Suspension Springs
07-10-2006, 10:59 AM
#1
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Hi all, fist off thanks to those who have welcomed me to the site.
right down to business, is it o.k to cut suspension springs or not ,i've heard of some people doing this to drop thier cars, i'm on my first project also i'm not rich so trying to work to a budget.
any feedback on this would be great.
Thanx
SJL01
right down to business, is it o.k to cut suspension springs or not ,i've heard of some people doing this to drop thier cars, i'm on my first project also i'm not rich so trying to work to a budget.
any feedback on this would be great.
Thanx
SJL01
07-10-2006, 11:12 AM
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Vehicle: 05 Subaru WRX
do not cut your springs. you can find ok springs for a reasonable price.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/CM-Lowering...sspagenameZWD1V
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ST-HYUNDAI-...sspagenameZWD1V
also check the for sale forums occasionally you find a great deal there too.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/CM-Lowering...sspagenameZWD1V
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ST-HYUNDAI-...sspagenameZWD1V
also check the for sale forums occasionally you find a great deal there too.
07-14-2006, 02:42 PM
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WOW! In less than a week we have had this question twice and I am surprised to see how many new members have already done this!
I think we have been getting a lot of newbies and this old matter got somehow forgotten (Newbies don't feel bad; this is not bashing anyone; it's OK not to know something, we ALL have been there once, and probably still are in some given area).
You do NOT want to cut springs because you alter spring rate in a bad way:
Spring rate is determined by:
-Spring material (the metal)
-Thickness of the spring wire
-Coil diameter
-Coil rounds (how many rounds there are in a certain spring design)
-Spacing between the coils (as you will see, not all coils are even, in some there are little coils on top and wider coils on bottom and so on).
SO PLEASE; DO NOT CUT YOUR SPRINGS; if you want more info, please search about it
IT IS A VERY BAD IDEA to cut springs.
I think we have been getting a lot of newbies and this old matter got somehow forgotten (Newbies don't feel bad; this is not bashing anyone; it's OK not to know something, we ALL have been there once, and probably still are in some given area).
You do NOT want to cut springs because you alter spring rate in a bad way:
Spring rate is determined by:
-Spring material (the metal)
-Thickness of the spring wire
-Coil diameter
-Coil rounds (how many rounds there are in a certain spring design)
-Spacing between the coils (as you will see, not all coils are even, in some there are little coils on top and wider coils on bottom and so on).
SO PLEASE; DO NOT CUT YOUR SPRINGS; if you want more info, please search about it
IT IS A VERY BAD IDEA to cut springs.
07-14-2006, 04:11 PM
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cutting springs is bad why? If done properly and paired with the right shocks... then its fine
if you hack off too many coils and heat up the spring so it looses rate... also keep the stock stiffness shocks...
then yea.. it gets f***ed up.
Spring Rate = F/S = Gd4/8ND3 where:
F = spring force.
S = spring deflection.
G = torsional modulus of the material.
d = wire diameter.
N = number of active coils.
D = mean (average) coil diameter.
You'll notice as N gets larger, the spring rate decreases.
It's doable
if you hack off too many coils and heat up the spring so it looses rate... also keep the stock stiffness shocks...
then yea.. it gets f***ed up.
Spring Rate = F/S = Gd4/8ND3 where:
F = spring force.
S = spring deflection.
G = torsional modulus of the material.
d = wire diameter.
N = number of active coils.
D = mean (average) coil diameter.
You'll notice as N gets larger, the spring rate decreases.
It's doable
07-14-2006, 05:24 PM
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Pat, how many rocket scientist / engineers do we have in the crowd,... yeah, I can probably count them with one hand.
If you knew what you were doing, hell why not just MAKE your own springs.
But yeah, most of the guys who cut them won't KNOW THAT!
Just a hack saw, and a tape measure (if that) then start sawing!
If you knew what you were doing, hell why not just MAKE your own springs.
But yeah, most of the guys who cut them won't KNOW THAT!
Just a hack saw, and a tape measure (if that) then start sawing!
07-14-2006, 05:54 PM
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Vehicle: 99/hyundai/tiburon/fx
Thanks pat. When I cut mine I took to it a place where they do custom turbo and anything you can image type of place. Anyways, all I’m saying you can’t just hack saw them. You have to do it right and have the right setup.
07-14-2006, 06:38 PM
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Yeah mia_tib99, maybe you did it the right way (if there actually is a fully right way); the message is as you said you can't just hack saw them, but also Pat, Do you know the values for the variables in the ecuation?
We have suffered even to get a member to take a OEM spring to a spring shop to know just the OEM spring rate and also suffered to learn the spring rate for Eibachs, H&Rs and other aftermarket springs. That it can be done theorically does not mean it can be made in a practical way (OK, cut your springs and you will have lower and stiffer springs, but did you get what you were after? My guess is the answer will be always be yes IF you were only after a the cheapest alternative, and not a suspension refinment).
Bottom line, whenever you cut a coil from your OEM spring, you will get lower, and some stiffer, BUT you don't have graduality, either you go one coil or two coils or... I don't think you can go 3 coils. And then again; is the result the best for suspension geometry? How can you know what is the right shock to mate your "new" spring to? If you go to a shop to take the meassures and do it "right", it would probably be more expensive than to just buy reputed brand springs that were specifically desinged for our cars and also show mating shock possibilities.
All you guys make your choice, just be fully aware of what's involved, not just part of it, and if you don't understand at 100% what's being discussed here, just DON'T CHOP THEM.
We have suffered even to get a member to take a OEM spring to a spring shop to know just the OEM spring rate and also suffered to learn the spring rate for Eibachs, H&Rs and other aftermarket springs. That it can be done theorically does not mean it can be made in a practical way (OK, cut your springs and you will have lower and stiffer springs, but did you get what you were after? My guess is the answer will be always be yes IF you were only after a the cheapest alternative, and not a suspension refinment).
Bottom line, whenever you cut a coil from your OEM spring, you will get lower, and some stiffer, BUT you don't have graduality, either you go one coil or two coils or... I don't think you can go 3 coils. And then again; is the result the best for suspension geometry? How can you know what is the right shock to mate your "new" spring to? If you go to a shop to take the meassures and do it "right", it would probably be more expensive than to just buy reputed brand springs that were specifically desinged for our cars and also show mating shock possibilities.
All you guys make your choice, just be fully aware of what's involved, not just part of it, and if you don't understand at 100% what's being discussed here, just DON'T CHOP THEM.
07-14-2006, 08:26 PM
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I’m not saying your wrong im just saying that I don’t have problems with it I’m not telling everyone should cut their springs. and I wasn’t going for the cheapest alteration I could get the coilovers if I wanted, but right now I want to do other things before I go back to fixing my suspension.