Hi all,

I was fitting some diffeenent wheels to my 6n today, to see what they look like, and I thought maybe it needs a little lowering.

Normally I would get replacement springs, and I will probably end up doing this anyway.

I remember reading on here a few times about people cutting there springs. I'm not sure if those where serious threads, or people answering sarcasticly , so is this what people do? And if so, does the cut end not foul on the shocks etc?

I actually have some front springs, so if this is a feesable way of doing it, I may just try it to see what it's like and if it's crap, then I can just swap them over.

Although, if I'm being stupid, please let me know in a nice way...:)

Thanks.

It is one of the dodgiest ways of lowering your car, but it works... Ish.

I ran cut springs on my saxo (£150 Shitter - First car!) for a few thousand miles, and it was fine, But that was only because I didn't want to spend ANY money on it. We also used jubilee clips to hold the springs to the bottom of the cups, just in case they did uncompress enough to drop, but luckily had no problems.

If you're wanting to lower your car properly, just don't do it.

Edited 28 February, 201313 yr by willashcroft

So it's not something that you should do for a pemanent type thing? Ie it will eventually fail.

I'm not really planning on doing it, just curious.

Has anyone done this with a good result?

My 6n is running chopped lowering springs and has been doing so for at least 20000 miles with no problems.

There's no problem with chopped springs as long as you don't chop your springs so they are shorter than the shocks and they end up loose when you jack up your car.

if you need to go lower you will need to get a lowering springs and shortened shocks or coilovers.

I've done it, cut (too much :( ) off the springs on my fiesta and it sat at about 60mm BUT in the long term you'll end up needing new shocks much like if you lower it 60mm on springs and original shocks because they wernt made for it.

do it though, gives you an amazing feeling of mischeviousness haha!

then buy coilovers as they're pennies for these.

I'm running 60mm springs with 2 coils chopped, on ta shocks.

Been like this for 3000 miles. Never had one problem.

I can't be arsed to use the search.

Ran cut springs on and off since the 1990s, probably over 100k miles altogether, never had a problem, always passed an MoT. Reason is simply because I'm not an idiot.

For those who don't have enough technical understanding (common sense) there's a simple rule - the spring must still be longer than the gap between the cups it sits in. You are reducing the excess length from the preload. So the spring will still sit secure in its seat.

Do not:

Cut from the end of a spring which is conically wound, it must still seat as the first coil would've done.

Put heat into the spring.

Do:

Use a very thin cutting disc to chop straight through.

Ensure the springs are the same length both sides - use first removed piece as a template for the partner spring.

Use new dampers, as the old ones will have memoried and the seals will get damaged on new land.

Would be nice if this was stickied but its just my 2p so here's a couple of blatantly obvious words for the search function:

Mikeysprings

Chopped

Rabbits

Children

Babies

Why did you even bother adding those words in. You know people with little technical understanding have no ability to be able to cut springs, let alone use the internet.

I have cut springs but they were lowered ones already and i only took a coil out

i would suggest as you have a more modern car that you buy coilovers as there only at most a few hundred quid,

only reason i cut mine was cause coilies are £450+ for my mk2

do it properly as its safer and better....

Sam

cutting standard springs/shocks is a bad idea, the shock is only designed for a certain travel height so will shit it's self pretty quick.

the other problem is, the springs AND shocks are designed for loads of travel, which at standard height isn't a problem, but when your closer to the floor it's just too much and will bottom out the shock and you'll be smashing off the road surface constantly!

cutting lowering springs on uprated shocks is essentially the same as winding coilovers down!

I crashed my arosa because it was on cut springs.

Went into a corner which was tighter than first realised and car tram lined straight foreword into the wall. Car was a right off and luckily everyone walked away unhurt. Ill never cut springs in a car again

I crashed my arosa because it was on cut springs.

Went into a corner which was tighter than first realised and car tram lined straight foreword into the wall. Car was a right off and luckily everyone walked away unhurt. Ill never cut springs in a car again

Sounds more like a combination of shit tyres and excess speed rather than cut springs.

I work in vehicle dynamics, spending most my days working with springs and dampers of all sorts of variety, and just today I was thinking of cutting the springs on my golf.

A spring should have a certain amount of preload (not just tight at full rebound) but I'd be happy to cut mine, as like mikey I'm NOT AN IDIOT.

People simply don't seem to have common sense anymore, you can do so, but be careful, and there is no way of saying what works on one car will on another.

