Cut my stock Springs, pictures
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Thanks adrenaline for the info about how you installed yours. It really helped in the front w/ the coil spring compressor.
It dropped the front 1 1/4 inch and the rear and 1 3/4.
Now the gaps are equal all the way around the car.
-hope this side pic helps, its somewhat hard to see since it is a black car.
Thanks to everyone for the compliments.
I've rode on cut springs on all my cars before, and have never experienced any problems, no springs falling out, no reduced gas mileage...LOL, no problems w/ alignment afterwards, and so on.
If you plan on cutting your springs, I can give you a step by step....these are a little trickier than the older bodies in the front since it is a coil over spring.
You have to position the spring in the right area for the geometry to be correct, but it's still no big deal.
It dropped the front 1 1/4 inch and the rear and 1 3/4.
Now the gaps are equal all the way around the car.
-hope this side pic helps, its somewhat hard to see since it is a black car.
Thanks to everyone for the compliments.
I've rode on cut springs on all my cars before, and have never experienced any problems, no springs falling out, no reduced gas mileage...LOL, no problems w/ alignment afterwards, and so on.
If you plan on cutting your springs, I can give you a step by step....these are a little trickier than the older bodies in the front since it is a coil over spring.
You have to position the spring in the right area for the geometry to be correct, but it's still no big deal.
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Originally posted by jsaylor+February 28, 2005, 1:37 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jsaylor @ February 28, 2005, 1:37 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-PONY XPRESS@February 26, 2005, 7:07 PM
Looks good.
Curious if you did a spring rate check before & after?
Looks good.
Curious if you did a spring rate check before & after?
[/b][/quote]
Heating the springs to make them drop will not change the rate. You have to watch out for the coils making contact with each other.
Cutting the spring will change the rate & increase roll stiffness. You don't use heat, you must cut them with a band saw or similar tool.
Basic formula:
Force
K= ---------------
Deflection
K is spring rate.
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Originally posted by iiibdsiil@February 26, 2005, 11:53 PM
I have never heard of a spring actually breaking from being cut. Everyone says it is sooooo bad, which it is, but actual failure is rare, at least from my experience. I had a 95 Chevy Caprice that the front springs were heated up to lower the thing, I bought the springs from the guy. I had them in for 30K miles in that heavy car with no problems.
I know, the science is there to prove it is no good, but in real life, I don't think there have been many cases of anything actually happening, although I am sure I will be corrected.
One idea when cutting them is to do it in water, so it will cool them down. I watched a friend cut a set in his dorm room toilet. A bucket will also work, although I would use something with more water, and maybe ice in it to make sure it minimizes the heating up.
I have never heard of a spring actually breaking from being cut. Everyone says it is sooooo bad, which it is, but actual failure is rare, at least from my experience. I had a 95 Chevy Caprice that the front springs were heated up to lower the thing, I bought the springs from the guy. I had them in for 30K miles in that heavy car with no problems.
I know, the science is there to prove it is no good, but in real life, I don't think there have been many cases of anything actually happening, although I am sure I will be corrected.
One idea when cutting them is to do it in water, so it will cool them down. I watched a friend cut a set in his dorm room toilet. A bucket will also work, although I would use something with more water, and maybe ice in it to make sure it minimizes the heating up.
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Originally posted by PONY XPRESS+February 28, 2005, 5:54 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PONY XPRESS @ February 28, 2005, 5:54 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'>
Unless the Mustang uses variable rate springs, and I do not think it does, the spring rate should not change if you cut them.
Originally posted by jsaylor@February 28, 2005, 1:37 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-PONY XPRESS
<!--QuoteBegin-PONY XPRESS
@February 26, 2005, 7:07 PM
Looks good.
Curious if you did a spring rate check before & after?
Looks good.
Curious if you did a spring rate check before & after?
Unless the Mustang uses variable rate springs, and I do not think it does, the spring rate should not change if you cut them.
Heating the springs to make them drop will not change the rate. You have to watch out for the coils making contact with each other.
