i had a few questions on lowering my car, and i had autotech offer to lower my car for 100....i want the car to be both lower in the front and the rear, does anyone have an opinion on doing this?? what does it mean to slam a car?

I believe when they say slammed, they mean dropped WAY down, dragging on pavement low.

For $100 he's probably just going to cut the springs, or throw clamps on them. You can buy real lowering springs to lower the car and help maintain proper ride characteristics, though it is quite expensive. FieroStore sells the springs for around $250 for the set, but you will have to get them installed or do it yourself. Rodney Dickman sells special lowering ball joints as well, www.rodneydickman.com

I believe quite a few people here have done the cut-spring method and gotten good results, but you have to be careful on how much you cut it. There is a thread around somewhere about it.

I really like the look of a lowered car, but I would never be able to drive it around the streets here without smashing it on potholes.

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[This message has been edited by Xanth (edited 08-10-2007).]

well how much of a ride difference is that going to be? when i asked questions about lowering springs and all that good stuff, i was told that it will make the ride less comftorable. will slamming it make that much of a difference over getting lowering springs, because if it won't, i'd rather just go the cheaper route

I haven't done it, but have heard lowering it improperly can basically result in your suspension travel being reduced to nothing, resulting in a very bumpy ride.

I'm sure people who have done it can give you some better specifics.

but isn't that the same thing that lowering springs do??? i mean i love my fieros suspension, i just bought it about 2 weeks ago, and it's awesome. drove it from madison to about and hour southwest of the city. got lost on the way home lol....but i was out there in farm land driving it over traintracks, and down gravel round, and it was so smooth...i'd hate to see that go...but i know that i am def lowering it...how much of a difference is it from regular to lowering springs, and from lowering springs to "slammin" it??

Don't have an autotech or anyone else do anything to your car unless he us familiar with Fieros. Lowering springs usually have a higher "rate" than stock springs, to reduce the likelihood of bottoming out. But this produces a stiffer ride, and you'll probably need new shocks/struts to handle the new springs. But you can lower the front without changing the springs with either drop spindles or Rodney Dickman's lowering ball joints. The ball joints are the less expensive approach, and others on this forum have said the car rides just fine with them.

so....how am i going to lower the back then?? can i use lowering ball joints on both the rear and the front

you have to be careful my fiero is lowered with eibachs and on stock shocks. i have a really bad ride now. i have to replace the shocks. if you lower your car you might as well do it all shocks bushing sway bars etc

so if he "slams" it, then if i get new shocks will that make it better?

Doesn't cutting springs make them bouncy and hence your ride is all wonky??

99% of the time cut springs / lowering springs cause the suspension to bottom out on the bumpstops, which is the root cause for these springs to get a bad rap for giving a harsh ride. To properly lower the car you will also have to relocate the bumpstops so that you have the same suspension travel. These links give the details....

http://www.westcoastfiero.c...pension/springs.html

http://www.westcoastfiero.c...front_bump_stop.html

http://www.westcoastfiero.c.../rear_bump_stop.html

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Former West Coast Fiero Employee
www.WestCoastFiero.com


Eric Nelson
Internet Sales Manager
Power Ford Valencia
nelsone@autonation.com

thank you so much for that, that will help, but i would really appreciate anybodys personal experience with slamming there car

The above is based off of personal experience. I didn't work on my own or other Fieros as a hobby, did it for a living

I installed the lowering springs from the Fiero Store and experience a stiffer ride but not unpleasant. The worst mistake, I feel, was putting poly in the front suspension. It felt like the steering wheel was going to jump out of your hand. That lasted two weeks before replacing with rubber. I should have listened to others on here who had the same experience.

I don't count my fiero as a "slammed car", but it is lowered 2 inches both front and rear.
I used HT Motorsports suspension. The front consisted of a lowering spindle, and a coilover shock absorber with 400# springs. the rear is the coilover struts with 400# springs.
Then I went to 16in. rims. to gain SOME ground clearance.
the overall ride height is 2 inches lower, and the ride comfort is reduced, but the performance was greatly increased.
I consider it a fair trade off.

still nobody answered me if having them cut the coils will ruin the ride. i just talked to my friend, and he said that it will ruin it...he said he use to do it to cars he didn't care about. if the guy who did it for me moved the bumpstock, would my car be fine?

