Ride Height Adjusting - Featured Vehicles

BEFORE: The previous owner of our Biscayne had station wagon rear springs swapped in to replace the sagging stockers. This resulted in a rear ride height at least 4 inches over stock, even with the ridiculously skinny P195/75R14 whitewalls. The front also sat way high with the original springs.
BEFORE: The previous owner of our Biscayne had station wagon rear springs swapped in to r
DURING: The Biscayne instantly looked better after we swapped on a set of 15x8 Rally wheels with P255/60R15 BFG Radial T/As on the front and P275/60R15 BFGs on the back, but we were ready to hit the mud bog with the resulting four-wheel drive stance.
DURING: The Biscayne instantly looked better after we swapped on a set of 15x8 Rally whee

AFTER: After chopping 11/2 coils off each front spring and 21/2 coils off the rear springs, we got the Biscayne down to a comfortable ride height, about 4 inches lower all the way around. Not too high, not too low, and slightly raked; just the way we like it.
AFTER: After chopping 11/2 coils off each front spring and 21/2 coils off the rear spring
There are several methods of altering ride height depending on whether your car has torsion-bar, leaf-spring, or coil-spring suspension. On a coil-spring car, you can either spec out new lowering springs, or break out the torch as we did. A cut-off wheel or chop-saw also works, but it takes longer. On a leaf-spring car, lowering blocks, dearched springs, and springs with reverse or mid-mount spring eyes can be used to lower the rear.
There are several methods of altering ride height depending on whether your car has torsio

This is what happens when you heat a coil with a torch until it collapses. Not good. Contrary to rumor, cutting off a coil with a torch won’t affect a spring’s heat treatment because only a small section of the spring really gets hot.
This is what happens when you heat a coil with a torch until it collapses. Not good. Contr
Unless you’re working on a Mopar with torsion-bar front suspension, you’ll have to disassemble the entire front suspension on a coil-spring car to get the springs out. It’s a major pain in the butt, especially if you have to do it more than once to get the stance you want, but it’s easier to cut the spring twice than go too far and ruin it. We cut 11/2 coils on the Biscayne and luckily got it spot on the first time.
Unless you’re working on a Mopar with torsion-bar front suspension, you’ll have

The right stance can make or break a car, but like the famous quote about pornography, we cant define the perfect look for a carwe just know it when we see it. Some people like pavement scrapers, others like the feeling of lording over traffic like an air-traffic controller in the control tower. Its all up to you, but sometimes you get a car with a stance so wrong you just have to take action. That was the case with this 65 Chevy Biscayne we recently picked up for a paltry $900. A two-owner grandma car with a 230ci six and three-on-the-tree, its seen better days but is still a solid car that drives great. But something had to be done about the skinny 14-inch wheels and mile-high stanceand quick. We couldnt bear the thought of showing up in the Car Craft parking lot with it. Swapping on a set of 15x8 Corvette Rally wheels solved part of the problem, but it only made the nosebleeds worse. Throwing caution to the wind, we yanked all four coils and broke out the torch for a quick lowering job.

As a general rule, any coil-sprung cars ride height and handling abilities can be improved by cutting from ½ to a full coil off each spring, providing of course that they havent already sagged beyond the point of usefulness. Many suspension companies offer complete lowering kits that include matched springs which offer a variety of stiffness rates. In most cases, the shorter the spring, the thicker the wire coils will need to be in order to provide proper spring load (see sidebar). Otherwise the car will bottom out mercilessly on every speed bump and driveway entrance. Conversely, if you want to turn your car into a canyon carver, be prepared for a harsher ride. As with most car mods, youll need to strike a balance between comfort and performance, but like cams and headers, even a mild upgrade will make a world of difference.

If you choose to cut your own springs, as we did, take this advice: Its far easier to measure twice and cut once than to try to stretch out your springs if you go too far. Start out by cutting a half coil at a time, reinstall the springs, and let the car settle for a few days before you hack again. On the Biscayne, we got the front right on the first try, but the rear springs took two cuts until we were satisfied.