First and foremost, the reason numerous Cobra owners cut their springs is because the 03/04 Cobras come stock with Linear Springs(What is the definition of linear spring?). That allows us to shorten them without hurting ride quality so long as you dont cut more than 2-3 coils off, which I dont think would be possible with wheel/suspension clearance.
There are numerous install threads on how to cut the stock 03/04 springs so I thought Id combine them all here and add my tips. Used various steps from each of these installs to get mine done. Feel free to add your own so we can just make this thread all anyone would ever need to get the job done.
Check these threads to figure out how much you want to cut:
Those are all you should need but if not, heres more:
From my own experience and what Ive seen online, cutting 1/2 a coil will drop your ride height approx .75"-1"; cutting 1 full coil will drop approx 1.75" - 2". Every car is different though, cut less if you aren't sure or maybe remove an iso to get the desired look. You can always cut more off if you want it lower. Something I recommend is measuring your ride height as it sits now from ground to fender on all 4 corners and see if it matches. Mine did not, the passenger side rear sat a little higher, about 1/4". I wound up cutting about 1.5" more coil off that spring to compensate. Now it sits level with the left rear
Quote:
Originally Posted by suaveflooder
We jacked up the whole car and set it on 4 jack stands because you will need a jack to lower the IRS. You will also need a second jack for the rear.
Front:
-lift car up
-put on jackstands
-pull off rims
-pull off calipers, and remove rotors
-remove catback
-remove crown bolt holding sway bar (need a tie rod puller) so that you can remove the ends from the spindles.
-Now that the spindles are loose, remove the two bolts holding in the front shock. (when you are removing these bolts, you need a jack under the A-arm compressing the spring a little. You don't need to jack it up much, but keep some pressure on it.
-lower the jack and move it. Push A-arm down with your hand, being careful because the anti lock brake wire is still hooked up.
-pull on spring, it'll come out fairly easily. You might have to play with it a bit.
Back (much easier):
-While the car is in the air, put a jack under the rubber square that is right under the rear end (not the pumpkin)
-jack up the IRS just a bit to take the weight off the shock/bolts
-remove the small bolt that holds the brake like to the chassis.(on spring perch)
-jack up the A-Arm and remove the 1 bolt that holds on the strut, then you can let it down, and it will go down pretty far, so don't freak out, the spring will still not come out.
-next, remove the big bolt toward the back of your wheel well(might be shaved if you have wide tires already.) This holds the IRS up. (just so you know, this needs to be torqued to 180ft/lbs when installed, so tight!!)
-now lower the jack that is under the rear and and the springs should literally fall out after lowering it about 4-6" maybe more
Install is reverse. When I cut my springs, I just used a cutting wheel and my dremel. Cut them in couple min time slots as the springs will heat up, or have some water to dip them in every so often to keep them cool. Total time should be around 2-3 hours. A helping hand is nice too. We had it done in an hour with power tools.
My notes:
Some take their catback off, some are able to take the tip hangers out of the rubber holders and lower the IRS just enough to get the springs off. I took mine off to clean it up anyways. Your call. You will see how much clearance you've got once you start lowering the rear
Majority will need an alignment after cutting springs. Depends on how much you cut or what bolts/alignment specs you tweaked while doing the removal/install. Get a 4 wheel alignment!
Fronts:
With a jack under the A-Arm, I was able to get the nut holding on the sway bar off which is underneath the A-Arm, remove the 2 shock bolts and lower the entire assembly which also popped off the rubber spacer under the A-Arm. Take the ABS line out of the double hook, you might also need to remove it from the hook by the shock for more slack when dropping the A-Arm
If you need to remove the tie rods here's the tool, Checker should have it. Its the smaller of the two that look like this:
The Springs were very tight so using your feet and a crow bar you can get it out by pushing down on the Arm with the crow bar underneath the spring pushing up and out
Pay attention to how the springs sit in the perch prior to removing them. Putting them back in in a different position can affect your ride height.
I was able to do the fronts by myself in less than 20 mins for both sides
From ground to fender RF/LF - 27.5"
From ground to fender RR/LR - 28"
After:
35psi front 25psi rear
From ground to fender RF/LF - 26.5"
From ground to fender RR/LR - 26.75"
____________________________________
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness
A little off topic, but how do you decide what pressure's to run in the front and rear tires?
My buddy who's been working at Discount Tire for years. He thought the middle of my rear NT05's looked a little worn so he dropped them to 25. Said 95% of tires they put on are 35psi in the fronts so Ill try it for a while and see how the tires look
Soo......If I cut 1 in front and 3/4 rear........Will I NEED cc plates to align m wheels properly?
I want to do this while I have my car up on stands, because it needs a saftey, and the wheels need be aligned for the safety..........
Soo......If I cut 1 in front and 3/4 rear........Will I NEED cc plates to align m wheels properly?
I want to do this while I have my car up on stands, because it needs a saftey, and the wheels need be aligned for the safety..........
It really depends on the car. I just needed them with my H&R's. The alignment guy said that they would have made his job easier if I had had them and that I was just out of being where I needed to be
Little bit of an update as I got a cool tip from lauri that I used when putting my race springs in recently: (I'm the one who sent Jefe the quick write-up in his origional post). When removing the tie rod end from the sway bar, turn the crown nut upsidedown and set it flush with the top of the tie rod. Hit it with a hammer. No need for a puller. This will give you a flat surface to hit and it pops out fairly easily.
Last edited by suaveflooder; 11-13-2009 at 03:34 AM.
well the whole saying that every car isnt equal as far as cutting is true, i cut mine a full cil in the front and it still sit a lil high for my taste....but what do i know i like the slammed look....guess ill be taking a few more inches of coil off next weekend
My buddy who's been working at Discount Tire for years. He thought the middle of my rear NT05's looked a little worn so he dropped them to 25. Said 95% of tires they put on are 35psi in the fronts so Ill try it for a while and see how the tires look
hmm i was just talking to a guy that owned those tires the other day.. he said that at 35 psi they will get worn out in the middle, but i forgot what psi he said to drop them too if my memory serves me correctly it was 15..
hmm i was just talking to a guy that owned those tires the other day.. he said that at 35 psi they will get worn out in the middle, but i forgot what psi he said to drop them too if my memory serves me correctly it was 15..
15psi on a daily driver tire? Seems low...
Quote:
Originally Posted by 04svtsnke
Are any of you havnt tire rub with turning? I have a little bit on my driver wide only, any way to combat it?
When the wheel is fully turned? Not on the Cobra but had that problem on the last GT, just couldnt turn the wheel lock to lock. Had an alignment done?
Cutting springs is GHETTO... Take pride in your nice cobra and give it decent aftermarket springs.
Cutting LINEAR springs which come stock on the 03/04 Mustang Cobra is not ghetto its a free mod. Do some research in this thread before making comments like that. There are hundreds of Cobras on this site alone who have cut their springs and are happier with them than they would be with aftermarket springs
No aftermarket spring has made me happy and this is my 5th Mustang
Linear Mode
