Brutus

I'd like to hear from anyone who's done this before. Cutting or removing a coil or so from the front springs rather than buying lowered coils.
I've never been one to advocate this practise, but I've thought about doing it to my old springs to see what height I could achieve and then I could take the springs to have some made up to suit that height if it gave me the stance I was after.
Thanks

rhoeven

I never did this but when I purchased my '81 the previous owner had lowered the car by heating one coil on both front springs.
The car sat low allright but the handling suffered a lot.
Car became kinda "unpredictable" due to excessive bump-steer.
Put stock springs back in there.

Hope this helps

Roger

flynhi

VB has 550 lb springs that are advertised to be 1" shorter.
See the archived Vette Improvement Program article on suspension by John Greenwood. He covered how to cut springs. and how to adjust ride height.
Guldstrand has blocks to add the steering to correct for bump steer.

ZD75blue

do they still make clamps for 2 or three springs? where you can jack the spring until there are a few coils touching and fit the litte metal clamp over them? I have thought it would be kinda dangerous to go this way but never heard of them breaking... though i havent heard a word about them in a while.

ZD

lars

Cutting front coils is a piece of cake, and I do it a lot to create custom ride heights for various GM cars. The neat thing about it is that the spring gets stiffer as you cut it down, and this will generally improve cornering handling. So what I do is buy the biggest, tallest, stiffest spring that's available for a given car, install it (keeping all the hardware finger tight only), and take a look at the ride height. I then pop the front end back apart (after you've done it a few times, you can pop a coil spring out in about 10 minutes if all the hardware is loose) and yank the springs. The car will drop a lot more than you think when you cut coils, so don't cut too much to start (I've trashed a few springs by cutting too much). Place grease pencil marks on the coils at 1/4 segment rotations. If the car needs to drop a lot, cut 1/2 coil off both springs and then test-fit it again. You can cut the coils either with a high-speed cutoff wheel, band saw, or hack saw. They cut pretty easy. Don't ever use a torch, as the heat will destroy the spring. If you don't need to drop a whole lot, I recommend cutting only 1/4 coil at a time. You may end up with the springs in and out a few times, but you'll get the car right where you want it. Make sure you roll the car back and forth a few times after it's back on the ground so you obtain the correct ride height. The cut coils will give you some great handling if you start out with a stiff spring.

One word of caution: Some cars will run out of front end alignment travel when you change the ride height. As the front end drops, the top of the wheels will come out, and the bottoms will tuck in. Check to see if you have plenty of alignment travel available before you hit the end of the limit. Otherwise, you'll end up with a low car that's grossly out of alignment spec, and that won't handle at all...

BSeery

In addition to Lar's post above I would like to add this.

When you put the springs in (or back in) make sure that the end of the spring is in the "pocket". Make sure that you are lined up with where the end of the upper coil is supposed to be. If you are not, that can raise your ride height by 1". Then you yank the spring out cut a little, put it back in correctly this time and wonder what you just screwed up.

Also, look at the lower coil. If it is sitting on top of the pocket on the lower a-arm, you may just need to cut enough so the end of the lower part sits in the pocket, just like the upper coil. Once the spring sits down in the pocket instead of up on top of it, you can drop about 1/2 inch right there.

Have fun, and never use a torch on a spring.

Brutus

Thanks guys.......good helpful info as always.
I just got home from talking to my local suspension gurus and they indicated pretty much the same advice. Don't worry......I never had any intention of using oxy to cut them. I'll post the results with pics as I go if anyone's interested.
Thanks again.

71coupe

Brutus,
That is a great photo of your Vette. It looks good with thoes hard to find slotted mags.
Here's a bigger photo - hope you don't mind me posting it.

Jughead

I agree with Lars----I cut 3/4 of each coil to get to the height I wanted. AIM states about 28 inches for the fenderlip height. Mine was about that when I started. Now I'm at 26.5 inches. I don't think I'd go any lower.