For what it's worth, I wouldn't cut springs unless you or someone you have on your side, knows exactly what they're doing. For mine I purchased the Eibach lowering kit from FieroStore. Dropped car 1 inch (which is plenty unless you'll do all your driving on a flat surface). A one inch drop lets the tires fill the wheelwells nicely and has no adverse effect on suspension. On my next project I'll do exactly the same thing. As a side note, shocks & struts are important too, of course, and I replaced mine with heavy duty. Solid ride but corners well. Third factor is tires. All three factors work together for performance handling.

can you send pictures of what the 1 in drop looks like. the thing is that he offered to do it for 100 (he contacted me through this forum) and i LOVED the way it lookd

Your stock springs are designed to have a certain spring rate based on thier length and number of coils. Modifying them ruins the spring rate, I read in a Fiero Secrets article that cutting one coil off changes the spring rate enough that it improves handling and doesn't make the ride too bouncy. I'd go the extra $150 and get real lowering springs.

wait, you just said that cutting one coil off improves handling and doens't make the ride bouncy, so why don't i just do that??

"Slamming" is just a term used when talking about lowering. Some may consider my car "slammed" as other may not, it is just an expression. Cutting springs may not be the absolute "proper" way of lowering a car, but if done correctly has no ill effects and acomplishes the same goal. On every Fiero I have owned I have cut the spings, including the one I pictured in your other post, and have zero complaints. It is perfectly safe, if done properly, and is the best bang-for-the-buck.

The ride quality is altered from stock as it will be a little stiffer ride. I actually preffer this compared to the cadillac feeling of stock, but again, the difference is not that dramatic. I too believe the better performance gained from lowering outweighs the drop in ride quality. I would be happy to let you go for a ride in my car so you can feel the difference, however I have full poly suspension which enhances the overall ride. I'll take you for a ride, its not really as stiff as some people make it out to be. Of course, raising the bump stops is key, as with any lowering job.

And yes, I am very familiar with working on these cars. I make may paychecks by working on them, I am an employee of V8Archie.com.

[This message has been edited by AutoTech (edited 08-10-2007).]

will you raise the bumpstocks when you slam it? my friend told me that you should only cut the coils on cars that you don't care about, and that this will ruin my investment, is this true? i mean i love the way the fiero in that picture looks, but i don't want to ruin the car, or bottom it out every other pothole

quote Originally posted by AutoTech: "Slamming" is just a term used when talking about lowering. Some may consider my car "slammed" as other may not, it is just an expression. .

I would trust Autotech with my firstborn so he knows what he's doing.

A one or two inch drop no matter how you do it is not going to make the ride so harsh that you can't stand it.

I believe when most people talk about slammed they are usually talking about a car so low that it is able to lay the frame right on the ground. That obviously takes more than cut springs to get that low, like it has airbags, or hydraulics.

[This message has been edited by jscott1 (edited 08-10-2007).]

will it damage my car?? that is what i'm asking. the guy who gave me my info i would trust with my life, and he has worked on many many show cars, and he told me it would ruin my investment, is this safe to do (for the car)

quote Originally posted by shermdizzle: will you raise the bumpstocks when you slam it? my friend told me that you should only cut the coils on cars that you don't care about, and that this will ruin my investment, is this true? i mean i love the way the fiero in that picture looks, but i don't want to ruin the car, or bottom it out every other pothole

Yes, the bumpstops need to be raised or you will bottom out, it has to be done no matter which way you choose.

Some people are against cutting springs, while many others here have cut thiers and are happy with it. With the three cars I have owned I have put over 90,000 miles on cut springs and have had no regrets. Of course, if I were building a very high performance Fiero that would be competing is championship autocross' I would spend the hundreds of dollars for springs and coil-overs. Thats not needed for street cars though. So until then, cutting is the best way to in my opinion.

I agree that a properly cut spring is not much different from a drop spring. If it doesn't work, you are no worse off than before because you were going to replace the spring anyway.

In my real life experience, Yes, cutting the springs is perfectly safe. I can see why your buddy doesnt preffer cutting the springs seeing as he builds relatively expensive show cars, but to say that it isnt safe and is deemed to ruin your investment just isnt true.

my first 86se had the springs cut in it...it was so low you could not put your hand under the side ground effects stacked sideways...i found that when i went over consecutive bumps ie crossing a bridge with pavement done in sections, it would cause my front end to bounce like it was a low rider and i was playing with the hydraulics...it was fun but got annoying fast...my ex gf hated it cuz she was well endowed in the chest area and it hurt her too...lol....tim

quote Originally posted by AutoTech: And yes, I am very familiar with working on these cars. I make may paychecks by working on them, I am an employee of V8Archie.com.

Just for the record.

Yes, Mark works for me.

He won't be doing this job in my shop or under my shop name. I am the only sales agent we have.

