My fun with cutting springs..

I wouldnt really consider this a write up but maybe use this as a reference.
Im riding on 255/r40/17" Cobra R's on a 88 Turbo Coupe

Here it is on stock suspension..wheel gap looks terrible lol


As my first time cutting springs I figured hey cut one coil up front and see what happens..Also no isolators either


Also slapped these in all around


Ah after I pulled out the jack I couldnt even drive the car because the tires rubbed like crazy..houston we have a problem..I actually had to roll the fenders to drive it


Looks great Not Practical for crappy CT roads and I feel like cutting 1 coil changed the spring rate dramatically because every pothole I hit I swore I was bending a rim. It's possible I didnt install something right but its too late to figure out that now.

SN95 side=


I left the other side with the cut stock spring for comparison..looks great but again sucks on bumps or with people in the car



I decided that screw it ill cut the stock SN95s up front because they were free..this time I wont take off a full coil..I started with a half coil and because I got so fast as spring swaps its not the end of the world to take it out again..After me and my dad were looking and measuring the stock spring vs the SN95 and it seemed like the SN95s were a bit taller than the stock Turbo Coupe springs but im not sure. I wanna say cutting 1 coil on SN95 wouldn't drop it as much as 1 Coil would drop on stock Tbird springs but this is all speculation. So basically yeah cut 3/4 off v8 SN95s up front.

More cutting
It was still too much wheel gap so I cut another 1/4 coil and it sits nice now..has around 1" of gap with nobody sitting in it. It rides fine over bumps and handles pretty damn good compared to what it used to be..




Front now sits like this



Also changed out my sway bar bushings because well...


I unfortunately didnt measure the gap every time I changed springs..I should have but I was going by eyeball and how bad it was over bumps/potholes. Not running the isolators played a minor role and I figured if I was short by a little too much I could always put back in the isolators. I didnt focus on the rear because I cut 1 1/2 coil off the rear and it sat pretty good. Worst case Mustangs Unlimited here in CT sells spring perch helpers to compensate for sag (check out the bottom of this page) Spring perch helpers

So yeah basically cut maybe 1/2 coil slap it back together see how it is first thats the moral of the story lol..when I clean up the car ill take a flat picture of it so you guys can see how it looks now.

Nice thanks for posting this up
So from what I understand you don't recommend cutting up stock TC springs, correct.
Currently my TC has stock suspension and i want to lower it some,
I have an extra set of stock springs sitting here but would getting some sn95 springs be better idea than cutting some stockers?

Nice thanks for posting this up
So from what I understand you don't recommend cutting up stock TC springs, correct.
Currently my TC has stock suspension and i want to lower it some,
I have an extra set of stock springs sitting here but would getting some sn95 springs be better idea than cutting some stockers?

Id say if you cut the stockies...just cut maybe half a coil instead of a full one, put it back together and see for yourself. I dont know if the SN95s are taller than ours or what so dont quote me on that. But at least you have a 2nd set to play with if you cut more than what you wanted.

i cut half off my front stock TC coils, and left the rears sagging
i have the rear air shocks bumped upa bit in this picture

[Image: 2011-10-01_16-54-59_0-1.jpg]

i cut half off my front stock TC coils, and left the rears sagging
i have the rear air shocks bumped upa bit in this picture

[Image: 2011-10-01_16-54-59_0-1.jpg]

Hey BJL what shocks/struts are you running?

monroe max-air shocks in the back.
and worn out sensa-trac struts in the front.

You guys motivated me to cut my springs.
I cut about a 3/4 coil off (TC coils), but I'm using the isos.
No rubbing at all! Fenders are not rolled and the ride is not harsh, which suprised me. Actually it is a little bit more comfortable, compared to the stock 02 gt springs.
And it looks way better. Thanks guys!

[Image: 2u9in37.jpg]

It looks lower on my cement driveway.

I cut about a 3/4 coil off (TC coils), but I'm using the isos.

Looks great. Was this on front and rear?

Yea looks good !