How Much Spring to Cut

there are a ton of posts on this, with a lot of information.

i want the front fender wells to drop one inch. 1961 Pontiac Bonneville. i think i need to cut 1 coil out.

but what i couldn't find is an explanation of the taper at the end of my spring. look at the pic... down in the middle of the spring, the spaces between coils are much bigger than the space of the first coil. so do cut it just cut it one coil down, even with the original stub even though it's tapered right next to it?

other end of the spring goes in the upper pocket, and has the pinched end that needs to stay.

this is one of those cars where getting the springs in/out is a major PITA, so when i put the springs back in, i'm not gonna feel like doing it again.

i can see in the upper pocket that it has a spot for the pinched end to snuzzle into, and the bottom stub seemed line up with a hole in the bottom pocket... is it best to avoid cutting partial coils?

suggestions?

 

If you only want to lower it 1" I think 1 coil will be fine.. It will go back in easier with 1 coil missing......

 

I have a '62 Bonneville, I originally cut 1 coil when I put it together. I didin't worry about the end being closer wrap, the weight of the car at ride height compresses the coils, and i noticed no ill affects. I didn’t take measurements before or after. I drove it like that for awhile, but ended up cutting another coil, I have some 3" drop springs in the back, and with 2 coils cut in the front, she sits down nice and low.

 

thx.

1 it is.

 

Yeah, just cut it exactly 1 coil below where the existing end is. You can always take it out and do it again if you don't like it. It will take a little while for it to settle down after being apart, give it a week of driving around.

Bob

 

I once did a coil cut for a buddy who wanted a specific amount of drop. I took a bunch of measurements, like the length of the lower A arm between pivots and the centerline of the spring to calculate the leverage of the arm. Also the compressed height of the spring with the car on the ground and the height of the "free" spring when removed. What I surmised from all that was, I needed to cut less length from the spring than the amount of drop I wanted to achieve. About 75% of the desired drop IIRC.

Happy to say, when it went back together, the drop was exactly what he wanted and I didn't have to eat any humble pie for claiming I knew how to do this

The point being, if you only want 1", a full coil is plenty to take off, and may be too much. If you can live with as much as 2" down, you should end up in that vicinity..IMO.

Ray

 

Cut 2 coils out for good measure. Can a car really ever be low enough?

 

"I want to be like porkn****** when I grow up"


I think you have already reached your goal

Ray

 

I think 1 coil may end up being a little more than you want. Unless you have a clearance issue with more than 1inch of drop, I would cut 1 coil if I were you. Since you don't want to do it twice.

If you only want 1 inch of drop, you could cut half a coil, drive it for a week til it settles down again, and evaluate if it needs more.

 

I know that you only want to do this once, but it's not an exact science that's for sure. Odds are the first try won't be enough or be too far...

 

Does anybody really want to be the '******.

Its a little late for the OP but what I do is measure the coils when the car is sitting on its wheels. That will usually give you a fair idea of what you are going to get.

One thing to remember is that cutting coils is not an exact science, unless you have lots of coils and time on your hands you ball park it then hope you are statisfied with the result.

 

I've lowered a bunch of pickups by cutting the front coils and one round is more than 1 inch. I'd say 2 - 21/2 inches is closer to what it will drop.
But,..........as one of the other guys said, each car is different.

 

First thing about cutting Old Coil springs is that you are cutting an old spring which is likely worn out. Example: I pulled the old coils from the rear of an OT El Camino. The bottom of the rear bumper hit my legs at mid-calf before installing the new springs. After installing the new springs the bumper rose to the top of my kneecaps, about SEVEN inches. After I pulled the old springs I set them side by side with the new ones, the height was the same, the weight was the same and I could not "flex" the old ones any more than I could the new ones. The old were just worn out.
You might think about getting new springs and cutting them to achieve your
desired ride height AND still have a good functioning suspension! Don't overlook the potential shock bottoming problem either; it was a problem on the old El Camino mentioned above.

 

One coil removed from my M 2 equaled 2 " drop on my 40. It was too much, I had to buy new springs and start over. Fun with cars!!

 

Well... I cut 1 coil and I'll see what happens. I'm good with more than an inch, but if too much I'll just deal with it. I'll comment on ride height when I know.

But... I do know that 1 coil out and suddenly I can install and pull with just lower Bj undone. Previously had to deal with compressors, brake lines, tie rods, inner a-arm mounts, etc... Anything it took. But now I can do it the way I've been sooo jealous of. I'm a new man.

 

after jouncing it, it settled at exactly 1.000". amazing. thanks for suggestions and help.

it could use it bit more, but maybe it will settle a bit. at least if i want to trim more, it's a 90 minute job and not a 4 hour cusser.

 

Ya don't want to cut too much !
When we were kids we cut my friends springs.
Put them back in nope not enough.
Cut again and again till it looked right.

Problem was when you jacked it up by the frame the springs would fall out !
Live and learn .

 

one thing about these Pontiac front ends, those stock coils are LONG, and 1 coil doesn't seem to drop it too much. looking forward to pics of the stance.

 

Give it a little bit more time. It will drop a tad more as it continues to settle.

 

well, i'm in cold country so it will be a bit before i get a pic of new stance. i'm not even gonna try to take a picture in my garage because wouldn't be able to see the whole side.

here's a pic from this Fall before the 1" drop. you can see i wasn't trying to get it very low, just fix the stance. top end of motor has aluminum heads and intake, so maybe that's why it was doing a wheelie.

 

THAT is a beautiful car!! The '61 Pontiac hardtops are one of my favorite cars and I particularly like your color. very nice..............


Ray

 

thx Ray!