Eternity3G

Nope. NEVER cut my springs... the ride is horrible! AlterZego's post explains it all.... Still lovin them coil-overs!

Acuraelin

tanabe suspension normally sits lower.....
Don't cut spring on the GS430 man it's 50K+ car!

No offense but if you're gonna mod your car do it right...even if it's a cheap car....or don't do it at all

Acuraelin

OH BTW the GS430 comes with adjustable shock too isn't?

DonJuan45i

I had always thought that cutting your springs is "cheap, a big no no, and that if you wanna do something right get coil overs etc." "you drive a lexus, not a camaro kind of mentality" its understandable. While I have really no problems with my cars ride height, I think it would look better maybe if it was a tad lower which I will solve with a nice set of coil overs. but at the moment it really isnt a priority, maybe next spring.

well the other day I was channel surfing and came across channel TLC's show "overhaulin" with that guy Chip Foose I think it is. Well I started watching it and they were "overhaulin" a old firebird. Thing looked pretty good, even tho I am not a big fan of the hot rod theme.

BUT I was rather shocked when Chip Foose said that he wanted the car a little lower in the front. Well they show a guy from his team take the new wheels off, then yadah yadah seconds later they show him with the spring in his hands, then he proceeds to cut a coil from the springs, he explained that it would give the car the lower stance that they were after.

My automatic reaction was "WHAT!" so I started thinking if it was so bad of a thing to do, why would they do it on a show where they have this master car artist/designer/ nationally renouned team, and where I am sure they have a more than enough budget???

So do we just kind of exaggerate when it comes to this cheap mod???? I still dont like the idea of taking my springs and nipping off a coil, but after seeing that it makes me think maybe it isnt such a bad thing to do for someone that lacks/doesnt want to shell out the money to buy coilovers, and isnt as harmful as we all think? AGAIN before I possibly get flamed, I have no intentions of doing this mod, but I feel kind of stupid for all the times I disaggreed with people who were about to/did alter their springs.

Just thought I would share, also are there other reasons why people shouldnt do this, perhaps safety reasons, or maybe it shortens the life of the coil etc? THANKs guys

AudiMan

if he's stupid enough to consider cutting his springs, i think he should do it, he deserves to have a GS with cut springs

Irishman06

Cutting springs is a cheap, fast, and easy way to get small adjustments in ride height. But let's look at it, as a whole: what sort of springs do you have? Are the coils at the ends spaced the same as the coils in the middle (a "closed" coil versus an "open" coil)? Are they ground flat to ride on the spring perch correctly? If the answer to both of these questions is no, then cut them, who cares? It will make minor differences in this case, the biggest being a reduction in spring rate proportional to the number of coils you cut off. If the answer to the above questions is yes, then DON'T CUT THEM. You can destroy your shocks if you do it incorrectly, and your spring rate curve (yes, its not linear) will change drastically.

PS -- Most people don't seem to realize this, but for less than the price of coilovers (usually...), places like Eibach or any race spring supplier will make you a custom set of springs. If you ask nicely over the phone, they may even take a stock spring and copy the spring rate into a spring with a lesser overall length; the calculations are relatively straightforward. I'd say you can be out the door for (easily) under $1000, and maybe even under $500, but don't quote me on it. The disadvantage is you don't get the adjustability you'd get from coilovers.