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Hello, My name is Trent... I'm 13 years old and my Dad has asked me to see if I could find out how to cut the front springs of a 1971 Impala to give it a lower stance. No flames please!!! I am looking for information only. My Dad told me the information on this site is very helpful! Thank you in advance for youre response!
DON'T DO IT. You'll screw up the suspension geometry and the car will never be right. Use dropped spindles instead.
I gotta' agree with Techi on that one. Yes you can cut or heat the springs to drop it, but that's really not the best way to do it. Just as Techi said your suspension geometry will be out of whack, as well as the ride will suffer. Dropped spindels are not that expensive and are a safe way to go about dropping the front of a car.
BG
And it's nice to see your dad getting you involved. This'll be a good way for you to start learning.
Thanks for replying to my sons post guy's... Not trying to argue but I was reading this article in "Popular Hotrodding" and they seem to have done it without allot of negative consequences and even according to them improved the handling of the car while also lowering the stance.
http://popularhotrodding.com/tech/0509phr_g28/
I understand it may effect the camber or the angle of the wheel. If the top of the wheel is leaning out from the center of the car, then the camber is positive, if it's leaning in, then the camber is negative. If the camber is out of adjustment, it will cause tire wear on one side of the tire's tread. If the camber is too far negative, for instance, then the tire will wear on the inside of the tread. So I'm guessing tire wear is the biggest issue???
I have also seen this modification done by Chip Foose on "Over haulen" a few times... So what am I missing??? Again I'm not trying to argue. It just seems like a no cost modification on the front end anyway (other than possibly a slighlty stiffer ride and premature tire wear) that will give me the look I'm after.
Like I said it can be done and alot of guys do it, but it's not the best way to go about it. Besides the camber issues you are also changing the spring rate that was designed into the spring. if a spring was designed to support "X" amount of weight and have "Y" amount of spring rate at "Z" length, then when you shorten that spring length you are getting a differnt spring rate. Thats what effects the ride quality.
Another consideration is not just spring rate or camber, but the steering itself. By cutting the springs you take the tie rods out of the plane that they were designed to be used in, which in turn can cause bump steer or poor steering.
Cutting or heating the springs is really a old time way to drop a car, with the introduction of dropped spindles for $100-200 cutting/heating has become a thing of the past in most quality builds. I have never seen Foose do it (not that I doubt you) maybe I just didnt see that show....but if he did then all I can say is no one's perfect;)
Cutting them is an option for you if your set on doing it that way, and you may not have any problems, but for the small price of spindles I personaly wouldn't risk the chance myself. Saftey is always the number one concern for me when I do a build.
BG
"according to them improved the handling of the car"
Key words, "according to them".
I suspect that real world testing on a skid pad would yield a lesser "g" factor than the stock arrangement.
This is just human nature. When you make a change on a car, you want to imagine that you have improved it. You don't want to admit to yourself that it handles worse in reality and you certainly don't want to admit it to anyone else and make yourself look stupid.
It's not only the camber that you change, it's camber gain, roll center and roll couple distribution.
I contend that the best way to lower the car is with dropped spindles or by "z-ing" the frame, leaving the geometry as it was designed by factory engineers who know a lot more than Chip Foose.