Lowering Spings HELP

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Muppet
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Lowering Spings HELP

Postby Muppet » Sat Nov 12, 2005 2:21 pm

I'm looking at geting some lowering springs for my T2 and have just check up three suspension websites and there is no listing for a Honda City little lone a Turbo City.  Lovells, Kings Springs and Cobra Spirngs.

So all you guys that have aftermarket lowering springs do you know the Brand and part number of your springs.

And a question for all you back yard bodgies who cut your springs how many coils can I cut off before the aren't captive and how far does this lower the car?

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Re: Lowering Spings HELP

Postby turbocab » Sat Nov 12, 2005 2:28 pm

i believe some bloke who cut his springs a while back had a bit of a crash as a result :(

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Re: Lowering Spings HELP

Postby wkthyk » Sat Nov 12, 2005 4:44 pm

Try Bilstein. Although they don't really have the lowering springs for T2, but in my memory they did customize springs at selected spring rates on some skylines, so I think they may do spring for T2 as well.
They are from Germany and they produce OEM suspensions for a lot of Japanese cars such as Subaru Liberty B4.
However I don't think it is necessary to put lower springs if you are going to put a bigger rim. Just put a bigger rim such as 14" wheels, the car will get about half inch lower due to the tyre profile is lower. If you are going to put bigger rim in future then you should put the rim before you lower your car.

I also heard about a product from Taiwan before, that is a set of 4 little clips, that pre-load your spring so you can lower it without changing or cutting your spring. And the best is they are cheap and they can be taken off easily when you change your mind. I try to find that product's information for you later on.

Lowering spring is not good to standard shocks unless you get a coilover system.It just giving extra load to the shocks and shorten the shock's life.  And NEVER try to cut springs... this will kill you. I will stick with changing a bigger rim before lowering the car.

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Re: Lowering Spings HELP

Postby kartracer » Sat Nov 12, 2005 6:51 pm

our t2 had very very cut springs when we bought it, infact just today we have been changing to standard t2 springs.

it was pretty crazy to drive, the front of the car bouncing around corners and dropping into bumps in the road.

the only good thing about it was it looked great :)

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James
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Re: Lowering Spings HELP

Postby James » Sat Nov 12, 2005 6:55 pm

Cutting springs badly is dangerous yes, but if you are sensible about it and know what you are doing then it is perfectly safe, the thing is 90% of people don't know what they are doing.

King springs in aussie will custom wind you some springs if you give them the measurements and the rate. I would get you standard springs measured and then go 30% stiffness on top of that.

Actually, I just had a brainwave. You guys should be able to bolt first gen civic struts onto the front (and back?) of your city's. This would allow you to get off the shelf KYB gas struts and kings does lowering springs for those struts aswell. Someone should get hold of a strut and see if it works.

From memory the city struts are substantially longer that the civic ones but that could be helpful with lowering the beast too!

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Re: Lowering Spings HELP

Postby Muppet » Sat Nov 12, 2005 7:55 pm

In reply to 'wkthyk' I have already fitted 14' mags with 195/55/14 tyres which are silghtly bigger than the standard 185/60/13 and it doesn't look any lower.

It almost looks like it should be a 4wd with the stance it has.

Yeah I know cutting springs is not the go but as long as the springs are still captive when the wheel is jacked up it is still legal. Its only when the springs are not captive you get in to really big trouble.

I've also heard that there are some spring manufactures that can compress the springs to get that lowered look and are fair cheap to do, how they do it not sure and what difference unknown.

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James
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Re: Lowering Spings HELP

Postby James » Sun Nov 13, 2005 8:50 am

Hey Muppet, Funnily enough it actually isnt at all legal to cut your springs in NZ. Theres a little line in one of the regulations somewhere that states a spring must not me modified by cutting or heating it.

