I cut my Eibach springs

tommy compton · #1 (**permalink**) 04-05-09, 03:47 PM

Just installed fe4 shocks and struts about a week or two ago, and figured why i had them out i might as well trim my eibach rear springs to get a more level stance. i cut out half a coil bringing the rear end down about 1/4-1/2". i also modded my fe4's to allow for the drop, groung 1/2" off the shock shaft where the top mount sits (allowing the top mount to sit 1/2 lower on the shaft, then did the spacer mod, and cut 1/2" off the bump stop to allow for more travel.
handles awesome, making the rear lower and effectively stiffer by trimming the progressive part of the eibach trim really gives it a more neutral to slight oversteer. just the way i like it. after installing eibachs beefier sway bars, i didn't like the way it felt more prone to understeer, this really balanced it out.
plus it got rid of that fender gap and rake stance that always bugged me a bit.

Oswaldo · #2 (**permalink**) 04-05-09, 04:51 PM

IT look very nice, I got the same springs waithing for next week to put them on, I dont have the Fe4 but i did replace my stock ones, after i blow the passenger side strut, i replace them witht he KYB struts and shocks. It rides alot better and has way better stearing than stock, I wont cut mine but i will see how it handles.

concorso · #3 (**permalink**) 04-05-09, 05:36 PM

I can't see the pics???
I must be blinded by the chrome pillarzzzz!

Tommy, did you consider buying the rear V sway bar from Hotchkiss? Its a 25 mm.

tommy compton · #4 (**permalink**) 04-05-09, 05:54 PM

that would be a possibility, i have my eibach rear sway bar on the stiffest setting, and it still made my car feel like it wa understeering (mainly in slippery conditions). a full hotchkis set for the cts or cts-v version would make the car tend to understeer even more, judging by front to back ratio of thickness. a thicker rear fom hotchkis and an eibach front might do the trick, but i don't want too rigid of sway bars, considering my shocks and springs are rigid, and i have strut tower braces rear and back. from what i understand is, if you have softer suspension then you would want beefier sway bars, but if you have stiff springs and shocks then you don't want your sways as thick. i ended up choosing eibach because it had a better front to rear ratio for less understeer than bith of the hotchkis versions, and because of my stiff suspension already, i could get away with not going with the thickest sways available.
anyway i wanted to trim my rear springs anyway for looks, and it helped with handling too. i researched much on the subject and asked around quite abit before deciding to cut them.
i know my bling is blinding, i actually have been contemplating taking them off, but all my friends say leave them on. i just think they are one of those things that look better in person(on a silver car of course).

concorso · #5 (**permalink**) 04-05-09, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tommy compton

that would be a possibility, i have my eibach rear sway bar on the stiffest setting, and it still made my car feel like it wa understeering (mainly in slippery conditions). a full hotchkis set for the cts or cts-v version would make the car tend to understeer even more, judging by front to back ratio of thickness. a thicker rear fom hotchkis and an eibach front might do the trick, but i don't want too rigid of sway bars, considering my shocks and springs are rigid, and i have strut tower braces rear and back. from what i understand is, if you have softer suspension then you would want beefier sway bars, but if you have stiff springs and shocks then you don't want your sways as thick. i ended up choosing eibach because it had a better front to rear ratio for less understeer than bith of the hotchkis versions, and because of my stiff suspension already, i could get away with not going with the thickest sways available.
anyway i wanted to trim my rear springs anyway for looks, and it helped with handling too. i researched much on the subject and asked around quite abit before deciding to cut them.
i know my bling is blinding, i actually have been contemplating taking them off, but all my friends say leave them on. i just think they are one of those things that look better in person(on a silver car of course).

Haha, no, I actually agree. Silver and white actually look better imo with some bling. Black paint has alot of depth and gloss. Its much harder to make white and silver glossy like black, so some chrome accents look great.
For example, If I were buying a new Escalade in black, Id get most of the chrome trim done in black chrome, or just painted body color. But If I were buying the White Diamond, Id probably just leave it all.

I hear what youre saying about the Hotckiss being stiff. 32f/25r iirc?
Eibach supplies the same sways for the V and CTS don't they...It would be nice if the V setup was slightly larger. It would give us a few more options...

How do you find the rear sway bar? Is that one from Nels?

tommy compton · #6 (**permalink**) 04-05-09, 08:04 PM

ya eibach only makes one set for the cts and the v. you mean the rear shock brace? ya i think it was nels, i got it before he started selling them through lindsay. where i noticed the improvement was in the winter it made my rear end slides more controlable(do alot of that on purpose). i image it's helping out in dry weather too, i just don't notice it as much. it's a quality piece, and it gives me something to strap my sub box to.it

randy3895 · #7 (**permalink**) 04-05-09, 09:31 PM

hey tommy, just curious, where were the pics taken? with the zellers in the background would it be Vancouver BC?

03Lac0nDubs · #8 (**permalink**) 04-05-09, 09:32 PM

you got the cleanest silver cts i've ever seen & It sits at the perfect height, nice!!

tommy compton · #9 (**permalink**) 04-05-09, 10:02 PM

This is what I did to mod my fe4's, I did the same thing with my fe3's with a modable top mount to get the full eibach drop. I figure this could be done to achieve about as low as you would want, by cutting springs and modding the rear self leveling shocks. I borrowed some pics from whldwhl, seeing as it's his spacer mod but taken even further.
Just as a note fe4's top mount sits 1/4" lower than the fe3"s.

I disassembled the shock, and discarded the rubber piece below the top mount and above the dust boot, this will get your shock 1" lower.
*See cadillac faq's for the whole mod.
http://www.cadillacfaq.com/faq/answe...cts/index.html

To get the full eibach drop or if you want to lower further by cutting springs you need to lower the top mount further than the spacer mod allows for.
The steel plate on top of the dust boot rests on a ledge on the shock shaft, this controls where the top mount sits. To get the top mount lower I ground a new ledge on the shaft for the steel plate to sit on.

Grinding the shaft is surprisingly easy, the metal is fairly soft. I measured how much I wanted it lower, in my case it was 1/2". I marked it with a marker. Then ground it with a bench grinder and dremel being carefull not grind it more than my mark and not grind deeper than the thin part of the shaft. Really it only took me like 5 minutes.

I finnished off the new ledge with a flat file making sure it was even. It doesn't have to be machine shop precise, just even enough that the steel plate sits flat.

Next I removed the steel plate from the dust boot to get the bump stop out. I tapped a screw driver betwwen the dust boot and steel plate so I could get the driver above the dust boot and pry them apart. Once they are seperated the bump stop will just fall out.

So the shock doesn't bottom out constantly on the bump stop I trimmed it the same amount that I ground down the shaft (1/2").

To get them back together a baseball bat works perfect, I put the plate on the floor, then put the dust boot on and pressed it back together, then I did the same with the bump stop.

Then i put it all back together, I installed 2" rubber and steel washers to make up for the rubber I removed and for the material I removed from the shaft, so the washers added up to about 1 1/2". I alternated 2 rubber and 1 steel until 1 1/2" was achieved.