Lowering front ride height, '87 X

lookforjoe

lookforjoe

True Classic
Spring is here! Got the X out of the garage, and fixed the rust on the r/r 1/4 panel today :grin: Now I need to deal with the front ride height.

Found two old threads on this......

spring cutting

springs, camber, tire wear

..both locked, so I can't reply in them.

So, it seems I could just cut the stock front spring. I don't want a harsher ride, which seems to be the case if rears are used.

Any more recent thoughts on this? I'd like to get the car level, instead of nose-in-the-air !
 
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I cut my springs in my X a few years back and it didnt significantly affect ride comfort. Just remember, once youve cut the coil get the angle grinder out and grind a flat spot in the top of the spring so it fits into the top perch properly. The top of the springs have it standard, so just copy that.

Also be careful how much you take off, I took about a half coil too much - it was no problem while driving but when you jacked the car up the spring would unseat and have no tension on it. For the extra time it will take you it might be worth doing it a half coil or coil at a time until you get the right height (unless you have a spare set of springs for backup) It wasnt a huge problem though, you just had to make sure the springs were still seated properly as you lowered weight back onto them. Was always curious what would happen if I was out driving and the car became airborne though...
 
Yes, you can cut the springs.
But it WILL get you a harsher ride.
The reason is, you have fewer coils, so for a given deflection, each coil has to move more. Since it has to move more, it offers more resistance, hence it is stiffer. (Engineer's explanation: a coil spring is a wound up torsion bar. Shorter bar --> higher spring rate.)

I ran my X with all 4 springs cut 1 coil. It was noticable stiffer, but I liked it.

The other "problem" is that your springs will flop around when you lift the car. They are no longer preloaded at full droop. This is in itself an unsafe condition and will have you fail german safety inspection. Most people have not had a problem with this, though.

The way to lower the front w/o changing the ride at all, is to reweld the bottom mount on the front struts.
None of the above mentioned problems, but you now have little rooom between tire and spring perch. Some wheels may require a spacer. Some extremely wide tires will no longer fit.
 
I cut a coil from the front springs...

as one of the first things I did to my car after getting it. I also replaced the front struts because the originals were shot. I'm a geezer and I like the ride quality and do not think that it is too harsh. And here in Colorado Springs we do not have the smoothest of roads (there's a lot of potholes and rough / broken pavement cause the budget is so bad they can't repair them). I also have 13" wheels so the higher profile tires help the ride quality also. One thing I did as recommended in one of the write-ups was to take the cut springs to a welding shop to have them reshaped to sit properly in the mounting bracket. Good Luck.
 
It should be mentioned...

Ulix said:
The way to lower the front w/o changing the ride at all, is to reweld the bottom mount on the front struts.
None of the above mentioned problems, but you now have little rooom between tire and spring perch. Some wheels may require a spacer. Some extremely wide tires will no longer fit.
Click to expand...

That this can ONLY be done on housing & insert type struts (with the insert removed, of course), not the sealed units such as the later factory and KYB units. They will explode when exposed to welding heat.

Pete
 
AngleT said:
http://xwebforums.com/forum/index.php?posts/36703/

It solves both problems.
Click to expand...

I did this just the past weekend and if you have all the tools to do it it will be a snap. Not sure why however my springs didn't want to bend all that much even after a fair amount heating. I eventually did manage to get them very close by vise gripping several points between the cut coil and second to last coil then heating them.
 
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Thanks for the link to the detailed mod! I knew I had seen that at some point, not sure why I couldn't find it.


fiatmonkey said:
I did this just the past weekend and if you have all the tools to do it it will be a snap. Not sure why however my springs didn't want to bend all that much even after a fair amount heating. I eventually did manage to get them very close by vise gripping several points between the cut coil and second to last coil then heating them.
Click to expand...

You did the whole routine with modding the shocks?

Not sure I have the energy to do all that right now :rolleyes2:
 
lookforjoe said:
Thanks for the link to the detailed mod! I knew I had seen that at some point, not sure why I couldn't find it.




You did the whole routine with modding the shocks?

Not sure I have the energy to do all that right now :rolleyes2:
Click to expand...

I wasn't planning on it actually but since I had em opened up and repainted my springs (I liked the engine blue that Tony used - I think it was engine blue). So I had some time to kill. The first one I did at my brothers shop on a lathe but I found it was easy enough to do with my limited caveman tools at home.

Chris Obert said:
The car handles best with the front 1/4" higher than the rear, so don't go too low!
Click to expand...

I agree with Chris; I took my brother in his "raced" Miata to a local school parking lot for a little impromptu autocross a few days before I cut the front springs and replaced all 4 struts. I have to say I out-cornered him pretty easliy in my old sloppy struts and stock (no cut) springs!

After getting an ailignment yesterday we ran again and the handling was notically poorer in the cornering (just a tad) but better response from the rear. This might be some fine tuning I need to do. From the ground up my front sits even to the rear.

-Tim
 
Ulix said:
The other "problem" is that your springs will flop around when you lift the car. They are no longer preloaded at full droop. This is in itself an unsafe condition and will have you fail german safety inspection. Most people have not had a problem with this, though..
Click to expand...

This is something that has always bothered me about lowering the front by shortening the springs. While I do agree that aesthetically, the late model Xs do look better with the nose lowered slightly, the risk of having the springs "unseat" when the suspension is unloaded sounds pretty scary to me. If it can happen on a lift, I can see it happening on the road... not something I'd care to experience.

I can't see the car's stance from the drivers seat... :)
 
Springs are cut , shaped & back in the car as of 8:30 this evening - it was too dark by then to get pics, but I can fit two fingers between the arch & the tire, basically the same spacing as the rear.

I now have to fix the toe, as it's definitely toed-out now. I'll start with the string method to get it close. I usually shoot for 1/8" toe-in - is that good for X's?
 
Ulix sold the Fiat?

Ulix said:
Yes, you can cut the springs.
But it WILL get you a harsher ride.
The reason is, you have fewer coils, so for a given deflection, each coil has to move more. Since it has to move more, it offers more resistance, hence it is stiffer. (Engineer's explanation: a coil spring is a wound up torsion bar. Shorter bar --> higher spring rate.)

I ran my X with all 4 springs cut 1 coil. It was noticable stiffer, but I liked it.

The other "problem" is that your springs will flop around when you lift the car. They are no longer preloaded at full droop. This is in itself an unsafe condition and will have you fail german safety inspection. Most people have not had a problem with this, though.

The way to lower the front w/o changing the ride at all, is to reweld the bottom mount on the front struts.
None of the above mentioned problems, but you now have little rooom between tire and spring perch. Some wheels may require a spacer. Some extremely wide tires will no longer fit.
Click to expand...

"I ran my X" is past tense, does this mean you no longer have the X?
Bob T.
 
Hussein... DO IT RIGHT!

Here's my link again....

http://xwebforums.com/forum/index.php?posts/36703/

Read it all including all the stuff at the bottom... Its really the only way to go.

It does require the purchase of a die to cut the treads but all else can be done with a grinder and a hacksaw.

As for HARSHNESS... no... its FIRM and you are gonna LOVE IT!

As for running NOSE HIGH as Chris suggests... remember he is speaking from an autocross perspective. For the street... and with minimal horsepower... I find the nose DOWN gives me a better front static weight bias for greatly improved handling and BRAKING... along with KNOCK OUT looks.

Your choice...
 
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Thanks Tony.......

...I'm just going to build up the top perch with large 'fender washers" so that the shoulder of the insert is below the perch orifice...
 
PIcs of the new attitude...

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