I decided to get rid of the stink bug stance by cutting the rear springs. I brought it down by close to an inch and it now matches the front.
I used this info on how to cut the springs.
https://www.eatondetroitspring.com/cutting-coil-springs/ (https://www.eatondetroitspring.com/cutting-coil-springs/)
I got started by measuring the ride height front and rear and got to removing the rear springs. It's crazy how easy it is to remove the springs
(https://i.imgur.com/hZWaryhh.jpg)
I measured the spring and determined around 1/3 of a coil needed to be removed and got to cutting.
(https://i.imgur.com/RGq3gCwh.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/ornt3HKh.jpg)
Got the springs back in and all done within an hour. Took the car for a ride and noticed no appreciable difference in ride quality but the looks are much better.
(https://i.imgur.com/EwnCRXDh.jpg)
some may think this is ghetto but it's a free way to get better looks and you get to keep the ride quality of stock.
You completely changed the properties of the spring...I'm surprised people still do this
Quote from: ajpturbo on August 29, 2015, 08:40:38 AM
You completely changed the properties of the spring...I'm surprised people still do this
According to the posted article, it should stiffen the spring a tad which is probably a good thing.
It does look good, we have the right spring to cut, and the correct method was used to cut it.
Good info in the write up for those frustrated with our lack of suspension options.
With moderation cutting a spring is just fine. I cut half a coil off of my H&Rs and love it.
Good job 92BlackGT looks much better.
How much of a drop did u get in the rear?
it was just under an inch drop.
make sure you mark your headlight cutoff before you lower the car to make it easy to readjust the headlights!
Ok... That seems like a better option than just running H&R springs in the rear only
Definetly looks great on there 92BlackGT,guess with the limited potential of suspension components available,surely makes this a cheap alternative without compromise, Z
Fantastic post. I've only had my SHO for about 3 weeks and the downward dog position drives me nuts.
I'm taking a road trip this month and will see how it sits once fully loaded for a week trip with our kid. If the ass doesn't drop down much I will surely be cutting some coil off. I just don't want to do this mod then when we take road trips the ass is on the ground.
Does this cause any issues with droop/noise when going into driveways? I'm assuming I would need to get an alignment after words to make sure everything is still within spec. Is the spring loose in there at full droop?
Looks like all you did was remove the lower control arm where it meets the knuckle. What torque was the bolt re-installed to?
I just got back from a 1500 mile road trip. I had the trunk loaded with 4 cases of Yuengling and our luggage and the rear was a bit lower but it never bottomed out and the ride was as smooth as stock. I've never had any weird noises or bangs on speed bumps, driveways or uneven bridge/roadways on the interstate.
Only 4 cases???
Quote from: SHOdded on September 08, 2015, 07:03:41 AM
Only 4 cases???
yea, this time. I still have some from my last bootleg of 8 cases
Quote from: 92BlackGT on September 08, 2015, 06:59:24 AM
I just got back from a 1500 mile road trip. I had the trunk loaded with 4 cases of Yuengling and our luggage and the rear was a bit lower but it never bottomed out and the ride was as smooth as stock. I've never had any weird noises or bangs on speed bumps, driveways or uneven bridge/roadways on the interstate.
Have you ever had their ice cream?
Apparently they started making that to get them through prohibition and it is fantastic, just found it at Sams club
Yuengling black and tan ice cream FTW!
I see Greenbelt Co-op and Weis supermarkets near me carry the icecream. I'll try it, if I don't like it, there'll be hell to pay!!!
http://www.yuenglingsicecream.com/ice-cream-near-me (http://www.yuenglingsicecream.com/ice-cream-near-me)
Salted caramel and chocolate.....how could that go wrong?
Interesting way to go. Do people complain about scraping with H&Rs? I'd like to adjust my ride height as well but I don't want to relive the days of driving my lowered mustang cobra.
Quote from: FoMoCoSHO on September 08, 2015, 09:16:26 AMHave you ever had their ice cream?
