my friend and I are planing on lowering my 88 cutlass about 3 or 4 inches. i found some brief directions online that mentioned a coil spring compressor. i was wondering if anyone knows a kind of store that sells them because autozone or auto barn doesn't carry them. I was also wondering if anyone had any tips on lowering a car yourself. we plan on just taking out the springs and cutting them to the desired height with an angle grinder.

I have this spring compressor:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=43753

Works great, feel very safe using it...unlike the two piece spring compressors.

You'll need one of those to remove and install the springs onto the struts...although after cutting them, you most likely won't need to compress them.

I have no advice on cutting springs, but 3-4 inches is quite a drop, and would be very rough on your stock struts...and any oem replacement strut that you install.

88delta88 has cut his springs and might have some advice for you.

TOC Admin
Brando

Yes, I've cut my springs... But not to the extent you are trying to do.

Its a long process. Take the struts out, remove the springs and start with 1/2 a coil. Dont get grinder happy, or you'll be buying new springs. Once you have made the cut, reassemble and reinstall on the vehicle. Let the car down and measure the drop. If its not enough, repeat the process and remove another 1/2 coil. If you remove any more than that at one time, you may have removed too much, and the vehicle will ride like a 2 bit whore.

In my case, I removed 1 1/2 coils after all was said and done. I dropped about 2 - 2 1/2" from the stock ride height.

You might want to note that I did NOT lower the rear suspension, I just loaded the trunk with audio equipment.

Get an alignment afterwards.

arite, thanks for all the advice so far.

Try to imagine how much a shock compresses!...Now minus 4 inches before that compression! A 4 inch drop IMHO would be detrimental, not only your struts/shocks but the entire under body of the car!...Your subframe(being the lowest section under the car)would more than likely hit any abnormality on the road...Driveways, forget it!....Hit a pothole, your bound to bust something! I highly recommend NOT dropping it that much!

As for cutting the springs!..Use a band saw, cut in one direction(cut one coil out)...But cutting the rear springs will be not possible(pigtailed)you will end up with 2 useless pieces of a spring! Best approach would be to clamp the rear and cut the front...a 1.5 inch drop is plenty!

If your in the mood for spending the green for a nice "drop" you can get airbags for the Ciera(I doubt they still make them), But that can get fairly pricey...and you need to make up custom brackets to boot!

Check here...airbagit.com

That will work.

I did one without removing the springs, but I used an oxyacetylene torch.


Since he is planning on using a cutoff tool, I am guessing he knows better.


Only if you cut too much off.


Clamps work very well, until they break.

Norm

i would love to do the airbags, but i dont have any money. and as for the clamps, they seem like a good idea that i didnt think of, and im gunna definitely look into that, im not planning on keeping the car much longer, so im not worried about them breaking. i am planning to cut the springs with an angle grinder. thanks for the help guys.

Personally, I found the clamps did next to nothing for ride height. I always measured before and after modifications, and I got no more than an inch of drop from them. I had 2 pairs on each spring on the front. The spring cut was the only way for me to get the perfect height I was looking for.

E.R., did you do something I didnt do with your clamps? I had two clamps, on opposite sides of 2 separate coils (4 clamps on each spring). The ride quality definitely changed, but my height didnt much.

88coupe, you cut springs ON a car? I heard tales of people heating springs until they collapsed, but never believed a word that it worked. Did you actually cut the spring, or heat it till it weakened? Seems like a risky deal

The 215 Olds/Muncie combo was lighter than the 2M/4 spd Toyota it replaced and, after the conversion, the front sat about ¾" higher.

Had it in the air to pull the front coils, and it looked like it could be done, so I torched a coil out. Other than a little change in paint color on the lower A arms, there were no problems.


Heat worked on a lot of cars in the '50s, as it was the preferred low buck method. Not good for long term, since the extra heat weakened the spring and caused it to "settle" afterward.

Most of the "Taco/Bean Wagons" (later called "low riders") had them on the stops (no travel at all) anyway, so it worked fine for them.

Took my first car to a muffler shop and had him apply heat until I was happy with the height. Used "clamps" on the second "coil spring" car I lowered. After that, I either cut and/or replaced, them. Always used the smoke wrench until the last one. Used a Chop Saw on one side and Angle Grinder on the other.

For a Cutoff Tool, the Angle Grinder is less stable (read less safe) but it works fine as long as the operator doesn't flinch.


Yep. Took the separated coils from the lower A arms after they cooled.


I was planning on losing the tip of the torch when it dropped. It didn't happen.

Norm