LOWERING broad day light robbery!

[quiksilver_jake]

just been reading through all the sections on lowering, pah you lot just throw all you money away! 250 -450 for lowering broad day light robbery after talking with lots of show standard van owners as well as run abouts and my own along with friends experience, i bought my last van which had 60mm lowering springs on the rear what a joke they cost the guy 100 and odd quid ive since lowered the front free of charge to myself ! as many ive spoken to have and had just as good resulsts as people with expensive set ups! still have the springs on the rear but the front is low so im dropping the rear more! the front can be done with a grinder (i hear you all saying oh come on!) but its true you can lower the spring , or /and the bump stop as well! all for free with no less handling or safety than an expensive lowering job also the rear is a good one , rear early cavalier springs ! i am going to run standard ones my best friend runs lowered cav springs, aquired for a tenner or so ! well a whole t25 decked for a tenner and a couple of hours work not bad eh! make sure you have the tracking done after and hey presto job well done! and money saved for other jobs!, if your wondering about shocks they will last for a couple of years at least then either get just lowered shocks or another set of standard ones ! your choice but come on your getting robbed blind in broad day light! think about it ! by the way the ammount of coil you grind off determines how low it will bw any where between 1.5 and 2 turns of the coil is sufficient ! make sure you cut both sides the same! any other thoughts any one?

[MikeB]

any other thoughts any one?

Please don't give me a lift in your van, my life insurance isn't up to date

Seriously, Cavalier springs ? of course the Cavalier weighs somewhat less than the T25 so I doubt the load rating would be the same. Plus the rear has the engine so would be more than half the weight of the van on the suspension.

Chopping bits of your coils is a bit of a cowboy way to do things IMHO.

Mike.

[guz]

erm...hmmmm....dunno
what to say TBH....thanks ?

i've driven vans with chopped springs
and IMHO they all drove awful.

tell ya what- i won't drive your van
and i'll happily spend what the "frell"
i like on mine.

[Craig G]

This is a really old method of doing it and i'm afraid to say you havent made a good discovery

My mate did it a few yrs ago,he rolled his van in an accident,assesor noticed the bodged lowered springs and his policy was made null and void...lesson learnt the hard way

I have lowered 3 T3's,all by spending £300 - £400 on the kits,you pay for quality

Good luck

[Simon Baxter]

Back in the day there weren't any lowering kits, I have to hang my head in shame to be the originator of the cut and cav, but now, there are sensibly priced kits out there, that work, properly.
At the end of the day it's your van and yo do with it as you please, my van will be getting a AVO 45mm kit and poly bushed, it will go around corners and stop better than any van with chopped springs.
I charge £400 for a van lowering with quality new tested, rated springs with 22 point adjustable shock absorbers with poly bushes, this includes a tracking and camber check/reset to make the van work as it should, safely.
The Cut and Cav is around 10 years old now, was done to my old yellow van, to be honest it wasn't bad but given the choice of the proper shiznit of chopped ones I would be digging deep into my pocket thank you.

[jokerdub]

Chopped springs! Id rather walk.
Ive put a 60/70mm AVO fully adjustable kit on mine and you can really notice the difference. I sell the complete kits at £340 a bargin at half the price when you consider the quality of the other brands out there at much dearer prices.
I cant see chopped springs giving you any added performence if anything I would imagine they would hinder it.
I drove a van I bought to brake that had 60mm Boge JK springs on and they wernt much cop either especially on standard piston shocks.
Most people I know that would have a show standard van would probably run H&R, Koni, or AVO. Why make a class winning van and know it was bodged.
Oh well get the sea sickness pills ready mate and Im sure you will be fine

[Simon Baxter]

On another safety related issue, the VW T3 has a brake bias valve fitted, which varies the amount of hydraulic pressure sent to the rear brakes depending on the angle of the van (Under heavy braking the front of the van dips)
The valve reduces pressure to the rear brakes when the front of the van dips as not to lock the rear brakes up.
You go and drop your van at a slant and you will upset the angle of the bias valve and could end up with the a*** end of your van over taking you when you anchor on.
Again, there are plent of people out there who will tell you different, I wouldn't like to take the chance.

[skeeb]

some good advice there from people who have years of experience with T3's. I know what route i'll be taking when i lower my bus next year - and it won't be the cheap option. Safety is paramount. You will regret it if something goes wrong. Can't put a price on somebody's limb or life if the unthinkable happens.

laterz
skeeb

[jokerdub]

Sensible thinking there. Well Done that man

[ROBS T25]

yep i agree am considering lowering my van yo and certainly wouldnt do a bodge job not only would i be putting myself wife and kids at risk but also other road users and pedestrians this sort of bodge job should be picked up on MOT tests and failed!!!

[Russel]

By cutting a front spring u are changing its seeting shape.As from flat to angled.This will not allow it to sit in place proply and make it prone to moving causing suspension noises on the front suspension not to mention the safty aspect.This should also be an MOT failure.Classifies as a broken spring.
Why do people so often think that they can use a spring of a car on a mutch heavier van.Not into lowering myself but personaly would use the VW lower springs if i had to.

[blu trukkie]

Am I right in thinking, that in the case of a bodged suspension job and an accident, if the insurance company spot the bodge, and null your insurance, and somebody was killed in the accident, that the bodged vehicle driver could be considered for manslaughter, whether it was their fault or not.

Jobs like that is one of the reasons that peoples insurance is going up.....to pay for other peoples lack of knowledge or stupidity.

Just my thoughts.....

[t25adict]

i have only ever cut springs onec an that was to fit a longer harder rated spring (mk3 passat) spring to the back of my jetta.
in this case it can be done as the coil is even spaced and not shaped at the end...
i did this because i needed a harder rated spring. but its not somthing thats good to do, and i did it to rase the hight
(springs i fitted had a higher weight, and 3 more coils than the jetta ones i removed one coil and now have found i need to remove another dew to top-out on the rear shocks.

but to do it to get a car/van lower is bad practice+non mot legal (my jetta had no probs as i did it the right way round)
and to cut a shaped spring is even worse.. as you lose the proper location of the spring and the coils become loaded in a way that could cause more problems.

companys like avo re-design the springs with higher weighing and progresive winding so that they used the lesser spring space as best posible and it will work in a safe manor..

cutting springs or using lesser rated springs to drop a car or van is the type of thing that 17 year old corsa driving kids do because they have spent all their money on in car strobe lights and "under body lighting"

[matt]

"under body lighting" Rolling Eyes Rolling Eyes

I'll get me coat

[jokerdub]

Neons rule! Have`nt got any thought.