Brutus

71coupe...I don't mind you posting pics of my car at all.......quite flattered that you think it worth noting. Thanks.
I have a pretty big show (by our standards) to get ready for in 2 weeks time so I'll be busy getting it detailed for that, but just maybe I'll have enough time to play with the front coils as well.
Got a new sway bar and Smart Struts all painted and plated for the rear too. Pics to come soon.

MotorHead

Start with half a coil and after you put them back in make sure you drive around for a while. I cut 1 coil off and at first it looked like it didn't drop at all, then I took it for a spin and it kept getting lower and lower everytime I looked at it, I sure was glad when it stopped dropping. I'm about 26.5 inches now.

C3 Shark Tank

Bob,

Dave at Guldstrand pretty much said the same as Lars when I talked to him about mine, got any questions give him a call....now quit loafing in the pool and start shining that car! :D

vett79

Does anyone make dropped spindles for C3's like the fat fendered street rod guys use?

bryan78nCO

New Member, First time posting. :rolleyes:
I have a 78 SA and my front end is about 2" above ride height. I would like to lower it about 2 1/2". I have 9 coils (I think, if I counted them right) and the thickness of the material is about 5/8" thick. The spring hieght, uncompressed is about 15". Is there any best guess to how much you should cut off at one time to lower about 2 - 2 1/2 inches? (i.e. if you cut off one full coil, it will lower it about 1" - 1 1/2")? I know that every spring will react differently, but I don't know if my upper ball joints can take me removing the springs several different times.
I ordered new coil springs from VB&P. I ordered the slolumn 550# springs that are supposed to lower the ride hieght.
Any help would be appreciated.

MoneyPit

You may want to check the archive. Someone gave me a formula for cutting the coils. I have lost the info and the actual post name. Sorry I could not be of more help.

lars

Bryan -
I have seen formulas for cutting springs, too, and I tried using them once. I ended up buying another set of springs.... ouch.

First, don't separate at the upper ball joint - make the break on the lower joint - this makes it very easy. I would hesitate to recommend cutting more than 1/2 coil at a time, as the car will drop quickly with removed material. Once you cut off about 1/2 coil, you don't need a spring compresor to install the spring anymore: just shove the spring into position with the lower a-arm dropped, rotate it to fit properly into the upper pocket, swing the lower arm up into place with a floorjack, and finger-tighten the ball joint nut. Hook the tie rods into place finger-tight, and drop the car down on the ground and roll it back and forth. If you need to cut more, simply un-do the finger-tight nuts, drop the parts back out, and cut the springs again. With the parts attached finger-tight, it takes about 15 minutes to pop the springs back out - you'll be shocked how easy it is once you get the hang of it. Contact me if you need info or assistance.

Chris O'

Bob

Holden HQ-HX springs fit. I used King Springs KHFL-43. I got them from Fulcrum Suspension here in Brisbane (their part no FHFL-43). They are rated at 490-500lbs and are not too harsh. Cost =$138.60. They lowered the ft around 1 inch - could have been about another 1/2 inch more.

:cheers:

Chris

Brutus

Lars...Your info and generosity are spot on and appreciated. Thanks.

Chris...I was talking to the guys at my local suspnsion place (East Coast Suspensions) about Holden parts fitting the Vette. My mate's 78 Z-28 Camaro used quite a few Holden bits during the conversion so I don't see why some of them can't at least be used on the front suspension of Corvettes too.
I have Pedders and Selby outlets here locally as well and my son just fitted King springs to his Dutsun 1600 so I'm aware of thier quality at least. Harshness isn't a problem considering how often I get to drive my Vette. Hell, my wife drives it more than I do! I'm just the mug who keeps it going. Thanks for those tips.

Anyone would think I can't spell considering the amount of Edits I've done to this post.


[Modified by Brutus, 4:47 PM 11/13/2001] :rolleyes:


[Modified by Brutus, 4:53 PM 11/13/2001] :D :confused:


[Modified by Brutus, 4:56 PM 11/13/2001]

jdunne

Bob,good luck with the vettes at.... fox display..........john :chevy

bryan78nCO

Thank you Lars. As always, you are a big help.
Okay. That all makes sence.
One more question...Is it better to cut the top of the spring or the bottom? Does it matter?
Thanks again for all the help.