anyone cut their stock springs?

[03InThe11s]

i believe on my 96 1&1/4 coils were removed. a buddy of mine who had experince with it did mine (he owns a 96 mystic with a shm block, blower cams, a vortec puttin out 16 lbs boost, and 550+rwhp) i had no problems with it. we cut off a 1/4 coil at a time till we had exactly what i wanted. time consuming, but worth it. we are about to do my 03, and i will post results after its done.

 

[jmimac351]

Originally posted by CobraBob
Do you really believe that a stock cut spring has the same characteristics as a lowered aftermarket spring? If so, more power to you! :rollseyes

Bob, he didn't say that. And your question is a little bazaar. Do you really believe that a stock "non-cut" spring has the same characteristics as a "lowered" (what ever that means) aftermarket spring? Of course not.

Why not?

Because they are different springs with different rates. They never were the same, and never will be the same. It follows that a "stock cut spring" never was, nor will be the same as an aftermarket spring.

If what you are trying to say is that cutting the spring keeps the spring from working properly you are wrong. It changes the way it works, not whether it does.

Bob, I like most of your posts. But you are out of your league on this.

Jim

 

[Black306]

Personally, I've messed with cutting springs on my '90, '00 GT, and '03 Cobra, and I've also messed with cut springs on friends cars too. Good rule of thumb that I use is not to cut more than 1-coil. Anymore than that, you'll increase the spring rate too much and thats when you get the bouncy ride. So for people that don't want the 4x4 look, give cutting springs a try. If you want an in-the-weeds look, buy aftermarket springs.

As far as it being "dangerous," I don't buy that. OK, it can be dangerous if you cut too much (over 1-coil IMO) and have it REALLY screw up the handling. But if you cut a 1/2 coil to drop it a bit, I don't see any danger in that. Do you think the spring is going to crack or break in some way? I HIGHLY doubt that.

 

[03DOHC]

Originally posted by Black306
Personally, I've messed with cutting springs on my '90, '00 GT, and '03 Cobra, and I've also messed with cut springs on friends cars too. Good rule of thumb that I use is not to cut more than 1-coil. Anymore than that, you'll increase the spring rate too much and thats when you get the bouncy ride. So for people that don't want the 4x4 look, give cutting springs a try. If you want an in-the-weeds look, buy aftermarket springs.

As far as it being "dangerous," I don't buy that. OK, it can be dangerous if you cut too much (over 1-coil IMO) and have it REALLY screw up the handling. But if you cut a 1/2 coil to drop it a bit, I don't see any danger in that. Do you think the spring is going to crack or break in some way? I HIGHLY doubt that.

Shouldn't you also use a different shock for the different spring behavior?

 

[Black306]

Originally posted by 03DOHC
Shouldn't you also use a different shock for the different spring behavior?

Oh yea, I would. Fox body struts/shocks seem to be more prone to bounciness (IE valved softer) than newer Mustangs. They start to exhibit bounciness at about 3/4-coil. 99+ shocks (excluding Cobras) seem to be OK at 3/4-7/8 coil (at 1-coil, they start to exhibit bounciness.) Either way you go (cut springs or aftermarket springs), I would get aftermarket shocks/struts. :-D

 

[Silver 03 Cobra]

3/4's off the rear and 1/2 off the front will give you about an even 1.5 inch wheel gap front to back.

Another thing about buying aftermarket springs where once again a manufacturer just adds "03 Cobra" to the part number assuming it's the same as a 99/01 Cobra. We all know the front of the 03 weighs 160 pounds more. With my Eibachs the front is too darn low especially when you look at the back. If I didn't have the 315's I would ber very disappointed in the look. The 315's and the rear up in the air gives the car and old school look. They are doing road construction near my home and there is a hump where they stopped construction. I go to work early so it's dark and I forgot about the hump. With the Eibachs on the front the hump will nearly knock the fillings loose from my teeth. You will be disappointed with some aftermarket springs. I think the BBK and KB springs will do the same thing. I think the H&R springs are actually a higher rate spring since they are really intended to slam the car so they want them stiffer. The added weight on the front of the 03 will not affect them as much.

 

[saadcobra]

The problem is that when you cut the spring after using it some of the spring comes lower than the other, so you don’t see the car balance. And you will buy lowered aftermarket spring = balance.

 

[jmimac351]

Originally posted by saadcobra
The problem is that when you cut the spring after using it some of the spring comes lower than the other, so you don’t see the car balance. And you will buy lowered aftermarket spring = balance.

Saad, anyone that actually has experience with this knows that that is not always the case.

1) Aftermarket springs do not always perfectly "balance" the car. All cars are different. It is not uncommon to install aftermarket springs in a car and the result be a slightly uneven stance. Nothing is perfect.

2) When you cut springs it only makes sense to be conservative. You can take the advice (and experience :idea: ) of others like Silver03Snake who have done this on this particular car and start short of the lengths he cut off. See if you like it. If not, trim a little more to get the stance you want. This assumes you have actually worked on cars before and understand what you are doing.

Saying that aftermarket springs always provide a "balanced" ride height and implying that it is not possible to get that result by cutting springs, is wrong.

Jim

 

[Silver 03 Cobra]

Do a search and see how many uneven problems some people are having with Eibachs and it isn't because of the BS excuse Eibach gives for preloading the lower control arm bushing by over torquing the pivot bolt :rollseyes .

 

[saadcobra]

I had cut my spring in my old ford and face this problem and I have to put rubber under the spring which is lower than the other so it rises and it to become same the other side

 

[trey193]

Mine sits a touch higher than WS6's does, I snipped very little off mine and have noticed no loss in ride whatsoever, and get compliments of the way the car sits all the time, I also thought the car may not hook as well being lowered, since the cut springs it has gone a 1.51 60ft and hooks better on the street as well. Like I said before cut springs arent for everyone, but if not hacked all to hell in these cars you notice no ride difference and reap the benefits of look. I was told directly from a friend @ SVT that cutting the springs on these cars will not result in ride loss as others would mainly because of the Bilsteins.