What I learned about cutting coils

Back Story:
'57 Fairlane, new shocks and front coil springs (from Springs n' Things) that were supposed to be 2" lower than stock. Maybe they were, but they were about the same ride height as my worn out stock springs.

So, I cut...

1 full coil at first and, with the new front shocks, rode better than the original springs and old, worn shocks, but the ride hight difference was almost insignificant.

I ordered new tires and rims that were bigger than the tiny stock 14" rims, so it actually ride a little taler in the front than before. The new BFG tires improved the ride even more, but I was not totally diggin' the ride height.

Time to cut some more...

I cut an additional half coil on the right side and put it back together. Looks OK, but didn't lower it the additional inch that I expected. I went ahead and cut a half coil on the drivers side and put it all back together to test drive. It's a major pain in the *** to do this, but I wanted to make sure I didn't completely kill the ride quality. To my surprise, it still rode really well.

Of course, another half coil would be fine, right? So, I cut another half coil for a total of two coils.

I found the threshold for ride quality on my car. It's somewhere between 1-1/2 and 2 coils! I really dig the ride height now. IMO it's perfect for the look I want...might even need to bring the back down another inch, but I'll test that out with sand bags before I do anything back there.

The ride quality at 2 cut coils versus 1-1/2 coils is like night and day. On a smooth road, of course, it's fine if not a little stiff. Who cares - low and slow, right? But if I run across any decent size bumps, especially even ones that catch both front tires at the same time, it's crazy! It launches up like you wouldn't believe! Fortunately, it doesn't bottom out (after shaving the bump stop an inch or two), but it's amazing how dramatic the change is once you hit that threshold.

Fortunately, coil springs aren't too expensive if I decide I can't live with the new bumpy ride. I really thought the decline would be gradual, but in this case, it was instant. I am going to try an experiment with some coil over shocks that I found before I admit defeat and will update this thread when that is done.

A good lesson learned and a pretty cool experiment, so don't mistake this little thread as *****ing. I knew what I was getting into in my quest for a lower stance on a budget.

Before and after pics are on the way . I'm having network issues right now.....

 

You increase the spring rate anytime you cut the number of coils off.

But you decrease the amount of travel in the spring before you reach coil bind.

Maybe your coils have compressed to the point that they bind and then you're feeling it shooting back up? That doesn't usually happen when you only cut two coils, but.. every car and spring is different.

 

A friend of mine put new coils in his 65' Malibu. He didn't like the ride height so he cut a coil out. Car looked perfect. I warned him the coils would settle over time. After a year, the coils settled so much, his tires rub.

I replace the front coils in my 65' Biscayne and used 2" lowered coils in the rear. The car looked like a g***er when I was finished. Now, after 2 years, the front coils have settled and the car sits even.

 

my personal rule of thumb has always been a coil and a half

 

Yes, The coils will settle. I had a 66 nova with cut coils that after a year they settled too low. You can buy rubber spring helpers that fit betwen the coils to gain a little of the settled hiegth back. It can also cushion some of the shock of the coils binding when they hit large bumbs. These seem to work better than the steel ones you twist into the lower coils to raise the car. The rubber ones have two u shapes that fit between the coils and absorb some of the shock. I used to buy them at Autozone. It helps to carry a spare incase you loose one or it finally gives out.

 

i've never cut coils, but i have taken leafs out. suspension is where i try to cut zero corners.

aftermarket drop coils arent going to break the bank. and the piece of mind knowing that you got a product designed to do what you ask of it makes me feel a lot better.

 

My 2 cents

A few times, I have orderd stock oem replacement springs for a 6 cylinder car and installed them in the car with a V8 most of the time it lowered the car enough and never had any ride or bind issue,and at most have taken 1/2 coil out. I am not talkin "s****e" here just enough.

 

I went the 1.5 coil cut on my 53 chevy..not as low as i wanted to go.
But I can still drive it on our roads up here in michigan and not jar out my teeth.
Maybe in the future New Coils will be in her future, but for now its ok.

 

this also worked for me. most of the time the drop coils seem to be a little conservative for me. i guess the drop is measured by what the coil will settle to.

i want instant gratification though. if possible, i like to put the majority of the drop on the spindle, then use the coil as an additional inch or so.

 

Here is the spring rubbers I mentioned.

And as 63 Nova said, there is is no argument that cutting coils is not the best practice it is a fact that many of us have done it or had a car that it has been done to. I dont see a problem with doing it for a look as long as it is driveable. I am sure no one would do it and expect it to be a standout on the road course.

We are hot rodders. give us a way to cut something, and we will find something to cut, weather it needed it or not!

 

like a bumpstop for your inner coil. i have never seen these before, and could probably use some on my daily driver.

 

1 1/2 coils seems to be the "magic number" for lowering a car.
I've cut that amount out on 2 other vehicle I've owned and they both looked right and rode well afterwards.
My latest came with new coils and still looked like a G***er after 8 months.

Before...



After...



And yes,I've put the hubcaps back on!

 

I just did the same "mishap" on my Packard. Cut 2 coils because 1/2 was'nt enough. Destroyed the quality of the ride but looks right. I just ordered the 1" full round rubber spacers that sit up on top of the coil in the spring pocket, hopefully it'll help. If not, time to go coil shopping.