Cutting the spring will change the rate & increase roll stiffness. You don't use heat, you must cut them with a band saw or similar tool.
Basic formula:
Force
K= ---------------
Deflection
K is spring rate.
[/b][/quote]
Thanks for the info
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I'm definitely cutting the rear springs now! I had heard something about them breaking. 
Guess not. I know heating them is a bad idea, heating much of anything on a car is a bad idea. 
Leveling the car looks great. Again,
Bucky.
Guess not. I know heating them is a bad idea, heating much of anything on a car is a bad idea. Leveling the car looks great. Again,
Bucky.
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Yeah Sonic, I promise you that they won't break from heating them, coils are made from "spring steel" which means that they are "darn" near impossible to break.
I'm an insurance adjuster and I've seen some tremendous hits to the wheel/suspension, and I have bought everything there except for a coil spring and have never had any issues.
If you just want to level the rear to the stock frt height, you may want to start w/ just 1/2 coil and go from there, the rears are absolutely the easiest, only 4 bolts all together, so it won't take very long to get it right.
-------------------------
-post of closer up pics of wheel opening below
I'm an insurance adjuster and I've seen some tremendous hits to the wheel/suspension, and I have bought everything there except for a coil spring and have never had any issues.
If you just want to level the rear to the stock frt height, you may want to start w/ just 1/2 coil and go from there, the rears are absolutely the easiest, only 4 bolts all together, so it won't take very long to get it right.
-------------------------
-post of closer up pics of wheel opening below
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Originally posted by iiibdsiil@February 26, 2005, 11:53 PM
I have never heard of a spring actually breaking from being cut. Everyone says it is sooooo bad, which it is, but actual failure is rare, at least from my experience. I had a 95 Chevy Caprice that the front springs were heated up to lower the thing, I bought the springs from the guy. I had them in for 30K miles in that heavy car with no problems.
I know, the science is there to prove it is no good, but in real life, I don't think there have been many cases of anything actually happening, although I am sure I will be corrected.
One idea when cutting them is to do it in water, so it will cool them down. I watched a friend cut a set in his dorm room toilet. A bucket will also work, although I would use something with more water, and maybe ice in it to make sure it minimizes the heating up.
I have never heard of a spring actually breaking from being cut. Everyone says it is sooooo bad, which it is, but actual failure is rare, at least from my experience. I had a 95 Chevy Caprice that the front springs were heated up to lower the thing, I bought the springs from the guy. I had them in for 30K miles in that heavy car with no problems.
I know, the science is there to prove it is no good, but in real life, I don't think there have been many cases of anything actually happening, although I am sure I will be corrected.
One idea when cutting them is to do it in water, so it will cool them down. I watched a friend cut a set in his dorm room toilet. A bucket will also work, although I would use something with more water, and maybe ice in it to make sure it minimizes the heating up.
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I have the luxury of living in an apartment, by myself. 
My friend doesn't have that luxury. And yeah, he had a setup with two dorm rooms, sharing one little common area, 4 people total, 1 toilet, one shower. Lot's of headaches.
My friend doesn't have that luxury. And yeah, he had a setup with two dorm rooms, sharing one little common area, 4 people total, 1 toilet, one shower. Lot's of headaches.
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thanks azoufan, I think I'm actually starting to like the factory wheels now too, think it had something to dy w/ lowering the car, which makes the wheels seem to fit better or something.
I originally hated them, but they are growing on me now.
I originally hated them, but they are growing on me now.
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Bucky... thanks for all the pics. I am convinced now. Can you give us a step by step of exactly how to cut the springs as far as what you used to cut them and positioning the springs to get the geometry right, etc... if it's no trouble? That, along with adrenalin's step by step spring install, and I should have shorter springs by this weekend.
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Alright, It appears that you have to cut off a full coil on the fronts, nothing less, nothing more or the spring will sit crooked on the strut...that's the first thing.
-Also when you take the frt coil off you will see that there is a "stop" on the lower portion of the strut that the end of the spring will rest against to keep it from rotating any further, also there is a "wall" around the lower coil at a point to keep it from falling off of the strut....we will come back to this in a minute.
