Was wondering if the front springs can be cut down on an SA. It looks like the ends are made to fit into the top and bottom of the spring holder and flat. If I cut then the spring won't be flat anymore. Worried about fitment. I did cut about 1/2 a coil off the rears. How much can I cut total? It still looks a bit high to me. Of course it has new shocks and bushings so may be it will settle down after a while.

Thanks

 

Unless those are some serious offroad shocks, they don't add ride height. Ride height is entirely set by spring length, and cutting springs is not the best way to get there. When you cut a spring, the tension (lbs/inch to compress it) doesn't change, but the overall mass and length of the spring is decreased along with strength.

Aftermarket springs are the best route to lower the front and rear of the car properly in order to lower it for better roll balance and are an inexpensive solution to the problem. Cutting the front springs is likely to cause fitment issues as cutting the bottom will result in the perch not fitting correctly and possibly rubbing your wheels/tires. Cutting the top results in issues with compression as above.

 

I agree, after market springs will yield far better results, years ago I tried cutting mine and had issues, keep in mind that the aftermarket springs are stiffer so for best results will need stiffer shocks. Stiffer springs with oem shocks can yield an unpleasant ride.

I do disagree about the rates not changing when springs are cut however. Basically a spring is just a rod wound into a coil. A longer rod is easier to bend than a shorter rod, so when the spring is cut the spring rate rises. 2cents

 

So what are my options as far as aftermarket? I see Racing Beat and also some BG springs on Ebay. I want to be able to get the car properly aligned using factory suspension.
Thanks

 

I have the RB springs that I cut 1 full coil off of all the way around. I did this because adding
them didn't really lower the ride that much and its safe to cut these a little bit. My car now rides
a bit lower but not enough that its a problem. Spring rate wasn't affected much because the
coils I cut were pretty much dead coils. You will have to be careful when lowering the car from
the jacks to make sure they seat properly.

 

I recommend visiting Mazdatrix's website, you will find good information about the RB and Suspension Technique springs there.

And I agree with T G, cutting dead coils is fine, it is when you cut "live" coils that you will start having issues.

I have heard a lot of people replacing old sagging stock coil springs with "lowering" springs and finding the car is not any lower. After 30 something years the stockers are sagging so that they are already lower. If you want to check you ride height the FSM gives the stock height so you will know what to expect if you buy new springs.

 

the "dead" coils are actually there so you CAN cut them, its what they are actually for

 

In the old pre internet RB catalogue they recommended cutting no more than 1/2 coil front and 3/4 rear. Which I did 2 years ago with my NOS factory springs. It works for me. No issues with seating off the jack.

 

Cool thanks