standard 240gl springs

[sam1]

Originally Posted by mad matt

uesd ones narmley have gone week so with wight on them they drop like mad ive been running 240 myself for over 10 years on lpg and towing and ive had to fit stronger springs on the rear and i fit proper lowering springs to the front. Cut springs should not be used and cars can be failed on mot with cut springs fitted

thanks matt, i will source some new standard strong ones!

[mylittletony]

Originally Posted by mad matt

Cut springs should not be used and cars can be failed on mot with cut springs fitted

I'm sorry, but this is misleading as it doesn't paint the whole picture.

The MOT failure is springs that have become unseated or broken. There is no stipulation about shorter springs, or springs with a different number of coils to standard, no matter how that is achieved.

The fact that cut springs can more easily become unseated can be overcome by attaching the ends to the seats.

Here is a quote from an MOT advisory website:

Where a coil spring is incomplete, cracked or fractured at an extreme end where the spring locates on the spring mount, it should only be rejected if:

. the function of the spring is impaired

. following jacking, the spring ends do not locate correctly when the vehicle is lowered into the normal running position without assistance

These criteria should also be applied to springs that have been deliberately shortened or modified in order to lower the suspension.

[classicswede]

As far as the UK MOT is concerned as long as the spring is correctly seated or held in place by suitable clamps then it will pass.

Even extreme lowering springs (lowering by anything more than 40mm) will normally need to be fitted in combination with shortened dampers to correctly locate the spring. Clamping is so easy to do with the rear spring due to the nature of how it is mounted.

Cut springs as common as they are, are purely for looks and do nothing other than worsen the driving experience. With older cars were the springs have already aged and softened why would anyone think that cutting them to try and make a sports spring I have no idea. There and again you look at the internet and there are so many stories of "look how low my car is now I have taken the springs off"

BTW Matt is an MOT tester and I'm sure that is why he had written "can" rather than will or should

Bottom line is cutting old original springs is a bad idea and heating them with a blow torch is an even worse one

[mylittletony]

having re-read Matt's post, I may have misinterpreted it, mine is edited to suit...

However, an MOT failure cannot be issued purely because they are cut.

Cutting coil springs increases the spring rate, as the rate is a function of wire diameter, coil diameter and number of coils. The main concern is the increase in stress in the spring.

I have cut my springs, for looks. I wanted it lower than a 40mm height reduction, but didn't want to spend £800 on a set of coilovers. I don't expect my 35 year old, 1.5 ton estate to drive like a sports car, nor do I drive it like one. As a result, the spring rate is mis-matched to the damping rate, so it is a little bouncy, but the body roll is significantly reduced due to the increased stiffness in the springs.

I wouldn't recommend cutting springs unless you are aware of the results and potential issues, but equally, a lot of people instantly slag off cut springs without providing (or understanding) the full picture. They are just stiffer springs, plain and simple.

and you are totally correct, heating them is a terrible idea!