It doesn't appear that he offered to do this job under the V-8 Archie name & I'm sure he doesn't plan to do any part of the work in my shop.

He has his car lowered by cutting the springs & it looks real sharp. I have not ridden in it.

If you are concerned about the ride quality after lowering, I'd suggest you get a ride in his car first.

I've cut the springs on my own cars in the past, so I'm not against the process if done right & I'm sure Mark is capable of doing it right.

IMHO, $100.00 for a lowering job via Spring cut is a heck of a deal, if you are satisfuied with the ride quality.

Thanks

Archie

I cut my springs and the cars still handles and rides just fine, cant tell a diference at all.

I cut one coil of the rear and two off the front. (rear, i just stuck the blade against teh end of the coil and cut it straight down. Did the same to the front, but i took one off the top and one off the bottom)

AutoTech, please PM me with contact info...thank you

I wish AutoTech was closer to me.
I'd take him up on that offer in a second.

As far as "ruining your investment"...it's not like you have a super rare...high dollar exotic.It's a Fiero for goodness sake.
Enjoy the damn car.
If you have the springs cut...and decide at a later date that you liked it better stock...a set of stock springs won't set you back much at all...maybe even less than the lowering job cost.

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--David

Black '86 GT-under construction
Silver '87 GT-daily driver

i probably look like a retard, but i'm getting a lot of mixed reactions "any spring change will make the ride so harsh you'll hate it" "theres no difference" "it feels better" so which is it??? i don't mind if the ride is different, as you can expect that, i just don't want my car lookin like it's on hydro's....will this do that???

quote Originally posted by shermdizzle: i probably look like a retard, but i'm getting a lot of mixed reactions "any spring change will make the ride so harsh you'll hate it" "theres no difference" "it feels better" so which is it??? i

It all depends...ride quality is kind of a subjective thing. Some people like a cushy ride and any change of spring rate is unacceptable. For me with my 1 inch drop springs the ride is awesome on smooth pavement. On rought pavement it's not bone rattling, but you can feel every little expansion joint. There is a road on my way to work that is really bad and in need of repair, and if I go too fast the frame sounds like it's going to crack in half. The same road in my truck you can hardly feel the cracks.

Slammin it puts it down to the max babyee. Then they drive around dragging the bumpers, frames, rockers to look cool shooting sparks. About the same effect as putting a 4' high wing on a Toyota Corrola, lol.

quote Originally posted by rogergarrison: Slammin it puts it down to the max babyee. Then they drive around dragging the bumpers, frames, rockers to look cool shooting sparks. About the same effect as putting a 4' high wing on a Toyota Corrola, lol.

Wow, don't know how you can compare that to a that... There are many different mods you can do so you DON'T drag your frame. From blocks to trailer hitch balls. For example http://myspacetv.com/index....dual&videoid=3268769 we'll be making another film in a couple weeks! Anyways, heres my slammed Fiero Air Ride > Springs

I have a stock 88 formula [ low miles too ]
and a high mile cut spring car [also a 88 formula ]
that I think was cut too much [ over 2'']
esp with lower profile tyres on 16'' wheels on it
I didnot do the cut car came to me that way

I would not cut over 1'' if you care about ride quality
and I think the pre - 88's are stiff stock esp the WS-6 cars

the best way to go is coilovers that you can adjust
and do it yourself coilovers donot cost that much

my N* car has coilovers set semi high but 18'' wheels on 35-205 front tyres
four things effect ride quality
spring rate
anti-roll bar size [ adds to spring rate ] esp bigger bars and adding rear bars
polly or rubber bushings
tyres [side wall flex] stiffness and ratio 35's are way stiffer then 60's
wheels size is a minor factor as ratio is the biggie

btw 88's are way softer riding [stock]
and my N* car has bigger bars, polly , tube a-arms, coilovers
and rides way stiff on low profile 18 35-205 and 40 -225 rears
but needs to be to handle the 300+ hp

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Question wonder and be wierd
are you kind?

[This message has been edited by ray b (edited 08-13-2007).]

I have an 88 and cut at least 3 set of springs to get what I wanted. I also cut the rubber bump stops down but I dont remember how much, maybe .75?


the back is stock in this pic but I cut down the rear spring to lower it an inch or so.



different spring heights.










It is hard to give an exact answer to "How much do I cut?" But it is a good idea to cut a little at a time. Stop cutting the springs BEFORE your optimum height because the springs will settle after driving on them for a little while. Or you will be like me and just cut the spring were I wanted the car to be, THEN after a month or so the car is too low.

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thank you rick, so my question to you is, are you hoppin all over the place??