cut springs

[larryn2o]

so I'm cheep! in the past i would heat the coils at the base of the spring. this lets the second coil drop an inch onto the bottom coil. lowers the car about 2 inches and stops further dropping later. this time i think I'll cut them to get the drop and stiffen them some. has anyone done this? any idea of amount of drop?

also is there a way to stiffen the front sway bar? i have a TRD rear one but would like to tighten up the front a bit? i don't see an oversize front bar.

thanks
larry

[SAV912]

I'm telling you this as honestly and considerately as I can.

THAT IS A HORRIBLE IDEA. DO NOT NOW NOR UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES CUT SPRINGS.

I got my TRD springs for less than $100 and popped 'em in myself. Dropped the car nearly 2 full inches, and maintains the safety and stability it originally came with, not to mention you'll get laughed out of the dealership should you need any warranty work.

Dropped stock springs will literally do nothing good for handling. Yes, it'll sit lower but they'll still be softer, you'll bottom out more, and the other handling upgrades you may have such as the TRD rear torsion bar will be negated or at the very least, not used to their full potential.

Take that with a one-ton grain of salt. If you choose to proceed, go right ahead. But to my knowledge, nobody here has just flat cut the stock springs.

-SAV

[severous01]

i wont be so considerate. keep your ideas to yourself.

hahaha...that's funny...cutting springs. wow, that's some back yard BS there.

now, in order to lower a car, you need to get lowering springs....not some re-engineered wishing it was cheaper...wanna-be, spring cuttin round here.

[jpmck03]

I'm not into suspension work at all, but I do know this:

Cutting your springs is a horrible idea.

[big lo]

Talk about dum ideas, and being cheap don't do it, look on ebay or just go to Microimageonline.com for set of spring instead

[larryn2o]

gee , is do it your self dead? I'm a bit old school . i don't hotrod with a credit card.
in case anyone cares cutting a coil spring will increase it's stiffness.

[Brian]

in case anyone cares cutting a coil spring will increase it's stiffness.

No it won't. It just has less material to compress so you think the stiffness has increased.

[SAV912]

Cutting a coil spring decreases the amount of travel you have from top to bottom. That's ALL it does. The metal doesn't get stiffer, the coils aren't wound any tighter, and the only thing that increases is the bounciness of the ride and the scrapes on the bottom of your car.

Being old school /= being cheap and dangerous with modifications.

I'm TELLING you, even a set of brand new properly manufactured lowering springs will be less than $200, and much less THAN THAT if you buy used or shop around sensibly. You can honor your "old school DIY" part by putting them in yourself. Easy as pie, took me less than 2 hours.

I'll even be nice and post some before and afters:
Stock springs:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f53/SAVdub/Toyota%20Yaris/000_0077.jpg

TRD springs:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f53/SAVdub/Toyota%20Yaris/100_5895.jpg

And the TRD springs have since settled and dropped another half inch on top of that! But hey, you're gonna do what you're gonna do, however asinine and ill-advised it is.

-SAV:drinking:

[larryn2o]

nice car! I'm not looking for that much drop. maybe an inch . I'll post some pic's when it warms up enough to work on the car. if i don't like the results then i'll buy some aftermarket springs. most of my cars are ongoing projects , my buggy started out as a 1959 VW , it's been revised a FEW times since i built it in 1976.


heres a link if y'all want to play with spring rates.
http://www.swayaway.com/calculators/swayawayCalc.php#step10

[annn]

Used lowering springs would be very cheap and and much wiser way to go...last guys I know who "cut/heated" springs were guys I know from the 60s who did this because they had no other option now that they do ,all will say don't cut or heat .

[matthewai]

if u like hearing a loud "bong" noise on every bump you hit then do it. me im more into other types of bongs though

[MUSKOKA800]

so I'm cheep! in the past i would heat the coils at the base of the spring. this lets the second coil drop an inch onto the bottom coil. lowers the car about 2 inches and stops further dropping later. this time i think I'll cut them to get the drop and stiffen them some. has anyone done this? any idea of amount of drop?

also is there a way to stiffen the front sway bar? i have a TRD rear one but would like to tighten up the front a bit? i don't see an oversize front bar.

thanks
larry

I think you've heard enough about spring cutting so I'll hold my opinion there.
Regarding tightening the front end. A stiffer front bar will do the opposite. Some guys here are disconnecting the front sway-bar for auto-cross to get more front bite. There are also 22mm rear swaybars available which will tighten the front end more the the 19mm bar (TRD is 19mm). MicroImage has the 22mm Ultra (discribed as being for track use) as well as the 19mm Ultra street bar. Plenty here use the 22mm version for street and love it.
I may even add one to my tuning inventory.

[djct_watt]

If you're looking for cheap performance, you should also look into reducing weight. . .

Start with the interior panels you don't need, then the dash, the seats, seat belts, airbags, headliner, stereo, spare tire, A/C, and power steering. To match the sheer awesome of your cut springs, you should also remove the headlights, tail lights, mirrors, the steering wheel, master cylinder, brakes, fans, fluids, coolant, doors, wheels (unsprung weight FTL), hood, hatch, transmission, oh and the engine too.

