cutting springs and shifter...

[Eclipseturbo4]

ok i have a couple questions... i want straight answers i was thinking is there a right way to cut factory springs to lower the car please people i don't want you to tell me that its a bad idea cause I've seen that there's a lot of people out there on this website too that made it work right.. and i also wanted to find out what if i cut my stock shifter to give it a shorter throw and to make it look better then sitting a foot above the counsel is there a limit on how much i can cut off.. and will it work ok?

 

[Bud92gsx]

Do not cut stock springs..You can cut them but it's a bad idea..You can buy megan racing springs for a little over 100$..So don't be cheap and do it right..Although megan springs will ride a little beter than cutting the stock springs..But will still be stiff..

Cutting the shifter is also a bad idea although I have done it a few times..

 

[Eclipseturbo4]

what will happen if i do cut the shifter??

 

[zcoh2gdsm]

nothing it will just be shorter, however that doesn't make it a "short throw" shifter. short throw shifters shorten the length of space it takes to shift from 3rd to 4th and get a faster shift.

edit - you'll also have a hard time shifting, probably grind a lot of gears, your putting the power closer to the fulcrum, you wont get the same leverage on the shifter as you would if it were at stock height.

 

[LiquidX]

No there is not a proper way to cut stock springs because you are no longer retaining the proper spring height and tension that was designed for the weight of the vehicle. Not to mention if you look at the springs, there is a machined flat spot on the ends where they coil the spring close together.

As mentioned, cutting the shifter will make it physically shorter but it will not be a short shifter until you change the pivot point which actual short shifters do.

 

[H4G64T]

It's also illegal to cut your springs.

 

[SupremeDsm]

Even a non turbo dsm doesnt deserves this abuse. Do us a favor and go buy a honda. Thnx

 

[SOADweskey]

When I rescued my GSX it had factory cut springs on it. It felt like a whole different car the first weekend I owned it and put some Eibach Pro Kit springs on it.

It handles and rode like complete crap with cut factory springs, please god don't do it to yourself.

 

[greekgodchaos]

Trust me cutting your springs is in no way worth it. I want to hunt down the previous owner of my talon because he cut the springs on my car and not only is the ride and handling absolutely horrible, the upper spring pads are all torn to high hell and now have to find some way of replacing all 4. Get some Megan springs, I found a set for my AWD for 60$ locally, believe me don't take shortcut when it comes to your cars handling. And if you just cut the shifter for looks and dont properly swap it out for an actual short shifter you, like stated before, will not only grind gears but significantly will also shorten the life of your transmissions internal components. Bottom line: because you were cheap now, you will, without a doubt, end up paying tenfold to repair the damage you caused yourself which is entirely preventable. So save up and do it properly. Rule #1: Never take shortcuts with a DSM.

 

[highlandgst]

Even a non turbo dsm doesnt deserves this abuse. Do us a favor and go buy a honda. Thnx

yes cause this is the kind of advice people on this site need to give ... Cute springs ride crappy and eventually cause much more wear and tear. The shifter won't be functional but you can technically cut it down and weld it to make it look shorter if thats what you are going for.

 

[Boostinsideways]

You can cut your springs, it just won't be the best way to achieve a good drop.

If you cut them with an angle grinder, or some other non torch cutting method it will be fine. Don't cut more than 10% of the spring's length, and don't let the springs heat up while cutting. Cut from the top as well.

If you keep enough for the spring material to keep them tensioned even at full droop, you won't run into the usually associated draw backs.

 

[SupremeDsm]

yes cause this is the kind of advice people on this site need to give ... Cute springs ride crappy and eventually cause much more wear and tear. The shifter won't be functional but you can technically cut it down and weld it to make it look shorter if thats what you are going for.

Are u trying to say something. My advice was pretty good.

 

[kbiker76]

Are u trying to say something. My advice was pretty good.

No it wasnt good advice, it was a BS answer that the OP did not need, he asked a question he wants answers about the question he asked not some pointless post that helps him with nothing.

 

[SupremeDsm]

Actually! It was awesome advice. Only hondas deserve that treatment not dsms. Do it right the first time around instead of doing it the wrong way.

 

[DOHCTA]

I would advise against both your ideas. It's a lot of work with little gain. If you have a job, save up some money and do it right. A lot of DSM's have a short lifespan because of backyard mechanics trying save a few bucks to make it look cooler and go faster. If you care at ALL about your car, you'll respect it enough to use proper springs and a proper short throw shifter.

 

[idkiliketurbos]

Like stated before, don't cut your springs. If you want an actual short throw shifter that actually reduces the throw at least buy a 30 sum dollar b&m knock-off from ebay. I don't mean to go against the actual product but it is a cheap option that sounds like it works okay. I cut my shifter and I hated it because you had to use a lot more effort to get into gears.

 

[highlandgst]

Actually! It was awesome advice. Only hondas deserve that treatment not dsms. Do it right the first time around instead of doing it the wrong way.

truth being NO car really deserves to be treated poorly . You ideals and insight are pointless and childish at best . Honda owners get ALOT of crap . The truth of the matter is though there are many honda's out there that are built very well. There is a difference between advice /constructive criticism and just plain flaming someone who wants advice in the right direction . It's people like you in the community that tend to bring it down . Cut springs run into issues you can find used springs /coils pretty cheap on here and short throws as said before can be found fairly cheap as well. It's better to do something with little risk of bad outcome than to do something that may cause problems for the rest of the car or owner.

 

[crusada]

No it wasnt good advice, it was a BS answer that the OP did not need, he asked a question he wants answers about the question he asked not some pointless post that helps him with nothing.

Agreed sir He did this in a few other posts to if i recall. Dont be an ass hat and hate if you are going to make BS comments keep them to your self. Do we have to take people back to preschool because I believe thats where we all learned that at. To answer your question like everyone said DO NOT cut your springs its a bad idea as stated they weren't designed for it. As stated to you can pick up coli overs for fairly cheap and even short shifters are getting cheaper. Save your money do it right the first time and enjoy, or take the short cut and have it suck then have bad things happen.

 

[Tyeler18]

Actually cutting the shifter DOES shorten the distance between gears. I've had to explain this point so many times on this site it's ridiculous.

The amount of force required to change gears is so negligible that it really isn't that much harder. I've cut the shifter on many a car with no problems. My tibby's shifter is less than 2" tall and it glides into gear with zero problems. As long as you weld the shaft good you shouldn't have any problems with it. On my friends old 2g I welded it at a slight angle towards the driver. Made for a very nice, comfortable feel to it.

If anyone wants, I can, yet again, explain how cutting the height of the shifter down makes the distance of the THROW shorter.

 

[whtgst]

If there is one thing I have seen in the last 3 years of owning a dsm, if you short cut something to save money, it will ALWAYS come back and bite you. I have seen this time and time again from young kids that dont wanna spend the money or time to do things right. Then get pissed and call their car a pos because the rig job they did didnt work. I admit I have cut corners before and it got me 2 times. Never again. These cars need things done right the first time. If you do that, your car will last a lot longer. So basically save the money and do it the right way. Or dont mess with it at all.