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View Full Version : Q for jim or anyone else with a decent suspension knowlage



chronicsinners
06-21-2002, 04:53 AM
alright i have basically completed all the suspension mods that i plan on doing , for the most part i am 100% satisfied with my work, however i still am not fond of the height of the front of the car, currently i run sprint springs, with tokico shocks, alright heres the question in order to lower the car another ~.5 inches how much would of the spring would i have to cut off, all things in perspective, ie spring rates, over all design of spring, (smaller coils on top, big coils on bottom). let me know what you guys think. personally i want to cut 3/4 of the bottom most coil off. let me know,
peace bobbo

Jims 86LXI HB
06-21-2002, 06:33 AM
Unless I had personally cut several of your springs for experience sake, I cannot honestly give you the exact answer you seek. What I would do would be to give it my best guess, with an eye towards less is safer, cut them, reinstall. If it wasn't enough, repeat. This is a honest answer, I'm sorry it isn't the pinpoint answer your looking for. I'd rather be honest than give you some creative story of bull----.;)

Curious, what does the spring sit on with tokico struts? Not the top hat, but the bottom part. Is it a removeable item that can be modified? I noticed that on my Bilsteins that the bottom part could be taken to a machine shop and machined to lower the front at least 1/2". I took pictures of it, but won't get the picture back for a few day's.

89accordlxi
06-21-2002, 09:43 AM
Ok, Here is how I was planning on doing the same thing. In order to get a good measurement, the spring needs to be loaded with the weight of the car. So start off by jacking up the front of the car and supporting it with jack stands. Next remove the wheels. Then take the jack and put it under one of the lower control arms and jack up the car until it is off the jack stand. This way you will know that the spring is supporting the full weight of the car. Next just measure how much you want to cut off using a ruler or tape measure and mark it on the spring. Then just remove the spring and cut it where you marked it. No need to measure the other spring, just cut off the same amount you did on the first one. And Voila!!!
there you have it.

Hope this helps. This is the only way I could think of to get a good accurate measurement.

If you decide to use this method, let me know how it went.

later,
peace out.