Cutting aftermarket springs

D

david

Member
Location
mississippi
I want to get a set of lowering springs for my fx. I keep reading to cut a half coil off of the spring and to cut the rear spring mount to go lower. Also it says for the cut to be a "cold cut " - what does that mean exactly?? I know that is probably a dumb question. What would i use to cut it with? Does anyone have the measurement of the piece you cut off?
I am still deciding between H&R & Eibach. Is one better than the other for cutting??
 
david said:
I want to get a set of lowering springs for my fx. I keep reading to cut a half coil off of the spring and to cut the rear spring mount to go lower. Also it says for the cut to be a "cold cut " - what does that mean exactly?? I know that is probably a dumb question. What would i use to cut it with? Does anyone have the measurement of the piece you cut off?
I am still deciding between H&R & Eibach. Is one better than the other for cutting??
Click to expand...

Hey David, whats up?

check out these two links:

The Drop Thread (What's your drop?) - InfinitiScene.com

Infiniti FX Lowering Springs - InfinitiScene.com

a lot of info there you might be able to use.

:iS:
 
Thanks for the links, but I have read about every post on this site even before i got a fx (6months ago)That is where i got the idea to cut half a coil. "And heard cold cut" still not sure what that means though
 
cold cut means don't use a torch to make the cut, use a hacksaw, cut off-wheel(air tool) or even the edge of a grinder, no cut with heat (IE: torch)

measurement is not so critical, the spring is round, so just disect it in half for your cut, follow 180 degrees from the factory end, a ruler or a rod of some sort helps to give a visual, make your first cut by eye & then duplicate that exactly on the other one by using the first as a guide

eibachs are thought to give slightly more drop out of the box, but also ride stiffer out of the box, I went with h&r's & cut & I'd like to think that the h&r cut rides about as stiff as an out of the box eibach... how acurate that is I'm not sure of, but should be pretty close to acurate. it's also pretty safe to assume that a cut eibach wil be stiffer than a cut h&r..., I would recomend the h&r's over the eibachs weather cutting or not personally, the h&r's ride better than the eibachs acording to everything I've read, but I haven't actually owned both for side to side comparisons either really, so this is probably more opinion than fact although I beleive it to be acurate...
 
judging from ///1605&highlight=drop I think 1/2 coil should give about 1/2" drop, I'm just guessing that judging others stock H&R measures vs my cut H&R measure...
 
turbo, do you think 3/4 of a coil may be too much? Just got my H&R's and am about to cut them. Also, is an angle grinder with cut-off wheel fine to use?
 
I thought about it, but the spring fits a little on the loose side with the 1/2coil even, not enough to shift out of place though... 3/4 coil it might... if it does the spring is junk unless you go welding tabs to the strut ear to keep it from falling out of place when jacked up.... it could work or it might not...a bit of a risk to try it I'd say

angle grinder with a metal cut off wheel is perfect, make sure both sides are cut the same, cut the first one then use that piece to show the same spot to cut the other
 
Cool...thanks, 1/2 coil it is then.

turbocad6 said:
I thought about it, but the spring fits a little on the loose side with the 1/2coil even, not enough to shift out of place though... 3/4 coil it might... if it does the spring is junk unless you go welding tabs to the strut ear to keep it from falling out of place when jacked up.... it could work or it might not...a bit of a risk to try it I'd say

angle grinder with a metal cut off wheel is perfect, make sure both sides are cut the same, cut the first one then use that piece to show the same spot to cut the other
Click to expand...
 
Just did 1/2 coil on the fronts but my next question is...

What is the benefit in cutting the rear rubber spring mount rather then cutting the rear spring itself?
 
i would assume that when shortening the mount, you are getting the same effect as cutting the spring, but people feel better cutting rubber rather than metal. also, i guess if you can only cut the spring so much, then cutting the mount allows more drop.
 
to cut a spring it has to be a continuous coil end, in other words it should be an end of a spring that just coils & coils & then just ends... a coil end like that is OK to cut cause the end will still be the same shape no matter where it's cut. a formed end is not a good thing to cut, because then the end will be different after the cut & will sit different. on the rears both ends are formed, so you really shouldn't cut it if possible. the bottom end is only a slight formed, just a gradual kick towards the end, but this makes the spring sit right in the lower pocket, if you cut it the end will sit different. cutting the mount doesn't change anything of the way the spring sits & it gives enough to match the front 1/2 coil. it actually is slightly less than the front, so it gives it a very slight rake that looks good.
 
That makes sense, looking at the rear springs again I see what you are talking about with the slight formed end. Thanks for the info once again.
 

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yeah, there a bitch to cut too, I used a hacksaw & the biggest problem is holding it to cut it cause it's rubber & then getting it cut straight & both sides even.

I also winded up removing one of the double cusions on part # 5 in that diagram, shortening part #4 by the same amount as the cusion removed & using the cut off part of #4 on top of the upper mount to make up the difference of the shortened sleeve. this gives a little more shock travel so my rear shocks don't bottom out as easy...
 
So if I get the cut H&R springs that are for sale, I guess I will have to cut the rubber mount for the rear or would I have to order new rear mounts?
 
Rubare said:
So if I get the cut H&R springs that are for sale, I guess I will have to cut the rubber mount for the rear or would I have to order new rear mounts?
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You can cut the mounts that are currently on your vehicle.
 
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