Apparently they started making that to get them through prohibition and it is fantastic, just found it at Sams club
Yuengling black and tan ice cream FTW!
whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!? ice cream? i did not know that. unfortunately the closest I can get any Yuengling product is Memphis :(
Quote from: Blackhawk on September 08, 2015, 10:58:22 AM
Interesting way to go. Do people complain about scraping with H&Rs? I'd like to adjust my ride height as well but I don't want to relive the days of driving my lowered mustang cobra.
i've read that the ride is noticeably stiffer than stock. It took the cutting route really as an experiment and to save some money. If it was a failed experiment I would have gotten some PP springs or H&R's but so far i'm liking just the rear drop
Quick question. Did you by chance measure the amount of coil cut off?
I have the PP and want to do exactly this to my SHO. Seems like since the springs are linear they would get a tad softer by cutting some off since you're loosing spring material essentially weakening them ?? My PP springs are already pretty stiff.
Did you have to realign after this ?
Quote from: 68_GT on October 27, 2015, 08:30:32 AM
I have the PP and want to do exactly this to my SHO. Seems like since the springs are linear they would get a tad softer by cutting some off since you're loosing spring material essentially weakening them ?? My PP springs are already pretty stiff.
Did you have to realign after this ?
It actually makes them stiffer. Less metal to bend/flex. Technically yes, you should. I plan to do one after I trim mine down just a little bit too.
I have H&Rs on my car now and have the funny stance as well and was thinking of cutting of more coil to even out the back as well...my question is without taking them off and looking myself, isn't there a groove the spring sits in and if you cut more coil but not a complete coil it will not sit in those grooves ??? I could be wrong but to lazy to pull them off to look
the top of the spring is squared, or flattened, so the spring can be spun in any direction and still sit correctly. the bottom of the spring is the side you cut so you'd turn the spring until it sits in the bottom groove correctly.
Was a spring press needed for the rear? Also, how are the headlights adjusted exactly? I would really like to do this, the a$$ up look is killing me.
Edit* Headlamp adjustment is in the owners manual. Springs don't appear to need compressed either.
correct, no spring compressor required. it's super easy
I cut 1/3 of a coil off my rear spring just like he did except with a cut off wheel (the springs didn't get hot at all). My PP springs didn't lower it as much though with only 1/3 coil removed. I might cut off a little more. Possibly 1/2 of a coil to begin with cut off would even the tire / wheel well gaps on a PP.
we'll see. Couldn't tell any other difference with the car other than a little lower rear ride height.
i did the same thing and cut a little less then 1/2 a coil off my H&Rs now it sits level...you wont notice a difference in ride quality u cut the "dead" coil side ( the side thats already crushed flat and compressed with the car on the ground so its basically not changing the travel of the usable portion of the spring...the fronts a different story, it uses the whole spring it has no "dead" section
Quote from: 68_GT on February 04, 2016, 03:29:38 PM
I cut 1/3 of a coil off my rear spring just like he did except with a cut off wheel (the springs didn't get hot at all). My PP springs didn't lower it as much though with only 1/3 coil removed. I might cut off a little more. Possibly 1/2 of a coil to begin with cut off would even the tire / wheel well gaps on a PP.
we'll see. Couldn't tell any other difference with the car other than a little lower rear ride height.
Good to know. My PP has the ass in the air like crazy. I'll bet its 2" higher than the front.
Finally did this today. I had to buy an angle grinder with a cutting blade but with that it was super easy. I cut a hair over the 1/3 coil and the rear sits slightly lower but if fine with me. I don't see why everyone doesn't do this.
Quote from: Vortech347 on September 25, 2015, 03:37:20 AM
Quick question. Did you by chance measure the amount of coil cut off?
Anyone?
I went with the OP's measurement plus about 1/2" more of coil.
so, my car has been riding on the cut springs for about 6 months now with two 1500+ mile road trips and everything is still great. it still rides like stock, it has never bottomed out, the shocks still control the ride just fine.
for the others that have cut their springs, how is everything going for you?
Once weather gets nice I can't wait to get this done. The more I look at my car in parking lots the more I cringe seeing that huge ass up fender gap.
I would like to do this but I'm a little worried about getting the stance correct.
I think OP's car looks perfect.....dropped that ass end down while retaining a bit of the rake, which I like.
I would also love to do this to the MKS, lots of extra gap on the rear wheels!
Anybody notice the company mentioned in OP makes custom springs?
https://www.eatondetroitspring.com/products/vehicle-types/oe-replacement-springs/ (https://www.eatondetroitspring.com/products/vehicle-types/oe-replacement-springs/)
Just did this Saturday.
