Cutting coil springs

[Stumpalump]

Spring works and Deaver want 500 bucks for custom coils so I just ordered off the shelf coils that are the lightest and shortest jeepspeed progressive coils that a racer would run. $197. They are still stiffer than common XJ lift coils but thats what I want. I like a large tire with little lift so stiff will keep me off the bumpstops. From what I've seen in Moab last week most all Jeeps lifted with a kit would dive on dropoffs and bottom out on the high speed sections way too much for me. The rear on my jeep is suposed to be way to stiff but it worked nice so I will match the front with stiff and see how it works out. A lift kit is for a stock vehicle. By the time you put on bigger axels,winch ,bumpers,sliders,parts ,tools, roll bar, ect. then common lift springs are too soft for the weight. Tuning moutain bike and dirt bike spring rates make a huge difference so I hope to nail this jeep front end even if it means trial and error. I'll post up if they work.

 

[XJSpencer]

I don't know for sure how much height was lost, since I never installed them before I cut them. I cut one full coil off, and got 5.5" of lift. So, assuming an 8" SJ coil will actually give about 7.5" of lift, cutting one full coil lost 2". I really like these coils, they are the best combination I've run.........but, I like a stiff coil, and I did it this way to get a real stiff coil. As a given coil is shortened it gets stiffer, which is what I was going for.

In you're situation, you might start cutting 1/4 coil at a time and see what it does.

I've been thinking about doing this also. What about the flat part on the bottom of the coil? When you bolt it down with the spring retainers, does it sit flat and tight to the coil perch?

 

[Goatman]

I've been thinking about doing this also. What about the flat part on the bottom of the coil? When you bolt it down with the spring retainers, does it sit flat and tight to the coil perch?

There's no flat spot on the bottom of the coil, round all the way to the end, so nothing changes.


There's really no discussion about cutting a coil being ghetto fab. That's simply an uneducated opinion based on what they heard sometime from someone. We tune shock valving, add and remove leaves from from leaf spring packs, change and cut bump stops, all to fine tune a suspesnion. so what's the big deal about cutting a small amount off of an existing coil to fine tune the spring rate and lift?

Or, maybe I'm just ghetto fab.

 

[Goatman]

Thanks and you just gave me an idea. I bet I can jack up the front and use a spring compressor to cut a little bit off the coils without removing them.

Don't your coils just pop out? If the shocks are disconnected, and the bump stop is unscrewd, you shouldn't need a spring compressor. If you do, cut some more off the end of the shock mount to allow for more suspension droop. You can also jack up one side of the axle which pushes the other side down a little more.

I hate spring compressors.....

 

[XJSpencer]

There's no flat spot on the bottom of the coil, round all the way to the end, so nothing changes.

Not the wire. The winding levels off a little bit.

 

[xj92]

I agree with Goatman entirely, there's nothing ghetto about it if done right. Just don't use heat. Use a thin cutoff wheel on a grinder and zip through it.

 

[Goatman]

Not the wire. The winding levels off a little bit.

Not on the coils I've used. Maybe it does that on the stock coils. If you look at the stock coil spring perch it's slanted to match the coil.

However, even though I've used a bunch of different coils I haven't seen them all.......so maybe some do that. I've used Tomken, Rancho, RE, Tera, and Skyjacker coils at one time or another.

 

[TRAILREADYXJ]

There's really no discussion about properly cutting a coil being ghetto fab.

Fixed it for you....and I agree, as long as you realize it changes the spring rate and don't expect it to ride the same.
Ghetto would be heating up the spring with a torch, changing the characteristics of the steel.

I haven't seen a flat bottom XJ coil either.

 

[XJSpencer]

I just cut some Skyjacker 8" coils down today. I cut off the whole winding on the bottom. On my winch free front end it sits at 6.75 - 7" of lift which is exactly what I wanted. I cut them with a cut-off wheel and it went fast without over-heating the coils. They are much stiffer than the RK/RC coils that I pulled off. It seems better balanced front to rear which is what I was going for.

 

[Stumpalump]

Mine worked out well also. It's a joke that almost all the lift kit companys use such light springs. Skyjacker is the stiffest of the bunch and with some cut off you made them a little stiffer. Glad it worked for all of us that cut them.

 

[Israel]

I just cut some Skyjacker 8" coils down today. I cut off the whole winding on the bottom. On my winch free front end it sits at 6.75 - 7" of lift which is exactly what I wanted. I cut them with a cut-off wheel and it went fast without over-heating the coils. They are much stiffer than the RK/RC coils that I pulled off. It seems better balanced front to rear which is what I was going for.

Out of curiousity, how tall were those RK coils you just took off?

 

[XJSpencer]

Out of curiousity, how tall were those RK coils you just took off?

Are you following me?



6.5"

 

[Israel]

Are you following me?



6.5"

Yes.

 

[vetteboy]

I run stock XJ front coils in the rear of my XJ. I plan on cutting off one wind from each tomorrow.

I fully expect the coils to then implode and lose all of their springiness.

Or, it might just lower the ass end of the jeep by about .75", and make it a little stiffer.

Anyone wanna guess the outcome?

 

[Goatman]

Mine worked out well also. It's a joke that almost all the lift kit companys use such light springs. Skyjacker is the stiffest of the bunch and with some cut off you made them a little stiffer. Glad it worked for all of us that cut them.

Glad you liked them cut.

Mine aren't quite as comfortable on a rough trail, but they sure are more stable in all situations and are great for fast trail running and hauling ass, and very good on the street with no sway bar needed. I sure like them.