-You will know what I'm talking about when you look at the strut.
-Make sure you have a strut spring compressor to remove the frt spring from the coil...air tools are going to be a plus for this.....Rented my spring compressor from AutoZone by the way
-After you cut a full coil off of the front you won't need the compressor anymore, the spring will be short enough to press down on the strut plate and install the upper nut.
-Make sure you cut the coil from the bottom of the spring, not the top...You will see why while examining the spring.
-After you cut 1 coil off of the bottom of the spring, position the spring so that the end is at the "wall", not the "stop". The spring is somewhat wider now that the lower coil has been cut, so you will need to position it against the "wall" so that the spring will not move when you are installing the upper strut plate and tightening the upper retaining nut.
-That's it on the front.....except don't drop your upper strut plate or beat on in w/ anything b/c it will fall apart very easily, as I almost found out, and the ball bearings will go everywhere. :notnice:
-----------
The rear are absolutely simple, just jack up the car, postion the jack stands on the rear rails...Take out the lower shock bolt and lower sway bar bolt on both sides at the same time...and the rear end will drop.
-Position the jack under one side of the rear end and jack it up just enough to pop out the other coil...same on other side.
-I cut off two coils on the rear, from the top of the spring.
---------------
A buddy of mine and I did it in about 2 hrs...start to finish.
We used an air powered cut off wheel to cut the springs.
---------------
Piece of cake, It probably took longer to type this than it did to cut one of the springs....LOL
-Also when you take the frt coil off you will see that there is a "stop" on the lower portion of the strut that the end of the spring will rest against to keep it from rotating any further, also there is a "wall" around the lower coil at a point to keep it from falling off of the strut....we will come back to this in a minute.
-You will know what I'm talking about when you look at the strut.
-Make sure you have a strut spring compressor to remove the frt spring from the coil...air tools are going to be a plus for this.....Rented my spring compressor from AutoZone by the way
-After you cut a full coil off of the front you won't need the compressor anymore, the spring will be short enough to press down on the strut plate and install the upper nut.
-Make sure you cut the coil from the bottom of the spring, not the top...You will see why while examining the spring.
-After you cut 1 coil off of the bottom of the spring, position the spring so that the end is at the "wall", not the "stop". The spring is somewhat wider now that the lower coil has been cut, so you will need to position it against the "wall" so that the spring will not move when you are installing the upper strut plate and tightening the upper retaining nut.
-That's it on the front.....except don't drop your upper strut plate or beat on in w/ anything b/c it will fall apart very easily, as I almost found out, and the ball bearings will go everywhere. :notnice:
-----------
The rear are absolutely simple, just jack up the car, postion the jack stands on the rear rails...Take out the lower shock bolt and lower sway bar bolt on both sides at the same time...and the rear end will drop.
-Position the jack under one side of the rear end and jack it up just enough to pop out the other coil...same on other side.
-I cut off two coils on the rear, from the top of the spring.
---------------
A buddy of mine and I did it in about 2 hrs...start to finish.
We used an air powered cut off wheel to cut the springs.
---------------
Piece of cake, It probably took longer to type this than it did to cut one of the springs....LOL
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thanks doulous, will do.
No problems noticed, and the car still rides fine, alot better than my buddies 99 Vette. With the cut coils the suspension is still no where near as stiff as a stock Vette.
No problems noticed, and the car still rides fine, alot better than my buddies 99 Vette. With the cut coils the suspension is still no where near as stiff as a stock Vette.
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Originally posted by 2005MustangGT@March 1, 2005, 8:35 PM
thanks doulous, will do.
No problems noticed, and the car still rides fine, alot better than my buddies 99 Vette. With the cut coils the suspension is still no where near as stiff as a stock Vette.
thanks doulous, will do.
No problems noticed, and the car still rides fine, alot better than my buddies 99 Vette. With the cut coils the suspension is still no where near as stiff as a stock Vette.
I'm sure if you supershifted your Stang you might be able to somewhat keep up though.