Yeah I completely forgot about the guys who compress standard springs. I dunno about anywhere down by you but up here its about $50 a spring or something like that and they compress them down. Contrary to what you would think it appears they get firmer. I know a guy where I live that rallys a 300HP TX3 and he runs standard springs compressed down, he has also run king spring lows in it and said there was no difference in height or handling.

Might be worth getting a rough quote from these guys too.
http://www.nzspringworks.co.nz/product.htm

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James
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Re: Lowering Spings HELP

Postby James » Sun Nov 13, 2005 8:59 am

Just did a little search, turns out Turbo3 got his rear springs re-tensioned.

Retensioning is what I did on the back of my City. This involves heating them up (very hot) and squeezing them together. Then cooling and re-heating to return their "springiness". Most suspension shops over here have all the gear to do this. It would be worth finding out who can do it over your way!  ;D


also it was actually $20 nz which at the moment is about $18 au but it will probably be different elsewere if anyones near chch chamberlin auto spring is the best, a bit dearer though


He got charged a mere $20 a spring, and thats kinda close to you Muppet, I recon you should try it out, havn't got much to lose.

EDIT:

Another quick search and I found someone in dunedin who'll prolly do the trick.

Brown & Cope 2002 Ltd

Physical Address:
36 MacLaggan Street
City
Dunedin 9001

Post Address:
PO Box 1138
Dunedin 9015


Phone (03) 477-8136
 
Mobile Phone: (021) 774-990
 
Fax: (03) 477-8536


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Spring Manufacturers

Muppet
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Re: Lowering Spings HELP

Postby Muppet » Sun Nov 13, 2005 6:31 pm

Never though of Brown & Cope 2002 Ltd as I thought that they only did rear leaf springs but it is worth a shot, thanks for that.

There going to be doing the rear leafs on the Datsun when I get a wee bit more funds so I'll chuck my springs there at the same time.

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James
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Re: Lowering Spings HELP

Postby James » Sun Nov 13, 2005 6:32 pm

I dont know if they actually do it, but they should be able to.

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Re: Lowering Spings HELP

Postby Muppet » Thu Nov 17, 2005 6:57 pm

Just rung a local engineer and was told that the best way to do any thing with the springs was to get them cut and the ends retempered to the original shape. he didn't recommend getting them compressed as this would shorten the amount of travel in the suspension.

For the amount of lowering ( abotu 1.5') he said that the first option was the better one as the only guys that can retemper the whole springs are up in Christchurch.

Cost he quoted me was up to $70 a spring but could be as cheap as $30 depending on the spring shape.

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whitecity
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Re: Lowering Spings HELP

Postby whitecity » Sat Dec 10, 2005 1:02 am

why would a compressed spring shorthen the travel..but not shorthen the travel when it is cut?

arent they the same?.. i mean compressing and cutting..the overall free-standing height of the springs has decressed (shorter), meaning the travel will b shorter either way of doing?

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Re: Lowering Spings HELP

Postby Nateh » Sun Dec 11, 2005 9:27 am

because when a apring is compressed the space between the "rings" on the spring is less, when the spring is cut the ring spacing stays the same as standard so the bounce the spring gives will be more as the space can compress that much more before the rings are touching.

Another way I can put it is if you think of the spring on your car when the wheel is up on a jack and it gets bigger and you can bounce the wheel up and down with your hands, then you think of it without the jack, how it is compressed a bit, then think of that as the "jacked" compression and think of how it would look off the jack again. Confused? Don't blame you.

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Re: Lowering Spings HELP

Postby city_cabriolet » Sun Dec 11, 2005 12:29 pm

I have a set of Rear Yellow Lowered King Springs out the back.

Loren, an ex-CityTurbo.com member got hold of em, supposebly they used to make them but have been ceased production.

Edit: There isn't much for a City i DON'T have out back :o

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Re: Lowering Spings HELP

Postby Muppet » Sun Dec 11, 2005 7:07 pm

How much do you want for them and how much do the lower the car?

You don't happen to have any front ones do you?


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