Holy sheeet it was easy. It took longer to jack up and lower the car than do the actual work. The total difference in front/rear fender gap between the wheel and fender was a massive 1.25"
Step 1. Jack it up, make sure not to be a dumb ass and use actual jackstands.
Step 2. Remove the wheels.
Step 3. Using a 15mm deep socket and 17mm box wrench remove the swaybar end links from the knuckle.
Step 4. Using your jack under the control arm to take the tension off the bolt, remove control arm to subframe bolt. (It helps to put some PB blaster on the exposed threads)
Step 5. Lower control arm with jack and remove spring.
Step 6. Drink some coke and watch a few minutes of Top Gear. (I'm a spoiled bastard with a flat screen in the garage.)
Step 7. With the spring secured in a vice I used a piece of wire and measured 5 inches of length then wrapped it around the outside of the coil then marked it. Then cut with an electric grinder, once cut spray exposed metal with gratuitous coatings of paint to prevent rust.
Step 8. Drink some more coke and play with the daughter for a little bit. Also go inside for pee break.
Step 9. Reinstall.... place the bottom end of the coil correctly oriented with the pigtail stop. Then raise the control arm/spring assembly slowly with the jack. Using a rubber mallet to "massage and direct" the control arm to going in.
Step 10. Go to daughter's play house in the back yard to retrieve the lower control arm bolt and Dewalt impact driver.
Step 11. Use a large diameter punch or steel stock to center the bushing so the bolt threads do not get FUBAR'd.
Step 12. Install said bolt and torque to 159ft-lbs. (I also used some red locktite as I noticed there was locking factory locking compound on it.
Step 13. Reinstall sway bar end link to knuckle, torque to 41ft-lbs.
Step 14. Reinstall wheels (torque lugs to 100ft-lbs) and laugh about how easy it was.
Taking 5" measured length of the coil worked PERFECT. Initially after driving around the block the car was then only 3/8ths higher in the rear. However after driving it around yesterday with a trunk full of guns and another person it settled a bit more. I'll go remeasure later but visually it looks dead nuts even maybe 1/4" higher in the rear.
Should have done this second day I had the car.
Ride quality is completely unaffected.
The picture in half the sun was after about 200 miles of driving. The other was right after I finished.
Step 8 makes sense except for one thing. Anyone with a TV in the garage should also have a bathroom there.
Quote from: Brucelinc on July 18, 2016, 12:35:38 PM
Step 8 makes sense except for one thing. Anyone with a TV in the garage should also have a bathroom there.
Its variable, if its a late night session the yard is always an option.
very nice!
Update, I've had multiple friends tell me it looks 10 times better and asked if I lowered it.
Nailed it! Thanks for the original write up.
Quote from: Vortech347 on July 19, 2016, 07:15:14 PM
Update, I've had multiple friends tell me it looks 10 times better and asked if I lowered it.
Nailed it! Thanks for the original write up.
Did you get a realignment? How much did the 5" coil removal lower the rear?
Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk
Getting an alignment is recommended. The amount of coil I removed lowered the rear about an inch.
I lowered mine about 3/4" The back end is still 3/4" higher than the front. Should give me enough "give" for when I have rear passengers or a trunk full of stuff for a road trip.
If you don't plan on any weight in the back. I think a full half coil would be better.
I took it to my friend's tire shop and he threw the car on the rack, mine was still in spec so we didn't make any changes.
Does the 5" take basically half a coil out? I'm considering this for sure. Let me know! I keep about 50-100 lbs in the trunk with gear. /9 3/4" lower is the rear is perfect. Thanks for this thread!
Welcome aboard Coop6 and here is a useful diagram on the rear springs. Z https://drive.google.com/file/d/1u3aNz_Uo3BWKp8gsZYLJKRUkD9Ziw_xwShgX85Jp9OziPRIN81ckWFVgikaBlwYvspZB-TccNmGMMd5L/view?usp=sharing
Looks easy compared to doing that job on the front of my Crown Vic
"Some my think it's getto" 😖what exactly do you mean by that?
Did you have to do a wheel alignment?
Thanks for the post.
