Cut Front Coil Springs....Yes or No.

[Husker2002]

I have a 70 '02 with 15" Rota RB's and 195/50-15 Dunlop tires that I just installed new before winter. The car has a bone stock suspension with no spacers on the struts front or rear. Here is my question....

Measuring From the ground to the bottom lip of the wheel well opening, directly across the wheel center cap, I get a measurement of exactly 24" in the front and 22.75' in the rear. Further, from the top of the tire tread to the wheel opening, the gap I get is .5" in the rear and almost 1.50"-1.75" in the front. The front needs to come down, in my opinion, about 1.0" - 1.50" as it looks raked to the rear, tail dragging...

Without changing the springs, (that will come as soon as other items are addressed) I was told it is OK to cut about 1/2 - 3/4 a coil off the spring to accomplish my goal of a 1.0"-1.5"? Has anyone else done this? Where the results acceptable as a short term solution. This is more a cosmetic mod and not performance mod. I have a track car, the '02 is just a cruiser and fun weekend car. Any advice, direction or alternative solutions are greatly appreciated.

[Scott Sislane]

got a pic of your car?

[THE1ST3]

Try the stance thread; lotta info on spring cutting and the like. Short answer is "yes"...

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/component/option,com_forum/Itemid,0/page,viewtopic/t,309282/postdays,0/postorder,asc/topic_view,/start,0/

[V00V]

hey man! I say go for it... I cut mine probably 3/4 of a coil, maybe a touch more. Just remember cut off about 1.5 to 2 inch increments at a time.

My car is lowered all the way around about half a coil off the rear

Cutting off coils increases spring rate, stiffening the suspension. ALSO something to consider, the struts on our cars are VERY vertical so small bumps feel like big bumps, lowering your car can make speed bumps feel like running into curbs. My car lost ride quality, but gained stiffness. It is a trade-off definitely. Cutting coils is one of the oldest FREE ways to boost suspension performance. Hope that helps!

[Husker2002]

Thanks Guys!! Great information.....I will take a look into the suspension thread link. I looked there first and there was just a ton of stuff that didn't fit what I was looking for. Anyway, thanks for the great information. Here are some pics of the car....I think you will see why I want to reduce the front ride height a bit.....

[bnam]

That's actually (mostly by design). The wheel arch is lower at the back. If you measure down from the upper trim line, the gap from trim line to top of arch is 1" more at the back than in front. So, if you maintain that 1" difference between front and rear the car and the trimline will be flat. If you make the gap the same, the car will be slightly nose down.

B

I have a 70 '02 with 15" Rota RB's and 195/50-15 Dunlop tires that I just installed new before winter. The car has a bone stock suspension with no spacers on the struts front or rear. Here is my question....

Measuring From the ground to the bottom lip of the wheel well opening, directly across the wheel center cap, I get a measurement of exactly 24" in the front and 22.75' in the rear. Further, from the top of the tire tread to the wheel opening, the gap I get is .5" in the rear and almost 1.50"-1.75" in the front. The front needs to come down, in my opinion, about 1.0" - 1.50" as it looks raked to the rear, tail dragging...

Without changing the springs, (that will come as soon as other items are addressed) I was told it is OK to cut about 1/2 - 3/4 a coil off the spring to accomplish my goal of a 1.0"-1.5"? Has anyone else done this? Where the results acceptable as a short term solution. This is more a cosmetic mod and not performance mod. I have a track car, the '02 is just a cruiser and fun weekend car. Any advice, direction or alternative solutions are greatly appreciated.

[jgerry2002]

Your front / rear springs backwards?

[roadhog0]

I was going to mention as well the rear arch is lower than the front so it always looks like the tails dragging. My Kormans are cut a hair in the front. Looks like this.

[c.d.iesel]

Cut (1) coil off the front

[schwartzerritter]

yes one 1 coil but you will like progresives better.Put steins or KYBs on the rear.

[Husker2002]

Your front / rear springs backwards?

Pretty sure they are not swapped...at least not by me!!! I have not touched the suspension since I bought it from a close friend last May 2011.

I am not even sure you can swap them, I know you can't on my M5, so I didn't even think of that.

I appreciate all the different directions and ideas this is presenting.

Thanks all.

[Husker2002]

Really like the stance/ride heights in both VOOV's and Roadhog's pictures. That is more what my goal will be when done. I don't want to go so low the tires are tucked into the wheel wells, though I do like that look. Just don't think it will ride worth a damn. The real fix is to get some coil overs and corner weight it at the desired height. This is on my list. Until then, gonna start with cutting 1/2 a coil, but after reading both your posts, might end up cutting a full coil out in the end. Thanks again guys...really appreciate it!!

[roadhog0]

I love my stance but it's a wee rough even with Billy HD's. Also you can put the wrong springs on the front or back. The rear springs are longer. Literally the springs on my car are about 10" long. That's why it's so low.

[Koblenz]

Mine is higher in the rear. Stage 1 IE. Changed to one dot perch. Still high. After I put the interior back in I will recheck and cut if needed.