Help with front end drop

[hardwaycooke]

Ok...I have a 71 chevy, long bed. I put 2.5 drop spindles on the front with 2" drop springs from EC. The back is perfect but I want the front a little lower. The guy from EC said any more was dangerous but I have been searching and seems like LOTS of guys are running 5-6 in static drop without issues.

I am running 15" rims and 26" tire on the front Seems like I could get some more drop with no problem. What do you think??

Could I cut the springs to get another inch or so?

How much do I cut off?
Thanks

[hardwaycooke]

Oh...my front wheels are 6" wide with an 8" tire.
Cmon guys

[Mr Handy]

Got any pics? I just did the ece drop 2.5 spindles, 1 inch springs and the front is lower then the back. I'm running 235/75r15 tires and the top of the tire is right at the top of the wheel well.
here is a quick pic of mine

[Tx Firefighter]

Your option is to get a 3 inch drop coil spring to replace your current 2 inch ones. Early Classic obviously has their opinions about maximum safe drop which is different than some other companies. There are several companies out there that sell 3 inch drop coils.

[big d's red67]

I did 5.5inch drop on the front of mine 2.5inch drop spindle 2inch spring with with a half coil cut off. The only problem I had was tire rub on the outside edge, CPP modular spindles fixed that.

[outlaw 3454]

Originally Posted by big d's red67

I did 5.5inch drop on the front of mine 2.5inch drop spindle 2inch spring with with a half coil cut off. The only problem I had was tire rub on the outside edge, CPP modular spindles fixed that.

DO u notice any differance in the ride with the 1/2 coil cut?
cause im going to do that also
thanks

[big d's red67]

I cut the 1/2 coil off new springs, I didn't drive it before I cut it. Sorry I was no help on that, it dose ride better than the 43 yr old factory spring I replaced though.

[Tx Firefighter]

I'm not saying that you shouldn't cut your current springs because that will definitely work, but look at it this way. A pair of Early Classic 2 inch springs is worth some money if you wanted to sell them. Summit has 3 inch drop springs for 89 dollars. You could likely sell your current springs for nearly that amount.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-g726/overview/

I've used Summit springs multiple times before. Don't let the Generic store brand brand scare you. When you unbox them, you get a pleasant surprise.

[hardwaycooke]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

I'm not saying that you shouldn't cut your current springs because that will definitely work, but look at it this way. A pair of Early Classic 2 inch springs is worth some money if you wanted to sell them. Summit has 3 inch drop springs for 89 dollars. You could likely sell your current springs for nearly that amount.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-g726/overview/

I've used Summit springs multiple times before. Don't let the Generic store brand brand scare you. When you unbox them, you get a pleasant surprise.

Those look great. I'll let it settle for a couple weeks and then decide.

Are all 3" drop spring the same height and "firmness"(dont know the word), so they'l all sit at the same level??

[CC69Rat]

Springs are made from a solid straight bar.. they just coil the bar/wire to give it the tension as we know it.

Think of it like a diving board. 10ft long, 250lb dude bounces on the end and splash.. into the pool. Now cut two feet off the board and have him do it again. The board will be stiffer and he will not get quite the soft bounce he had on the 10ft board. The spring is going to work the same way.

I say this because.. you can't (or shouldn't) really sit say a stock spring beside a drop spring and say "Its two inches shorter... if I cut 2" off the overall length of my stock spring it will be relatively the same". ... not quite.

Remember the diving board. If I cut out 2" of height or what...6" of the bar the spring is made from(?). I am also removing that much tension from the spring. The spring becomes stiffer AND that 2" I cut out(lr
Length of the spring vs. Stock) plus the tension lost will yield about a 2.75" drop. It will drop more than you think if you cut maybe a full turn out... make sense?

In short if you do decide to cut the spring Id suggest 1/2 a turn then see what you think.. if you want more do another .25 turn... you can always cut more off but its tough to put it back on if you cut too much. Good luck man.