lowandslow88

What should I do?And I also heard you can cut your springs...Is this safe?Like I said Im still kinda new...

SurraTT

iTrader: (59)

i dont think cutting them is a good idea, it throws the whole porportion of the spring out

lowandslow88

Really ?alright

max95q

iTrader: (10)

Even heated you are just asking for trouble. Yeah, it may be cheaper in the pocket but the ride would just suck.

Norm Peterson

Cutting springs is something that you should not consider unless you know what's involved - which gets into a whole bunch of engineering stuff and the practical matter of cutting the pairs of springs equally without introducing too much heat. Depending on what the spring ends and the spring seats look like, it may not be a reasonable approach anyway.

Heating the OE springs is about the worst possible way to drop a car that I can think of. Much worse than cutting them. You have little control over how the spring coils will move as they settle. Lower ride height + softish OE spring rate = guaranteed bottoming = parts bending/breakage = . . .

Never mind what happens to the spring metal temper when you heat it enough for it to collapse (you might burn some tiny notches in the metal, which will eventually be where a crack will start, and it's even possible to simply make the spring brittle enough to break in service). Or that there's somewhere between a slim chance and none at all that you'll end up with the left and right springs anywhere near identical. You might as well grab springs out of a box of assorted lengths/rates blindfolded - and even that method might result in spring pairs that are more closely matched.

If ride quality and handling aren't important to you (never mind that they should be), just go buy the lowering springs of your choice and be done with it. Maybe consider a spring rubber to add a little rate and take some of the sting out of the bottoming.

You do realize that in any event your alignment will be affected, perhaps by enough to make it obvious that the lowering job was left half undone (huge negative camber on a street driven car does give this impression).

Norm
Structural engineer by education and ~30 years experience

lowandslow88

Alright..thanks yall but I was wonderin if lowering springs for an 89 would work on my 88?

max95q

iTrader: (10)

Sarin might be able to help you on this one. I think you need the 3rd gen Suspension parts for it though.

Niku-Sama

iTrader: (1)

why dont you sell the 89 springs and get one of these? link

i am sure you could sell 89 springs for the majority of the cost if not more than the 1.50" lower springs

maximase86

iTrader: (24)

3rd gen front springs will work, 3rd gen rear springs will not work. It's easier just to get a 2nd gen kit unless you plan on swapping in a 3rd gen suspension which cost significantly more.

S

Maxblack87SE

Can you help to give the part# for the OEM spring of 2nd Max.

I would like to replace the rear one but don't know which one will be suitable? (not lower spring)

Can anyone have the advice on this.

Mr. Blue Sky

iTrader: (1)

There are some advantages to going to 3rd gen suspension (as both sarin and I know), but I wouldn't recommend it for any beginner. Sarin and I were able to do it successfully due to the knowledge we have of our cars. The 3rd gen suspension gives you a larger lowering range (up to 2 inches) without bottoming out as quickly as the second gen suspension does. Then there are the added bonuses of having brembo brake systems for the front brakes, and the choice tokico shocks for when you do decide to lower it.

lowandslow88

Well how hard is it?To do the 3rd generation switch?

Norm Peterson

Slow down a little. The first questions should probably be "what are all of the actual differences" and "what else is involved or affected".

Obviously there are some differences, and suspension tuning is something that can be made worse/less good than OE at least as easily as made better. Knowing more of what's involved gives you a better shot at actually making an improvement.

This is not intended to discourage you from investigating this mod or to keep you out of some "3rd gen into 2nd gen club". I'll be happy enough if you think it through more completely rather than just tearing into the car with wrenches flying just because it sounded like a neat thing to do.

Norm

maximase86

iTrader: (24)

I've done the 3rd gen suspension swap to get the 5-lug setup. It's doable (hint to how hard it is)...but the cost involved already makes it a mod not quite worth it. While there are differences, the basic design is identical between the gens (mcpherson struts in the front, parallel links IRS in the back). Swap is almost direct. Here are the key differences:

Rear spring seat, spring, and strut mount diameter is smaller in the back.
Rear brake caliper e-brake hooks are different if you use 92-94 SE brake components.
CAN NOT use rear 3rd gen GXE parts.
Front spindle needs to be grinded down (and precisely) if you plan on using 2nd gen struts, else you can totally ruin camber/toe-in.

Using OE parts the car rides slightly higher..but the car handles the same as OE. With upgrades, handling has gotten even better because of the more diverse spring options. I elected to go with Eibach spings because of the conservative lower (1.2" all around), and the fact they are progressive. Progressive springs are nice when you want your car to be lowered and still be able to ride comfortably.

I also totally agree with Norm. You really really need to do your homework before taking on mods in general. People here know that nothing annoys me more than kids that come on, say the want to do all these mods, and don't have a clue what they are doing...or the means for that matter. In many case people like this totally ruin a perfectly good car. My 5-lug conversion took at least 2 months of planning and figuring out what I would need, then gathering all the parts to make it happen. Even after I started, I still had to go back and forth finding the right parts, etc. My turbo project has taken 2 years at least to figure out what to do. Plus I've spent the last 2 years working on cars that run boost and trying to understand every aspect of it. There is still A LOT more I need to learn too.

S

Mr. Blue Sky

iTrader: (1)

I went through basically all the trouble with the setup and installation for the 3rd gen switch, including the grinding of the front spindles (couldn't find front shocks and springs for the car). I used the 91 suspension and rotors. The only thing that I did differently was keep the 2nd gen brake calipers ( more precise grinding). This is generally a bad idea since grinding the calipers will weaken the structural integrity of the calipers, and the problem with the front disc being larger in the 3rd gen, and the rear disc being smaller than the 2nd gen disc. I got my car alligned after I finished the setup because the allignment was screwed bad. I would say in general it is too much work for too little gains. I got lucky and was able to find most of the parts for the switch, but even then I had to look for hours to find a car that had rear discs and not the drums.(took me a full day to do the swap with a lot of help from my father) My car runs smoothly though.

UPDATE: Going to go get the front suspension parts that I need for my car in mid to late october (half off sale at local pick-ur-part), along with possibly getting the brake calipers as well.