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FACTS why cutting springs is a bad idea.

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    #46
    Cutting springs is more commonly done than you'd think. Lots of race teams used to do it and probably still do. If anyone used to watch over hauling they cut eibach's in 3+ occasions always remembered that.
    A common mod among the Fbody crowd is to use a moog springs from the GTA's/IROCS which are stiffer than others in general with larger coils (IIRC .750) to achieve a decent setup in all areas. But when people put them on as a replacement they rode higher than oem the reason for this was due to 649lb rates on the 5662s up front and the fact they wasnt 20+yrs old. Commonly they take a 1/2 coil or a coil out, many rate this setup as a better spring combo than most aftermarket pieces.
    When cutting you want as little heat as possible so having a stream of lets say antifreze will due the trick to help keep it cool, because heat weakens metal.

    This is just some of the things i've stumbled upon over the years. Now would i do this to a 20+yr old spring? absolutely not, but an aftermarket set i might.

    02 Crv
    02 silverado Ex cab Z71, 2011 TRD 17" wheels, 245/80/17, ls1 cam, AFE intake, 3" catback, tuned by Larry at LSXperformance&pcm tuning driven daily.
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      #47
      Originally posted by domesticated View Post
      Keiichi Tsuchiya advocates cutting springs. Up until the early to mid 90's he ran on cut springs most of the time. He did a little more dangerous driving than we do too.
      Most of the cars he raced at that time had no aftermarket springs available, either. It's guys like him that started the racing/drifting craze that inspired companies to make aftermarket parts for certain cars.

      Just like oldschool muscle car guys will say tuning a carb is better than tuning a good computer-controlled fuel injection system... their experience and expertise come from an older age.






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        #48
        Originally posted by SOHC-FTW View Post
        Cutting springs is more commonly done than you'd think. Lots of race teams used to do it and probably still do. If anyone used to watch over hauling they cut eibach's in 3+ occasions always remembered that.
        A common mod among the Fbody crowd is to use a moog springs from the GTA's/IROCS which are stiffer than others in general with larger coils (IIRC .750) to achieve a decent setup in all areas. But when people put them on as a replacement they rode higher than oem the reason for this was due to 649lb rates on the 5662s up front and the fact they wasnt 20+yrs old. Commonly they take a 1/2 coil or a coil out, many rate this setup as a better spring combo than most aftermarket pieces.
        When cutting you want as little heat as possible so having a stream of lets say antifreze will due the trick to help keep it cool, because heat weakens metal.

        This is just some of the things i've stumbled upon over the years. Now would i do this to a 20+yr old spring? absolutely not, but an aftermarket set i might.
        For cars like ours, that have an abundance of quality aftermarket suspension options, there is NEVER a reason to heat or cut a spring. We have a number of members that prove they can go lower than practical driving would allow on readily-available components, without modifying those components.






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          #49
          Originally posted by kapone View Post
          yes ... but in the same sense that getting shot in the leg isn't as bad as getting shot in the chest...

          Basically both are very bad. Just one allot worst than the other...
          Ah! I understand what you are saying completely! Also I must say i do agree with that. You make an excellent point. There is no good way of cutting springs but if people are going to cut corners they might as well do the lesser of two evils.


          http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=189897 MRT
          http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthre...09#post3003309 EF hatch build

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            #50
            Reasons why cutting and/or torching springs is not recommended:
            1.bump steer
            2.bouncy ride/too stiff of a spring effectively killing your shocks prematurely
            3.extra strain on your steering parts, ball joints,and wheel bearings
            4.uneven height-depends on who is going to do it.if one is done shorter than the others you can either kiss the spring goodbye or shorten the rest which may make your car too low.
            5.they tend to rattle(sometimes)
            6.heating the spring may make the spring lose its tensile strength and when you hit a hard bump

            If you are broke and want to lower your car at this moment i would go ahead and get the ebay springs as temps then upgrade later.thats what i did.i bought lowering shocks,2 inch drop springs,new honda hardware,upper and lower ball joints,inner and outer tierods,and new bearings with rotors and pads.Even though most would touch ebay stuff because its crap, i think its better than heating up our 20 year old springs.Havent had a problem with my ebay springs besides them being too soft in the rear but other than that they were pretty good.BUT i have moved on to a better setup.

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              #51
              No. if you are broke, wait and save until you can do it the right way.

              Click for my Member's Ride Thread
              Originally posted by Stephen Fry
              'It's now very common to hear people say, "I'm rather offended by that", as if that gives them certain rights. It's no more than a whine. It has no meaning, it has no purpose, it has no reason to be respected as a phrase. "I'm offended by that." Well, so fucking what?' —Stephen Fry
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                #52
                http://www.preludepower.com/forums/s...747&highlight=
                frostwhite225@gmail.com =VENMO


                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOB38zJu66o

                [COLOR="Magenta"]

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                  #53
                  He just ruined that strut.
                  wat?

