need help with cutting springs

[Soupie]

Hey everyone, before i get a bunch of people telling me not to cut my springs, and how bouncy my car will be, and blowing out my struts, and bottoming out, and etc. i've heard almost every negative comment there is, and i'm not asking your opinion if cutting them is good or bad... :aigo::aigo::aigo:
But what im asking is should i cut the spring from the top of the spring or the bottom?:1zhelp: I would like some input from some people who have had experience doing this & what the best approach is. I do not track my car or really care about a little excessive bouncing as i am already daily driving on blown struts 50 miles a day & don't mind the driveability at all. I just want to cut the springs for a stance point of view, and please dont recommend lowering springs because they drop the car a measly 1 to 1.5 inches if lucky & still get you stuck at a 4x4 look.:3d_frown::3d_frown:
Please any positive input to cutting my springs as well as pictures of your supra on cut springs, with the info of how much you cut from the front and back and if on bottom or top would be strongly appreciated. I just want to get the perfect height the first time from seeing examples of other who have done it.
Thanks!!! :icon_bigg

 

[supraguru05]

As I mentioned in a PM I belive the H&R springs would suit your needs better, however if anyone has any experience cutting factory springs feel free to provide feedback.

 

[xzeror]

h & r springs offer the lowest drop i believe.

 

[jstricker]

On our Lemons cars we are constantly fighting the money battle to keep them under $500 so new springs are pretty much out of the question. Because of that, yes, I have cut my springs and they've worked fine but you have to do them correctly if you want to get away with it.

First things first. Go HERE and read what Eaton has to say about cutting springs.

Now as far as Supra Specific...

On the rears cutting the lower part of the springs works best. Contrary to what Eaton says I do use a plasma cutter and I have to use heat as well to form the bottom coil. Taking one coil off the rear will give you about a 1.5" to 2" drop. Mark the coil so your cut is in alignment with where the original coil ends and use the plasma cutter to lop it off. If you look carefully you'll se that the bottom is "flattened" to fit in the perch. Normally if I heat the sprint about 2/3 of the way around on the remaining bottom coil until it's red hot I can flip it over and put it on a concrete floor, push down, and form it to fit very closely matching the original. When you heat start at the end you cut off and work your way around making it red as you go. You don't want the heat to travel beyond where you're forming and some wet rags where you want the heat to stop helps.

The front is different. You MUST cut it off the top of the fronts because the diameter of the spring in the lower perch is less than at the top. From the factory the spring is ground on the lower side to give you clearance in the bounce between the next coil. I haven't been doing that and it's been working fine for me without issues. The process is the same as the rear except you're doing it at the top of the spring instead of the bottom. You will drop about 1.5" for every coil you cut off of the front.

I wouldn't cut more than one coil on a street car myself. For our race cars I do things a little differently but I also insert cheap spring rubbers to stiffen the springs up even more. Remember when you cut the coil you're not just lowering you're also stiffening the springs. A lot of people have difficulty with that concept but think of a coil spring as a long, straight torsion bar that just happens to be wound around your struts. If you straighten that out and compare a cut coil to a stock one the cut version will be significantly shorter. A shorter torsion bar is ALWAYS stiffer than a longer one, all other things being equal (diameter, material, etc.) so you are making shorter torsion bars.

One final note. I'm not telling you to cut your springs. If there was any way around it from the $$ angle on the Lemons cars *I* wouldn't cut the springs, I'd buy the correct springs. If *YOU* decide to cut your springs then you're on your own. I'm not there to help/give advise/supervise/do it for you so if you ruin your springs you're on your own. I know I can do it, I have no idea if you can.

John Stricker
Russell, KS

 

[jdmfreak]

When I bought my car the springs had been cut fronts seemed fine but everytime I hit a bump my rear springs would fall off their perch and I would have to jack up my car and pull themback up on... they were cut on the bottom... just my experiance

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

 

[te72]

From my experience the Eibach Pro kit may only offer a 1.5" front and 2" drop if I remember correctly, and it is FAR from being a 4x4 at that point. Hopefully someone can provide you pictures of cars on different spring setups. Smaller tires will also help, as I've seen with my brother's 64, but I saw no mention of tires in your original post, just chiming in with what I've had on my cars before.

What one man calls a hill, another calls a mountain, so your "low" might be completely different from everyone else.

 

[ValgeKotkas]

. Hopefully someone can provide you pictures of cars on different spring setups.

http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthread.php?73496-The-Suspension-Setups-Info-Thread

 

[hvyman]

Those hsd coilovers look nice. Someone needs to bring them over here. monotube and good spring rates.

 

[Soupie]

thanks for the replies everyone, especially jstrickers write up. :icon_bigg
every lowering spring example on the link valgekotkas left though is still way to high..even the h&r's :nono::nono:
i'll probably just go ahead and cut 2 coils all around and see how that goes..

When I bought my car the springs had been cut fronts seemed fine but everytime I hit a bump my rear springs would fall off their perch and I would have to jack up my car and pull themback up on... they were cut on the bottom... just my experiance

probably the person didnt cut it exactly where it ends on the original part the spring sat on the perch, making it sit differently in the tophat as well.. thats just my 2cents tho

 

[hvyman]

Jesus. You want your car on the ground and undriveable? Just curious cause your not going to get in many places with it that low. Could also get some items from shine auto to make it look like your lower. Of course bigger wheels will fill the gap and make it look better as well.

If you could post some pics after please

 

[jstricker]

Jesus. You want your car on the ground and undriveable? Just curious cause your not going to get in many places with it that low. Could also get some items from shine auto to make it look like your lower. Of course bigger wheels will fill the gap and make it look better as well.

If you could post some pics after please

What hvyman said. For the look you're going for you are just about going to have to bag it so you can vary the ride height or you're going to end up with a static Supra display. Your car, do what you want, but take two coils out both ends at your own peril.

John Stricker
Russell, KS

 

[mecevans]

Just find the cheapest coilovers you can get. If you cut them springs you better pray you dont get into an accident

 

[Poodles]

Cutting springs CAN be done safely, but unless you're cost limited (like the Lemons guys) it's far smarter to just buy springs.

 

[Soupie]

Jesus. You want your car on the ground and undriveable? Just curious cause your not going to get in many places with it that low. Could also get some items from shine auto to make it look like your lower. Of course bigger wheels will fill the gap and make it look better as well.

If you could post some pics after please

i'm assuming you don't know what the flush scene is, but it's called angling. vip cars that go static are perfectly driveable..you just have to learn how to drive the car over speedbumps, railroads, dips, driveways, etc.

bigger wheels are for choloricers..im just cutting my springs until i could afford some megan ez's so i can go static

 

[IJ.]

Questions asked and answered no more good can come of this so it's closed.