car to sit right without cutting the springs, regardless of whether they're lowering springs or not. One thing you may want to try is to put some springs from a v6 or I4 car in there. If it's still too high, then cutting half a coil from a v6 spring will leave your springs closer to stock than cutting half a coil off your stock springs because your stock springs have a higher spring rate.

The key to cutting springs is keeping them cool and cutting off the bottom(on the fronts, cut the rears off the top). Just go at it slowly with an angle grinder and make sure you dont get the springs too hot. If they're too hot to touch, then let them cool down a few minutes. Overheating them compromises they're structural integrity.

A lot of the time you hear people bashing the practice of cutting springs is from people in circles where their cars come stock with coil overs. Trimming coilovers is a very bad idea, just because the springs are so much smaller and shorter. People also dislike cutting them with a torch because it heats them too much.


But I havent been able to find anything that proves a properly cut spring will be dangerous, or unsafe, or prone to problems. The only issue is that of the spring rate increasing.

I'd get front springs from a v6 car honestly. It may be enough on its own, but if not you can trim them. Consider the cutting "fine tuning" to get it right for your car. No two thirdgens weigh exactly the same or have the exact same weight distribution - variances are normal.

This thread (a sticky) has a lot of good links to good threads on the subject and a brief paragraph on it.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/susp...ing-101-a.html

I was afraid to cut my springs back in the day, then I couldnt find any good reason not to cut them, so I did. I haven't regretted it one bit. Just dont do it with a torch and keep them cool.


https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/susp...-1-2-coil.html


Plus a whole lot more.... But in the thread they mention that cut v6 springs will lead to "bottoming out" and other problems. My budy has v6 springs in his v8 car, and he cut them - no issues whatsoever of that sort. Rides like a normal car and has a most excellent stance to it.