tuband

OK ... just finished getting all the parts off so that I could get the front spring out (not the easiest job I've ever done) and I now have the spring ready for the lowering kit (wedges).

I've got the lowering kit & instructions from Mid America and either the instructions are a little vague in a couple of places or my mind ability to understand is impaired (probably old age)

Here's what I need to know ... (this is on a '94 coupe)
1) Are the rubber bumpers cut off completely (both top and bottom)?
2) If not, exactly what is cut off?
3) Trimming the aluminum retainers? exactly what & where should I trim? Suggestions on best method?

I wanted to be absolutely sure before I proceed so please post any tips or hints that will make the job a little easier. I think that once I get the spring ready that everything will be OK other than a couple of tight fits. Thanks in advance.

George (tuband)

marlon88

On my 88 I took the spring out ,and there was 2 big wedges ( bumpers ) I cut them with a very sharp blade and finished them with a grinder now the spring has nothing on it ,then I measured the spring with the new small wedges on it and I cuted of the difference from the aluminium retainers ( the aluminium retainers are like U shaped you have to cut the uper part the part that bolts to the frame ) ,now you have a spring with no wedges and the aluminium retainers cuted ,then you have to put the wedges that you phuchased ( the small ones ) and glue them ( with some quick dry sealer ) where the old wedges used to sit ( on the frame ) now that the small wedges are in place with the frame note that you have to glue the smoth side to the frame (the v shape have to be touching with the spring)
then just slide the spring in and install everything as you took off !!! Now you have your vette 1" lower from the front
let me now how it ended up ,,, :) and if you have any more questions just ask :cheers:

The Dingo

marlon88 pretty much hit this one right on the head. Just to clarify how much you cut off the top of the aluminium spring retainers - I measured the height of the stock wedges on top of the spring from the top of the wedge to the top of the spring. Then measure the height of the lowering wedge - the difference between the two is how much you need to trim off the aluminium retainers.

Keep the stock aluminium shims (if you had any on top of the factory wedges installed between them & the frame) - I needed those to install on the bottom of the spring retainers so I could tighten down the retainers down as there wasn't enough thread on the bolts to do so without using a spacer of sorts.

marlon88

oh sory I forgot about the bolts for the retainers runing out of thread thanks Red 90 L98 Coupe for reminding me :cheers: I just used spacers :yesnod: By the way Your red 90 looks very nice well done :cool:

The Dingo

Thanks! :cheers:

BobMachus

Yup....cut the rubber bumpers from the top of the spring. I used a hacksaw to get close to the spring and a scraper to carefully remove the rest of the bumper without damaging the spring. I then measured the difference between the height of the new poly wedge and the amount of rubber cut off the top of the spring. That difference was the amount I cut off of the aluminum brackets. Good Luck

tuband

OK, it's getting clearer now (pardon my density :crazy: )

1) Do you cut ONLY the top of the rubber bumper, leaving the bottom portion?
2) Do you glue the wedge(s) to the frame or to the spring itself? I have instructions from MAD and from Ecklers ... one says to glue to the spring and the other says to glue to the frame. Does it matter?

Sorry to be a pest ... everything else seemed to be clear and easy to follow but I really didn't want to do something stupid and end up having to buy new parts (like a spring).

Thanks again for everyone's help ... looking for a few more posts to further clarify the questions.

George

tuband

Bob,

What did you use to cut the aluminum?

LTxDave

Only remove the portion of the rubber that is above the spring when it is installed. Be careful not to scratch the spring because you can create stress risers which will eventually break.

I glued mine to the frame. Being a composite spring, I was concerned about the glue I used reacting with the spring coating.

Measure the portion of the rubber above the spring and then subtract the thickness of the poly wedges. That is the amount you need to cut from the aluminum brackets. You can use a hacksaw to cut the brackets. Have fun! :)

The Dingo

I 'cut; the aluminium on my spring retainers with a grinder - didn't take long as the aluminium is so soft. Be careful not to take too much off if you go with this method. Alternatively you can use a hacksaw like Mr Dave recommended and then file things off afterwards if you need to clean them up (I'm terrible with sawing straight :bb).

I'll second Mr Dave - ONLY cut the top part of the spring - don't touch the bottom portion.

I glued mine to the frame - I know of people who have glued them to the spring also though.

BIG JIM 54

I'm having a problem with this. I too just got the wedges and longer bolts from Mid-America and am looking forward (?) to doing this yet.

Question: If you have to cut things off the spring spacers to get the wedges in, why put the wedges in at all? Can't you just cut the spacers and put it all back together to accomplish the task of lowering? To me, cutting spacers means lowering the car.

This may be a really stupid question once I get it apart and see for myself.

BIG JIM

The Dingo

Good question. The only reason I can see to not simply trim the stock spring spacer and be done with that is that the stock rubber at the top of the spring is a real pain to cut neatly. The provided wedges have an angle moulded into them where the spring should rest but I don't think that would be too important given that the stock spacers do not have that "angle" in them.

FWIW, one of the tricks if you want to lower your car even more is to cut the factory spring spacers off and NOT install the lowering wedge. The alternative to this is to remove the rubber insulator on the underside of either end of the spring. Not too sure is either of these measures would have an adverse effect on spring life but if I did it I would be installing some sort of shim/rubber to minimise wear on the spring.

5abivt

jacke dup the car, used a knife to cut the rubber off the spring. car sits 2 inches lower. Nice 15 min job +) wish i cud post a pic but dont know how

tuband

15 minutes must be the record ;)

I probably could've gotten close to that if it hadn't been this insane heat/humidity that we've had. Taken waay too many breaks to finish quickly.

UPDATE for all

Just finished cutting one of the rubber bumpers ... about to do the other. Then glue the wedges, reassemble, and I'm done (I hope!).

Thanks to all for your help. I knew I could count on the Forum to answer some of those little questions that don't seem quite so clear at first.

George

tuband

UPDATE ... Finished lowering the front


Thanks to all who posted here with the little tips and hints. Also, thanks to Neal (Arisa) for his timely emails with answers to my questions.

Just a few things to tidy up (like the garage) and I'm ready to go. Would love for the front to be about 1" (or more) lower but I would never make it over speed bumps & road kill ... and the only way to get it would probably be coilovers. At this points I would rather use that money for gears and other go fast mods.

Would I do it again? Shoot, yes. I enjoy working on my C4 ... I always learn something more. Would I recommend it to others? Probably, if you're willing to be patient and not get frustrated. Otherwise, you might be better off spending the bucks for a shop to do it for you.

Anyway, thanks to all who helped & encouraged. No pics yet. Sorry, I should have taken some during the process but I hate getting grease on the lens :eek:

George


[Modified by tuband, 8:43 PM 7/29/2002]