Compressing OEM Springs

[4adrien]

hi all..

i've got a set of ae92 trueno oem springs..but its not lowered..
if i get the springs compressed..(heat up, compress, cool down)
wat is the effect on the spring rates..ie handling?

thanx!

[Flashmn]

Sucks. You'd kill the heat treatment there is, your springs would come soft and saggy, plus they could develop stresscracks. dont do it.

[homeguard]

your car will feel like crap, my sisters girl friend did this i think it was this or chopping them and you could see him bouncing around inside as he drove down the street, that dude was a fucking retard.

[2001rolla]

You need to go get yourself a set of spring compressors from a local auto parts store or maybe ask around and see if snyone has some. They are used to compress the spring while you install it onto the strut/shock... If you can not find this tool then you are better off having a shop do it for you.

CUTTING, HEATING UP OR OTHER WISE ALTERING THE SPRINGS CAN CAUSE INJURY OR DAMAGE TO YOURSELF OR THE CAR. DO NOT CUT OR HEAT UP THE SPRINGS!!!

Besides... Cutting your springs is something stupid little ricers with no brains do thinking all along it makes them look cool when it fact it makes them look like little ricers with no brains...

[mr_sinister]

cutting is fine, heating is bad

[foompla]

Originally posted by 2001rolla
You need to go get yourself a set of spring compressors from a local auto parts store or maybe ask around and see if snyone has some. They are used to compress the spring while you install it onto the strut/shock... If you can not find this tool then you are better off having a shop do it for you.


Besides... Cutting your springs is something stupid little ricers with no brains do thinking all along it makes them look cool when it fact it makes them look like little ricers with no brains...

what if they get an alignment afterwards?

[homeguard]

Originally posted by foompla
what if they get an alignment afterwards?

if i were doing the alignment and i saw that someone cut there springs i would just be like i cant align this pos.

[foompla]

Originally posted by homeguard
if i were doing the alignment and i saw that someone cut there springs i would just be like i cant align this pos.

lol send it to me then, ill do it

[Flashmn]

cutting is fine, heating is bad

HEck no if you have stock springs, if you cut them, they wont even stay in place.

[mr_sinister]

Originally posted by Flashmn
HEck no if you have stock springs, if you cut them, they wont even stay in place.

so what.. many aftermarket "race" springs are significantly shorter than stock springs.. if you have cut springs or these shorter aftermarket springs and short stroke shocks, you don't have that problem.

[4adrien]

i know its bad if u cut it..nvr had experience wif heatin up n compressing..seen someppl done it..yet to hav a ride in that car..

i jus tot it was better than cuttin the coils..

n wonder wats the effect on the spring rates..

[Flashmn]

so what.. many aftermarket "race" springs are significantly shorter than stock springs

Actually they arent, they just have a portion of "dead coils" which compress at a very light load, when the car is lowered onto them. When the car is lifted those will decompress and wedge the spring in. Also cutting the stock spring isnt a good idea, since the stock spring is only a couple of coils, lets say you cut one coil off. Your spring will be so short and the springrate is so soft that you'll really bottom out all the time and even with short stroke shocks you'll blow them really quickly.

[mr_sinister]

Originally posted by Flashmn
Actually they arent, they just have a portion of "dead coils" which compress at a very light load, when the car is lowered onto them. When the car is lifted those will decompress and wedge the spring in. Also cutting the stock spring isnt a good idea, since the stock spring is only a couple of coils, lets say you cut one coil off. Your spring will be so short and the springrate is so soft that you'll really bottom out all the time and even with short stroke shocks you'll blow them really quickly.

uh, thanks for making a bunch of stuff up, but let's get back to reality.

Fact: I have sets of stock ae86 coils in my garage. They have more than "just a couple of coils". I also know a number of people who've cut stock ae86 springs and like the results.

Fact: I have cut TRD USA springs on my car. They ride fine. They don't bounce like a "ricer's" car because I run them with Tokiko Illumina dampers (ie a damper that can cope with the INCREASED spring rate)

Fact: I have TRD Japan springs in my basement. If run with stock length dampers, they WILL fall out of the perches at full extension.

FACT (this is the biggest one): reducing the number of coils in a spring (as in, when you cut them) INCREASES the spring rate, not decreases. You can read about that in any physics text book.

Now, i'm sure in some cases, you are correct, some aftermarket springs may have dead/helper coils to make up the difference in length.. maybe some cars have stock springs with only a few coils.. but that is not the case in my experience (and as such, a sweeping generalization as the one you have made is wrong) .. and that wasn't my point anyway.

my original point was that cutting springs will not weaken them as heating them would.. my point was that cutting springs isn't the huge no no many people make it out to be.. there are other factors to consider (worrying about whether your spring will stay in the perch with the dampers you are running, whether your dampers can cope with the increased rate, etc), but spring cutting doesn't = instant death, as so many people are fond of proclaiming.

to this day i have still not heard one single solid argument about why cutting springs is bad.. the best argument i heard was that "you won't know what spring rate you end up with and therefore won't know what damper to use".. which is still pretty weak, if you ask me.

[Flashmn]

but spring cutting doesn't = instant death, as so many people are fond of proclaiming.

Oh I'm not claiming them to do that. I know you can put lada springs in a TA series celica if you cut them in half.

"you won't know what spring rate you end up with and therefore won't know what damper to use"..

Actually thats a very good arguement

reducing the number of coils in a spring (as in, when you cut them) INCREASES the spring rate, not decreases.

True, but it also increases the chances of bottoming out.

but anyhow its useless to argue about this