Cutting coils v. dropped spindles?

Which is better, cutting coil springs or dropped spindles to lower a car? I want to maintain good overall handling and good ride quality.

Thanks, Ed

Which is better, cutting coil springs or dropped spindles to lower a car? I want to maintain good overall handling and good ride quality.

Thanks, Ed

i'd like to add to this.... "or lowering springs?".....

Cutting coils is the cheapest way to go. Dropped spindals can require a different caliper. So there are more parts to buy.
I cut half a coil on mine; it dropped the car quite a bit. Here is a link.
http://www.stevesnovasite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88391

Nova Guy,

Thanks for your input.

Ed

Drop spindles are the way to go. Cutting coils is cheaper but you change the suspension geometry some plus you ruin the coil spring rate. Shorter coils are better than cutting.

If you want to do it right and get the best handling possible, go to drop spindles. You can then use shorter coils too if you want to drop it even lower without ruining the handling.

Drop spindles are the way to go. Cutting coils is cheaper but you change the suspension geometry some plus you ruin the coil spring rate. Shorter coils are better than cutting.

If you want to do it right and get the best handling possible, go to drop spindles. You can then use shorter coils too if you want to drop it even lower without ruining the handling.

Back before drop spindles I cut coils on every car I owned, ride quality suffered some but drivability and handling seemed fine, if you are on a budget I would go ahead and do it I always started with 1 coil and then 1/4 coil after that, but make sure you let the suspension settle first before you cut again, you don't want to go to far.:no:

I would buy shorter springs before cutting the originals. They're not very expensive and you go down to any spring shop and have a pair made for usually less than $100. Cutting the coil springs ruins them as far as the spring rate and ride quality.

You can only cut about an inch off them too or buy 1" shorter springs (which will lower the car about 2") before you run into alignment problems that can't physically be solved.

With drop spindles, you drop the car down immediately to however much drop is designed into the spindle. In addition, you can then get springs that are an inch shorter and add 2 more inches of drop.

The most you can drop a car by just changing or cutting springs is 2" before you run into big problems. With say 2" drop spindles, you can lower the car a total of 4" without having alignment issues.

A drawback of drop spindles though is that they can cause some interference with the tie rod ends when running 16-17 inch large diameter rims. The backspacing of the rims becomes an issue and you will then have to measure how much backspace you can get away with.

How much are you trying to drop it? I think dropped spindles only come with a 2" drop.

I'm trying drop it about 2". This is a 4th gen. Nova subframe grafted (welded) on to the frame of a '55 Chevy. I think it may have had one coil cut off already. Before I purchased it the car had a big block and did ride lower in the front, due to the heavier weight. However, the small block is, obviously, lighter and permits the front to ride higher...a little higher than the rear even. So, I want to drop the front end. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

I went with the lowering springs from CPP. I got the lowered look I wanted, but the suspension is hard as a rock, I mean stiff ride. my 2 cents

our alignment shop cut ours (1 coil) , did an alignment and checked the whole front end out. He said for us to get new shocks (cant remember the brand) that had stiffer compression to make up for the amount of spring cut off. We got the front fender to 23 3/4" and dont scrape the headers.

Buy lower springs. I agree with 69pronova, if you use drop spindles you have to watch your backspacing and if you run smaller wheels the tire sidewall will buldge out and rub your steering arms. Spindles will also have more cost involved.

Thanks, guys, for the input.

If you just want to drop the car 2" though, you can just go and get 2" drop spindles and you don't have to do anything with the springs or shocks and the alignment specs will still be very close to the factory and the ride quality will be exactly the same as it is now.

Just want to mention that drops can cause rubs and I have seen the inner rims scrap the lower control arms. I can speak for 2 inch drops that many not be enough to cause those issues. But just wanted to add to the fray. I agree cutting springs is not good for ride quality it always seem to make the ride stiffer which is the opposite of what you would expect.

Cutting coils off a spring doesn't "ruin" it, it merely changes the free standing height and the spring rate. A shorter spring is stiffer by the percentage of active coils you cut off. I use Mustang springs on a Nova, cut them to fit and they work just fine.