Well I did it! !

[02PT]

I got another set of rear springs so i can cut my stock rear Coil Spring's turn'd out nice I cut a coil wich is about
1" 1/2 drop rides nice..

[Hooligan]

02 that looks good, you have more guts than I would have.

[yaris]

I have a question, when you cut your springs, or get a lowring set like the eibachs -1.6F and -2R, did the spring come loose at full extension of the suspension? i.e. if you hit a big bump or turn sharp.

[02PT]

Originally Posted by Hooligan

02 that looks good, you have more guts than I would have.

That's why I went and got a spare set just in case it didt turn out.

[02PT]

Originally Posted by yaris

I have a question, when you cut your springs, or get a lowring set like the eibachs -1.6F and -2R, did the spring come loose at full extension of the suspension? i.e. if you hit a big bump or turn sharp.

Nope they are fine so far

[Chromenut]

Originally Posted by yaris

I have a question, when you cut your springs, or get a lowring set like the eibachs -1.6F and -2R, did the spring come loose at full extension of the suspension? i.e. if you hit a big bump or turn sharp.

You can jack your car all the way up into the air and they won't come out. On the rears I had to drop the shock to get the springs out. I ran mine up in the mountains two weekends ago, first trip on a winding road since I lowered it and I hammered the crap out of it, I wish someone behind me had a camera as I'm about willing to bet I got some air time under the wheels. But I couldn't knock anything loose. I came home, jacked the car up, took the tires/wheels off and everything was hunky-dory....

02, did you cut down your rear bump stops? If not, go take a couple of hard bumps like rr crossings and such, see if you bottom out on them. I had to shave mine down, they were slamming into the rear arms.

[yaris]

another question, the rear springs seems pretty easy to changes but how about the fronts ones? I guess you need to remove the shock assembly, did you?

I ask because I'm considering to get an eibach kit but I am wondering if I would need to reinstall the stock one for the winter, not to scrape the front too much in the snow/ice, as the pt front bumper is already a bit low

[Chromenut]

Not sure your model cruiser, but most are struts on the front, meaning you have to drop the struts to remove and replace the springs. I don't suggest this to anyone who does not have experience, or a couple of pals to help along with a spring compressing tool. It's just damn dangerous. I got front struts and springs pulled and replaced for just under $200 (not parts, just the labor), and to me it was worth it as he was done with the front in about an hour.

I stood by and watched Jon, in case that compressor dumped the spring, one of us could still dial 911...lol. I had one let go in 1987, from my old car, and it hit me center chest and broke three ribs! Damn near coughed out a lung....

[Candyman]

Hey their Guys,

Ok, I just wanted to weigh in on a few things really quick. As a lot of you guys already know, I used to be in to springs pretty deep while looking for that ultimate stance. To give you an idea how far I went, below is a pic of my ride sitting on a the first set of Prototype one off custom rolled and tempered Coils deigned to give my PT a full 3 / 5 drop which is 1/4" lower in front, and a full 2" lower in back than the lowest kit currently available on the market. The body sits 100% level at 4" at all four corners, and 3 1/2"" clearance under the front, and rear lowest points from body to ground, which gives a permanent stance that is almost as low as air ride! My Friend that rolled these Springs used to CAD design and build suspension for use in off road Trophy Trucks, and plugged the numbers, and reconfigured all the data to fit perfectly to the PT. Then he custom rolled each spring through his Coiler offsetting the coils to work correctly for this application given all the variables from vehicle weight, load, resistance, and stress points to work at max peak efficiency. In fact I had so many people asking about the things that we finally wound up turning out three more sets of which the last set just sold recently to another Member on this Forum. Our only issue with making them full time is, unlike the large distributes who get bulk deals on materials, and have the capacity to produce Springs in volume, as ours are done by hand and machine by one guy, one at a time so we can't compete in the same market which makes our Custom Springs too expensive to be competitive. I actually still get a question or two about one or twice a week, but the cost is usually a downer. Otherwise I would love to have my Coils all over on my PT Peeps Rides for sure!

Anyways here are the pics of my ride on springs.




And now for comparison, here is my ride as it currently sits on full Air Ride using an Air Ride Technologies kit with the air dumped. Not that much difference overall yet.





And here is where it will sit when it is all said and done. This photo was altered by my bud John to use as a template of where I want my baby to sit. Plans are already in the works for me to break out my scalpel and spray gun once again and do some more body work, while my buddy Steve, and possibly Ron work to reconfigure the air ride, and suspension to slam it as low as it will go hopefully sometime next year! After that, I am thinking offabricating a small rocker extension piece that would either be painted body color, coated in bed liner material, or chromed which would be mounted to the under sides on the rockers, and then do the same thing to match both front, and back so that when th air is dumped out, the body will appear to lay flat out, which with the present design is impossible given the rounded rockers, and bottom lip. One of my biggest concerns is after I start modding the body to accommodate the new ride height, for all you guys who know me all too well, it is really, really hard for me not to want to start shaving things, an cutting here, and their...you know me!



