fastmustangs1 said:
DON'T. I don't recommend cutting the factory springs.
I did some research and based on your postings to this site you recommendations for any suspension question is "Maximum Motorsports".
While it's an opinion it hard qualifies you as knowlegeable. In fact I harbor a sneaking suspicion you are in someway affiliated with them.
But I could be wrong.
You will run into problems in the future. The car will not lower properly,
What do you mean by this? Lowering the car by cutting the springs does require the ability to cut the pairs (front or rear) an equal amount.
It's not hard to do but it does require some skill. I use my table saw with a metal cutting blade. Take about 30 seconds to cut a coil that way.
Remember, measure twice cut once.
you will have alignment issue along with an uncomfortable ride.
What alignment issues? Mine aligned up just fine with no CC plates needed and after 10,000 miles on the car since then it has no alignment issues.
Tire wear is nice and even and it handles fine,except for the squirelly rear end which is getting fixed after Christmas. As for the uncomfortable ride,
it all depends on how soft your butt is I guess. yeah my ride is stiffer than stock, but not a lot and it is by no means rough. The biggest issue with
any drop, regardless of how to accomplish it, is the clearance to the bumpstop and the shock travel.
The car will bottom out over bumps.
trim the bump stop and get shorter travel shocks. It ain't rocket science and these issues will be there with aftermarker drop springs unless the spring
rate is so high that it minimises the movement of the suspension. That will give you a rough ride. Trimming the bumpstop isn't tough, again I used my
table saw with a woodcutting blade and trimmed an inch off my stop. I think I'll take another 1/2" off since I occasionally hit it going over big bumps.
As for the shocks, you have two choices, ebnd over for the aftermarket guys, like MM, or peruse a shock book and find a shock witht he same mounting specs
but with shorter extended and compressed specs. In my application a set of Mopar A body rear shocks worked fine after I opened up the lower shock mounting
hole from 7/16" to 13mm. I had a set on hand so I went with them.[/QUOTE]
Just get a good set of springs like H&R with a good set of shocks.
That'll work too. But it ain't cheap and you will still need the shocks and triming the bumpstop.
You also will need an alignment afterwards.
True.
Now for some commentary. All those that say cutting your stock spring will cause problems explain to me why that is so when the Ford C springs can be cut without
any problems and it is NOT because they were designed to be cut. If you want to make that claim you better show me where it says the springs were designed to be cut.
This isn't rocket science but it does require a modicum of ability. I requires you to think and figure things out. It doesn't come in a nice package you can take to
your mechanic and have him install while you get a paper cut writing the check for it. So, keep buying into the aftermarket's "don't cut your springs" line so you can
spend $$$ for thier stuff. Do yourself a favor and price a set of stock replacement springs and compare them to the price of after market springs. Or compare the price
of Ford's C springs to H&R or any of the others. Notice the fairly large price differential. It ain't because MM or H&R or whomever uses better material, has more
engineers or anything other than profit. Then ask yourself why Ford says it's OK to cut thier C springs, and if anyone can show me where Ford says not to cut any other
spring send me a link, yet the aftermarket says no? Could it be because they want to make money and not because there is an inherent problem doing so? Explain to me why
MM's panhard bars is $250+ when I can buy a universal watts linkage kit for under $100 from the street rod aftermarket? Sure I have to mount it and fit it, but MM's kit doesn't
jump out of the box and install itself? Oh yeah, a universal panhard rod kit from those same sources runs about $65. Again, you fit and mount.
I'm not telling anyone the have to cut thier springs, nor am I telling anyone not to buy aftermarket. What I am telling people is the truth, the facts and one way of doing things
that works, assuming you can walk and chew bubblegum. I am also telling you that the aftermarket ain't saving you anything, except maybe time, if you do it yourself. And you gotta
ask if that extra $100 you're gonna spend for those fancy named springs is worth the 10 minutes your gonna save over cutting your own?
Steve
