Lowering Rear of Spider

[BT124]

HI All,
I just switched from 13" wheels to new 15" wheels with 195/55R15 tires on my 1979 Spider. I think the rear of car still is a little too high. From the floor to the bottom of the rear fender it is 25 inches. (The front from floor to bottom of fender measures 24 inches.) At the rear I have just over 2 inches of clearance from top of tire to the bottom of fender. I want to lower the back about 1 inch. So, my question is: If I cut out one coil of each rear spring will that lower about an inch?
Thanks BobT

[img][IMG]http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f129/Bobtamlyn/image_zpsjyqcdgcl.jpeg~original[/img][/img]

[So Cal Mark]

it will lower it more than an inch. The one problem you'll have with cutting springs is once the rear end is unloaded, the spring will come off of the top seat. If you jack the car up, or go airborne over railroad tracks you have to make sure the spring finds it's way back onto the seat when the car comes down. The ride is also pretty firm.
These are the main reasons the progressive rate lowering springs work so well compared to cutting springs

[carl]

I'm used to cutting spider springs after I remove the bumpers (which raise the car up substantially. My advice when trying to find the right amount to cut is to go in 1/2 coil increments. Don't forget to reorient the top mounts so the step in the mount fits the new orientation of the cut spring. As noted, shortened springs can mean the springs are no longer tensioned in location at full extension but the easy fix is to make limiter straps that keep the axle from dropping enough to let the springs go loose. Been doing this on my spiders for decades with no ill effect.

carl

[joelittel]

Could you post a picture of the limiter straps? I've never heard anyone mention these before.

[azruss]

listen to mark on this one. when i went to 195/55/15, the harshness of the ride really increased, particularly at the rear. I sprung my rear with well used 71 springs and still dropped my tire pressure a couple of pounds in back to save my poor old teeth from lossening.

[kmoses]

+1 on the limiter straps photos.

[BT124]

Question about new progressive springs: would they lower rear of car 1 inch or would I have to cut them as well?

[DieselSpider]

Could you post a picture of the limiter straps? I've never heard anyone mention these before.

Just a corded rubber strap with metal eye plates on the end that you bolt to the axle/control arm and the vehicles frame. Some will just use shorter shock absorbers to preform the same function but they can get damaged in aggressive rally driving.



Raise the suspension to the limit you want to enforce, measure the distance where you will be mounting them and then order straps about 1/2 inch shorter to allow for stretching.

Personally I am not a fan of lowering these cars which I have mentioned before as there are not any roads leading to my home that would allow one to drive a lowered car without damaging it. My kid brothers first comment after he followed me home when I picked up the Spider was how great it was that it had enough road clearance to deal with the roads in Tampa Bay. He always had to deal with clearance issues on his Honda 2 seaters and Ford Probes and had to lift a few and inch or so to stop dragging the bottoms over traffic calming areas, roads crowned by heavy trucks and when on country roads with ruts.

[RRoller123]

Quick related question:

For those who have changed bumpers:

How much higher will the Spider sit if one goes from the Federal bumpers to the older wrap around style? With no other changes. This would imply how much the Spider would have to be lowered to return to its normal ride height.

Pete

[Nanonevol]

I'm also considering cutting my springs. I believe the "normal" ride height is higher in the US imported cars.

[joelittel]

Could you post a picture of the limiter straps? I've never heard anyone mention these before.

Just a corded rubber strap with metal eye plates on the end that you bolt to the axle/control arm and the vehicles frame. Some will just use shorter shock absorbers to preform the same function but they can get damaged in aggressive rally driving.



Raise the suspension to the limit you want to enforce, measure the distance where you will be mounting them and then order straps about 1/2 inch shorter to allow for stretching.

Personally I am not a fan of lowering these cars which I have mentioned before as there are not any roads leading to my home that would allow one to drive a lowered car without damaging it. My kid brothers first comment after he followed me home when I picked up the Spider was how great it was that it had enough road clearance to deal with the roads in Tampa Bay. He always had to deal with clearance issues on his Honda 2 seaters and Ford Probes and had to lift a few and inch or so to stop dragging the bottoms over traffic calming areas, roads crowned by heavy trucks and when on country roads with ruts.

