Cutting springs?
 

When ever I hear about people cutting their springs I always hear them say.."I cut 1 1/4 of the front springs"..or whatever. What exactly is 1 1/4 of a coil?
Is it begining where the coil starts and then following down the coil until you are directly under the begining of the first one? Just wanted to know. Thanks!:poke:

Thanks a bunch. Clears it up for good!:beerchug:

Ford puts a dead coil in them at the top so you can cut that off to get a lower ride, if you are gonna do it do it the right way. Put them in water and use a sawzaw,cuttoff wheel whatever and cut it either under water or as much into the water as you can ( i know with a cutoff wheel i wont put my air tools under water).

and what exactly is the point of being underwater? to avoid heating the coils (as cutting them would surely do) and warping/expanding them?

i've cut coils off before and no warping there. the cutoff wheel cuts if off within no time. never used water though..

you don't want to heat the coil to much. If it gets really hot you end up messing up the tempering and it could break a piece off. I use a sawzall with a pretty aggressive metal blade and it's always been fine.

Avoid cutting coils if at all possible. Never cut more than 1/2 coil from stock springs or you risk bottoming the k-member (done it at 3/4 coil). Stock springs don't have enough rate to keep you from bottoming if they're cut too far.

keeps the coil from heating up which changes the spring rate because the metal has been fatiged (spelling??).

is that for real that ford puts a dead coil in their springs? I assume you are refering to stock springs. Is that true for mustangs only? So if you were to cut the dead coil then you wouldnt mess up the ride quality or anything?

yes its true on mustnags not sure about anything else though. Ask MCM how it rides i think he did this to his or maybe still has it done to his car. I might be wrong on who it is but i think it was him.

IT should ride the same as the dead coil does nothing but raise the ride height of the car.

I just wanted to lower the fron of my car a little. I have H&R springs. I wanted the front wheel to be closer to the fender.

I just cut mine not to long ago and just used a cut off wheel and had my buddy kept pouring cold water on it....You want to make sure you get a bumpsteer and all that other good stuff when you lower the front that much also and the ride wont be that greatly affected

Alright thanks! What exactly does the bumpsteer kit do? If I dont get it what could happen?

a bumpsteer kit lowers the tie rod end so that the arc it travels in is less distinct at the limits. Basically as the tire moves up and down it causes the tie rod to move in an arc which imparts undesired toe (steering) inputs. Those inputs are usually of the toe in nature with stock tie-rod ends.

By dropping the tie rod by a measured amount, you lessen that arc under compression but if you overdo it you cause the behavior to be worse under droop and you'll get toe out and a worse condition. You need to measure your bumpsteer before applying a bumpsteer kit or you're just picking at straws on the settings.

If you're lowered a good bit and you don't have it, bumps can cause erratic handing and undesired steering inputs. They're minor until it really really really counts, like on a race track. It also makes bumpy roads more effort to drive if you need it and don't have it.

I like the bolt through type from MM. The 5/8" bolt is quite strong and easy to deal with when you need to make adjustments. They also make a taper bolt style but why puss out when it comes to free sh!t to drink you know.

Alright thanks a bunch for all the info!