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Location:
Canberra, Australia
Registered:
October 2002
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Chopped Springs
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Fri, 03 January 2003 09:12
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Hey everyone,
I've heard a lot of stories about chopped springs. However, I could never understand why it's bad.
I just wanna know the disadvantages in the following situations.
a) A poor person wants to lower his car, but does not have the cash. He takes to his springs with an angle grinder and chops 2 coils of the top of them.
b) A slightly wealthier person buys a second hand set of proper lowered springs but realises that the ride height still isn't low enough. Once again this person takes to the set with his grinder and chops and coil or two off the top.
What are the disadvantages in both of these instances?
Thanks
Jules
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I supported Toymods
Location:
south of the big smoke
Registered:
May 2002
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Location:
Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Chopped Springs
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Fri, 03 January 2003 11:21
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Since the shocks will not be the correct height in both cases, you will end up with the car riding on the bump stops. To do it properly you need to do the shocks too.
Watching a car move along like this, I refer to them as "wave riders", that is because they bounce along down the street in a forwards/backwards jumping motion like a wave.
The bad side is you will need to keep replacing bump stops. That is in addition to the crap ride you then get.
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Location:
Adelaide
Registered:
July 2002
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Re: Chopped Springs
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Sat, 04 January 2003 10:29
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lowering less than 30mm u won't need to replace shocks as there should be adequate travel in them providing u have stiffer springs ie not chopped,
if ur cutting springs cut from the bottom the top is flat so the strut top sits in nicely,
chopped springs tend to be bouncy as the spring rate is all stuffed up
to do the proper job u need to match the spring rate of the springs to the shocks and then have that all matched to your car ideally done by profesionals who weigh yur car on all four corners and then do the math but that cost big dollars but the handling improvent is second to none....you get what u pay for
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Location:
Sydney
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Chopped Springs
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Sat, 04 January 2003 23:00
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| Hunty wrote on Sat, 04 January 2003 21:29 |
if ur cutting springs cut from the bottom the top is flat so the strut top sits in nicely,
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just be carful here cause i've notice on the cressi the bottom of the rear springs actually wind in a smaller diameter so if you do this you just forced yourself to buy a set of king springs 
i had chopped mine and was not happy with the resaults and just went out and boughtsome king springs....cost me 260 for front and rear (not to bad huh???) with the higher spring rate and lower centre of gravity the cressi feels better than before
the back is still alittle tall i'm so tempted to take a coil out again
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I supported Toymods
Location:
Perth
Registered:
August 2002
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Re: Chopped Springs
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Sun, 05 January 2003 02:35
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for arguments sake... say a spring can take 500kg before bottoming out and you cut out a third of it... suddenly each spring can only support 330kg, and your car WILL bottom out on the bump stops
save your self the hassle and danger and just get some springs that are suited to your car
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Location:
Brisbane
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Chopped Springs
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Mon, 06 January 2003 01:01
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Actually, if you cut a coil off a spring it becomes stiffer, not softer. The main problem arises when you cut the spring too far and it's no longer "captive" in the spring seats. When this happens there's a very real danger the spring may fall out, which could obviously be a very bad thing when you're driving.
Springs are cheap, just buy new springs.
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Location:
Southern Sydney
Registered:
August 2002
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Re: Chopped Springs
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Mon, 06 January 2003 02:27
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It would depend if you cut the spring from the bottom or top if it became stiffer or softer.
As they are progressive rate they are stiffer at the top then the bottom.
You shouldn't cut from the top (or at all) as that end has the flat part to seat in the strut correctly. but if you did the spring would become softer.
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Location:
Hornsby, Sydney
Registered:
October 2002
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Re: Chopped Springs
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Mon, 06 January 2003 06:47
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if you've ever seen or heard of stories about chopped springs and want a desent car you should even consider this. the spring is designed to fill from top to the bottom of the strut tower or wishbone set up ( or set up you have) at full travel if you chop them they will jump you hitting something if not your car hiiting the ground.
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Location:
Montrose, VIC
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Chopped Springs
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Mon, 06 January 2003 08:21
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Look at it this way: If you want your car to drive slightly better and sit a bit lower, you go spend some $ on springs/shocks. If you want to look Fully Sik(tm), you spend $30 getting the springs chopped, and the $ you saved buying a large percentage of the Autometer catalogue, including the Big Ben sized tacho. Catch my 'drift'? 
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Location:
Adelaide
Registered:
July 2002
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Re: Chopped Springs
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Mon, 06 January 2003 16:19
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| Remedy wrote on Mon, 06 January 2003 12:57 |
As they are progressive rate they are stiffer at the top then the bottom.
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Since when are they progressive rate??? the standard ones in my rolla weren't prog. rate. Hell the new lowered ones in there now aren't even prog. rate. (They cost more  )
Maybe SOME new cars have prog. rate ones but definately not older models.
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Location:
Sydney
Registered:
November 2002
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Re: Chopped Springs
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Mon, 06 January 2003 17:39
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hey everybody where's a good cheap place in Syd to buy springs for an AE102?
I want to lower it about 1.5", no money for shocks yet 
Does anybody have an idea how the ride quality would feel for 1" lowered, 1.5" and 2" lowered in the ae102?
cheers!
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Location:
Southern Sydney
Registered:
August 2002
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Re: Chopped Springs
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Mon, 06 January 2003 21:07
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Place to buy springs:
Repco are a King Springs dealer....bout $140 a pair through them.
I was led to believe that all road cars must use a progressive rate spring. Perhaps this was introduced after your Corrola was built, however my ST162 Celica definetly had progressive rate springs and it used the same springs as a AE92 Corrola.
When I lowered it, progressive rate springs where the same price as non progressive (is there a better term for that?) through King Springs.
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