Chopped Springs -- YAY or NAY ?

[ruppenduro]

if you have never driven a festy before, you probably just need to get used to it. they drive different than most cars, especially being as light as they are, and having 12in wheels. if you decide to put a couple bucks into it, do the aspire swap with cut aspire springs, and 13 inch wheels. you'd be happy with the difference.

[88smartcar]

you may be right. my only thinking was that the cars center of gravity would be dropped slightly making it less likely to be influenced by things like wind(considering the weight) and body roll

I saw a guy driving beside us in a Festiva just yesterday keeping pace with us at 70mph. The fastest ive done in mine was 70mph, and it was not something I wanted to maintain to any length of time at all. This coming from a guy who has driven VERY fast FWD drag cars in the past, and with 24.5inch slicks with 7PSI of air in them at 140mph... may just take some getting used to.

[Pu241]

See there you go, NOVA is only about 2 hours from me and less than that for another member in good standing in MD!
Be happy to to come over with a tow dolly and help your car!
Yes lowering the center of gravity has its benefits, but before you do that you may want to look over the suspension and make sure it is not cause some of the "wandering" you spoke of.
Me personally I'll be going with Skeeters Keeper coil-over setup in the front only. Cheaper than lowering springs, better ride, and adjustable ride height
For like 30-$40 per corner!
See his write up under:

http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16513&highlight=update+coilover

[muscle_Car1]

nay

end of post

[88smartcar]

I'd like to hear from someone who has experience cutting the springs on a Festiva before the "end of post"

[festivaWES]

I've cut mine in half SEE sig picture in the middle.

[Pu241]

Then perhaps while you wait for those members who have cut their springs you might want to use our search function also in the blue bar at the top of this screen!

But you will need some patience to sort through the results but try this:

http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18870&highlight=cut+springs

[88smartcar]

I signed up to search, but hadnt gone through any threads that spoke about lowering springs in the for sale section...this is the only thread i found in recent history with any info about cutting stock springs, but it quickly took a turn to information about coilovers and other suspensions that im just not interested in for a car i spent $50 on. i'll take a look at the link, thanks

[88smartcar]

seems like some other guys have taken between one full coil and 2 and a half coils out and maintained their stock ride quality. I'll probably start with 1 coil and go from there. i've driven RIDICULOUSLY low cars daily in the past, but im not looking for that at all... more or less i wanted to make the center of gravity slightly lower and possibly reduce a little bit of body roll. i think a coil or 2 can do that for me Thanks for the help guys

[Damkid]

^^ thats what i would suggest if your going to cut the springs, start by cutting one coil at a time

[ejp2fast]

I've cut mine in half SEE sig picture in the middle.

In Half? how many coils was that?

[Biglay5150]

For those of us that are too poor to go out and buy springs cutting them works great but if you have the funds than buying springs may be for you. I love the way my car is set up. Im actualy going to set up my race-car the same way. The Aspire springs is the best way to go if your cutting them. I have (as said in many other threads) 2 1/2 coils cut with Aspire front spring up front and Festiva front spring out back. I like a stiff ride but my car is still comfortable.

[187festiva]

i have never cut the coils what i did on my bp festiva is get a buddy to heat the coils with a burns-o-matic then when there red hot get the fat kid(me) to stand on the bumper. doing that dropped mine about 2 inches and still rode nice

[88smartcar]

seems like some other guys have taken between one full coil and 2 and a half coils out and maintained their stock ride quality. I'll probably start with 1 coil and go from there. i've driven RIDICULOUSLY low cars daily in the past, but im not looking for that at all... more or less i wanted to make the center of gravity slightly lower and possibly reduce a little bit of body roll. i think a coil or 2 can do that for me Thanks for the help guys

[getnpsi]

Have any of you removed heated springs from a festiva or any car at a later date? They dont look pretty, all bent and all. I can only assume that screws up geometry far worse than hacking them down. Going down the road and hearing BOING and BUMP every once in a while would make my blood pressure come back worrying.