Quote:
Originally Posted by Berzerker
Another point on lowering springs is that even though they may be the same height as cut springs, they are progressive and do a better job at preventing bottoming out. What your car hits the bump stops that is where the danger lies.
Berz out.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GabAlmighty
Yup, done a fair amount of reading. Driven my old car which is now on cut springs, I know what i'm getting myself into. Thanks for being cool about it haha and having real world knowledge
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I've driven pretty much every possible setup out there when it comes to lowered cars, from cut springs on 20 year old shocks in my old Nissan 200sx right up to a full-blown MK1 Jetta auto-x track car with close to $10k in suspension modifications alone, and almost everything in between. Let me state that there's a huge difference between riding on cut springs and lowered cars with stock shocks. As stated, lowered springs tend to be progressive, which help prevent the car from bottoming out on the bump stops. Chances are your stock springs are progressive, since most cars come this way (as far as I know, at least), but byy cutting a portion of that out, you're effectively eliminating a chunk of the safety margin engineers have put into the spring. Couple that with shocks that are (I imagine) close to a decade and a half old, if not more, then you're creating for yourself a large safety hazard, as well as a potential mechanical disaster. Yes, many people used to cut their springs "back in the day" but chances are they were going purely for the look, nothing more.
That said, cutting springs
can positively affect your spring rate, if done correctly. It
can be done in a manner that wont be too bad, safety wise, but it takes a lot of effort and knowledge. But for this, you have to base what you cut off by the spring rate you want, not the ride height. I'm not sure what the Volvo springs look like, but many springs have tapered ends and if they're not cut properly, they wont sit on the perch properly anymore. Also, as stated, do
not use anything that throws heat. That will change the spring rate just as much as cutting off too many (or too few) coils. Chances are if you're doing just for looks, you're going to create for yourself too many hassles that will outweigh the pro's of how it looks.