BXX Posted April 5, 2009 Report Share Posted April 5, 2009 Well, its lowered upfront Heres the little story I got sick of having my car look like a fricken 4x4.. Ive had the rear coilovers on for a while now, but I have to wait to get my fronts installed as I still need to find someone to machine the parts for the front mount I designed. So, it was 4 on Saturday at work... We close at 5. I pulled my car in, hurried up and ripped off both front strut assemblies, decompressed the springs, cut 1 complete coil off, reinstalled them on the strut asseblies, and slapped them back on my CS by 4:45... Ahh, just enough time t readjust the rears to relevel the car... WRONG!!! When I installed my rear coilovers, I forgot to antisieze the lockscrew for the adjuster nuts.. Guess what, they siezed and stripped out... Dammit So my CS has a nice rake to it like a RWD car Lukily, all I have to do is drill out the tiny setscrew, retap the aluminum, and install a new setscrew. I will just use a grade 10.9 bolt I have and antisieze it.. No biggy, should take a half an hour tops... Sooo how does it ride up front with cut springs?? I have about 2 finger widths of fender gap which is too much but will do for now. The front end actually rides sooo much nicer. the struts even react and keep the wheel planted better over bumps and now a nasty clunk is gone as is a vibration I had while accelerating (bad halfshaft angle on stock ride height??) So i have a soft nice ride up front and a stiff but responsive rear.. Actually has a nice balance to it for a daily driver.. Now that I know this, I will be going with a softer spring rate up front that originally planned for my coilovers and then going a bit softer in the rear as well... I will just let the sway bars do their job to keep from excessive bodyroll in the corners... AVATAR REMOVED. NUDITY, CARTOON, OR NOT, IS NOT PERMITTED. THIS IS YOUR ONLY WARNING. AVATAR WAS REMOVED 3 TIMES BEFORE BEING BANNED. YOUR WARNING WAS IN YOUR SIGNATURE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy Posted April 5, 2009 Report Share Posted April 5, 2009 where are the pics?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BXX Posted April 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2009 where are the pics?? Jeebus... I left work, got a shower and went to Mansfield last night and got home at 330 in the morning.. I dont feel like taking pics right now, im still tired I will snag some pics Tuesday on my day off when i also deal with the rear and get it sitting right.. I will make sure to take pics of the huge rake before too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted April 5, 2009 Report Share Posted April 5, 2009 IMO, I would NEVER cut or heat springs. But, if it makes you happy, then so be it. You could have atleast tried to find the softest OEM 1 gen springs, and swapped them in. Would have given you somewhat of a drop, I'm sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOT2B GM Posted April 5, 2009 Report Share Posted April 5, 2009 if you gonna go ahead and cut the stock spring, why not just cut a coil off the spring with a torch right on the car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BXX Posted April 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2009 IMO, I would NEVER cut or heat springs. But, if it makes you happy, then so be it. You could have atleast tried to find the softest OEM 1 gen springs, and swapped them in. Would have given you somewhat of a drop, I'm sure. i already have the softest springs Cutting a spring is nowhere as bad as heating a coil... Heating is as dump as crimping off blown brakelines The cut spring isnt permanent at all. Just to see how it would be and if I had any bad rubbing issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy Posted April 6, 2009 Report Share Posted April 6, 2009 Ricer !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BXX Posted April 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2009 Ricer !! No, its a cheap way of R&D actually it is.. One of 2 things woulda happened, either the spring rate got stiffer (if I cut an upper coil) or it got softer (cutting a lower coil) since they are variable rate springs. I decided to make it go softer... End result is that I like the softer ride, yet the sway bar still does a good job of minimizing body roll. So, now I know to get a lower rate spring for my coilovers Its pretty bad when it rides nicer and is now more stable over bumps than our newer Impala.. Even my mother who has an uplevel Grand Marquis said how nice it rides.. I didnt even have it bottom out over speed bumps or bad chuck holes on I71 @ 80mph I would like to have a car that can handle great, but as much as I drive and with bad roads, it just make sense to make it a nice soft cruiser.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairdo12 Posted April 6, 2009 Report Share Posted April 6, 2009 You need to post up a picture... I love when a car looks like its wearing a pair of F-me heels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BXX Posted April 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2009 The tires on my car are called Stilleto's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManicMechanic Posted April 6, 2009 Report Share Posted April 6, 2009 You need to post up a picture... I love when a car looks like its wearing a pair of F-me heels I have black, red and white...I need a pair of pink ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtwmechanic Posted April 6, 2009 Report Share Posted April 6, 2009 never have tried to modify a strut before. was wandering if you couldn't take the springs off and cut more threads on strut to actually make a shorter piece. this wouldn't require the lowering job to depend on the wieght of the vehicle. of course you would still want to cut your coils, but the idea