Lowered car NOW HAVE PROBLEMS--ANY IDEAS

[texasfairmont]

Lowered my 83 Fairmont Futura coupe 3 inches in front now my stock struts are bottoming out-any ideas on how to correct this ???





also front tires are rubbing when hard turn left or right-would a smaller front tire correct this and if so what size? currently running 215/60/15 on turbine wheels

thanks in advance
TexasFairmont
Mike

[PaceFever79]

You almost have that old shoebox Pro Stock look going on! It is going to be hard to get it
to drive right slammed 3" but don't let that stop you from trying. I would go with coilover
front struts (measured to fit) and some caster/camber plates. For the rubbing you can try
rack limiters or thinner wheels/tires to keep from rubbing.

It's gonna be hard to keep the wide track look.

[Richmtrsprts]

Dropped spindles? Rack end limiters,maybe go to 205/60s. Looks evil btw.... Like it!

[vintageracer]

This is the problem with just chopping the springs to lower a car. The geometry goes out the window.

You "might" be able to research the Monroe or similar shock/strut manufacturer website or customer service center to see if there is a "shorter" strut that will bolt on the car and in return give you the proper strut travel needed for your lowered suspension. I doubt you will find one but who knows. You could also raise the top strut mount where the strut bolts to the top of the suspension tower under the hood. You probably would not be able to close your hood after raising the strut mounts since the strut top ideally would need to raise 3 inches to return the stock strut to proper suspension travel. May not look good with holes cut in the hood but raising the top struts mounts would solve your problem inadequate strut travel.

You could use 2 dropped spindles and a 1 inch spring cut to get a 3 inch front suspension drop. Again a big compromise as you are still changing the suspension geometry and not for the better.

There are lot's of ways to lower a car. The proper way is ALWAYS the most expensive and requires the changing of K members, A arms, spindles, struts and steering linkage to get the best suspension geometry. The quick and cheap way you tried obviously does not work.

Unfortunately I suspect you will have to buy new springs and start over if you cut the front springs for a 3 inch drop.

[texasfairmont]

vintage racer, you are right, and I will go back to my stock 6 cylinder springs. Question if I use a a shorter strut and not cut the six cylinder springs-will I realize and lower of the front end at all? I now know I will not be able to keep the look that I want-without spending a bunch of money I don't have. Live and learn --thanks for you advice and help..

forgot to mention the car does have a installed 5.0-----with the shorter strut and the six cylinder springs it should lower the car some --right??

[tcruise]

I can appreciate the look you were going for, but three coils is a lot. I cut one coil off my '83 Mexican Mustang and it's worked out pretty well. The only rubbing I've had was one time when the car was pointing slightly downhill and the wheel turned sharply. Otherwise, it's been great. As with other cars I've cut one front coil off of, I don't feel any difference in the handling when driving it. It's just for looks. Of course, if you want good/better handling, you will have to spent big bucks to do it right. BTW, your Fairmont looks great!

[texasfairmont]

Tcruise, thanks, I fixed the rubbing -tires do not rub now-but the car does set too low, I have to very careful going over even the slightest raise in a parking lot etc -rub my exhaust etc. So what I am going to do is go back to the six cylinder springs and take out no more that one coil (probably half of that) and leave the suspension along. Someday when I hit a jackpot -I will lower it the way I want doing it the proper way. Until then --back to NOT SO LOW CRUZIN

[texasfairmont]

what's the rule of thumb on cutting springs to get lowered look? does each coil roughly equal 1 inch in lowering the car???

[BRWSaver]

The rule of thumb is to cut 1/4 - 1/2 of a coil off and re-install to see how low it goes. There is no real way to guess.

I run a 200 six powered Futura in 24 Hours of Lemons road racing. So I know a thing or 2 about budget lowering. I also had a bottoming issue at first from cutting the springs too much. It bottomed so badly it destroyed the innards of a new set of struts in about 10 miles of city driving. That was the 200 motor (150-200lbs lighter than the 5.0) on V8 Thunderbird front springs (one of the stiffest junkyard available parts in a Fox) with about 1 coil cut.

If I remember correctly the next set I only cut 1/2 coil off, then added a set of the urethane bumpers to the top of the struts. I have ended up running what the NASCAR guys call a spring rubber in there to stiffen it up a little bit more even.

If you have the "Onion Top" strut mounts you can get a little bit more travel by doing what I did. Take the onion heads off, remove all the rubber underneath them (bump stops and dust shields), cut the metal collar off the bottom that holds the rubber on, drive out the studs, put the strut mount on top of the strut tower. You have to figure some way to put the studs thru from the bottom again, it was easy for me, I have a welder.

Or just buy a cheap set of caster/camber plates.

If you are going to lower it, you want to start with a stiffer spring, not the softer 200 six spring. The softer spring will sit lower at rest, but it will be lest resistant to bottoming as well. With a stiffer spring you can have it sit lower and still not bottom when you hit a bump.

These are the bump stops I used http://www.energysuspensionparts.com...FYF7QgodH3oA7w

[texasfairmont]

BRWSaver,I had 2 inch after market loering springs installed with stock struts-ended up lower car almost 3inches,anyway bump was really bad. So I removed those springs and re-installed 6 cylinder springs-now bump is so bad I can't drive the car.. When I first installed the 5.0 I left the 6 cylinder springs, seemed there was no noticable lowering of the front end. I then installed the aftermarket 2 inch lowering springs ,and like I said thry were a non starter (Bump). So I reinstalled the 6 cylinder springs-now they sit the front end so low I can't drive it-----what gives here???

