Who has cut their H&R Race or IE3 springs?

[PhillyG]

H&R race cost what, $300-350 new? you can get a ground control spring/adjuster kit for $400 and drop it as low as you want. Why even bother cutting springs? Sell them to a SpecE30 guy who can actually use them.

and I'm not saying this because I think it's neccesarily bad or dangerous - I just don't get the point when fully adjustable ride height is affordable.

The GC kit doesn't go THAT low. Unless you do some serious strut modification.

But let me see, cut a coil for free, or spend 400 dollars. I'll take option A.

[nando]

you can get any spring length you want. you can easily go lower than any off the shelf spring.

lets see, do it the right way or half ass it? I guess we choose option B because this is R3v.

[PhillyG]

you can get any spring length you want. you can easily go lower than any off the shelf spring.

lets see, do it the right way or half ass it? I guess we choose option B because this is R3v.

I don't know though, I mean not everyones loaded. I couldn't justify dropping 800 on suspension when the car is worth 2x that. Maybe if I had like a mint 89 or something that was worth some money I could figure doing that.

Oh and sure you can pick your spring length but in the end to get real low you still need to make a custom perch for the adjuster to sit on.

[318isbmw]

Oh and sure you can pick your spring length but in the end to get real low you still need to make a custom perch for the adjuster to sit on.

All that means is to get someone w/ a welder to weld on the collar. Not a big deal at all. I've been saving for 3 years slowly and just rocking the Ireland's and I figure I'll sell them when I get done w/ the gc setup to recoop some of my loss, so in the end its not as expensive if you just don't modify yours and live w/ it for a bit while you save for the rest. I've modified coils before on old cars, and honestly, if there's a better more adjustable option, I don't see why not be patient and go the better route like nando is saying.

[nando]

I don't know though, I mean not everyones loaded. I couldn't justify dropping 800 on suspension when the car is worth 2x that. Maybe if I had like a mint 89 or something that was worth some money I could figure doing that.

Oh and sure you can pick your spring length but in the end to get real low you still need to make a custom perch for the adjuster to sit on.

didn't I just say the kit was $400? how did you get $800? you could sell your race's for $250-$300 to pay for most of it and have a better setup. how is that a bad idea?

[reelizmpro]

For the longest time, the only people who ran Ground Control suspension were track/auto X people who wanted a cheaper alternative to Grp N suspension and H&R Coilovers. Now, everybody and their mom with an E30 wants to get Ground Control. Even if the owner just wants to lower it for looks. I've seen the rear sleeves dig into the trailing arm causing cracks. Springs would also pop out on full extension or if the car was on a hoist. While you can run the front coilovers without cutting the perch, it looked stupid and required the perch be cut off and a new one welded to get more travel and lower drop. Who ever welds the strut not only has to make sure the height of the collar is pretty much the same but also be sure not use too much heat or they won't be able to get the shock insert in. Then you pretty much HAD to get camber plates at the same time. Some people don't care about adjustment, they just want a nice drop with some good stiff rates and forget about it. Some people don't care for linear springs on a street car and prefer progressive rate.

[Lof8]

IE3s are in my possession, there is no out of pocket $ to make the change and there is almost no down time. I love everything about my current setup but just want the front 1/2" lower. I'd rather take the shortcut getting there than switching out a bunch of hardware.

this is the exact discussion i didnt want in the thread. please leave it for other threads. thanks

[AndrewBird]

Just to clarify, cutting one dead coil off a spring will only lower it the thickness of the wire. You have to remember there will be no space at all between the coils when compressed.

[PhillyG]

IE3s are in my possession, there is no out of pocket $ to make the change and there is almost no down time. I love everything about my current setup but just want the front 1/2" lower. I'd rather take the shortcut getting there than switching out a bunch of hardware.

this is the exact discussion i didnt want in the thread. please leave it for other threads. thanks

We aren't arguing like cavemen. This is a civil conversation.

I got 800 from the 400 you will spend on billys or konis.

[nando]

We aren't arguing like cavemen. This is a civil conversation.

I got 800 from the 400 you will spend on billys or konis.

well unless you're running around on 20 year old boge shocks, you probably already have them. :p

[Thighs]

what the hell? if the man wants to cut his springs, let him. maybe he doesnt have the 400 bucks to spend and then have to wait for his old stuff to sell, only to get 300 of it back?

theres absolutely NOTHING wrong with cutting springs if its done evenly and not hurried and fucked up. i cant count the number of RACE cars i know of with cut springs, and i think that equipment standards on a race track are much more than what your average DD car is.

when cutting them, mark the spot where the first ACTIVE coil starts, not counting the dead/inactive coils. now you have a place to count off from. dont mess with cutting half coils, because then it will be unlikely that the spring will sit properly in the perch. measure one coil off of the spot that you marked, and then measure how far down the spring that is (i.e. how much spring length you are cutting off). add this and the thickness of the wire of the dead coils (that is if they actually bind on one another as opposed to coiling up into the inside of the spring), and thats how much drop you will get from one coil. now take that measurement and figure out whether you wanna cut 1, 2, 3, or whatever coils, and thats how much it will drop the car.

[PhillyG]

Hey chill out mang.

I can't say I am not running around on 20 yearold boges. :(

[SpecM]

I can't say I am not running around on 20 yearold boges. :(

me too :shame

I'm cutting my fronts and slappling on a combo of used Billy Sports on the front and HDs in the back

screw it

[Lof8]

what the hell? if the man wants to cut his springs, let him. maybe he doesnt have the 400 bucks to spend and then have to wait for his old stuff to sell, only to get 300 of it back?

theres absolutely NOTHING wrong with cutting springs if its done evenly and not hurried and fucked up. i cant count the number of RACE cars i know of with cut springs, and i think that equipment standards on a race track are much more than what your average DD car is.

when cutting them, mark the spot where the first ACTIVE coil starts, not counting the dead/inactive coils. now you have a place to count off from. dont mess with cutting half coils, because then it will be unlikely that the spring will sit properly in the perch. measure one coil off of the spot that you marked, and then measure how far down the spring that is (i.e. how much spring length you are cutting off). add this and the thickness of the wire of the dead coils (that is if they actually bind on one another as opposed to coiling up into the inside of the spring), and thats how much drop you will get from one coil. now take that measurement and figure out whether you wanna cut 1, 2, 3, or whatever coils, and thats how much it will drop the car.

thanks for a relevant and helpful response.:D

[optimusp517]

how much lower does taking out front springs pads give?