Jay
Thanks
Good to know
The “advantage” of cutting a coil is, it stiffens the spring, which if lowered, you may desire.
According to the manual about the Front Spring Packing Rings: 3.2mm will alter the suspension height by 8mm.
Depending on how much the car needs to be lowered the spacers can work, others have done it before.
Only constraint would be clearance with the road on the bottom.
Why Paul?
The spring rate remains the same, no?
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Have you actually checked the spacers in the present front set-up, Nick?
The xj factory setup, front and rear, was as low as was deemed required for road clearance - load and suspension travel, without compromising ride. How low do you actually want, and why…?
Frank
xj6 85 sov Europe (UK/NZ)
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No, he’s right: reducing the number of active coils will stiffen a coil spring.
Another something I didn’t know.
You learn something every day!
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Indeed, mine had three spacers on each corner from the factory.
Nick’s car has a Chevy engine and sits too high.
It is straight forward if you think about it. When a force is applied to the spring, each winding compresses by a certain amount. If you remove a winding, the total compression is reduced because there are less windings that can be compressed.
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Nope: cutting a spring stiffens it.
A spring is nothing more than a coiled torsion bar: think of it this way, if you have a torsion bar that’s 2 feet long, it has a certain torsional rigidity, correct? Now cut that exact same torsion bar in half: it now is a stiffer torsion bar. Same with a coiled spring.
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Paul, That is an excellent example, that I will steal in the future.
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Sure, Aristides - and removing those packing rings would be a first step…
However, there is may be more to it that; even the lump is no lightweight and, with original springs shouldn’t rise very much…?
Frank
xj6 85 Sov Europe (UK/NZ)
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Hookes Law is a simpler way to understand it.
Not sure it’s easier, but I do love fisicks!
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I had a 75 in that awful Carriage Brown and it was a ruster. We lumped it and it never was right. Sold it to another victim and have lost track of it. Reason for purchase? It had the correct engine from a Series 1 E-type that was sitting with a Chevy installed. E got sold before I could get back to it.
One of important takeaways of the article…
However, like most classical mechanics, Hooke’s Law only works within a limited frame of reference. Because no material can be compressed beyond a certain minimum size (or stretched beyond a maximum size) without some permanent deformation or change of state, it only applies so long as a limited amount of force or deformation is involved. In fact, many materials will noticeably deviate from Hooke’s law well before those elastic limits are reached.
As my physics lecturer said
A springs gotta know it’s limitations … spits baccy out!
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When I got my 83 in 2001, it had the original 4.2. The front end drooped a bit. I never measured it for the ride height. I liked it that way. When the 4.2 expired, it took years to install the 5.7 and get it running. The nose rose ever so slightly. I measured it at one time. I forgot the numbers. But, right on factory spec’s!! Still just fine
Were I to lower it. I would make spacers to fit between the spring pan and control arm. My guess, about an inch.
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Not me who wants to cut the springs or put a lump in
Got enough problems with the welding and finance ATM!