If I were going to partake in rallies I'd consider the straps.

my car, an '80, has the retro bumper conversation and Vick's lowering springs with Konis. The koni shocks helped lower the car more than the lowering springs did, but Vick's website warns potential buyers that removing the federal bumpers will cause the car to sit higher even with their lowering springs.

I'm on the fence about cutting springs for the reason mentioned in a previous post. I'd rather try new springs. I think one of the Australian members found a place that made springs to the Spider's exact needs, but I don't recall the details of that thread.

When I switched from kyb to koni I took some quick measurements for comparison purposes, here's what I found:

Ride height KYB to Koni
Pass front 26 1/4" to 25 1/2"
Driver front 25 7/8" to 25 6/16"
Driver rear 24 3/4" to 25 9/16"
Pass rear 25 1/4" to 25 11/16"

I'd wager the car is even more level and a touch lower now that the Konis have been on for over a year. The above measurements were taken right after the swap.

Rroller123 I can not directly answer your question, but I can tell you that with KYB shocks my car sat noticeably higher when I removed the federal bumpers. So much so that my cousin noticed the difference immediately and thought it was hilarious.

I'll look for a picture.

[carl]

When I removed my federal bumpers and ran without any bumpers the car raised up about 2". I used some plastic coated woven metal cable to make my limiter straps but must admit, I prefer the rubber straps shown above. I can take pictures but am computer challenged and don't know how to post them, hell I don't even have computers on my Fiats....carbs only.

I can email pics to anyone interested or follow easy instructions on how to post, I do have a photo bucket account.

The roads have gotten so bad in the Washington DC area that I often fantasize about putting stock 2L springs on my 73 spider, adding rally mudflaps and my hardtop and going with a rally motif rather than my track car motif, imagine blasting down public roads without worrying about blowing out my oil pan on raised manhole covers and crashing down on my suspension (no rubber bump stops) on potholes.

carl

[DieselSpider]

Yes the rubber canvas will be a bit more forgiving than metal cables straps. If you hit the limit do they sound out like a banjo string?

Even riding high as it does mine is still a bit close the catching the exhaust on the extreme speed bumps and traffic calming devices here so yes the temptation is there to raise it at times. At stock height it corners fast enough to exceed the posted speed limit by a fair amount so I have no desire to make it capable of doing so much more than the law allows and can't lawfully be taken advantage of. Speeding fines have gone up quite a bit around here and going even 10 mph over can get a first time offender even on a Vespa scooter a $300 fine as one co-worker found out pulling into the office. Explaining a $300 ticket to ones wife is not my idea of a fun end to a ride.

[chrisg]

something you don't hear much about, but proved quite nice many years ago when I was building up a 124 Spider with access to lots & lots of parts but not lots & lots of money (and at a time when there were NOT so many nice, new vendor items out like the current wheel & spring choices)...anyway, 131 wagon rear springs (mated to 1 coil cut from early Spider fronts) were quite nice in my '74 spider. I guess it's a universal truth that wagon springs have a higher K value, but in this case, they also sit a bit lower...not sure where I got the idea, maybe it was some old-school thinking from the '70s...but it was nice.

Also, Konis (or I presume any non-gas charged shock) will not push your car into the air, which is a nice thing for looks & CG issues, but whether it appreciably impacts handling in 99% of our population's actual use is another story...my guess is no, but I still prefer the car to be lower. TN roadbuilders are rich old men, so our typical driving surfaces are rather good compared to what others may deal with. I guess there has to be some silver lining associated with such a vast good old boy network.

[SunnySideUp]

This thread has me wondering about the progressive springs I recently purchased from AR. I have an '82 with heavy Fed bumpers and I'm running 205/50-15 tires with stock springs and KYBs on all corners. I am hoping to drop the height at least 1 inch. Will I have to go with Konis in order to get 1 inch lower in combination with the progressive springs?