Re: cutting springs on xfire?
Originally Posted by ppro
…The rate of a plain old spring should not change if it's cut…
Originally Posted by ppro
…I just don't see how the spring rate increases when the spring is cut…
It does.
Its rate increases when the number of active coils is reduced, just as a torsion bar becomes stiffer as its length is shortened.
Originally Posted by ppro
…I am not getting any math or a practical example to support this.
http://www.afcoracing.com/tech_pages/spring.shtml#rate
http://www.swayaway.com/calculators/swayawayCalc.php#step9
http://www.pontiacracing.net/js_coil_spring_rate.htm
However, because the load height is occasionally inordinately compromised when shortening OE coil springs, the likelihood of near-fully compressing the jounce snubbers may become a more frequent occurrence. The attendant dramatic increase in wheel rate when that occurs could negatively affect the vehicle’s dynamic balance during spirited operation.
Some choose to fit springs with a higher rate that better accommodates the reduced jounce travel when reducing their ride height.
Others here have not and yet reported no deleterious results.
Last edited by jiii; Dec 4, 2008 at 10:00 PM.