I had some cut sport springs, and it was the second most horrible ride ever.
Most horrible ride ever was the 1995 mustang gt with cut stock springs.
I always said they must have cut the springy part out.
LOL, funny !
It rides better than before. It had stock springs before. I bought the 1.6 drop Vogtlands. It wasnt low enough with the Vogtland 1.6 drop because its a v6. That said, I cut 7/8 off the front. I also replaced the struts/rear shocks, upper control arms and sway bar end links. It hasnt hit the sway bar like I see some people talking about. Those people have the bigger aftermarket sway bar, I believe. My tbird rides way better than I expected !!! It rides like a brand new car, nothing weird about it.
EDIT: Picture is rolling down the highway with full tank and two 18 inch wheels/with tires mounted, in the trunk (maybe 60+ lbs ?).
Ive cut my springs in my 90 SC. They are stock, but I like how the feel.
I need to lower the rear more, but Ill get to that when I replace/fix the brake system, shocks, wheels and tires.
Cutting springs is fine as long as you don’t overdo it(multiple full coils), I cut 3/4 coil from my old 1.25” Tokico springs to level out the front end a bit(ended up with a nice subtle rake), no adverse effects besides a slightly higher rate. It’s not just the V6, I find most aftermarket springs slightly nose up, my current Vogtland 1” drops seem to be about 1/4” higher in the front than rear just like the Tokicos did
One of the local hot rod shops uses a blow torch to heat the springs to lower the car. He doesn't cut them, just heats them and it sits down. He's pretty good at it too. For $100 he will lower say an inch, but if you want it lower a week later, just bring it back and he drops it more for free. Its a good way to test how low you want to go. It will ride decent enough for about 1 year. After that it gets too bouncy. I can't tell you how many people I know that have done theirs cars that way. I've driven them all and they all ride decent like I said, for about 1 year. The secret is to heat the bottom of the spring, like the second from the bottom coil. That coil then mashes against the lowest coil, so double coils on the bottom that act like solid metal spacers. The upper part of the coil weakens some, but its worsens with time and just rides like $#!T.
Funny, I would tell you cause I really don't like the guy...but honestly, his family has been in the hot rod business for generations. They've gotten national recongnition for several builds. As a matter of fact I seen his dads car up for auction from some big name person, or company that bought one of his cars. An old Henry J , tubed out with a a big block etc... They are pros ! Although I hate them, I have to to honest.
EDIT: I remember when they built this car, way back in 1995. It was more modern back then. Apparently someone bought it and was selling it at this aution. I just stumbled upon this a few weeks ago.
To add to what you said: heat destroys what makes a spring springy. So doing that ruins the springs in more ways than one. Plus it becomes a safety hazard because it can break.
If hes a national hot rod shop, he should know that, and know its one of the worst and least safe way to lower a car.
Heating the spring destroys the temper of the spring; without it, the metal twists back and forth at the heated spot until it fatigue cracks and breaks.
I hate to make an assumption, but I'd also hate to put the car together and have it be "nose up". Switching to aluminum heads, fiberglass hood and trunk relocation of battery will reduce the front end weight a bit, maybe 100# or so. Would I be wise to take a 1/2 of my 1.6" vogtlands right away?
I hate to make an assumption, but I'd also hate to put the car together and have it be "nose up". Switching to aluminum heads, fiberglass hood and trunk relocation of battery will reduce the front end weight a bit, maybe 100# or so. Would I be wise to take a 1/2 of my 1.6" vogtlands right away?
If you use poly isolators in the rear with the iron control arms you should definitely level it out, if not get a slight rake. Poly with Mark arms is exactly the same in height as iron arms and rubber isolators. I measured them back to back with the same 1” drop vogtlands
It should be pretty close to level or have a slight rake.
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