is a shorter strut when finished that way you could do a proper alignment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BXX Posted April 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2009 never have tried to modify a strut before. was wandering if you couldn't take the springs off and cut more threads on strut to actually make a shorter piece. this wouldn't require the lowering job to depend on the wieght of the vehicle. of course you would still want to cut your coils, but the idea is a shorter strut when finished that way you could do a proper alignment. If you cut the strut shorter the strut cartridge wont fit in it. A shorter strut wont lower a vehicle.. The spring is what supports the vehicle and controls ride height. I can do a proper alignment anyway.. Our strut towers are designed to be slotted to adjust camber. If caster is outta spec or uneven and nothing is bent (SAI will help determine that) then the cradle is outta alignment and needs shifted. I just noticed the driver side sits a little lower than the passenger by 3/4" Its kinda obvious and is driving me nuts. I thought about cutting another 1/2 coil for the hell of it, so I might cut an extra 1/8th coil to level it out.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtwmechanic Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 you wouldn't be cutting down the cartridge chamber just cutting moro threads on the center shaft to comporess the spring area more, then remove a round or two to relieve the extra pressure of the lessor area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BXX Posted April 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 you wouldn't be cutting down the cartridge chamber just cutting moro threads on the center shaft to comporess the spring area more, then remove a round or two to relieve the extra pressure of the lessor area. Dude, wait.. what??? I have absolutely no clue what you are talking about... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtwmechanic Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 pointless Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mra32 Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 you wouldn't be cutting down the cartridge chamber just cutting moro threads on the center shaft to comporess the spring area more, then remove a round or two to relieve the extra pressure of the lessor area. Dude, wait.. what??? I have absolutely no clue what you are talking about... x2 Speaking in english would help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtwmechanic Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 me :evil:myself :twisted:and i were just talking about this issue and decided the only one that understands me is them. modern civilization was built on crazy ideas. thought this was supposed to be fun not belittleing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Ride Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 Speaking in english would help me :evil:myself :twisted:and i were just talking about this issue and decided the only one that understands me is them. modern civilization was built on crazy ideas. thought this was supposed to be fun not belittleing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtwmechanic Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 basically i just meant by cutting more threads on the center shaft you could add back the tension to the spring by allowing you top tighten the nut down more to make up for the coil you removed.when you drop a coil spring suspension do you use stock shocks? no, you use shorter ones. when you put a lift on do use stock shocks? no, you use longer ones. maybe i'm just to much of a perfectionist which is probally why i have been self employed for 15+ years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtwmechanic Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 i got impatient too, so i went to my shop and showed my employees what i wanted and they are now in the process of making some "shorter struts", i'll get some pics to illistrate my idea. i hate it when i'm missunderstood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Ficho Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 basically i just meant by cutting more threads on the center shaft you could add back the tension to the spring by allowing you top tighten the nut down more to make up for the coil you removed.when you drop a coil spring suspension do you use stock shocks? no, you use shorter ones. when you put a lift on do use stock shocks? no, you use longer ones. maybe i'm just to much of a perfectionist which is probally why i have been self employed for 15+ years You do actually use stock length shocks, they're made to handle a certain amount of drop or raise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian P Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 makes sense to me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtwmechanic Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 dude i have a lifted s-10 if you didn't notice and the shocks i used are longer than stock, and i have built numerous rigs from slammed to the ground to lifted to the sky and each and every one of them needed either dropped shocks"shorter" or a shock to handle the hieght of a jacked up suspension. i may be a noob to this sight, but i am by no means a noob to the world of custom suspension and sport vehicles. not aimed at you brian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Ficho Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 Most people here aren't going to jack their W-Bodies to the sky or slam them to the ground. You can do a 2" drop on a W-Body without substituting different size struts. That's all I'm saying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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