Getting Coil Springs Compressed

[Kiwi-Corolla]

Unfortunately I've had to remove my coilovers due to the ride being too bouncy for my liking, so I'm planning on reverting back to my previous spring/strut set-up. However, I want to be able to achieve the same sort of ride height that I had with the coilovers, but nobody manufactures lowering springs to go that low (approx 3") for the AE101 series Corollas.

The best solution I can see would be to get the lowering springs (Dobi's) compressed and the shocks (Monroe's) shortened.

What are the cons of getting the springs compressed professionally? Would only want them compressed about 25mm in the front and 20mm in the rear. Would the springs eventually un-compress by themselves over time? And does the process pose any potential safety risk?

The shocks will be shortened whether I decide to get the springs compressed or not, but while I have the coilovers in there for the time being I'd rather get everything done at the same time so I'm gathering as much information as possible, therefore all advice is welcome

[92mr2paddy]

why not buy proper ride height adjustable suspension?

[Kiwi-Corolla]

why not buy proper ride height adjustable suspension?

Did you read my post at all? Lol. I've got Cusco coilovers right now. They're too bouncy for my liking as they have no dampening adjustment, one of the pillowball mounts is stuffed and I can't be bothered fixing them and going through the cost/headache of a cert just so I can achieve my desired ride height....

[92mr2paddy]

yeap ive read your post but the cusco's only have spring adjustment so when you wind it down u also loosen the spring making it more bouncy? yea getting a cert is downside

[Kiwi-Corolla]

yeap ive read your post but the cusco's only have spring adjustment so when you wind it down u also loosen the spring making it more bouncy? yea getting a cert is downside

Yep, they're the older, partially threaded type, so the lower I go the bouncier it becomes as the shock loses it's ability to cushion the bumps due to the reduced piston travel. Unfortunately new coilovers are way out of my budget (these Cuscos cost me $455 on their own), especially once I factor in the cost of the cert. I've been reading about compressing the springs instead (also know as resetting the springs) and have read quite a lot of good things about it, so thought I'd ask on here to get opinions from people who have had it done before.

I found this article quite interesting: http://autospeed.com/cms/title_Resettin ... ticle.html

[Lloyd]

No real downside apart from the possibility that they wont get the height exactly right for what you want. And being that you're aiming for such a small change I would be surprised if its bang on what you want. And that they may settle a bit over time and be lower than you cant, then you cant just wind them up like you could with adjustable.

[escortman]

And shocks might not be able to cope and constantly bottom out. Youd be better off looking for coilovers that are height adjustable seperate to the sping platform, hsd in my supra are like this

[Kiwi-Corolla]

No real downside apart from the possibility that they wont get the height exactly right for what you want. And being that you're aiming for such a small change I would be surprised if its bang on what you want. And that they may settle a bit over time and be lower than you cant, then you cant just wind them up like you could with adjustable.

Cool, cheers. Good to know. Right now the measurements from the centre of each wheel to each guard is 300mm, which is ideally what I'd want the springs to sit at after they've been compressed. When I had the coil springs fitted I had 325mm on the front and 318mm on the rear. I want to go a fraction lower than where the coilovers currently sit, so if I told the spring shop to do 25mm on the front and 25mm on the rear it should work out perfectly.

And shocks might not be able to cope and constantly bottom out. Youd be better off looking for coilovers that are height adjustable seperate to the sping platform, hsd in my supra are like this

Hopefully that won't be the case. I'll be getting the shocks professionally shortened before installing the compressed springs. Fully threaded coilovers would be nice sometime in the future when I can eventually afford it

[Lloyd]

Sure, but bear in mind that it is still a spring. Saying you want it 20mm lower when loaded, then sending a bare spring to them could get it 10mm lower, or could get it back 30mm lower. Shorter shocks should be fine, the piston shouldn't bottom out if things are shortened, but you may end up hitting bump stops.

[xsspeed]

From what I understand the spring rate will be way less (ie less stiff) after compressed. You'd be better off getting some springs made by the likes of Snell's to the specs you want.

If not I would be looking at some brand of super lows and shortened shocks if required.

[Bling]

Why not just save your pennies and buy some of Bazda's coilovers. I'm sure he can set up a pair to suit your needs.

[Dell'Orto]

Get custom made springs if you don't want to save for coilovers, they're far better an option than compressed ones. Can get any height you want, or even specify a rate.

