Is cutting your stock

[71C-10DAD]

......springs safe? Want to lower my truck next weekend. And thought about just cutting the springs down.

[Spray-Bomb]

As far as I know, the only problem is if you don't safty wire them in & you hit a big bump they can jump out

And they don't ride very good, but that don't matter

[lowrollin70gmc]

Just cut them with a cut off wheel and not a torch. The heat from a torch can mess up the spring rate and safety.

[shifty]

You need to increase spring tension by 15% for every inch removed. You can't do that with a cutting wheel any more than a torch.

If you cut 'or' torch, the second you bottom out your shocks from bouncing all over the place, be prepared to be spending more money when you blow out your shocks.

[1969k10stepside]

Dont do it the redneck way...save up and buy the right springs and do it right.

[71C-10DAD]

Originally Posted by 1969k10stepside

Dont do it the redneck way...save up and buy the right springs and do it right.

As far as best bang for the buck can you point me in the right direction?

[1969k10stepside]

Originally Posted by 71C-10DAD

As far as best bang for the buck can you point me in the right direction?

Check around here in the parts board and with the vendors.You could subscribe and post a WTB in the parts board and you might get a few respones.

Here is some for the front that were for sale,I believe they are sold now
link

[Spray-Bomb]

Cut now, Buy later

[RACINJASON22]

Here's my veiw on the subject. It should not be done. BUT BUT it has been done by more people than you will ever know. I myself have done it not on a street driven vehical but on race car springs. I have never had anything bad happen but, there are people that have. Which is precisly why it is not recommended.
So if you do decide to do it do as lowrollin70gmc said and cut with a cut-off wheel not a torch as the heat will ruin the integrity of the spring. You may cut what you think you need off and lessen the spring rate at the same time compounding the effect. You can even do it in steps to keep the heat out of the rest of the coil. Don't go and throw water on it to cool it off faster either as it's just wrong phyisics involved there.
I'm not telling you this to say its right but if you do decide to to take as many precations as you can to be safer.
weeeeew that being said I agree with 1969k10stepside you really should just save up and do it right.RJ22

[special-K]

Cutting springs ruins the integrity of the spring-rate.Take that torch and heat them to lower.They will be safer and either way,you`ll save your money faster for those new drop springs and spindles.
To do it right you`ll spend $800.You can get away with less w/o an adjustable panhard and shock relocators.I`m talking about a 4/6 drop.

[Tx Firefighter]

I've been cutting springs since the mid 80's. Never had a problem. All my trucks now have cut springs and I drive them daily.

[fourty1]

personally,...
With the surplus of drop springs from parts house & catalogues, they ( front & rear ) are SOOO cheap,( most aftermarkets are $99 / pair ) plus you can have each side match in drop....
frankly ,..It's like ' safety in the bank ',
I know it's far easier to align, & control tire wear, steering & at speed. !
also I think your insurance co. would fry you, if you were ever in any kind of accident because of cut springs, but,....
just my two pecos,..
-41-

[BJA69C10]

I've got 3in front and 5in rear drop springs and shocks in my truck from Classic Performance Parts, and they ride as good if not even better than stock...cutting springs is ok to see what a certain drop will look like and such, but as the others say, the integrity of the spring metal will be compromised, and all it takes is one mishap.

[BJA69C10]

http://www.classicperform.com/Store/.../6372CSSKD.htm

link to above coil springs...can be ordered seprate for 95.00 a pair, they come powder coated (not crazy about the colors...mine were light blue for the rear and dark green for the front)

shock kit can be purchased seprate as well for about $130

[Longhorn Man]

one man's budget bolt on, is another man's entiure budget.
You can chop the front springs no problem, and I've always been told to use a cutting torch, plus, that's how i did at least 20 pair back in the 90's.
They've been hackin them since the 60's.

[nvrforgotten52]

just dont cut too much off at a time hahaha than your screwed

[special-K]

I was just saying cutting vs. heating,it`s all the same.You alter the spring`s original function.

[Tx Firefighter]

There is a lot of misinformation here. Magazine articles perpetuate the myth that cutting a spring is dangerous because advertisers sell springs and advertisers pay lots of money to magazines for ad space.

1) A cut spring will align just like a custom built drop spring. Period, end of discussion. The alignment is exactly the same whether it's a cut coil, a lowered coil, or a block of wood. You align the truck at ride height. How you achieve that ride height doesn't matter. As long as your front end isn't excessively worn out, there will be plenty of thread space left on the upper control arm studs for shims to bring the caster and camber back to spec.

2) I cut mine with a die grinder and cutting wheel. The heat generated this way is negligable. You can put your hand on the spring an inch away from the cut and it's not even hot. That's not enough heat to affect the temper of the steel.

3) People talk like it's an accident waiting to happen. Ask yourself, what is the worst possible outcome that could happen if a coil spring fails? Even if it collapsed suddenly while driving, the truck would simply sag down. it's a lot safer than these air bag trucks that are set up to lay the frame. If one of those bags fails, the truck will hit the road at speed. Not the case with a coil.

4) On these trucks, one coil removed equals about 3 inch drop.

5) Cutting one coil is not enough to make the spring loose in the pocket. Two coils will though. No matter what you do to the truck with one coil removed, the spring stays firmly seated in place once installed.

6) I've been doing alignments for 19 years now. I speak from experience, not heresay.

7) I'm going to go get in my truck right now and drive it to the donut shop. I'm confident after driving it 100 miles a day for the last year that it's safe. I'm going to use part of that 90 bucks I saved by not buying coils to pay for my donuts.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

There is a lot of misinformation here. .

Thank you for saving me the trouble of typing all that. Everyone please read Kevins "article" and remember it well. What he says is 100% fact, not rumor, hearsay, or bench racing bullsh!t.

[bretcopsey]

To expand upon what has already been said...

The method of heating a spring till it sags is what is dangerous. That removes the tmeper from the steel. Using a torch to cut a spring is ok. I prefer a cutoff wheel.

As the spring is shortened, the rate actually increases. However, depending upon the amount of drop, the new rate may not be firm enough to keep the suspension off the bumpstops through full suspension articulation due to the decrease in overall suspension travel now available.

I found this online coil spring rate calculator. Try pluging in some numbers and then reduce the "number of active coils" to see what happens.
http://www.stockcarproducts.com/pstech10.htm

[1969K10]

Originally Posted by 71C-10DAD

......springs safe? Want to lower my truck next weekend. And thought about just cutting the springs down.

Save time & money, just go get some exterior housing bricks from you closest construction project. remove old springs and replace with above confiscated bricks. it'll ride the same, and it'll save you all kinds of time & money...