Can u cut e series springs

[jedaarr]

Prob being exhausted before & i dont want a lecture.
my old mate wants to know can u sucsessfully cut stock
springs to lower e series fords or not .This is a open forum
i have never being a suppporter of this. I cant see u can
as there is no main head suppport on removal.. comments
please & sugesstions. :

[Peuty]

No.

Thats about it.

i have dune mine with out a issue

[jedaarr]

Originally Posted by TWiZTiD EA

i have dune mine with out a issue

Ok i belive u - can u give him the details on how chop the springs
where to chop etc. (cheers)

i cut the top of the spring and heated and reshaped the top of the spring to how it was b4 hand

[GTFalcon 351]

i bought mine with cut springs and wouldnt suggest doing it as the car bottomed out easily and the end of the spring will no longer be twirled horizontally at the end so it could fall out of the rubber when driving over a large bump

a better alternative would be using mini spring compressors such as these

http://nationalwholesaletools.com/br...et---Mini.HTML

i think they sell em at bursons and its takes a couple of minutes to bring the ride height back to standard if u ever get a canary for dumpage etc.

[INJECTED_250]

yup cut springs are great.. If u want it to ride like a dog... 1.5 front and 2 rear should drop it good

all depends on how much you lower the car i only about 2 coils and im still legal and not had a problem and even when jacking up the car

[Peuty]

BUt it probably handles like a piece of crap though.

[MrFlibbles]

cutting springs is illeagel, and it changes the stiffness etc of the spring, also heating the end of the spring changes the temper of the spring possibly making the chances of the spring failing greater. take some time to save some money and do it right the first time and buy lowered springs for it.....

[Laminge]

Originally Posted by 1994xr6

cutting springs is illeagel, and it changes the stiffness etc of the spring, also heating the end of the spring changes the temper of the spring possibly making the chances of the spring failing greater. take some time to save some money and do it right the first time and buy lowered springs for it.....

Glad someone else thinks along the same lines as me.

[INJECTED_250]

It makes the springs stiffer, if any thing. It changes the Rate, say a stock spring is rated at 300 pounds, a cut one can be 400 pounds... This makes it almost imposible for the shocker to control.. As i have found out..

but the lowered ones you buy are stiffer aswell the only way to lower a car is to put better shocks and heaver sway bars

i am buying king springs when i can but 4 now it still handles alot better the stand height with standard shocks

[mcflux]

... or buy 2nd hand lows/superlows for cheap on Ebay?

Chopping springs may bring a little stiffness to heated areas due to tempering, but with tempering comes brittleness :MrT_anim:

Don't chop the dinosaur daddy!

-Dave-

[EL_futuraistic]

U said u didnt want a lecture but 1994xr6 is correct. It is illegal to cut or heat springs. It will instantly void any insurance you have, and risk being defected. Also heating the spring weakens it and will greatly increase the risk of the spring failing. I think a pair of king springs are bout $100, so $200 all up. Just tell ur mate to save up the money........ its far safer, and the vehicle will handle a lot better. To be done properly you should also fit the shortened shocks at the rear, otherwise when the vehicle is jacked up the springs will get dislodged or drop out.

Something to think about.

ive just had my car lowered and i have a mate that has cut springs in his. the difference is amazing. your car will feel like a piece of crap if u cut them. proper lowered springs make a world of difference.

i have superlows in the front and cut superlows in the back with harder shocks and its a pretty smooth ride.

[santoitaliano]

cut springs = no no.. if you strapped for cash, you may as well get them re-set... this isnt AS bad.. but the difference is unbelievable..

just wait and get a set of SL's

[niko]

cut em if your a tightass, its funny seing lotsa commos with chopped springs, they have excessive bounce.

[Psycho Chicken]

Originally Posted by GTFalcon351

a better alternative would be using mini spring compressors such as these

No. No, just NO. You'd be stupid to drive around with those on.

Originally Posted by TWiZTiD EA

but the lowered ones you buy are stiffer aswell the only way to lower a car is to put better shocks and heaver sway bars

WTF? Stay away from the bong water mate.


And hell yes you can cut e-series springs, so get the hacksaw out and lop a coil or two off. The more the merrier! Might pay to chop the bumpstops down while you're at it.