Quote from: ZSHO on November 03, 2016, 10:29:43 PM
Welcome aboard Coop6 and here is a useful diagram on the rear springs. Z https://drive.google.com/file/d/1u3aNz_Uo3BWKp8gsZYLJKRUkD9Ziw_xwShgX85Jp9OziPRIN81ckWFVgikaBlwYvspZB-TccNmGMMd5L/view?usp=sharing
Thanks for that info! If I'd like the rear almost level, maybe 1/4" higher, how much coil should be cut?
Has anyone cut a little of the front coil with success? I just don't want to ruin the ride quality. I just don't want to go as low as the hr springs.
The only way to get an accurate amount to cut is to follow the instructions on the website linked in the first post and measure your spring.
You cannot cut the front Springs, they are squared on both ends
Quote from: coop6 on November 20, 2016, 07:36:37 PM
Quote from: ZSHO on November 03, 2016, 10:29:43 PM
Welcome aboard Coop6 and here is a useful diagram on the rear springs. Z https://drive.google.com/file/d/1u3aNz_Uo3BWKp8gsZYLJKRUkD9Ziw_xwShgX85Jp9OziPRIN81ckWFVgikaBlwYvspZB-TccNmGMMd5L/view?usp=sharing
Thanks for that info! If I'd like the rear almost level, maybe 1/4" higher, how much coil should be cut?
Has anyone cut a little of the front coil with success? I just don't want to ruin the ride quality. I just don't want to go as low as the hr springs.
Page 3.
Thank you!!!
7" cut,
Measuring 29 1/2 from ground to the fender
Looks great!
Did this yesterday. Was easy. Needs camber adjustment bolts. There is a little spring droop which means that at full extension, the spring is a bit loose compared to stock.
(http://polskifacet.dynu.com:55698/uploader/uploads/Pictures/SHO/Springs/spring1.jpg)
(http://polskifacet.dynu.com:55698/uploader/uploads/Pictures/SHO/Springs/spring2.jpg)
(http://polskifacet.dynu.com:55698/uploader/uploads/Pictures/SHO/Springs/spring3.jpg)
(http://polskifacet.dynu.com:55698/uploader/uploads/Pictures/SHO/Springs/spring4.jpg)
Man, that looks so much better. I hate that the wifes car looks like it's rolling around in heat all the time with its butt up in the air.
Does anyone know if H&R springs are a smidge loose in the seat? Wondering about safety when jumping rail road tracks lol.
Quote from: polskifacet on June 30, 2017, 10:16:20 AM
Did this yesterday. Was easy. Needs camber adjustment bolts. There is a little spring droop which means that at full extension, the spring is a bit loose compared to stock.
(http://polskifacet.dynu.com:55698/uploader/uploads/Pictures/SHO/Springs/spring1.jpg)
(http://polskifacet.dynu.com:55698/uploader/uploads/Pictures/SHO/Springs/spring2.jpg)
(http://polskifacet.dynu.com:55698/uploader/uploads/Pictures/SHO/Springs/spring3.jpg)
(http://polskifacet.dynu.com:55698/uploader/uploads/Pictures/SHO/Springs/spring4.jpg)
You cut off a little more than I did. Do you have a the PP with stiffer springs? You should be able to get it aligned just fine.
Quote from: polskifacet on June 30, 2017, 01:13:42 PM
Does anyone know if H&R springs are a smidge loose in the seat? Wondering about safety when jumping rail road tracks lol.
The rear H&R spring out of the car are not much if any shorter than the stock spring. When installing mine I put them side by side and was surprised how close the height was. Visually just sitting on the garage floor you couldn't tell the difference in height.
Quote from: Heelfan1 on June 30, 2017, 08:38:56 PM
Quote from: polskifacet on June 30, 2017, 01:13:42 PM
Does anyone know if H&R springs are a smidge loose in the seat? Wondering about safety when jumping rail road tracks lol.
The rear H&R spring out of the car are not much if any shorter than the stock spring. When installing mine I put them side by side and was surprised how close the height was. Visually just sitting on the garage floor you couldn't tell the difference in height.
I'm guessing H&R uses a lower first rate in their progressive winding, so it sags further under load, but still provides a little preload when the suspension is fully extended.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
V347, how much did you cut off the springs?
I like the rear stance with the cut, but IMHO when this is done the front needs to come down a bit as well. Rear looks good but the entire stance is just not my cup of tea. Since the front springs don't qualify for a cut, looks like I'll be ordering H&R's for my 2011.