Stangrunner06

Many years ago when I was a kid, ( still am but the body doesn't know it) we used to cut the springs a coil at a time to lower front or rear, some guys even torched them to collapes them under weight but they found out later the temper was compromized on the spring and they would break/crack, so by using a cutoff wheel and die grinder they would cut a section of coil without compromize to the spring and got the lowering done. Anyone out there ever try on these cars? I want to swap out the stock ones on the rear to lower the point of gravity of my car to stop it from hopping on bumps in tight turns, every time I make an agressive hi speed turn on bumpy curve, the *** end kicks out. I want the ROUSH rear springs to lower the car, so if anyone can respond on handling after an *** drop or if anyone has CUT springs I would appreciate some feed back. Body roll is not an issue, I got Hellwig Rear sway bar and GT front sway bar not to mention the shi--y stock tires but money is an issue and the cheapest out is springs depending on feed back.

dmhines

I was considering cutting the springs also .. but the last loop on the spring is a smaller diameter than the rest of the spring so I don't think it could be installed properly ..

oi8achevy

ive cut a lot of springs in my day and it usually ends up being a bigger hassle than its worth on a tapered spring. save some headache and get a set of aftermarkets.

dmhines

I hear yah ... I picked up a set of Roush Rears ... being installed soon to level off the stance ...

Norm Peterson

My guess is that Stangrunner06 doesn't have enough shock damping back there, especially with that Hellwig sta-bar. Stick axles are going to hop around a bit on bumpy turns anyway, and stiffening either the springs or the bar usually just makes things worse. Shock damping, particularly rebound damping, tends to quiet what is essentially a low-frequency vibration. I'm also guessing that the now-flatter cornering has encouraged harder driving in order to enjoy it.

Best advice I can offer is to give Sam Strano at stranoparts a call (he's a fairly new member here, but he knows a lot about making shocks work for you).


Norm
still a kid, too

Stangrunner06

Hey Norm,
Thank God!! Another kid! So you think if I drop the *** end about 1" and soften the shocks with wider tires might work? The tires are gonna have to wait,( Might loose job, Plant closure) and If I don't have to get rid of car because of it, I will try the shocks. Im trying to get info so I can continue pulling 3 g's on highway entrance ramps without rear end kickout. And yea , my turning is a little more agressive than my Camry beater, but who could resist?? My wife is still recovering from the last one!!!

Norm Peterson

Ride height by itself won't affect axle hop much - the CG height of the sprung weight doesn't affect that weight itself, which is what the axle "pushes off of" during rebound (wheel moving down relative to the chassis).

But there will be some effects that are less obvious. Axle roll steer and anti-squat will change as ride height changes. Unfortunately, anticipating what those effects might do requires knowing where all of the rear suspension pivot points are located and (for me at least) inputting them into a spreadsheet. The short story is that the lower rear ride height will add a little understeer, or at least quicken the rate at which it builds. Anti-squat effects are less clear (plotted against ride height you can get a straight line correlation, a curve, or even an "S"-shape), and this would primarily affect the "accelerating out of the turn" phase. And because anti-lift is tied to anti-squat, braking or sharp engine deceleration on turn entry would also be affected.

I wouldn't add any more rear spring stiffness without adding more spring and/or bar up front. I don't have enough information to figure out how your total lateral load transfer is distributed, but it already sounds like there's too much going to the rear as it is. And a more rearward lateral load transfer distribution (LLTD) is in the "loose" direction.

I really think the solution - if there is one - involves shock damping. I'm guessing less bump damping combined with more rebound damping.


Norm