cut down car springs to balance out supension?? is it a wise idea?

Question

I have a car that was lowered using differnet springs to the standard ones

but sadly one broke and i couldn't get a replica spring to match the previous one...

so i put the standard ones on the front.. but now the front is higher than the rear suspension now and it looks silly,

the back has locked supension so its not possible to raise it up or replace..


so i was wondering is it possible to CUT DOWN THE SPRINGS on the front to lower the car to balance with the back ???? is this wise... what do i do ?? i have tried all car dealers and breakers but it is an import, so getting the parts is hard..

any help would be great... what to do..

The car is a japanese nissan serena FX 97 2litre petrol.

Answer 1

Cutting the springs is a bad and potentially dangerous idea. Lowering springs are not only shorter, they also stiffer than standard springs. If you cut the springs, you will have less recoil for there length. This will mean that your suspension will be weaker and more likely to bottom out, potentially damaging the car and wheels. This will also adversely affect the handling characteristics of your car. Even if you don't cut the springs, the car should not be driven with the softer standard springs on the front and the lowered, harder springs on the rear. With that setup, the car has a higher potential to oversteer (loose the back end when cornering)

Another reason not to cut the springs is because the springs will have been made with flattened ends so that they sit in position correctly. If you remove these flattened ends, the spring will not sit correctly, and could move out of position very easilly. If this were to happen, it could be very bad. Especially if the vehicle is in motion when it happens.

If you update your question and tell me what car it is, I may be able to help you find a suitable solution.

I hope this helps you.

Regards A.



Additional:

An austrailian company called King Springs have a kit that is compatible with your vehicle. You may want to give them a call and talk to them about it before you order anything. Another thing you might want to consider is whether it is worth going to all that trouble for a few mm's of drop. I would replace the standard suspension, as it will more than likely save to a lot of money and trouble. I understand that it puts you between a rock and a hard place, but it would never pass an MOT with mismatched suspension.

Here is the link for King Springs http://www.kingsprings.com/Default.htm

Good luck

Regards A.

Answer 2

It sounds like you are getting "wheel hop" now. If any shock absorbers are shot or any struts are leaking, new springs won't help much. The noise or vibration may also be due to some body part hitting a suspension part now with the shorter springs. Plus without enough spring the car will ride poorly and may react badly in a time when you have to react fast. A better option would have been to have someone who knows springs heat them to let them bend lower to achieve the lower height you wanted, rather than cutting them. Live and learn.

Answer 3

If you cut the spring don it will not be stiff enough to make up for the change in length therefore it will still have the same amount of travel with a smaller space betwween the wheel and the arch. This will cause it to rub.

A set of lowering springs for any car is about £60 so jus buy all new!

As for this answer...

"its highly dangerous to have the wrong springs on especially as your brake cables are in that area...... burn it out - it was stupid of you to buy it in the first place dumb **** - people like you shouldnt be on the roads"

the brake cables are in no qway affected by the height of your suspension. people like her should not be so opinionated towards things they dont understand!... sorry i had to!

Answer 4

That's just stupid. The car will bottom out. It's not a wise move. Shorter springs will have to be a harder rate to stop bottoming, so using the same springs only shorter will result in an eventual suspension failure. Try contacting custom spring manufacturers, like Eibach or similar.

Answer 5

road springs are only replaced in axle pairs to avoid unequal stresses causing failure of the older component similarly running with unmatch stresses front and rear will have the same result change to either all uprated or all standard dont mix n match several companies can obtain parts for japanese home market cars if spring kits not available in uk

Answer 6

If your going to use this vehicle on a off road banger race then no problem, however if for road use by cutting springs you will also be changing the steering geometry 'king pin inclination and castor angles' this in itself renders you as being in change of an unroadworthy vehicle and liable for prosecution. If you have a accident, especially a 'FATAC' all of the geometry will probably be checked out and you'll more than likely go to jail for causing death by dangerous driving, here in the UK that's minimum of 5 years. DONT do it matey.

Answer 7

No! Replace the rear end in the car with one that is functioning properly. If you cut the springs in front the tires will angle in and you will get short wear on all of your tires.

Answer 8

You would be better trying to get a pair of new front springs from somewhere as the standard springs will be too soft when cut down.
Or just get standard rear springs.

Answer 9

i would work out the size of your rear springs to the front and work out what it was lowered by, say 40/60mm and see if you can find any of the same size around. if not then find/buy some standard rear springs from a dealer/shop/scrapyard and then just buy a complete new set. hope that helps.

Answer 10

Go to a car breakers and get a full set of springs ,that way you know you are back to stand ed