Do it, just take your time, but for the cost of shit cheap aftermarket parts, may aswel just buy a kit, it will be shocking like most cheap eBay stuff, but yeah.

cutting standard springs/shocks is a bad idea, the shock is only designed for a certain travel height so will shit it's self pretty quick.

the other problem is, the springs AND shocks are designed for loads of travel, which at standard height isn't a problem, but when your closer to the floor it's just too much and will bottom out the shock and you'll be smashing off the road surface constantly!

cutting lowering springs on uprated shocks is essentially the same as winding coilovers down!

What a stupid comment. Yes, cutting springs on used shocks won't do them any favours, but as Mikey said, on new ones, where the seals are not having to travel into unknown land, it will be fine. It's the same concept as loading the car right up and driving 60k. Yes, it won't do the shocks any favours; but I wouldn't expect them to last 60k anyway.

As long as you don't remove the spring completely, you'll be fine. How can chopping a spring on standard vs. aftermarket "lowered" dampers be any different. You're lowering the strut the same amount.

I crashed my arosa because it was on cut springs.

Went into a corner which was tighter than first realised and car tram lined straight foreword into the wall. Car was a right off and luckily everyone walked away unhurt. Ill never cut springs in a car again

No, you crashed because you were going too fast, not because of the springs.

Edited 1 March, 201313 yr by Adam-

why bother with cut springs when there is enough choice to get lowered springs in pretty much any desired drop for less than £100, even less if you buy second hand.

Don't even see why you need to replace the dampers tbh, isn't like the piston rods surface wears, just clean them before you drop the car down to its new height

why bother with cut springs when there is enough choice to get lowered springs in pretty much any desired drop for less than £100, even less if you buy second hand.

angle grinder is only £15

spend the £75 on take aways

Or 15 litres of petrol. :)

Or borrow a grinder and have more food..that's what I'd do.

I'd even collect the food on the way back from collecting the grinder.

damn. such a good shout nick!!

adam if you can find somewhere where 15 litres of fuel is 15 quid count me in!!

why bother with cut springs when there is enough choice to get lowered springs in pretty much any desired drop for less than £100, even less if you buy second hand.

angle grinder is only £15

spend the £75 on take aways

damn. such a good shout nick!!

adam if you can find somewhere where 15 litres of fuel is 15 quid count me in!!

I was talking about the 75 bit. :p

Speed or not I still feel cut springs arnt a great idea. But that's just my view. I won't ever really do it again especially as police here are cracking down on lowering cars and can ask you to jack car up and check spring doesn't rattle.

See, I'm sure this is a grey area in the law.

If the spring dislodges, it's just going to seat where it should when you come back down, is it not?

If they rattle you've cut too much.

Height adjustable suspension springs (parallel type with flat ends) relocate ok, the OEM ones not so good.

But you should really have some preload on them

cutting standard springs/shocks is a bad idea, the shock is only designed for a certain travel height so will shit it's self pretty quick.

the other problem is, the springs AND shocks are designed for loads of travel, which at standard height isn't a problem, but when your closer to the floor it's just too much and will bottom out the shock and you'll be smashing off the road surface constantly!

cutting lowering springs on uprated shocks is essentially the same as winding coilovers down!

What a stupid comment. Yes, cutting springs on used shocks won't do them any favours, but as Mikey said, on new ones, where the seals are not having to travel into unknown land, it will be fine. It's the same concept as loading the car right up and driving 60k. Yes, it won't do the shocks any favours; but I wouldn't expect them to last 60k anyway.

As long as you don't remove the spring completely, you'll be fine. How can chopping a spring on standard vs. aftermarket "lowered" dampers be any different. You're lowering the strut the same amount.

I crashed my arosa because it was on cut springs.

Went into a corner which was tighter than first realised and car tram lined straight foreword into the wall. Car was a right off and luckily everyone walked away unhurt. Ill never cut springs in a car again

No, you crashed because you were going too fast, not because of the springs.

how was what i said stupid atall? standard springs and shocks are designed for a certain amount of travel, limit that travel and your asking for trouble.

when you load up a car the spring loads and gets stiffer, therefore limiting the travel. simply cut the springs shorter and they wont have any preload and will have the same amount of travel as they were when they were normal length, so you've got loads of spring travel at the bottom of the dampers physical limits, its going to kill it pretty quick.

i'm not talking about 1 or 2 coils, its when people literally cut the spring in half.

also if you hadn't noticed lowered/ aftermarket dampers have shorter pistons, for less travel. so when they are bottoming out physically, the internals arent anywhere near the bottom. funny how they thought of that.