visitor Posted January 15, 2011 Report Posted January 15, 2011 Likely a very stupid question, Looking to lower my 1994 grand prix and improve the handling a bit, dont really have the $$$ for coilovers ATM.. will these springs fit? http://www.streetbeatcustoms.com/Intrax/Lowering-Springs/Lowering-Suspension-Springs-_-25.1.024/557683/ They say they fit 1995-1999 montes, but heres to hope.. Anyone? Quote
BXX Posted January 15, 2011 Report Posted January 15, 2011 they will only fit your fronts. For $260, thats what rear coilovers will run. And front, there are only 2 options for mounts. OEM (Mark's) which are around the $300 range or mine which would be around $200. Your not really gonna improve handling much at all with just drop springs. Stock suspension will already handle over the limits of what a 225/60/16 tire can do safely:lol: Quote
visitor Posted January 15, 2011 Author Report Posted January 15, 2011 You sell mounts? Hmm.. Maybe it's worth it to save up for coil overs? Quote
BXX Posted January 15, 2011 Report Posted January 15, 2011 You sell mounts? Hmm.. Maybe it's worth it to save up for coil overs? I will as soon as my lazy ass drops them off at my welder:lol: Ive had them ready for welded for like over a month now. And unfortunately they will be right around the $200 range because of parts I make them from come from England as nobody in the US had what I need. And heres what else I have been working on, Trailing Arms and Lateral Arms Quote
jman093 Posted January 15, 2011 Report Posted January 15, 2011 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Lowering-Springs-Drop-Kit-95-96-97-98-99-Monte-Carlo-/360320112961?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item53e4c09941 Here's the same thing you listed but for way cheaper on ebay. Put the rest towards rear coilovers. Quote
BXX Posted January 16, 2011 Report Posted January 16, 2011 Save your money if you wanna go stock style spring route. Only thing you will end up with with cheap chinese lowering springs is unever spring rates and snapped springs. Take your stock coils, cut exatcly 1 (ONE) coil off of the bottom of the spring. Dont heat, cut. You lower the car around 1.5" or so depending on your stock spring rate and you effectively raise the spring rate and dont end up with any ill consequences. Quote
visitor Posted January 16, 2011 Author Report Posted January 16, 2011 Isn't it unsafe to cut springs? Quote
BXX Posted January 16, 2011 Report Posted January 16, 2011 no, just don't cut more tham one coil off. After I did that on my old cs and my current, the cars ride better and were a tad bit more predictable in the corners. And my old cs which my buddy still has, has 40k miles put on it since I cut the springs with zero issues. Quote
MemphisMan Posted June 4, 2011 Report Posted June 4, 2011 I read a thread on here that talked about cutting half a coil off the bottom of the spring and half a coil off the top of the spring. I can't find the thread now. Did anyone actually try this? If I remember correctly, they talked about the spring rate not being changed that much, but still lowering the front between 1-2 inches. Quote
BXX Posted June 5, 2011 Report Posted June 5, 2011 I read a thread on here that talked about cutting half a coil off the bottom of the spring and half a coil off the top of the spring. I can't find the thread now. Did anyone actually try this? If I remember correctly, they talked about the spring rate not being changed that much, but still lowering the front between 1-2 inches. That was me, and ONLY cut half to a full coil off the bottom only. And yes, spring rate will be slightly increased while doing so. Ive done it on two cars with positive results and no issues with handling or stability whatsoever. And recently a member did it and was very satisfied with the results. Cant beat free. Just takes about 30 mins to 4 hours, depending on your skill set:lol: Quote
MemphisMan Posted June 6, 2011 Report Posted June 6, 2011 That was me, and ONLY cut half to a full coil off the bottom only. And yes, spring rate will be slightly increased while doing so. Ive done it on two cars with positive results and no issues with handling or stability whatsoever. And recently a member did it and was very satisfied with the results. Cant beat free. Just takes about 30 mins to 4 hours, depending on your skill set:lol: Thanks BXX. I'm considering this R&D too like I believe you said in one of your posts. I'm undecided if this will be a permenant thing. I have very limited experience with suspensions so I'm learning as I go. I was hoping you or anyone else could educate me on another issue if you don't mind: The springs I got off of the donor car are about a 1/4 of a coil longer than my stock ones. I believe they came from a 3.1 car...mine has the 3.4. (not good with codes yet ) Would that explain the different spring rate between the 3.4 and 3.1 cars? Other than the difference in spring length, is there any other difference such as thickness of springs or anything else that would make the spring rate different? They appear to be identical in every respect except length. That being said seems like I could cut 1-1/4 coil off of the 3.1 spring and achieve the same result as cutting 1 coil off of a 3.4 spring. Is this correct? Thanks a million for any insight. Quote
Crazy K Posted June 6, 2011 Report Posted June 6, 2011 most likely they will be softer, so they would not perform as desired... and cutting more spring would be bad... there was more info availible: LINK BAD, WHAT IS THE CURRENT LINK????: http://www.w-body.com/spring-codes.html some of the same info: http://www.gmwbody.com/forum/brakes-suspension-wheels-tires/1st-generation-w-body-spring-codes/ Quote
MemphisMan Posted June 6, 2011 Report Posted June 6, 2011 Thanks Crazy K. My stock springs still have the coding tag on them. The code is CJK. Don't know what the donor spring code is. The 3 things that affect spring rate that I know of are: -Diameter of the wire -Diameter of the spring -Number of coils (as the number of coils decrease, the spring rate increases.) The only difference between the springs that I can tell are the number of coils (about 1/4 longer on the donor). Based on this it seems the spring rate would increase as the spring became shorter...like from me cutting it , so I just don't get why the donor spring would be softer if it happened to be the same length as my CJKs. Here are some pics of the two springs. The one on the left is my stock CJKs, the one on the right is from the donor. You can see they look the same except for the donor one is about a 1/4 coil longer. Quote
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