Should I keep the stock struts-and purchase some differt springs? WHAT SPRINGS WOULD YOU RECOMMEND? The bump stops you merntionedf-where do the go on thre strut?

[zak]

Aftermarket caster-camber plates also increase available bump travel I think about an inch in compression.

Past that, next step would be to either use the X2 ball joints with SN95 spindles,and/ or relocate the inner control arm pick up points a la the old Slot Car Mustang manual. Otherwise 2+ inch lowering will lead to lots of bump steer issues.

[texasfairmont]

would using a coil over kit (using stock struts) take care of the bump problem

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Granatelli-G...3b8cb7&vxp=mtr

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1979-2004-Mu...0a97fd&vxp=mtr

[BRWSaver]

Like I said, I used 5.0 Thunderbird springs from about the late 80s. If you look them up on RockAuto they start at about $50 a pair. They are a Moog or Rockwell #8600 or 8602 or the #8606 (which is slightly stiffer).

a thread on different stock spring rates http://vb.foureyedpride.com/showthread.php?t=74794

But like I said, if you lowered it too much, then drove it, you may have destroyed the struts internally. When I did that what happen is they got stuck all the way compressed, so it had no travel at all. This may be your current problem. When you jack up the front of the car how much do the wheels move? Do they sag like normal?

Best thing to do it order a new set of struts (I believe I got Gabriels at Rock for $22 a piece), a set of springs for any V8 car, then cut off a little spring at a time.





Those bump stops just slide over the strut. You have to take the struts out and remove the mount from the top to put them on.

[Patrick Olsen]

would using a coil over kit (using stock struts) take care of the bump problem

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Granatelli-G...3b8cb7&vxp=mtr

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1979-2004-Mu...0a97fd&vxp=mtr

What do you mean by "bump problem"? Do you have little to no bump travel (strut bottoms out any time you hit a bump)? I would follow BRWSaver's advice and start by getting some new struts. If your struts are toast, then putting different springs on them (coilover or conventional) isn't going to fix the bump travel or ride quality.

The Granatelli kit you linked would be a bad idea with OEM struts, as the 300#/in springs are way too stiff; the suspension would be horribly underdamped and ride quality would suck (very bouncy).

The 175#/in kit might work, as that's a reasonable spring rate. I don't know enough about fitment on these cars to know whether a 14" spring is the "right" length at that spring rate. [If the spring's free length is too long, then you won't be able to lower the car at all because the adjustable lower spring perch will run out of adjustment. If the spring's free length is too short, then the spring doesn't have much travel before it coil binds (all the coils compressed), which is very bad.] Just doing some rough math I think it would work out OK.

[texasfairmont]

Bump problem-as soon as I start driving the car up my driveway the strut(s) bottom out. If I understand what you are saying the struts are now no good and I purchase new ones. I looked at the bottom of the struts and they do have some dents in them where they bottomed out.

[vintageracer]

Time for new struts as well as new springs and start over!

[texasfairmont]

Okay, I purchased some 2" after market lowering springs for the front-

now the question to all you guys is this.

What front after market STRUTS that would be functional with a 2' drop springs--do you recommend.

thanking all of you in advance..

TexasFairmont
Mike

[PaceFever79]

Bilstein struts should work (though I've never done it before)

If you call Maximum Motorsports they can tell you which strut is best suited.

[texasfairmont]

anybody out there -that can recommend front struts to work with my Fairmont with 2 inch lowering springs (see above) these springs are pretty stiff for sure. I would appreciate recommendations on struts.

thanks again,

[Turbo-Box]

The struts you have should work, assuming they aren't FUBAR'ed from bottoming out with your old springs. IMO 2" is about the MAX one should lower a car with stock type spring/strut setup.

[Patrick Olsen]

anybody out there -that can recommend front struts to work with my Fairmont with 2 inch lowering springs (see above) these springs are pretty stiff for sure. I would appreciate recommendations on struts.

It would appear they're these? Since they don't tell you what the spring rates are, what makes you think they're "pretty stiff for sure"? I would bet they're not firm enough to be that low, but for $75 what could possibly go wrong?

If they really are stiff, then you'll need some sort of aftermarket performance strut, because the spring rate will be too high for stock or stock-replacement dampers to control.

The struts you have should work, assuming they aren't FUBAR'ed from bottoming out with your old springs. IMO 2" is about the MAX one should lower a car with stock type spring/strut setup.

Based on what he's previously said in this thread, I think his current struts are toast. He said he can see dents in the bottom of the strut from them bottoming out - that's not a good sign!

[texasfairmont]

WANTED TO BRING THIS LOOK TO THE STREET


when operating on a very limited budget-cutting corners bites you in the ass sometimes. Anyway, I will keep trying to get it right....

[texasfairmont]

Patrick Olsen --hey man thanks for your service, stay safe

Mike
Vietnam Veteran 33 years service.....God Bless and that and who are serving our country..

[Patrick Olsen]

I'm driving a desk now, so the only hazard I have to face is the morning and afternoon rush hours! Thank you for your service!

[BRWSaver]

To get that Glidden look, without the stock struts bottoming, they'd need to stick out thru the hood.

Measure the diameter of the spring wire before you put those springs in and you may be able to ballpark the spring rate.