Now, after having dropped several PT's for friends using both Aftermarket Kits, as well as my own custom sets that my Friend and I Engineered, I have a pretty good working knowledge of Springs as a whole. With this said, I wanted to throw a word of extreme caution out here on cutting springs for other people who might want to consider trying this Modification at home.

1. When cutting Springs it is absolutely critical never to use any type of heat during the cutting process. Heat, like that from a torch, etc will alter the strength of the spring which then could easily cause the material to fail, coil to break, and send you into a serious crash!

2. When cutting Springs, It is imperative that you get an almost perfect dead on even cut on both springs so you do not alter the geometry of the car! If the Geometry is even just a hair off, it can easily cause vibration's, alignment problems, and a whole range of other issues which also can become dangerous! Even if you are not able to see, or hear and vibrations, or other problems by ear, the harmonic micro-vibrations in the altered structure of the metal has been changed, and can cause still lead to the material fracturing and/or failing, causing extensive damage to your vehicle!

3. Drop Springs are specifically designed with lighter, stronger material and rolled in a different pattern to help absorb the tighter confinement, and withstand the added abuse that comes from tightening up the suspension, and helps give a slightly better ride. Stock coils were not designed to be altered, or handle the added stresses that Drop Springs are designed to handle, resulting in a very poor ride quality, and again potential catastrophic failure of the spring itself.

Now, the rear Springs of a PT are essentially gravity loaded meaning the cars weight holds the springs in place with assistance from the shock absorber. if you are cruising at a good rate of speed around a corner, and your spring has a catastrophic failure, the spring could break into two pieces or more, immediately bending the shock, and dropping one corner of your PT onto one of its rear tires which could then either blow out under the weight of the car, or catch fire from the friction if you are able to manage to keep the vehicle from rolling after the vehicle is thrown off its axis, while at the same time throwing chunks of spring at high velocity around the same area as your fuel tank is located!

Granted this is a "worst possible scenario" but after physically seeing a large number of springs fail both in a controlled environment during testing, and during off road racing punishment, and seeing the aftermath, I really have a serious respect for safety when it comes to springs, especially if the vehicle is driven as a daily driver out on public roads, and/or freeways with other motorists lives at stake!

I also realize that cutting Springs was common back once upon a time on older Hot Rods, but you have to take into account that those Springs were made of a thicker more heavy duty material, held different temper and strength, and were held in place by more secure designs which are not present on most newer cars. Most all materials today are made cheaper, faster, and made just for handling very specific purposes, which is why drop springs are made in order to drop your ride in place instead of altering a critical component of your car.

I do totally understand living on a tight budget, and wanting to mod a car to look cool, and perform better, but safety is an extremely important factor to not overlook especially when modifying critical key components of your Ride! Especially in this case, if you keep an eye out, you can pick up a set of drop springs off Ebay, or around elsewhere for around $150 - $200, or in your case about half that for just the back springs to achieve the same look without comprising safety! To me, I am not sure it is worth the risk for that amount of money, but that is just me. Above and beyond all else, I just really don't ever want to see people wind up getting into a potentially dangerous situation without really weighing the risks involved, and most important, I never ever want to see people get hurt, especially over a Mod gone bad!!!

So, if anyone ever has serious thoughts about cutting springs, please first do the homework, make double sure you know exactly what you are doing, weigh the consequences, and know all the risks involved so you don't wind up in a bad situation!

Sorry to have to post this one, but this is one is serious, and important for safety reasons that people are aware of the real dangers of this type of mod!

You guys go easy, drive safe, and I'll catch you later.

Candyman

[Candyman]

Hey their Yaris,

All models from first production till now are all set up with struts in front. Honestly I have to agree with Chromnut on this one unless you do have prior skills using a spring compressor! Those front springs are under a lot of load, and if something goes wrong, its not a good thing for sure!

I usually charge around $200 for both front and back installed. If you really look around, you might be able to find someone who would match that price or better, or you could opt to handle the back ones since they are really easy, and then just pay someone to do the fronts for you which should bring the cost down considerably.

Now, on the other hand, if you are pretty mechanically inclined, familiar with a spring compresses, and so on, and just need someone to walk you through the steps, I would be more than happy to walk you through the steps, but only if you are confident in your abilities, and can handle the job! Your call on that one.

GO easy, and I'll catch you later.

Candyman