Holden front end mods

[Taily]

So now you do agree with me, cutting a coil will increase the spring rate ....... good to learn new things hey!

Nope, read my post even closer next time. Again you are confusing rate with stiffness. I said the rate of the spring doesn't change and it doesn't, as you shorten the wire that same weight of the vehicle must be supported by the remaining coil wire (load factor increase by the % of coil wire removed) and this is why it 'feels' stiffer. You are splitting hairs trying to make me agree to something that isn't true. Most people attend this extra 'firmness' of the ride to the spring, but it is more likely to the combination of shock nearing bottom out at installed height and the twist in the bushes that people don't seem to bother backing off before lowering their car. Besides, a shorter spring has to work harder, work hardens quicker and ultimately doesn't last the distance.

If you know so much about rate then remind me again how it is measured? Ahh, you forgot that?

I'm not wasting any more time on this, you're obviously someone who believes in everything he reads on the internet and just in it for the shit stir, I called you out on your claim that you were supposedly a qualified engineer and you were strangley silent...

Bollocks !! How can cutting a spring increase its rate ?

All you have done is to reduce its height (both free & installed), the rate will remain the same unless somebody heat treats it.

Most guys, lower their car by too much. Most do it for looks, not necessarily to improve the handling.

Take a leaf out of the car manufacturer's books & lower it by say just 1-inch, but increase the spring rate at the same time. This is why an HZ RTS car in stock form handles so well. Even the HZ GTS, one of Holden's best handling cars of the era, wasn't dropped on its guts.

The big trick is get the increased spring rate matched to the shock absorber's damping rate. It's almost a 'black art', look at how much time the V8 Supercar teams spend to get that extra 1% over the opposition, simply by altering spring & shock rates.

I doubt any insurance company would lose any sleep over a car which had cut springs, unless it was lowered to a ridiculously (illegally) low ride height. It would then qualify for a defect anyway.

Dr Terry

Spot on Dr Terry!