cut coil question

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by HotRod C/10

It was cut directly below the original cut end.......I ended up with 1 complete coil minus the cut wheel width.

Weird, that's how I do mine. I cut it so that the 'new' end is aligned to where the original end was so it seat's in the spring pocket of the a-arm w/o issue.

[HotRod C/10]

Ya it has me boggled......im gonna spend some time on it tommorrow and get it sorted out hopefully......i really dont want to cut the 1" Belltechs.

[HotRod C/10]

I really don't see how people can even cut 1/4, 1/2. Or 3/4 off without that issue.

[lolife99]

Originally Posted by HotRod C/10

I really don't see how people can even cut 1/4, 1/2. Or 3/4 off without that issue.

I think everyone is over thinking this.
Look at the spring.
They are the exact same spring wrapped in the same direction, yet they fit in a left or right a-arm.
This isn't a precious fit.
It's a very crude fit.
The upper end of the spring wraps around a D shaped piece of formed steel in the upper spring pocket.
The lower end of the spring finds it's home in a roughed out trough that's made into the lower a-rm.
Not rocket science.

Trim the spring to the length that gets you your ride height.
My years of doing this tell me to not go over 1-1/2 coils or it will be loose in the pocket at full droop.
Some people put a larger snubber in the upper a-arm to prevent droop and keep the spring tight.
I will tell you if I trim the coils the same and one side ends up 1/4"-1/2" different than the other side,... I have no trouble trimming the coil a little more so both sides are the same.
Sure you might have the springs in and out 5-6 times,... but that's what it takes.
Plus who said the frames on these trucks are straight to begin with.

99% of most people never measure how their trucks set before they start all of these modification.

[HotRod C/10]

Originally Posted by lolife99

I think everyone is over thinking this.
Look at the spring.
They are the exact same spring wrapped in the same direction, yet they fit in a left or right a-arm.
This isn't a precious fit.
It's a very crude fit.
The upper end of the spring wraps around a D shaped piece of formed steel in the upper spring pocket.
The lower end of the spring finds it's home in a roughed out trough that's made into the lower a-rm.
Not rocket science.

Trim the spring to the length that gets you your ride height.
My years of doing this tell me to not go over 1-1/2 coils or it will be loose in the pocket at full droop.
Some people put a larger snubber in the upper a-arm to prevent droop and keep the spring tight.
I will tell you if I trim the a-arms the same and one side ends up 1/4"-1/2" different than the other side,... I have no trouble trimming the coil a little more so both sides are the same.
Sure you might have the springs in and out 5-6 times,... but that's what it takes.
Plus who said the frames on these trucks are straight to begin with.

99% of most people never measure how their trucks set before they start all of these modification.

Why would you trim the a-arms?

[lolife99]

Typo. Coils.

[lolife99]

Originally Posted by HotRod C/10

Why would you trim the a-arms?

But I do trim the nose of the lower a-arm.
Trim part of the gutter off the sides and clean up the lower ball joint area.
This helps with clearance on drop spindle equipped trucks with. 15" wheels with more than 3-1/2" of backspacing.

[HotRod C/10]

Originally Posted by lolife99

But I do trim the nose of the lower a-arm.
Trim part of the gutter off the sides and clean up the lower ball joint area.
This helps with clearance on drop spindle equipped trucks with. 15" wheels with more than 3-1/2" of backspacing.

Ya I did that when the 15's wer on.........I have since gone to 20's.

[SCOTI]

I like the coils to sit in the arm as GM intended.... I just want them shorter vs. what GM did. I know orientation doesn't really matter @ the a-arm.... I'm just one of those that requires symmetry.

I always trim the a-arms back to the shock bracket area on both front & back side too needed or not. I think it's habitual now after having multiple trucks that required the trim.