so I have Tanabe NF210's (1.7" drop in front, 1.2" drop in rear) and the front isn't coming down like it should, bigger gap in front then rear ( see my gallery for pics). did all the checking, seated right, been on for 3 months, even e-mailed Tanabe USA. Soooo.... I was thinking, if I cut 1 coil off the front springs what would be the end result? how much different would it be in ride quality, sitting too low, all around?
If I went with say Tein S-techs it's still 1.7" drop in the front so I would be in the same boat, but the back end would sit lower.
any ideas?

 

never ever cut springs, and its ok for one end to sit differently than the other, my rear end sits a little lower than the front with TRD's

If youre having that much of a problem try sending them back and asking for a new set in the front

 

try shaving your bushings

 

Which bushings should be shaved? I have goldlines and I thought it would be a lower drop than what I got.

 

you may beable to get away with cutting the front... but the rears... it looks like if you cut it, there will be no way to seat them at all...

 

Never ever, ever , ever cut your springs. The coils won't be lined up correctly and would cause more bounce than a freshly poured jello shot. Haven't you seen those civics that drive down the street and bounce for three blocks because they run over a pebble in the road? That would be you if you cut your springs.

 

eh dont listen to anyone else, you wanna cut them cut em, although you cant cut the rears, only the fronts, youll have to heat the rears

brent

 

you can cut the fronts a bit and no bounce , trsut this it's all dependant upon the spring that you cut not the fact that you cut them. and if you cut from the top in the front the still line up perfectly.

 

ive heard horror stories... so i wouldnt do it...

 

^^ what was said there...the horror...

 

you can cut the front...

but look at the rear springs...

the top and bottom of the coil is small in diameter... and as soon as you get away from that one coil on the top and bottom it nearly doubles in diamter... unless you get a larger spring seat for the rear it is physically impossible to cut the rear springs on this car...

 

Which bushings?

 

the worse thing that could happen in 90% of cases is a bouncy ride. nothing worse. oh well. do what you do.

 

here's what you can do. jack up the car and attach a zip-tie on each strut/shock near the bottom of it's travel range (don't forget to cut off the loose end of the tie, leaving only a ring around the strut/shock). take your car out for a spin and do a few aggressive turns in each direction. jack up the car again and now look how far the ziptie is from reaching the bump stop at the top of the strut/shock. if it's getting pretty close already, cutting your springs is a bad idea.

all in all, i don't recommend cutting any spring; but, if you insist on doing it, only do it when you still have some travel before bottoming out.

 

thanks for all of your ideas, now I'm more confused then before. do it. don't do it. I think i'm going to sell my Tanabes and go with something different. we'll see. thanks again, Bill

 

Looked at your gallery pix and it looks like it is sitting perfect. What's the problem? You wanted the front lower or the rear lower. It is sitting right IMO.

 

Agreed, it looks OK to me. Nice wheels, too. it's rare I see a box with fewer spokes than mine...

 

I think the front should be a little lower. the wheel well gap on the rear is perfect. the front has more gap. the more I look at it the more it drives me nuts. when I measured it from stock the rears were .5" lower than the front, so I figured the springs would level it out. the rears are still about .5" maybe a little less lower than the front. Maybe I'm just that **** about things.

 

Actually, You have 4 spokes and he has 6. Just depends on how you look at it.

 

You can cut the fronts!!!! Nilo is running Eibacks and he cut the fronts so that his car is racked. Its totally fine! Nilo's car is the one with the first TRF lip kit for all that don't know.