Cutting Springs

[darkaccord]

What do you think of this website.
http://www.teammatrix.com.my/CarMods/potongspring.html
They claim cutting springs isn't as bad as its cracked up to be.

[Neutrino]

he's pretty much right and he posted the disadvantages......one thing he forgot to mention is that a high quality replacemt spring will be 1000 times better...and they cost like ~300.....so IMo cutting springs is strill a bad way to go about it

[Chris V]

Buying springs is always a better choice, if the car you're modifying has them available. Most don't. His statements are factual with only a coupl eexceptions. One is, you can certainly go lower than 2 inches without necessarily harming anything. Every vehicle is different in that regard.

For example, my '62 Falcon daily driver (try and find lowering springs cheaply for it) had 4" total installed height removed from the fromt springs (and 3" lowering blcoks installed in the rear leaf springs) with no adverse affects. I raised teh upper front shock mounts to compensate for teh reduced height, and trimmed teh bump stops to allow a smooth ride. All that was necessary for stock levels of handling was an alignment (and all that meant was toe in.. there were no camber changes from lowering the car).



My RX7 autocross champion had Tokiko Sport springs put in it, and the rears had to be cut down 3 coils to make the car sit level. It was 3" lower than stock and wroked bettter than cars that had adjustible suspensions on them...



Between myself and other members of my various car clubs, we have millions of combined miles over the last couple decades on properly cut springs (where suspension geometries are taken into account) with zero problems. My current daily driver (a Fiat 124 Spyder) has 2" cut from the stock springs, and the car works brilliantly.

The problem most peopole have with cut springs is with the guys who cut too much, and don't compensate properly, so their alignment is off, their shocks/struts have bottomed out, and/or they are riding on thier bump stops or frame rails and bouncing all over. The bouncy ride is a function of having done it wrong, rather than having done it at all.

[Warpspeed]

Well there are several ways of looking at it I suppose.

Factory springs are the very best quality steel and heat treatment available. They never sag. If you cut off only a small amount, AND DO IT PROPERLY, you will still have an excellent spring.

Or you can cut off too much, or overheat the spring while you are cutting, and destroy the heat treatment. The spring is then junk.

The other way is to buy expensive aftermarket springs that are painted bright colors. These are often made from cheap spring wire, and not properly heat treated. They might be o/k, or they might sag on you after a few months use.

One things for sure, you cannot tell by just looking.

I would rather cut my own springs for zero dollars and get exactly what I want, than pay heaps for something, and then end up unhappy with it.

[psychochild2005]

ok, I own a 2003 subaru impreza ts and most of the springs ive seen are just for the sedan or over 800$$ so im seriously considering cutting (please dont tell the guys on the subaru pages the'll ban me for sure!) but has anyone had any experiance in cutting any springs for a legacy obs or any subaru?