lowered minivans
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Senior User
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From: denton tx
lowered minivans
has anyone lowered their van with a torch? ive heard of people doing it and i was considering it. but what are the consequences of doing it? im sure youd have to heat the spring evenly, but even still, would it make the ride stiffer or more bouncey? anyone here done it before? please, any advice, i want to know before i get darring and go and do it. thanks
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When you heat a spring like that you weaken the spring metal, I'd think that would be a bad idea, I just replaced a set of snaped springs on pontiac lemans that when they broke bottomed out the car and damaged the oil pan. If you want to lower it I'd look for another way.
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From: denton tx
what if i took a plasma cutter and just cut part of the top or bottom off? it wouldnt weaken as much. also im only going for about 2" of drop so its not too dramatic. thanks for the advice thogh
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From: denton tx
pretty much done that already (not really, lol) but it was a work van for my dads roofing company. so i was always loading way too many shingles on it. there was plenty of times that it sat down on the axel all the way to the place. so that doesnt really do the trick. actually the rear end looks higher than normal. but does anyone think cutting the spring is a better idea than heating em? thanks for the great advice though.
Postmaster
Joined: Sep 2003
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From: Southern California
Once you lowered the van, then what happens to the shocks when the springs bottom out over a big bump? I have never been the adventurous type, so I tend to look for reasons against doing somthing like this 
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From: SoCal
Yes, cutting the springs would hurt them less than heating them. They would keep the same temper, and removing a coil or two will help stiffen them up a little, but probably not enough to compensate for the reduced travel. You would also need to reform the end that you cut somehow. As I recall, the top end is flattened, and the bottom end has a tight pig tail curl, and both ends have retainers that are bolted to either the frame or lower control arm.
Are you just trying to lower the van for appearance? If you don't do this right, you can really hurt the suspension and the way it handles can be dangerous.
Are you just trying to lower the van for appearance? If you don't do this right, you can really hurt the suspension and the way it handles can be dangerous.
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Posting Guru
Joined: Aug 2002
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From: Orland USA
Why not just get a set of spring compressers. My brother had a set that he put on his truck that squeezes the center of the springs together and makes the truck sit lower. No Cutting, No Heating, & if you gey tired of it just remove them.
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Senior User
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From: denton tx
i like the compressor idea but ive never heard of them before. i really dont know how im going to lower it, but i decided im only going to lower in the rear. 18" rims and tires in rear, 17"s in front. i only want the rear to lower a little to make the wheel fit better in the well. as for the fronts, i dont think ill have to lower at all, but you never know. thanks everyone that posted.
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you can't cut the back coils (double tapered) so torching them is the only option. I did it on mine before I put in the airbags. works but you get an extra sloppy ride. Buddy of mine found some short stroke shocks that fit (toxic shocks) that are made for lowered vehicles that helped a bit, but the springs were just too weak. The fronts are best cut as opposed to torching, once again you have to shave the bumo stops down and get a shorter stroke shock to avoid blowing the seals.
finally got the front airbags in mine the other weekend. it was a pain relocating the shocks but I've got a couple hundred miles on it sence and it rides like a caddie an will "lay down" at will.
finally got the front airbags in mine the other weekend. it was a pain relocating the shocks but I've got a couple hundred miles on it sence and it rides like a caddie an will "lay down" at will.
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