Can I just cut the springs??

[hondabait]

On some cars you can and some you cant. You can when then end you cut(top or bottom) has the cup for cut type coils and not the tightly wound ones. Stupid question but can I just cut the springs in my 1st gen z and if so do I cut the tops or the bottoms? .... stupid questions are better than stupid mistakes.

[capt_furious]

Don't be that guy.

 

Dig in the classifieds here, at classiczcars, craigslist, ask your friends. But don't cut your springs. Leave that to the high schoolers with mom's secondhand Accord.

[KimZee]

Why not just buy some aftermarket ones? Suspension is something I wouldn't skimp on...

 

What outcome are you looking for? Looks, peformance..?

[hondabait]

well performance.... I just figured a lower center of gravity would be better(not too low). and if the cups can fit them I see no down side but there probably is one. I don't have the money for any new performance springs but say like if the 280zx had shorter front springs I could go to the salvage yard and get some. .............I'm probably being retarded about this and you're probably right but I thought haveing soft springs, large sway bars, and loads of rebound dampening was the way to set a car up, please please please correct me. I need help on this subject. thankyou

[mario_82_ZXT]

From what I've gathered from reading, Zs like harder springs and softer sways. in fact lots of people on here believe the S/T set as being too big.

 

Mario

[Guest Linkstar07]

I dont see any problem cutting coils if you are careful about it. Start with half or one whole coil at a time. (generally not more than an inch of the overall height of the spring being removed) As you decrease the number of coils, you increase the spring rate. Not a bad thing for stock springs.

[johnc]

You can cut the coils in 1/2 turn increments. Cutting coils lowers the and increases the spring rate. But, on any strut equipped car, lowering it reduces bump travel and too low will actually make the handing worse. IMHO you can lower a S30 aobut 1.5" from stock ride height and make sure to shorten the bump stops. Any more you have to start shortening the struts.

 

And don't ask "What's shortening the struts" because there's a whole FAQ devoted to that topic.

 

From what I've gathered from reading, Zs like harder springs and softer sways. in fact lots of people on here believe the S/T set as being too big.

 

Depends on which ST kit. THe 25mm front and 19mm rear (1" and 3/4") works very well on a 240Z.

[mario_82_ZXT]

I meant the "big" kit which they also sell with the 1 1/8" and 7/8" rear.

Mario

[DCZ]

You can cut the coils in 1/2 turn increments.

 

Johnc,

 

I have read that you can ruin the temper of a spring by heating it up too much when cutting. I want to cut my springs (reproduction Euro-spec) and am planning to use a cutoff wheel on my angle grinder. Will this heat up the springs too much? Do I need to clamp the spring in a bucket of water or would this be overkill?

[e_racer1999]

^cut them like 1/8" at a time

 

to the naysayers: cutting 240z springs (especially euro-spec) is fine

[johnc]

The heat will be very localized with a cutoff wheel. Steel needs to get to 1,100 degrees to affect heat treating and you're not going to get the spring anywhere near that hot.

[JMortensen]

The cheesy thing to do is to heat the springs with a torch until they sag to the height you want. That's a redneck "performance upgrade" that is not worth doing. Cutting springs with a cutoff wheel is fine, although the stock Z springs are WAAAY too soft so you'd do better to get a set of stiffer aftermarket springs. Also, in regards to the spring rate going up, Dan Baldwin did the calculation some years back and cutting a couple coils and added something like 5% to the spring rate. So it's not going to change enough to compensate for the car being so undersprung in the first place.

[palauoriginal]

i used to have cut springs (2 coils cut) looked great, handled ok but i scraped everywhere and i couldn't take a passenger usually(didnt make it over speed bumps). if you do cut springs max would probably be like 1.5 coils.

[japan-air]

top or bottom side?

[MJLamberson]

I have an extra pair for sale cheap if you want to expiriment with this and still have a backup.

[mcmike280z]

I cut 1.5 coils off front and rear. I also moved my front strut insulators to the rear = minus another 3/4". I then fabbed new ones for the front cutting down the old rears.

 

 

[Michael]

I just used a hack saw with 18 teeth/inch to cut off 1 coil from each spring(1978 S30). Made no discernable difference to handling or ride quality, but the ride height decreased by approximately 3/4".

[japan-air]

top or bottom though? I have eibach springs, and the front is higher than the back although I have L28 in there. So I;d like to drop it another .5" but again the question falls to, top or bottom? Thanks all

[JMortensen]

On a progressive spring you'd want to cut the bottom where the coils are wider apart. If you cut the top that wouldn't have nearly as much effect, so you might have to cut 2 or 3 coils to get the same as cutting one on the bottom, and it would remove a lot of the progressiveness of the spring.

[Six_Shooter]

I don't recall where I had seen it, but there was an article a few years ago, but somebody that is well respected in the automotive feild, that showed how to proper cut springs. Involved a torch and even how to flatten that last coil to sit in a flat spring pocket.

 

We have the front coils cut on our '70 Chev pick up that uses a '79 F-body front frame clip. Been riding that way for about 8 years now, maybe longer, I don't remember when we set it back down on it's wheels. This is the second set, since the first set was too low and we couldn't actually remove the jack when we went to set it down. It has never sagged, or had any other ill effects from the cut springs.