OH YEAH... i forgot to answer the originial question..." well the very first reply is RIGHT".. what are you trying to do with you car... lower it or just have good suspension???? .... it is an easy answer any wich way.... LOWER IT... refer back to my last reply... ,,, ,,, JUST GOOD SUSPENSION... refer to my last reply BUT DO NOT CUT ANYTHING... just GET some good shocks.. KYB GAS & good springs... eibach.. etc, etc, etc. ...

let ME jump into this conversation... i have had two show cars... BOTH i built from SCRATCH.. BOTH i CUT the springs... BOTH cars i spent tons of money on the "lowering springs" ... when i installed them.. HELL NO my car was not low enough.. so i cut those mugs... ... actually i have cut the springs on allmost ALL of my cars. " i like my cars LOW"... nothing has gone wrong yet... performance is better than ever, ride is not bumpy "do to allways using KYB gas shocks" . and all of my cars look great..

i have learned... THE TRICK ON DATSUNS IS ... >>>YOU DONT CUT THE SPRING AS MUCH AS YOU CUT THE ACTUALL STRUT HOUSING.. AND SHORTEN THE STRUT HOUSIND AND USE SHORTER "vw" STRUTS... ALL YOU DO IS TAKE LIKE 2 INCHES OFF OF THE HIGHT OF THE HOUSING AND AND RE WIELD IT "SHORTER".. YOU DONT LOSE "SPRING TRAVEL" THAT WAY... you never ever bottom out and you ride is low as can be.. and nice and stiff... comon you have to try new things " well if you dont want you car to be stock hight..." "FABRICATION IS THE KEY" ,,, DEAN

I agree with dodgeman wholeheartedly
but, many years ago when we were young and foolish a freind of mine insisted
on me cutting his springs. After the incisions had been made I noticed how the spring wasnt flat on the bottom any more. being that it wasnt my car and
I was desperately thirsty for the bottle of bourbon on offer for doing the job I cranked up the gas plant and bent the spring ends down flat. Needless to say the
mods did little for improving ride comfort or tire wear ,but it did corner
better and look cool. Now Im a
"grown up" Im afraid dodgeman is right,
do it right the first time and reap the
benifits

ddgonzal
The more you sut from a coil, the stiffer it becomes. Do you know what the spring "rate" is of a 1200 coil when cut, say, 2"
Additionally, i have found that in some applications, the coil is wound to a flat base at both ends. My 1200 workshop manual shows that these are sorta flat, & the spring seat is shaped to fully suport the spring all round. If you cut a full coil off, it's the end of the "wire" that the coil is made from that sits on the seat, This can cause the coil to cock sideways & this introduces it's own problems.
I have never seen a home mechanic / car enthusiast with a hacksaw or cutting disc shorten them "properly",...yet

Cut coils are a no no here for a good reason, & it relates directly to vehicle safety. I don't like the registration Nazi's any more that anyone else, but they do have their uses, & testing common vehicle modifications is one of them.
Using reset, or new made springs is always the best move.

You are right about springs & shocks. The spring absorbs the suspension deflection & stores the energy, the shock controls the RATE of energy release. This means that the shock controls the speed that the energy is released by the spring returning to it's static position & yes, in a MacPherson strut design, the shock is an integral part of the suspension unit.

Springs are supposed to be "bouncy", whether stock, coilovers, or whatever. It's the shocks (or struts) that keep them under control. So the Bilsteins might be just what you need.

well since mine r done incorrectly it handles like S#!* i have herd of people doing it correctly but i just dont trust them even if done rite because i have had bad experiences with cut coils...

Quote:

Did you mean only losers would cut springs for street use in Australia? I understand it's illegal in AU, but technically it's not a bad idea if done right, and is fairly well respected in the USA (where it is not illegal).

Cutting coil springs for street use is for losers, & if i remember rightly, it's illegal over here.
You should be able to get some real stiff springs & make it rocket round those bends like nothing else, but you would not want to live with it on anything but a dead smooth road.

If you follow the advice offered up by tsillay & 1200rallycar, you will be right on track, but get new [or used] springs that have been made for the job.
I liike Koni shocks myself. You will find that, if they are still available, they should not be too outragously priced, & if you get the adjustable ones, you can fine tune your suspension to suit your style, or the type of motoring that you will be doing on any particular day.
You know, set them soft to pleasure the little woman on a Friday night, then set them stiff for that hot lap down, or up, Mulholland in LA[?] early sunday morning.

new shocks all round and b210 front swaybar (swaps straight over), is the easiet and very effective upgrade

I agree, decent shocks would give the the best improvement without any mods