As with the evolution of everything, the once simple and basic has become more sophisticated and refined. Yet, in the case of sport suspension springs, a simple answer exists for the informed consumer and installer.

The beginning of the performance suspension coil springs has left a trail of misinformed consumers who will search any possible opportunity to save a few dollars (so they think) to achieve what appears to be their desired final results. Lowering!

Why lower? Lowering is done for 2 primary reasons:

1) PERFORMANCE: To "properly" lower the center of gravity for improved vehicle response, stability and handling. This requires extensive engineering involving spring rate, balance of front to rear, handling, safety, ride quality and pre-load at full droop, just to name a few.

2) APPEARANCE: To improve the appearance of the vehicle (especially the wheel and tire areas) by reducing the unattractive gap between the top of the tire and the fender lip. It becomes obvious that as the gap is reduced, the vehicle becomes leaner and meaner in appearance. Simply, a more aggressive, sporty look.

How to lower with springs? There are 3 basic methods to "lower" a vehicle by its suspension coil springs:

1) TO CUT OR NOT TO CUT, THAT IS THE QUESTION: (The answer is: not to cut!)

To cut coils off is one of the methods the misinformed consumer becomes attracted to. Why? Because it’s cheap (so they think). Cutting a spring causes an unknown increase in spring rate. This may cause unknown (usually poor) results in handling and safety of the vehicle. The cutting of a spring also increase the stress level put on the spring as well as adversely effecting other related chassis components.

2) HEAT IS GOOD FOR PIZZA, BUT BAD FOR SPRINGS: 

Heating the spring so that coils collapse to lower it actually anneals the spring temper of the steel, which causes the heated part of the spring to fatigue. Generally some of the coils are heated so they collapse against each other. As the spring was not originally designed in this manner, it puts additional stress on the balance of the spring resulting in unknown spring rates and premature failure. Cutting or heating of a suspension spring will result in pre-mature failure (sagging or actual snapping) of the spring. Depending on the time of occurrence, this can cause expensive (and even hazardous) results. This failure not only affects the handling, ride quality and safety of the vehicle, it also can result in bottoming of the shocks/struts (which causes pre-mature failure and unsafe handling) and excessive tire wear due to non-alignable suspension…Bad News.

Cutting and heating of springs began when there was basically no other options to consider. At that time, sport springs were not available for many applications. With the popularity of suspension modifications for both the performance and appearance markets, sport springs are now available for most enthusiasts’ makes & models...Finally an answer.

3) EIBACH TO THE RESCUE (The correct way, also known as the answer):

Install properly engineered Eibach pro-kit or Sportline lowering springs. All Eibach springs are engineered to provide: Proper spring rates for improved handling, Appearance, Safety and Ride quality…Good News! All Eibach pro-kit springs are designed in the guidelines established by the German TUV, the Japanese minister of transportation (MOT) and most OEM requirements for safety, performance and longevity.

The area of concern is when the misinformed consumer believes that options 1 and 2 are actually acceptable and less expensive than option 3. This is not correct.

Please see below chart of cutting/heating verses installing and Eibach pro-kit or Sportline lowering kit.

CUTTING/HEATING VS. EIBACH SPRINGS

Cutting/Heating (estimated costs)		Eibach Springs (estimated costs)
Labor	$150.00	Eibach Pro-Kit Springs (Honda Accord kit 4011.140)	$289.00
No handling	included	Labor	$150.00
Poor ride quality	included	Excellent handling	included
Compromised safety	included	Excellent ride quality	included
Premature spring fatigue and sagging	included	Improved safety	included
Shocks/struts bottoming out (will require replacement shortly)	$500.00	Lifetime warranty (no fatigue or sagging)	included
Excessive negative camber	included	Normal tire life expectancy	included
Premature tire wear from camber problem (replace tires)	$600.00
Total by cutting/heating	$1250.00	Total with Eibach Springs	$439.00
Redo suspension correctly	$439.00
Actual Total	$1689.00

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