Hi ive just got a mk3 polo, really want to drop it to the floor, but wont be able to afford coilovers for a while, ... Can I get away with chopping the springs, or will it be to bouncy?, I've never done it b4 :/, please can someone help

as long as you don't go driving round like a prick and jumping the car, imo, you'll be fine dude, as you shorten a spring, it does get
stiffer, so the ride will be prettybouncy,

but i feel i may need to state basic mot rules for my piece of mind, if the springs don't seat properly when you let the car down off a jack, it fails, therefore, if you cut your springs too short, and vosa/traffic officers find em, you could walk away with a vdn, or you could get your car taken away,

personally, i've run cut springs, with no problems, and on previous cars, i had to hold the spring in place until it was in the cups (careful if you do this, i have trapped my hand in between top spring cup and arch once, faaaiiiilll! )

but i drive like 5mph everywhere ahah,

at the end of the day, it's your choice, the law's there (from my own research)
but imo, cutting springs is fine,



disclaimer: I am in no way encouraging anyone to break the law, it's there for a reason!

Haha cheers pal , yeah I know its illegal, as I'm a mechanic, I've just never cut corners before, but tempted to as it looks gash at standard height loll

Its just someone told me that if I cut them the ride will just bounce really bad, and not be stiff and rigid as im used to lol

Kinda half true tbh.... it'll give you lows (Obviously) but as the standard springs are softer you will still have 'bounce' but, only going over speed bumps etc... normal road driving it'll feel the same(ish) depending how low you go.

Also, do you think its possible to cut the springs while there on the car, save time lol, I was thinking of taki.g the wheel off and just cutting the spring and pulling the excess out :/ lol risky ???

Thats the only way i've ever done it Can't stress just how carefull you need to be when cutting them though... there's a lot of pressure in those springs. Trick is to cut almost all the way through and then use a block of wood and a hammer to break the remaning spring. The bit you've chopped will most prob get wedged/stuck in the remaining spring so you'll have to cut it in half to remove it. Be sure to cut full coils out too, not half or it'll not seat properly.

Be carefull dude

I will , thanks for the input guys , much helpful ill post a pic when its done

haha, i've cut springs like that before! though people have warned about discs exploding if you do this? :/ paha! and if you reckon you're gonna do it, cut them till you're resting on bumpstops, then it'l be slammed and nice a fooking solid! (Y)

ive cut springs before, on my first skoda i cut them on the car, and the ride was fine, second one i also cut them on the car but fooking hell it was a bouncy ride, i assumed it must be the springs more worn as the car had done double the miles of the first one. its on coilovers now and tbh its still quite bouncy. id defo cut em tho lol

Good chance your cutting disc will shatter if you chop it all in one (Not your brake disc lol), plus the rebounds likely to smash the grinder into your face and possibly take out a limb.... but don't let that scare ya lol

Start off small, 2 coils to start, 3/4's of the way through then tw@t it with a lump hammer to break the spring. Once you've got the tension out of the spring its a doddle... its just that inital cut. You'll be fine mate, i have faith

I read somewhere when researching cut springs that cutting springs obviously makes the springs shorter and harder, therefore making the ride firmer, and if it's bouncy, then your shocks are fucked :p

here's a good one:
http://trampdrift.com/index.php?option= ... cle&id=151

another one:
http://www.trampdrift.com/Forum/TD/show ... php?t=3986

(last link has a guide)

Cool, good links dude, thanks guys, now trying to decide how low I can go b4i damage the shocks :/ lol

mtfu, go all the way down, and save for a spring and damper kit! :p

What does mtfu mea n, and yeah deff gonna get coilovers for it, but there like 170 lol, if you ever see any cheap, let me kno plz

for a mk3? i thought they were more expensive than that, because they have to be custom made? and keep your eye out on club polo, i bagged myself a set of mk4 coilies for £50 off one of their members

and mtfu means man the feck up X)

haha lol,and yeah ill keep an eye on there, thanks

And I think they are, sure I saw them on ebay

FOR WHAT ITS WORTH,,,why dont you just buy a set of lowering springs for £60 off the net. ?? sorted.

lol. im skint at the mo, so jus thought i would jus cut them for now, and dont think i could get springs to go low enough on the back , but am gona save up for coilovers i just couldnt drive it how high it was, lol it looked horrible

Some springs you can get away with cutting slightly, if its a progressive spring (which most are) then you are going to be affecting the springs rate, which will affect how the car feels. As others have said, you will likely find it to be more bouncy.

For the love of god do it off the car, cutting them while they are under pressure/tension is quite frankly dangerous and asking for injury. Whip them off, and lop off a coil or two.

An MOT station should fail any cut spring, as it is classed as a broken spring.

What you are calling a Mk3 polo is actually a Mk2F going by your sig (the Mk3 is actually the 6n polo, anything pre 94 is actually a Mk2). Your front struts incorporate the hub "knuckle" assembly which is why they are so rdiculously expensive.

Finally, rather than cut springs, and if you cannot find the cash for new springs, search around the forums and ebay for second hand lowering springs - they do come up and you will pick them up cheaply. Far safer than cut springs IMO (and before anyone jumps on me for that comment, I have and DO run cut springs, but to me it is not ideal).

Ah thanks, I had a 6n polo b4 this, but the guy told me this was a mk 3 lol, I wasnt to sure lol, . I was looking at second hand springs but I couldnt find any low enough, as it was stupidly high, I didnt think 40 or 50 ml would be quite enough, I had a go at cutting the springs while on the car, everyone said its easy that way, and I must say it wasnt to bad, the main thing is that I didny know how much I needed to go, so I cut a coil and tested it, where as if I haf taken it out (The proper way) would have had to put it in and out a few times to see how much to cut, and I was working in the rain lol. It worked out pretty good although the first time I let the jack down and allined the nsr spring, it must not have been sitting properly as I gave it a test drive and heard a bang, the spring had jumped out, but I sorted it, and all has been ok since