Spring clamps?
 

What the name of those cheap clamp things that you can compress springs with?

Spring compressor? Used when you need to take apart a strut assembly...

baddog671 -

I think you mean these :


CarloSW2

Thanks cf!

Hahaha, scratching the spring weakens it? Sounds like a bowl of ****...

I rather like the kind that is two clips for the outside of each spring...works very well for smaller springs like you find on a civic or such.

I've used the metal variety in the pic above ^^^ on an '83 Dodge . Had them on for over 80k ! Worked just fine.No spring breakage . No poor ride quality.iirc the springs got scratched all to heck when I installed them too. That said, I didn't know as much then as I do now though ;)

So could they be used to lower the front of a Yaris 1" ?

I just looked at the link and its 10 a set, so total of about 50 bucks.

My metro sits HIGH. 2-3" drop and it still wouldnt rub I bet...

roadrunner -

Why not? The best thing is, you could do a coast-down test or whatever you like to prove/disprove the springs. Since I think it would be easier to take them off, you could put them on at home, bring the right tools with you to some empty dusty road, do your MPG test with them on, take them off, and do your test with them off.

Other people have even used rope to accomplish the same :D !

CarloSW2

I had those on a '74 Capri (In 1978, I'm old) the largest drop I could get was about an inch. Not really a big change from an aero standpoint, but the car did look better. They are kind of a pain in the lower-lower back to install. Barely worth the work, in my experience.

Check a junkyard for an extra set of springs, (probably about $50) and talk to your mechanic about cutting off a couple of coils with a grinder (NOT A TORCH) and slapping them on. It'll probably only be about an hour and half labor, or $50. But since you'll have the experience of taking them off in a junkyard (an environment where your you learn without wrecking your ride home) you might just put them on yourself. It's not rocket surgery.

You'll still have your old springs (scratches can weaken some springs, and yeah some springs do break. My 260E and one of my TR's broke springs. It's rare but it makes a really scarey noise) and your mechanic might even switch 'em back for no charge if you show up at the shop with a pizza and a 6 pack.

Oh, BTW, if these are for the metro, Escort GT springs from the junkyard fit... cut 3 coils from the front and 2 from the back and cut the bump stops in half.

That should be enough to make a clear aero difference. Yep... I'm looking for a metro....:D

Like this:
https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...83ca208790.jpg

from here:
https://www.geocities.com/metrosport2k/jason.html

theclencher -

He could also get one of these :

Attachment 943
https://www.gotfuturama.com/Informati...s/clamps.dhtml

But ... you'd have to go into cryo for 1000 years and join the robot mafia ...

CarloSW2

My springs are progressive rates, so cutting is not an option for them. Other's cars might be different though...

I might make my own clamps, those dont seem to lower it enough. If I get it down an inch, I might get it back to factory height. Since I removed so much weight it sits higher.

Which car?

So I'm going to take an intuitive crack at the spring scratch ideas floating in here...

So coil springs are just, in this case, steel rod that has been bent... On a smaller spring, where the ratio between scratch depth and rod thickness is high, a weakness would be very noticeable (especially in fatigue life).... For a larger rod thickness, like what you'll find on a car - it's going to be mighty difficult to blame a scratch as the reason for failure given how many fatigue cycles it's going to ultimately endure before failure.....

What seems more likely is that you'll scratch a protective coating (as theclencher eluded to)... And it will start to rust and corrode...

That's some mighty good advice... Especially when you don't know how the steel was processed....

My Metro. I didnt weigh the last batch of crap I took off it, but I should be about 115lbs less than stock.

:thumbup: Now this is getting interesting... what did you take out?

You can try the clamps (I'd ask /innocentface/ "can I bring 'em back if they don't fit my springs?/end innocentface/) if you wanna DIY and just a small drop. If they are variable rate springs make sure you put them on the thicker part (so you keep your small bump sensitivity). For me? I'd drop the little bugger with the escort springs and look for a stiffer sway bar to boot.

Nothin' wrong with having a hypermiler that can be fun in the twisties too... err, for "carving" turns during a coast down;)

"It's more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow" -Smokey Yunick

Springs don't work that way ;)

You can model a variable rate spring as a set of springs in series... Which means the equivalent spring rate is the inverse of the sum of the inverse of each spring rate. For Two springs:
https://scienceworld.wolfram.com/physics/simg487.gif

So you can't cut out the very stiff spring and expect the less stiff section to keep the ride smooth - both are dependent on each other.

-----
But, progressive springs are a whole different story - progressive springs (nonlinear spring rate) are NOT the same as variable springs (linear spring rate). Progressives depend on coil binding. So, in theory you could cut the non binding section - BUT, you still won't preserve the spring characteristics as the spring is linear while coils are not bound. So you're going to go from a stiffer spring overall to a MUCH stiffer spring (in nonlinear fashion) as coils bind :thumbdown:

Lol, sorry it took me awhile to get a respond to ur question. Alittle bit here, a little bit there, but I'll tell you the major things.

Backseat section: 30lbs (noone is in the back and i haul stuff with it)
Rear bumper inner support bar: 10lbs (the metal was rusted to the point of no purpose and the plastic "bar" was just sitting there...it squeeked like hell too)
Rear swaybar and hardware: 6lbs (dont ask)
Headunit and speakers: 10lbs (blown)
Rear sound deadening: approx. 10lbs (i cant remember for sure)

There's 66lbs, the rest was smaller stuff.

I just removed the carpet and some of the front sound deadening becuase water got through a rubber plug and made the carpet nasty. Still have to weigh that but a good 20 lbs in that.

So where would you recommend binding a variable spring?

The Escort GT springs are linear I believe. The ride will be more harsh, (which is fine by me I body roll decreases at the same time) but after looking at the pics of the car he's working on I don't think a dropped autocross style geo is his thing, which is what I'd have fun in. I think he just wants the simplest path to a stock ride after weight reduction. (speak up here bro, what's your goal...)

The rear bumper support? Get another one. Really. No except my mother-in-law makes a good crash test dummy. It's there for a reason.

The rear sway bar? Based on my background and my other posts you can guess....

Thou art EVIL ;)

The car had some wrecks which damaged the brackets holding the bar to the car, then rust over the years weakend it, and the streets here are so bad, it finally fell off and was smacking off the control arms. Its not worth the money,time, effort to get all new parts and fab up new mounting pads for the body. Funny enough, the metro, my beater, had a sway bar but my nice cars dont. I need to install the one I bought recently on my 67stang.

I doubt a plastic bar is going to do much to stop a car from going up my asss.

Oh, the plastic piece, my bad.

Still, it looks like you can have a heck of a lot of fun with your beater. BTW, there used to be a great SCCA chapter neat Hagerstown, they had Sunday Autocrosses... very fun in a little car.

But that could mess up your averages for that tank. :D

Where are you located, Im only an hour from Hagerstown..

I live in Vermont now, right on the CAN border. I grew up in MD. (Clinton, MD just south of D.C.)

If you were further east I'd be begging you to ship me a bushel of crabs. Seafood in Vermont is just something folks have heard about on TV. :(