The more coils you cut off the original spring, the stiffer the spring g rate becomes..let alone the more coils you cut the more suspension travel you loose.. Neither is exactly a good thing
Which begs the question, how does an iron 200 I6 compare in weight to an aluminum headed 5.0 SB with an aluminum intake and water pump?
Thanks all, I will check the uninstall height specs after I remove them, after I buy a spring compression tool which I was hoping to avoid. It sounds reasonable that it is not a good idea to cut too much spring out. I will add an update in a few weeks after I get to this. Everything has slowed down on this project and I may need to add these springs to my ever increasing stock of parts ordered but not used!
I honestly dunno which is why I said I'm going to try the 6cyl springs... Only have $20 in them, not the end of world if I have to cut down the orig and reinstall those... Not a Mav/Comet but as a reference when I installed a alu headed, intake, WP, ect 5.0 in my '88 T-Bird that orig had the turbo-4, the suspension only dropped approx 3/8"... Was sure I'd need 5.0 springs in it...
the I6 motor hangs further past the front axle center line. this puts move of its weight on the front springs the the v8 does. i remember people saying in a past thread that the I6 spring rates are higher than the v8 spring rates. im not entirely sure about that. usually switching to aluminum heads drops close to 40lbs off a sbf. im sure the aluminum water pump drops some real weight also over the cast iron ones. an aluminum intake will also drop a considerable amount. i would guess that all 3 of the changes removes over 60 lbs from the front of the car.
Its been a while since I've looked at a stock spring but that cant possibly be right (original picture). Once you check the uninstalled height and find them to be the incorrect spring, be sure not to just cut to length. Its likely also the incorrect spring rate. Send them back for the right part.
In addition to the above, I will also have to add an aluminum oil pump, removal of the A/C compressor& evap., moving the battery to the trunk, small bumper swap, mini starter, steering box (going to R&P). Before I started the project my car sat too high in the front as it was!
Here's pict of mine taken back last winter with orig spring reinstalled... I've also removed air cond compressor but will be reinstalled... Still I'm surprised mine sets so high, allowing for some ageing, would thought orig springs would be just about perfect...
I had been planning to go with adjustable coilovers when the car comes back from the body shop. Reading threads like these reinforces my concerns about using a conventional spring, since I hate removing and installing them more than once.
Pulleys! No, I rented one. Now it is clear I will have to buy one since this will be trial and error. I got my compression tool today and I just pulled one out after about an hour of scary high risk work. The uninstall height is right (about 16.5 inches). I will start cutting! Going with 1 1/2 coils to start.
Ride tech coil overs are the best as they're a true coil over versus a hybrid coilover like QA1 and Viking
