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I've pulled out the spring, cut the rubber stops and things are going well. But I have doubts maybe someone can help with. I read all the threads in the the DIY but if anybody could ease my mind I'm not clear on a couple of questions.
It says in all the DIY's cut the Aluminum spring support to height difference of the oem to the new wedge. So I take it this means only to the top of the peak of the lowering wedge supplied in the kits correct? If i cut below the peak just slightly (1/8") its OK?
The Mid america info sheet says to remove any spacers. Anybody put back the flat Aluminum spacer that sits between the frame and on top of the oem pad? Would that still allow a decent lowered height correct or no? I'm not going totally slammed just a good lowered look
Any replies would be greatly appreciated
Thanks
Hary
Last edited by Hary Gahtoe; 03-24-2015 at 07:13 PM.
The spacers can be retained and you are correct that it will prevent the car from being totally slammed to the bumpstops (this is good- you obviously need some suspension travel).
On my car they had been swapped out but at least still on the outside of the bracket held on with bolts as if they were in storage. I was happy to have not needed to buy new ones when I swapped back to a stock spring. The spring brackets should be milled shorter...mine looked to be about a 3/8 of an inch shorter than stock. Remember that the rubber bushing compresses somewhat so you probably wouldn't need to mill it down as much as you think. I traded them to the guy I swapped springs with so I no longer have them for reference.
The spacers can be retained and you are correct that it will prevent the car from being totally slammed to the bumpstops (this is good- you obviously need some suspension travel).
On my car they had been swapped out but at least still on the outside of the bracket held on with bolts as if they were in storage. I was happy to have not needed to buy new ones when I swapped back to a stock spring. The spring brackets should be milled shorter...mine looked to be about a 3/8 of an inch shorter than stock. Remember that the rubber bushing compresses somewhat so you probably wouldn't need to mill it down as much as you think. I traded them to the guy I swapped springs with so I no longer have them for reference.
Thanks Mike! I was just caught off guard by the Mid America instructions saying remove the spacer. One of the Forum DIY's shows the spacer put back but the guy cut off the whole stop and left 1/4" of rubber with no wedge at all so nothing concrete that there wasn't any info saying members had or hadn't gotten a big drop with wedges and the spacer back in place.
Anybody done a drop with or without spacers in there drop setup love to see what the difference is
Thanks
Last edited by Hary Gahtoe; 03-25-2015 at 06:02 PM.
Here's what the cut bracket looks like- maybe it was only .25 inches or so- if you don't do this there is a big air gap for the lowering wedge to bounce up and down in. If that is the case, it will be easier to raise it.
Piece of advice, if your car looks like mine after. There's a good probability it will ride like total crap. Post pics. I'm excited to see how yours looks. How many inches will that bring your front end down? I'm having mine lifted up next week. But maybe an inch lower than stock.
Thanks for the replies, Mike, blacko, evl I copied the same DIY and funny that they use the Aluminum spacer but it makes sense to use it as the spring will be laying on the frame if you leave it out.
I put the spacer back. I'm replacing F&R bushings and power steering hoses but when it's done I'll be glad to let others see.
Evl, there's a good chance the pads have also been removed from the end of your spring that sit on the A arms. They act as a cushion. To drop a car that low removing the pads would be great for autocrossing but not great for street
Thanks for the replies, Mike, blacko, evl I copied the same DIY and funny that they use the Aluminum spacer but it makes sense to use it as the spring will be laying on the frame if you leave it out.
I put the spacer back. I'm replacing F&R bushings and power steering hoses but when it's done I'll be glad to let others see.
Evl, there's a good chance the pads have also been removed from the end of your spring that sit on the A arms. They act as a cushion. To drop a car that low removing the pads would be great for autocrossing but not great for street
Thanks
Hary
Your probably the 4th vette owner that's told me that and I believe all of you. I stuck a shim under one of the ends the other day to see if there was any rubber. There's nothing. I think the prior owner had all the rubbers on the spring wacked off. It's way too dangerous the way it's set up. I almost lost it on an off ramp a few days ago. I hit a bump and the whole car bounced sideways. Not practical at all. I wasn't even going that fast.
Your probably the 4th vette owner that's told me that and I believe all of you. I stuck a shim under one of the ends the other day to see if there was any rubber. There's nothing. I think the prior owner had all the rubbers on the spring wacked off. It's way too dangerous the way it's set up. I almost lost it on an off ramp a few days ago. I hit a bump and the whole car bounced sideways. Not practical at all. I wasn't even going that fast.
I can pretty much tell by your photo that there is only about a finger width of travel before the rear bumpstop hits. probably this is what your incident stemmed from. Once my friend was hauling butt in my old lowered 95 to try it out and we hit this dip in the road going maybe 90-ish. I think the car got air because it had no cush to soak it up, I can hit that same bump at speed all day long in my 91 at stock ride height. At least the rear is super easy to deal with by installing shorter bolts. I purchased a pair from somebody here for $10 shipped.
Correct me if I'm wrong but the photo shows the top of the spring wedge that has a metal contact point. When you use the M.A kit you shave that whole wedge; metal and all off the spring. If you look at the photo above of a DIY you'll see the aluminum plate that sits above the wedge assy. That's the spacer I'm replacing
Correct me if I'm wrong but the photo shows the top of the spring wedge that has a metal contact point. When you use the M.A kit you shave that whole wedge; metal and all off the spring. If you look at the photo above of a DIY you'll see the aluminum plate that sits above the wedge assy. That's the spacer I'm replacing
03-24-2015, 06:36 PM
Lowered Front Spring Setup Advice