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                    #54
                    Originally posted by C91BLX7 View Post
                    He just ruined that strut.
                    X2, what kind of moron puts vice grips on a polished shock shaft (unless they are leather/rubber blocked)


                    Car Safety / General Servicing Checks --------Basic suspension checks

                    My 5.7 LS1 Holden Ute

                    A "Finished" project car is never finished until its been sold.

                    If at first you don't succeed, Try again. Don't give up too easily, persistance pays off in the end.

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                      #55
                      Originally posted by evil_demon_01 View Post
                      X2, what kind of moron puts vice grips on a polished shock shaft (unless they are leather/rubber blocked)
                      Same moron who cuts/heats his springs....
                      Originally posted by Mishakol129
                      Do not disrespect my intelligence. I am the smartest person I know : )

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                        #56
                        Originally posted by dj_ender View Post
                        Same moron who cuts/heats his springs....
                        true


                        Car Safety / General Servicing Checks --------Basic suspension checks

                        My 5.7 LS1 Holden Ute

                        A "Finished" project car is never finished until its been sold.

                        If at first you don't succeed, Try again. Don't give up too easily, persistance pays off in the end.

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                          #57
                          Your not going to find any proof that cutting your
                          Springs is bad or unsafe. Because its not. I deal directly with a lot of suspension company's. If I need another half inch
                          Or so....they say cut them. If the spring has a tangential end (or
                          Wild end) its safe to cut. A lot of your budget name brand lowering springs that have been around forever are exact copies of cut factory springs. Take a lowering spring and a new factory spring and measure the rates. Take the factory spring and cut it exactly the same height as the lowering springs and measure the rate again. It will be near the same. That's why when lowering springs first became popular you could only get them for certain applications. This is also the reason for the 2" (or 1.75") drop anything
                          Lower than that you get contact with other parts or binding. Now there's big money involved and you can swap spring rates and all that. Now they are computer designed. Any thing over 2" the spring is the same size and wound tighter at the bottom. The more you load it the
                          Higher the rate thus reducing the travel. The lengh of the spring is only for seating issues. Most of the horror stories from Cut springs are because they were cut with A torch or excessive heat build up . 400 degrees anneals metal making it spongey this could cause the spring to collapse, break, or sag. This is why heating springs is unsafe for a DIYer. Would I cut a set of old springs...no. But would have no issues cutting a new one

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                            #58
                            I agree with that. A Bilstien engineer told me to cut a few coils off one of their springs for the last car I built.
                            '93 H22A 5SPD SE - MRT - DIY-Turbo Sizing

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                              #59
                              Lowering spring "kits" started out as a 100% marketing ploy. Back in the day, you bought basically pre cut springs. The marketing part was easy. In the mid 90s you would see cars slammed to the ground with no or little spring in the rear and the front springs cut in half. This was very common and dangerous. The springs were cut so short a good bump would unseat them and the car bounced so badly. But you could never get a lowering spring equipped car to sit as low as a cut spring equipped car. Now with all the technology and money in suspension business you can buy a safe kit to make a car sit that low safely

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                                #60
                                Originally posted by MortsAccord View Post
                                FAK_LAF please show proof of your education?

                                I think your an overly defensive idiot who contradicts themselves. One moment you say there's nothing wrong with cut/torched springs. The next you say you got real springs because your ghetto fabbed shit was "too bouncy".

                                Let's see a bouncy ride is safe? Need I say more?

                                I won't even bother listing why not to do modifications like torch/cut crap. Since most have been listed.

                                Im just amazed someone said "there's nothing wrong with it", then proclaimed to be educated. WTF.


                                Would like me to dig up my degree(s) and transcripts as well?

                                I never once said I changed to a lowering spring because the stockers were bouncy. They were in fact the complete opposite. It was a very smooth ride, even with OEM dampers. I changed them because they were too soft for how low I wanted to be. People bounce on cut springs because they went too low and do not have sufficient shock travel. Has absolutely nothing to do with the spring, as the rate is not increased significantly. Please show me a comment where I ever advocated torched springs. You are a morron sir for not being able to read. Cutting one or two coils will ride extremely close to stock and be perfectly safe if the top of the spring is cut at an angle and seated properly in the upper strut mount. Please don't bad mouth people about a subject that you have little to no experience with yourself.
                                Last edited by FAK_LAF; 04-21-2012, 05:38 PM.

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