[xxae07xx]

lol at all you nay sayers. i didnt cut my stock springs but i did CUT my tanabes, AND my skunk2s. DUN DUN DUN. I dont scrape anymore than any other lowered car. Ive had this done for over 2 years and no problems. i even track my car with them. so call it "backyard bs" if you want, i call it INGENUITY.

[djct_watt]

^ if you want to look slammed. . . I could understand that. But saying that it stiffens the springs and improves performance is like "performance" blinker fluid.

[larryn2o]

lol at all you nay sayers. i didnt cut my stock springs but i did CUT my tanabes, AND my skunk2s. DUN DUN DUN. I dont scrape anymore than any other lowered car. Ive had this done for over 2 years and no problems. i even track my car with them. so call it "backyard bs" if you want, i call it INGENUITY.

how much did you cut them , any idea the spring rate? i only want to drop the rear a bit so the car stops looking like a rabbit . not so far as to mess up the camber or reduce the travel. stiff & noisy I'm OK with but ride height needs to stay close to stock.

the next step is wider stock wheels with hubcaps and cutting the stock muffler open to put in a glass-pack.

[xxae07xx]

i believe i cut them about an inch. you can always start by cutting 1/2" and if you want more then cut more. idk stock spring rates but tanabes are 2.2 rear and skunk2s are 6.2. i say go for it. and if for some reason you mess up or dont like it pm me. i still have my stock springs that you can have if you pay for shipping. theyre just taking up space

[20104dr]

i believe i cut them about an inch. you can always start by cutting 1/2" and if you want more then cut more. idk stock spring rates but tanabes are 2.2 rear and skunk2s are 6.2. i say go for it. and if for some reason you mess up or dont like it pm me. i still have my stock springs that you can have if you pay for shipping. theyre just taking up space

Were did u cut from top or bottom of dfs cuz i am in desparate need of cutting my springs. I tried goin lower with the leave in clamps but not very successful. I do not want to spend a whole bunch of cash on coilovrs. Imo this car is not worth it. I have dfs that r in desparate need to b cut!!!

[SAV912]

No springs are ever in desperate need of being cut. If you already have lowering springs, then live with it at that level. If you want to go lower, your options are coilovers, airbags, or cement blocks. Or fat bitches.

I honestly can't believe that one person says it and all a sudden it's a legit, okay thing to do.

[20104dr]

To each their own. Easier n cheaper to cut then to spend ovr grand to lowr a car. Especially a yaris. I wud considr coilovrs if i had a sports car/sedan with alot more powr than 105hp. All for show no go!!!

[Viperoni]

No springs are ever in desperate need of being cut. If you already have lowering springs, then live with it at that level. If you want to go lower, your options are coilovers, airbags, or cement blocks. Or fat bitches.

I honestly can't believe that one person says it and all a sudden it's a legit, okay thing to do.

Cutting a coilover spring is a legit thing to do.
Cutting ANY spring WILL increase its spring rate.

Cutting the pigtail off a stock spring is usually not the best thing to do.

Heating any spring is just plain dumb.

[Yaristeve]

In general, there is NOTHING wrong with cutting springs. Spring rates are a function of wire diameter, coil diameter, and number of coils. Cutting the coil WILL stiffen the spring inversely propotionally to the number of coils cut. As some old-timers (and I am one) have said, back in the day, cutting coils was often the only way to lower cars. I have cut my share of springs and never had a problem. You can't just go cutting willy-nilly; it takes careful consideration.

HOWEVER, having said that, Yaris springs, from the pictures I've seen, cannot be cut because the coil diameters are not uniform throughout the length of the spring. IIRC, the coils get smaller at the ends. If you cut these end coils, the springs will not sit in the seats correctly. and besides, as yet others have said, loering springs are available so you might as well use those...

[johnny_vitz]

The issue is when people cut springs with a torch. You should never heat a spring to make it sag, or cut with a torch. A friend heated his back in highschool and two weeks later one blew apart and took out his tire.

20104dr - You have a brand new car and you don't think it's worth $200 to buy a set of nice springs for it? :iono:

[20104dr]

The issue is when people cut springs with a torch. You should never heat a spring to make it sag, or cut with a torch. A friend heated his back in highschool and two weeks later one blew apart and took out his tire.

20104dr - You have a brand new car and you don't think it's worth $200 to buy a set of nice springs for it? :iono:

i have dfs but not low enuf for me. i was talkin bout buying coilovers. i wud nevr torch them.

[TEHxFALLEN V1.2]

You can go low on the cheap; just strategically place sandbags all over your car until you've reached your desirable ride height. Voila.

[xxae07xx]

For sure don't use a torch. I used a grinder and then painted the exposed end

[larryn2o]

i found some circle track springs at the speed shop, cut them to get an inch of drop AND they are stiffer. so the car doesn't bottom out when i pull a trailer. may not change the front as the car sits level now.

thanks for the input
Larry