[460cixy]

dont be a blouse. cut em off just dont go stupid about it i took 1.1/2 coils off mine and its fine .

[oneredED]

I wouldn't do it purely based on insurance reasons. That was enough incentive for me to save the $120 it cost to lower my car all round.

[LTDHO]

Originally Posted by TWiZTiD EA

all depends on how much you lower the car i only about 2 coils and im still legal and not had a problem and even when jacking up the car

No, once you cut them, they are illegal.

If the owner is to tight to spend money on buying the correct springs then the car remains at standard height!

Some places on the car you should never take shortcuts! Suspension is up there on the list!

i was talking about the height being legel not the cutting part i know its not ment to be done so is add cams and every thing else we do cause it changes the exhurst gases readings which also a no no but we all do that ??

[Sox]

I may as well throw my 2 bob worth into this discussion.

Cut springs from a safety point of view is more often than not, just fine.
Cut springs stiffens the rate of a spring because of the less number of active coils.
Cut springs (if cut properly), are not brittle, do not sag, and do not break.
Cut springs generally don't bounce, handle poor, or have any other side effects if done properly (though not always).

Most standard height factory coils are very soft, cutting 1 coil off increases it's rate by a similar amount to which it has lowered the vehicle. This is mostly a good thing.

The horror stories we hear about are from people who have heated the coil whilst on the car with a gas axe to allow the spring to sag. This is a big no no as the heated area will break in a very short time.

Cutting coils with an angle grinder only heats about 10mm of the coil, which of course is of no consequence to the strength of the coil.

Vehicles riding on bump stops due to cutting coils too much is no fault of the coil being cut, but of the fool who cut too much off the coil. Like everything, this needs to be done in moderation.

There is little rocket science to coil springs, they are just a spring steel rod, wound up to form a coil spring.
3 factors govern the rate of these coils, 1 - number of active coil, 2 - wire thickness, and 3 - diameter of coil.
Change any one of these and we have a different rate/height coil.

By cutting 1 turn from a coil spring we reduce the length of the steel rod, in turn changing the leverage. Nothing more is at work here to make things dangerous.

Anyway, my usual disclaimer applies, do so at your own risk, it is illegal, insurance will be void.
However I'm of the opinion that if you are going to attempt it, at least you will be armed with the knowledge of how to do it properly.

Rick.

[TheSneakiness]

I wouldn't. Just get some King Lows or Superlows. Jeebus Christ...

[DanXR6T]

I have to agree with Sox here - insurance issues aside it isn't a major problem.

Springs are rated in kg/cm ie - how many kilograms required to compress the spring 1cm. Therefore if you shorten the spring by 2cm, then you have reduced the weight capacity of the spring by whatever the spring rate is times 2cm. The chance of the coil binding up would have to be pretty low I'd imagine from only shortening it by 2cm.

Handling differences come from the lower centre of gravity. Lowered springs generally have a stiffer spring rate, therefore they will improve handling even more, at the expense of ride quality. In theory cut springs the same height as lowered springs should have a better ride quality, providing you don't think you are in a rally car and hit speedbumps at 60km/h. I'm talking single rate springs, not progressive rate BTW.

Also heating springs is rubbish. If you used an oxy to cut springs then you will get heat transfer partly down the coil, but that is overkill, using a hacksaw (yes involves manual effort) or as Sox mentioned, an angle grinder will cause minimal heat damage, and not heat up anywhere near as hot as is required to change temper to any great amount.

But because its illegal don't do it.

If I am blatantly wrong then feel free to pick me to bits..

Dan..

PS - My springs are yellow and un-modified in anyway..

[Walkinshaw]

Originally Posted by jedaarr

Prob being exhausted before & i dont want a lecture.
my old mate wants to know can u sucsessfully cut stock
springs to lower e series fords or not .This is a open forum
i have never being a suppporter of this. I cant see u can
as there is no main head suppport on removal.. comments
please & sugesstions. :

Can you cut springs - YES
Can you have your way with a croc - Yes

Are they intelegent???

[INJECTED_250]

Nothing wrong with cutting springs.... All u end up with is a shorter/ stiffer rate spring, Its no more likely to break than a stock spring or some super lowes (which are high).

but if its all about it being legal for you, then go the kings way or pedders