[Kiwi-Corolla]

Sure, but bear in mind that it is still a spring. Saying you want it 20mm lower when loaded, then sending a bare spring to them could get it 10mm lower, or could get it back 30mm lower. Shorter shocks should be fine, the piston shouldn't bottom out if things are shortened, but you may end up hitting bump stops.

Hmm, certainly something to think about. Don't really fancy buying a whole new set of springs if they end up being too long after getting compressed as that would defeat the whole purpose. Guess I'll just have to talk to the guys at the shop prior to getting them compressed so I can be clear on how low it'll actually go.

As for the shortened shocks, would the bump stops be necessary anymore? Could I just remove them entirely since the piston length would be too short to bottom out inside the strut?

From what I understand the spring rate will be way less (ie less stiff) after compressed. You'd be better off getting some springs made by the likes of Snell's to the specs you want.

If not I would be looking at some brand of super lows and shortened shocks if required.

From what I've read so far the spring rate doesn't change if you compress already lowered springs, but that information might not be correct. The springs I want to get compressed are actually Super Lows already, but don't quite go low enough (about an inch higher than I would like). So far I've tried Jamex, Kings and now Dobis, which have yielded the biggest drop compared to the other two brands.

[escortman]

Yeh when you compress springs they normally go softer, and shortening shocks only help keep the springs captive at full travel they wont do anything to stop them bottoming out or hitting bump stops.

Have you thought about getting different spring rate for the coilovers?

[Bling]

I can see this thread ending up like the other one.

Unless you are going to chop down the strut housings, compressed super lows are just going to end in fail imo. Most of the above ideas end up in cert territory anyway so I see no gains from 'cheaping out'.

[Kiwi-Corolla]

Why not just save your pennies and buy some of Bazda's coilovers. I'm sure he can set up a pair to suit your needs. 2nd hand coilovers is either going to end up in very good luck and get a good result, or just money done the drain.

I wish that was an option. Unfortunately I can't afford to spend about $1400 + 350 for a cert just on suspension alone. If I was doing a lot of track days it would make sense and be somewhat justifiable, but for that sort of money I'd much rather be doing a 4A-GE swap or getting a full respray. Yeah it's a big risk to take buying secondhand coilovers, and sadly for me it wasn't a happy ending

Get custom made springs if you don't want to save for coilovers, they're far better an option than compressed ones. Can get any height you want, or even specify a rate.

What sort of ballpark figure would I be looking at for custom made springs? Compressing my current Super Lows is going to cost $50 a spring, so $200 for the set. If the price is somewhere near that figure to get a set of custom made springs made then it might be worth considering

[Truenotch]

I'd recommend that you don't compress the springs. People will disagree here, but cutting and re-shaping is actually a better option.... This will raise the rate slightly, but harder doesn't always equal a worse ride quality.

Getting springs made is another good option too.

Why not get softer rate springs for your coilovers and possibly keeper springs to make sure they stay captive? Coilover springs are easy to get and you have the added bonus of being able to adjust your ride height or change the springs if you change your mind later on.

Make sure you check your current shocks too. If they're stuffed, it won't do anything for your ride quality.

[Kiwi-Corolla]

Yeh when you compress springs they normally go softer, and shortening shocks only help keep the springs captive at full travel they wont do anything to stop them bottoming out or hitting bump stops.

Have you thought about getting different spring rate for the coilovers?

Thought about it, but the pillowball mount (spherical bearing) is stuffed and apparently it's a real bitch to replace since it's pressed in and sealed. Not easily removable like today's newer coilovers. I won't pass a cert with a stuffed pillowball mount so the only option would be to replace the whole camber plate on the front right corner, but finding a replacement AE101 Cusco one of those would be a nightmare.

I can see this thread ending up like the other one.

Unless you are going to chop down the strut housings, compressed super lows are just going to end in fail imo. Most of the above ideas end up in cert territory anyway so I see no gains from 'cheaping out'.

I hope not because that thread was blown completely out of proportion . I'm assuming you're meaning that if I go under 100mm a cert will be required? Not for the actual compressing of the springs?

[Bling]

Both probably You can't usually modify things like springs. Haven't looked recently though.

I just think you either

a) have to be happy with the current height
b) do it right with new coil overs as they are the only way to get an exact height easily.

[Dell'Orto]

What sort of ballpark figure would I be looking at for custom made springs? Compressing my current Super Lows is going to cost $50 a spring, so $200 for the set. If the price is somewhere near that figure to get a set of custom made springs made then it might be worth considering

Probably double that. Advantage is that you can say I want them to be xx height and xx poundage.