 

I cut 1-1/2 coils out of the front of my Caddy. Too much! It bounced off the shaved bumpstops all the time, and I could no longer straddle roadkill without flipping them over. [eeewwww] Next time I'll cut 1 coil and let them settle before cutting some more. Out back, 1/2 coil was perfect!

 

I cut two coils on a '67 Nova wagon & '67 Nova sedan years ago.

They both sat in the dirt & rode like ****... but they sure looked good.

I miss 'em.

JH

 

Pics...

Before:
Old worn out coil springs, old worn out shocks, original 14" rims and tall skinny tires


Middle:
New coil springs with one coil cut out, new shocks, new 15" smoothies and bigger tires



Now:
Same as above with 2 coils cut out

 

I dunno. I cut 4" out of my Falcon's springs, raised the shock tower tops an inch, and it rode fine. Daily drove it for 2 years and it never settled (heck the springs were 30+ years old, apparently had already done all the settling they were gonna do...hehehe). Done this on a number of low buck cars with no problems...

 

Uh... road racing teams cut their coils all the time. Not every spring is within the correct 1" of ride height and spring rate that they need for a particular course, and not all cl***es allow adjustable coilovers.

 

Good point!

Somebody is alway waiting to kick somebody in the balls over a technicality!

 

that is a great quote..and very true

 

I was going to say the same as a few others have about running 6cyl springs under the v8 front end. I had a '41 with a Nova clip under it, and we tried all sorts of springs before we settled on a pair of v6 Buick springs. We cut them to fit and height, and the car rode smooth as gl***.

 

I just got a great tip from a buddy. He has a '50 Ford shoebox. Front coil springs are the same from '49-'59 on Ford cars. He works at a local parts store, so he started comparing dimensions of various Ford springs in the catalog. Turns out, the '90 (and other year) V6 Ford Aerostar van front spring has the same dimensions, but they are shorter. He installed them on his '50 and got a full 3-1/2" drop and the ride quality is the same.

Best part?

Probably because they are for an Aerostar, they are only $59 at O'Reilly for the pair! I'm picking up a set tomorrow because the store down the street has them in stock. I'll post "After" pics when I get them in.

 

Not trying to kick anyone in the balls man. Just throwing it out there. It's not a big deal to cut a few coils off a spring to get the ride height where you want it, as long as it doesn't put the spring into bind.

 

my buddy cut two coils out of his '50 dodge for a four inch drop and it rides pretty bad. i cut a coil and a half out of my '50 dodge for a three inch drop and it rides like a dream.

 

No offense taken at all. Just joking around!

Great tip on the Aerostar springs... Never thought about that.

 

Anybody try removing a leaf on Ch***is Engineering's rear spring kit? I put a set in my 40 Chevy and I don't like the ride. They seem a little stiff for the car. I'm only about 2 1/2" from the stock snubbers that I trimmed a bunch off of now so I'm not looking for much drop in height.
Jeff

 

yeh id agree on the 1 1/2 turns rule..
Now something people dont often consider when cutting down bump stops....DONT just cut em off square! they will not do anything to protect your car, or suspension parts when you bottom out, and it will crash like hell when you do.
if you look at a bump stop, its conical or triangular for good reason..to provide a varied resistance as the arm bangs into it..so if you HAVE to cut them down, try to cut the triangular or conical shape back into them, it really makes a difference on a severely lowered car that WILL bottom out a fair bit. every car Ive worked on with cut bump stops crashes really badly, and its easy to avoid..

Actually on my cars I always use a full bump stop, i actually move them up if there isnt enough travel,even if this takes some major fabrication.

theres my little rant for the day.

 

...Jeff,...I had the same problem with a set of Chas. Eng. rear leafs in a 38 Chevy coupe years ago. I called Chas. eng. and they said I could remove the second shortest leaf but I never did. The car rode good with a trunk load of tools/ luggage but not so good unloaded. I was afraid removing a leaf would make it not ride well loaded, so I just lived with it. Originally Chas. Eng. used 4 leaf rear springs, then went to 5 leafs because users were griping about bad ride when loaded with luggage or p***engers; especially in sedans.

...for you guys who may have cut too many coils try this: get a pair of those full-circle rubber donuts, trim the bottom to fit in your lower spring pocket on the A frame, and install em under your coil. It'll return your ride and won't bring the front up much over a 1/2 inch. This has worked for me several times.

...also, I've built several 46-8 Chevy cars using the orig. rear leaf springs as-is; none rode that well as it seemed the springs were too weak after years of use. By installing a pair of those rear shock overload helper springs on the rear shocks; the cars rode and handled really nice; a simple fix.

...hope these ideas help some of you guys out.

 

x 2, that's all too true. I find myself spending way too much time retyping posts to try and remove the things that someone could give me a shot for.

I try to remember something that I heard in a Car Craft? maybe...that rarely is anything positive posted on a message board....they have a point

 

Thanks Lowsquire! I actually bought some and I need to put them in, I've never had any on the car and would love to see what the effect is gonna be.

I took out my cut coils and replaced them with 3" drop springs. It looked great with them on , but the ride and bumpsteer was godawful.

Good to know 1 1/2 is the magic number!!