clipping springs - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

dingles · 06-30-2003, 05:42

i want 2 lower my ea but i wont be able 2 afford springs and shocks for a few months
so im very tempted 2 cut the springs in my car

if any one has any suggestions on how 2 go about this it would be appreciated

also is it legal / safe 2 drive with clipped springs???

st00pid · 06-30-2003, 06:34

As far as im aware it is both illegal and unsafe to cut your springs. Reason being they ( springs ) will be ( insert number here) mm. shorter than they should be making it possible for the spring to jump out of its mount/saddle/cradle.

EFJase · 06-30-2003, 06:36

Basically i would say wait till u get the money.
It isnt leagl, or safe.

Soxx · 06-30-2003, 06:41

Cutting springs is illegal and as such maybe not a good idea.
As far as the safety issue is concerned, there is no problem if the spring is cut with a grinder so as not to heat the spring to much, and of course so it isn't too short so it falls out of it's saddle.

Cutting springs is mainly frowned upon because people have used the gas axe for cutting, or even just heated one of the coils (whilst still on the car!), so it sags. This is of course not real safe as the spring will fail at the point where it was heated.

Rick.

XF Falcon · 06-30-2003, 07:36

I personally dont have any problems with doing it. Having driven a car with chopped springs for over 4 years now i cant see anything bad safety-wise about it, provided you dont take off so much that its loose over bumps. Provided you cut it with a method that the spring doesnt get too hot (so it becomes more weaker) i personally think its ok. (it may void your insurance if your in a crash though, i think)

My sisters car also has chopped springs, her b/f's 3 or so cars are all chopped... its almost like a tradition among us and so far it hasnt compromised the safety in all of those cars (yet.. hehe).

Of course waiting and buying new lowered springs would be the best way to go, the choice is up to you.

I know im going to get belted with lots of negative comments, but yeah everyones entitled to their own opinion.

AUForte · 06-30-2003, 07:36

Also on some cars (VH and VK are some) the design makes it even more dangerous as I believe the shock doesn't run inside the spring.

In short, chopped/cut/heated springs are bad mmmkay?

Remember you're putting your life in the hands of your car every time you drive, how much is your life worth? A set of low springs?

Tyres and suspension keep you on the road and help you stop. Don't f*** with it.

AUForte · 06-30-2003, 07:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by XF Falcon

(it may void your insurance if your in a crash though, i think)

Chopped springs make a car illegal and unroadworthy, therefore your insurance is void

If you're in an accident and they inspect your car and discover you're running chopped springs they will not honour your claim and you're paying insurance money for nothing.

Insurance companies will look for any reason to void your claim and not pay out. You're better off buying the real deal.

XF Falcon · 06-30-2003, 07:52

Yeah your right, the only reason I consider it safe in say my car is that the shockies pass through the centre of the spring, which prevent the spring from falling out if it were to come out of place. Also the springs are still in fairly tight.. sure you dont need a spring compressor to take them out when its jacked up, but the only way to take them out is to fully jack up the side as normal and even then they are just loose enough to take out by hand.. and i very highly doubt and bump in the road could make it fall out (and I dont plan on getting the entire front end airborne any time soon).

anyway back to the question, i dont really promote it being done, I did it because you cant buy springs that low, and yeah it will void insurance if they find out and yes your car wont handle as good, and it will be more bumpy and the springs wont be as good as they were designed to be a certain size, and the coils will get more load on them due to being shorter, and it will probably make your shockies die quicker... but it looks so good ;-)

AUForte · 06-30-2003, 08:17

You could go custom springs if you wanted lower than superlow but I can see the $$$ already!

NZ · 06-30-2003, 15:19

I cut the springs in a Maxima I had. After the novolty of having a low car wore off the fact I coulf feel every crack in the road really annoyed me. God forbid if there was road works or a rough road. It made the whole dash shake,. the whole car would get jolts from bumps that made me cringe as it was one of those things you know was dong damage. But man the thing could corner. The front suspension was setup so that when the wheel traveled upwards it got more negative camber. So being permanently lower it got chewed out tires. The last straw was getting air one day by acident and the spring coming out of its seat. I then got a set of standard height springs and after 20km the rear shocks were rooted to the point the car would resonate. Never again...