Heating springs? Good or bad?

[Silver Talon]

Ive heard that some people that want to lower their car just set some blocks under it and then heat up the springs till the car sags enough to sit on the blocks. First if this works, wont it compramise the integrity of the springs? I imagine that they are heat treated in the first place? Heating them might put them on the edge of failure if u do that correct? I would love to lower my car, but i dont really want to total it going around a corner and have a spring give out. Aftermarket ones are expencive also. And what is with the 4cyl springs in front that everyone talks about? Whats it do to increase the ride peformance? Or does it just lower the nose?

 

[Quick5pnt0]

Heating springs is a

 

[_jb_]

When you heat the spings they loose their stability. A few miles down the road, hit a big bump, then a spring snaps. If you want to lower your car, do it right. It would probily ride better anyways.

 

[Silver Talon]

Thats what i thought. Thanx guys!

 

[chevyeater]

o k bad advice. never use heated springs on the street or 90-10 struts on the street or 4 or 6 cyl springs on the street. you could lose control of your car on curves or bumps real quick. those are strip only mods on a budget. never lost control and never broke any springs doing wheel stands to the tune of 9.50s in the 1/4 back when sso's were just running low 9's. you don't need 3.73s to kill rice. and a T/A don't need nothing to eat you. and street racing will kill you or someone else. and there are big horny dudes in prison.

 

[dastang2]

i know somebody who did that to a 98 and it bounces like a i ton dodge dually.

 

[blackstangt]

using heated springs is dumb and just as half-ass as using 4-cyl springs. dont be lazy and ruin your car.

 

[89MustangGX]

There's nothign wrong with using a 4-cylinder spring. The idea is that because it is a softer spring it will come up quicker and transfer weight better. it's still structurally sound and working like it's supposed it.

Heating a spring can do all sorts of bad stuff to it, that's not as good an idea. Lots of people do it/have done it, and maybe not had problems (maybe some have!), but I wouldn't do it personally.

 

[stangbear427]

Definately do not take a torch to those springs! I cannot tell you how many times I've seen springs that were "modified" like this fail. Running 4banger springs is ok as a track only mod, but not recommendable for the street. They were never intended to support the weight of a V8. A guy at our shop used to pick up the 2.3 engines and carry them around insead of using an engine lift with no problems, a 5.0 302 is NOT the same deal AT ALL. I've seen it done on street cars, and pulled many cars out of the woods because of it. Lowering springs are $200 bucks, less on ebay. It isn't worth getting cheap over, they are cheap enough as it is. Just get the right part for the job and be done with it.

 

[89MustangGX]

Running 4banger springs is ok as a track only mod, but not recommendable for the street. They were never intended to support the weight of a V8. A guy at our shop used to pick up the 2.3 engines and carry them around insead of using an engine lift with no problems, a 5.0 302 is NOT the same deal AT ALL. I've seen it done on street cars, and pulled many cars out of the woods because of it. Lowering springs are $200 bucks, less on ebay. It isn't worth getting cheap over, they are cheap enough as it is. Just get the right part for the job and be done with it.

I agree here -- and I should have added about the 4-cylinder springs not being designed for the extra weight in my previous post. They defintiely will not handle like stock springs do, but the springs themselves shouldn't fail from the extra weight. That was part of what I was originally intending to say -- they will be ok for weight, but like anything else -- changing what originally came on the car will change the way the car acts/responds/handles. Don't expect them to act like fancy lowering springs, as they won't.

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Of course this is all just opinion, there are plenty of people who would change or heat springs and do all sorts of stuff like that without even thinking twice about the consequences.

 

[PNY PWR]

Another vote for the most horrific thing you could do. Springs are cheap and easy to put in.