- Hi, I'm Gels from Fitment Industries.
Please say that you'll be the answer for an innocent vehicle
that suffering right now from having its springs cut.
A vehicle that needs your help.
Please,
subscribe and share this video with your friends.
By doing so you will help rescue vehicles
from their abusers,
provide mechanical maintenance information
on proper suspension and wheel fitment.
Subscribe right now in the next 30 minutes,
and we'll send you a picture of a vehicle
that needs your help.
This is your chance to say I won't sit by
while people cut their springs to make their car lower.
Please,
if you know someone who has done this, send them this video,
let them know that Fitment Industries offers wheels, tires,
and suspension, and of course,
give them a swift smack to the back of the head.
(Gels laughs)
(car engine revving)
That's right, damn it.
We're talking about cutting springs,
so put down the vice grips and grinder because we are back
with another episode of Myths or Facts.
And if you didn't get it by like the intro,
don't forget to subscribe and check out
fitmentindustries.com.
Anyway.
(techno music)
This is gonna be a fun one, you know,
you wanna know why,
because the person editing this video
actually did cut his springs
and I will continue talking specifically
about Shawn, until he does something about it,
but
we've all been there, right?
We're all young
at one point in our lives,
we're starting out in the car scene.
In high school, working part-time jobs,
making just enough to maybe put some gas in the tank,
grab some food and some car parts here and there
and just have a good time.
And at some point here and there,
we are met with a crossroad.
We wanted to lower our car,
but maybe didn't have enough in the bank account
to go pick up
a fresh set of lowering springs
and damn well, not enough to go pick up a set of coil overs.
So you were left with two options, do the responsible thing,
and we'd save up a few more paychecks
and get something nice, like a set of lowering springs,
or just hopping out back to the old shed,
grab the grinder,
cut your stock coil springs in half and call it a day.
So let's go ahead and talk about this, shall we?
Is cutting of springs really that bad of a thing to do?
Usually when it comes down to people cutting their springs,
it is typically due to them wanting
to lower their ride height,
but also wanna spend little to no money doing so.
If that's the case, then yes,
cutting your springs is the easiest thing to do,
and it's the easiest way to go.
And even though, it might not cost you anything upfront,
it will cost you so much more in the long run,
including probably, you know, your pride.
We already know that the main complaint about a vehicle
with cut springs, is that it rides like absolute garbage.
It's harsh,
it's super bumpy,
sometimes makes more noises than it probably should.
This is typically always countered with argument
that they are now basically the same as lowering springs.
So does it really make a difference.
That
is not correct.
Lowering springs are specifically designed to do just that.
Be a replacement for the stock coil spring
and allow the car to ride lower.
However, that doesn't mean it's just a stock spring,
that was shortened a little bit.
Aftermarket springs
come with different properties,
things like spring rate and preload
that accommodate for having an overall shorter length.
What happens is when you take a stock coil spring
and chop off in into two,
you are still keeping the same spring rate
as you would stock,
meaning that your suspension is going to react
pretty much the same, but just now at a lower ride height.
Now, this means a couple of things.
One, it's now easier to bottom out your suspension
because you're using the incorrect spring rate
for the ride height.
Two, if you're running a more aggressive type of fitment
with the wheels and tires,
it's gonna be pretty easy to run into rubbing issues,
since the spring rate will be pretty damn soft.
Basically the suspension is going to try to move
as much as it could when it was at stock ride height,
which you can't do anymore because it's sitting lower.
Typically, when you wanna lower a car properly,
you are going to want to increase the spring rate
and upgrade the damper or shock absorber as well
to help with these exact issues.
But ride quality isn't the only problem that can occur
when cutting your springs either.
If you look at factory coil springs,
you'll see at the top and at the bottom of this spring,
there'll be flattened part to create a good seat
on the spring purchase.
When you cut the springs,
not only are you getting rid of the flat spots,
but if you also notice the coils of a spring
are also at an angle,
meaning once you've cut off the flat spot,
you're now having the rest of the spring at an angle
on the round part of the coil,
not creating a proper seat.
This can cause wheel clunking and creaking issues
that typically you hear in a car with cut springs.
There's also a process called heating your springs,
which is yet another terrifying solution
people have come up with to lower their car.
This involves taking the stock coil spring,
heating up to a high temperature and then compressing it
to shorten the length of it.
Now, this is terrifying for just a few reasons.
Number one, being able to get the same height
on all four springs is going to be insanely difficult.
Number two, which is the big one here,
you are messing with the actual material properties
of the springs.
Coil Springs when they are manufactured,
have a specific annealing process that they go through
to achieve the correct properties that allows the spring
to compress and rebound, and most importantly,
not break or crack.
By heating up the spring
and up to change its overall shape,
you are completely destroying
and disregarding those properties,
and then it's a very unsafe thing to do.
And you're probably going to end up
with some broken springs in the long run.
Don't heat your springs.
So when it comes down to cutting or heating your springs
and whether or not it is that bad of a thing to do
for your car,
or if you should do it or not,
please
don't,
it is that bad,
it's not safe.
And lowering springs are not
really that expensive,
like TEIN springs start like $200 for a set
and I can promise you that it will be so much more
worth it in the long run.
So let us know your thoughts down
in the comment section below,
and please don't forget to check out
wheels, tires and suspension
all over at fitmentindustries.com.
Thank you guys so much for watching.
Don't forget to subscribe all that sort of fun stuff.
We will see you later,
peace.
(upbeat music)