Cutting stock springs
#1
Cutting stock springs
I know I'll get some flack for this but I'm posting it as information to anyone considering doing this. I researched this and saw nothing but hatred towards the idea of cutting the stock springs to lower the car.
My 2002 WS6 used to have a wheel gap of 2.25" up front! It looked terrible as my front end was higher than my rear end, which has a wheel gap of 1.25 inches. I didn't want to spend the money on aftermarket springs, so I decided to get my hands on a set of V6 front springs that I got for $10, and give cutting them a shot. I had nothing to lose, since if after cutting them looked horrible I would just put the V8 springs back on. I did the math, and cutting a set of V6 front springs makes the spring rate of the V6's VERY close to that of a stock V8 springs (formula to calculate spring rate found by searching). The V6 springs have less spring rate than the V8's, but since you are cutting some of the coil off it raises the spring rate very nearly to that of the V8.
I used the 1 coil for 2" rule and cut one full coil off the front. The result was amazing. I now only have .25" of wheel gap and I love it! My car rides exactly how it did before, no one, including myself, would ever be able to tell the car had cut V6 springs on it.
The result was a complete success, so if anyone out there is thinking about doing this and wants to save money lowering their car then go for it! Get a set of cheap springs so you have nothing to lose if it turns out bad. BE SURE TO USE A CUTTING WHEEL NOT A TORCH!! The heat from the torch will loosen the spring rate drastically!
Here are a couple before and after shots:
BEFORE:
AFTER:
My 2002 WS6 used to have a wheel gap of 2.25" up front! It looked terrible as my front end was higher than my rear end, which has a wheel gap of 1.25 inches. I didn't want to spend the money on aftermarket springs, so I decided to get my hands on a set of V6 front springs that I got for $10, and give cutting them a shot. I had nothing to lose, since if after cutting them looked horrible I would just put the V8 springs back on. I did the math, and cutting a set of V6 front springs makes the spring rate of the V6's VERY close to that of a stock V8 springs (formula to calculate spring rate found by searching). The V6 springs have less spring rate than the V8's, but since you are cutting some of the coil off it raises the spring rate very nearly to that of the V8.
I used the 1 coil for 2" rule and cut one full coil off the front. The result was amazing. I now only have .25" of wheel gap and I love it! My car rides exactly how it did before, no one, including myself, would ever be able to tell the car had cut V6 springs on it.
The result was a complete success, so if anyone out there is thinking about doing this and wants to save money lowering their car then go for it! Get a set of cheap springs so you have nothing to lose if it turns out bad. BE SURE TO USE A CUTTING WHEEL NOT A TORCH!! The heat from the torch will loosen the spring rate drastically!
Here are a couple before and after shots:
BEFORE:
AFTER:
#2
TECH Fanatic
iTrader: (2)
There's a reason that rates should increase when you use lowering springs, it's not just to improve handling or to hurt ride, it's to deal with the decreased suspension travel. Using V8 rates (or nearly) while lowering your car 2" will probably result in poor ride/handling if you're hitting road imperfections.
Glad you're happy with it, the ride does look really nice.
Glad you're happy with it, the ride does look really nice.
#4
Thanks for the compliments guys, it worked out really well. Its been 7 months since I cut them and they've held up great and I'm still yet to bottom out. I just decided to post now since I remembered a lot of people (including myself) asking about this topic and finding nothing but resistance toward the idea.
If you're looking to save some scratch, know how to use a cutoff wheel, and have some gumption then go for it!
If you're looking to save some scratch, know how to use a cutoff wheel, and have some gumption then go for it!
#5
I'm curious as to how cutting springs increases the working rate of them. I thought the rate of the spring was determined by the wind and type of steel? For eg., a 300lb per inch spring (V8) will still need 300lbs of force to compress per inch even if it was cut in half?
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#9
Look at the car in my sig. It's riding on stock springs, 1.25" coils cut up front and 1.5" out back. I couldn't have asked for a better stance. The ride is now noticeably stiffer than stock, which is what I wanted, but it beats the **** out of the Intrax kit I was running previously. I do have KYB AGX shocks which helped out a lot, but I can only imagine how much better it would be with Koni SAs.
#12
Yeah the front ones are to be cut at the bottom, but the rear springs get cut at the top. As a general rule, you always cut the end that's the same diameter as the rest of the spring. If you cut the end that's wound tight, you're gonna need a new one.