I remember my cousin told me this a long time ago that lowering a car can put extra stress/strain on an automatic transmission. I'm the type of person where i won't argue unless i know as much as/more than a person about a subject so i didn't say anything. I any even is there any truth to this statement or is it all bull....... and also please don't just say yes or no, EXPLAIN why it would/would not

 

The stress is being put on the bearings in your axles, Not really on the tranny.

 

so your axles will more than likely wear out quicker then?

but this should not affect the tranny...

 

Your axles are strong enough to last quite a while along with the rest of your drive-train, as long as they weren't beat up prior to the lowering.

Don't let that break your decision to lower a car, It's just an awful rumor
As long as your not looking to Stupid Slam your car to the ground, You should be fine.......Auto or standard transmission.

 

I lower cars using OEM springs. It does not affect the transmission, shocks, or anything that I can tell.

My first Honda was automatic, and dropped. Made no difference. My present car is manual trans and lowered using OEM springs. Made no difference.

The key to lowering a car is the way a person measures things.
I know how to measure it, calculate the drop, and lower it using stock springs and stock adjusters without destroying shocks, trannys, or anything else.
--------------------
Too many people don't know what they are doing, and slam a car below the suspension travel, beat up the shocks and the body, eat the tires, and THAT leads to a bad rap -Bob

 

ive seen you around here and you have been talking about lowering with stock components, i have always wondered how..im not bashing you in anyway...since i havent seen any negative talk about you...im just curious as to how you do it? how is lowering with stock components better than just buying components intended for it....again i am not bashing you ...just hungry for knowledge....

 

imo it is not he best casue oem stuff was not design to be lowered than what they are or modified to be while aftermarket units are.

 

Before you go cutting your OEM springs, Please take a couple minutes and read this very important explanation on why you shouldn't.
Let's start with the basics.....................
Car Suspension - How Suspension Systems Work on Cars
Car lowering 101
springs: cut 'em? - rec.autos.makers.honda | Google Groups
Click Here
More Good Info
Change Spring Rates?
Spring Rates and how to calulate change
Calculator for Finding Spring Rates from Design Specifications for Compression Springs
Pro Shock Double Spring Rate Calculator
Sport Rider Technicalities-Spring Rate and Preload

NUMBER ONE: RESEARCH Is Your Friend !

NUMBER TWO: Cutting a spring will give you a better chance of hitting a bump and popping the spring seat out of the perch.
All Produced springs have a flattened transition on them which lets the spring seat correctly on the shock/strut perch, and the rubber cup of the top hat.
If you cut a spring on the bottom, the flat spot is now gone and the angle of the coils will not hold in their proper indentation......which can create a very big and noisy problem when riding down a rough road, and may abruptly position the whole spring out of it's perch and wedge it at an angle overlapping the shock cup.
This will make the car's ride height uneven and dangerous when steering.

If you cut the top of the spring off, The combination of angled sharp metal and a rubber Top Hat will cause gouges in the rubber and evenly complete destruction, Then you will have a loose spring and much bigger and more expensive problems on your hands.

& NUMBER THREE: A stock, cut spring will still have the stock spring rate. Aftermarket lowering springs have increased spring rates, usually about 25-30% stiffer than stock so it won't bottom out. If you cut stock springs, it will bottom out very hard and give a hellish ride. You'll blow your shocks and your car will ride ghetto. If you only want to lower your car and you don't have the funding to afford Tein, Neuspeed, or H&R, get some cheap ebay coilovers or invest in some Drop Zone Race springs. People who cut their springs to lower their cars, are cheap asses and shouldn't even be modifying cars IMHO. BUY SPRINGS and lower your car the right way the first time!!!!!!

& NUMBER FOUR: The biggest problem w/ cut springs, is that you have no Idea what sort of spring rates you have after you do it. Also, there is NO WAY to cut both sides so they come out w/ the same spring rate. This will give your car dangerous handling problems.
Imagine you slam on the brakes to save your life & the car leans to the Left side, causing your car swerve into oncoming traffic or to the right where there is a drop off from pavement to grass/dirt shoulder and you bottom out tearing up your oil pan or something worse.

Your next problem is that taking a spring & removing some of the coils will cause the spring to become much stiffer (less wire = harder spring). This is why your car will be Hella bouncy. The severe stiffness of the springs can't be overcome by the shocks & will cause them to be destroyed. Now you need new shocks, and that cost much more than really good lowering springs.

Have you ever run around on bald tires in the front, Then accelerate quickly on a road like Dale Mabry. There are so many potholes and uneven levels in the road, You Tend to loose control very easy and could cause an accident.
Driving in the rain is even worse,....................(And Rainy Season Is right around the corner).
Uneven Spring Rates are the same Idea......If you have a stiff spring on one side and a weak spring on the other, Control is going to be a very hard thing to come by, especially on an uneven road!!!

Don't risk the reliability of ride, continuous Cost of new Tires, Replacing Shocks, Having an accident, damage to the rest of your suspension components, insurance rates if you get into an accident that's your fault, having the cut spring popping out of the perch because the seat is now at an angle instead of a flat surface like purposely created on all factory/aftermarket assembled springs, Etc...........

I'm getting tired of typing, But if that info didn't scare you into not cutting springs, I have a lot more info that I can Quote or print off on a scanner and post it up.

Best Of Luck with your decision!

-Jeff

 

outkasted, nice informative read...one problem i see # 3 you say that a stock cut spring will still have a stock spring rate, while step 4 says you dont know what spring rate you will have once you cut it...kinda contradicting...either way i never have nor ever will cut my springs...reason my girls accord isnt lowered yet ( i havent forgot about your services, still saving for shocks) i see you know your shit and im not getting on you...just found something a lil weird....continue on tho..lol

 

Thanks for catching that, I guess I got a little caught up while editing everything before I hit "POST".

In #3 I'm trying to say that the middle of the spring is still going to have a very soft/stock spring rate, Meaning The strength isn't going to fully be there in the middle and the length of the freshly cut spring is going to be lacking the stiffer spring rate from the ends.
There won't be enough catch on the spring and you have a greater chance of bottoming out, The strong rate sits at the top and bottom of a spring, If you cut the stronger part off....Well, Now the new Bottom/Top is weaker along with the middle.

In #4 I'm basically trying to say......By Cutting a front spring on one side, You'll never get an exact rate on the other side.
You won't have that stiff catch and the perch won't hold the seat tight....Like Factory and Aftermarket springs are engineered to do.
Why do you think all applications are so specific.

If you look at a set of springs, They are wound the opposite way for each side and The Seats are the opposite.
You won't get a perfect cut and the rates won't be perfect either.
By cutting a spring, Your basically weakening the integrity of the whole set up.
Stiff bottom and top, soft middle to compress and decompress while going over bumps.
A soft spring won't decompress fast enough when coming off of a bump, That means there is play in your suspension and the body isn't 100% planted to the ground.
If you don't have full contact at all times, You won't have full control.

It's really hard to explain in words, If you were standing in front of me and I had a spring in my hand, It would be so much easier to explain and show by example.

-Jeff