Davenger
Club Retro Rides Member
It's only metal
Posts: 7,272
Club RR Member Number: 140
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Lowering clamp kitsDavenger
@dminifreak
Club Retro Rides Member 140
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Jul 13, 2012 22:44:43 GMT
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Garry
East Midlands
Posts: 1,722
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Jul 13, 2012 23:21:28 GMT
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Can of worms.
I'm not a suspension technician but surely they stop the spring doing its thing (whereas cutting the spring doesn't), so the effect is the not far off running with no springs at all? Someone more educated will be able to answer better though.
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Jul 13, 2012 23:28:02 GMT
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I'm guessing they'll rattle and then pop out of position whenever the car hits its first pothole.
Coming to a rusty Mk2 Golf near you.
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stealthstylz
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 14,835
Club RR Member Number: 174
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Lowering clamp kitsstealthstylz
@stealthstylz
Club Retro Rides Member 174
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Jul 13, 2012 23:30:50 GMT
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About as safe as clamping the spring with normal clamps and welding the middle 3 coils together lol.
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V-Force
Part of things
I like Hondas.
Posts: 846
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Literally just shiny spring compressors. All they'll do when the car hits a bump is rattle around, and if it's a big bump will either stop the spring from compressing properly when the next coil hits it as it compresses, or snap when the spring extends again.
Whoever thought making these would be a good idea is an absolute tool. Avoid.
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1999 Impreza WRX typeR STI Version 5 Limited
1999 Civic VTi-S Aerodeck
2005 Bora TDI daily
Several other 90s Hondas (shhh they're sleeping)
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looks like he's sold a lot of them. thses have been on sale for years, many many years ago i once fitted some to a vehicle, pain to fit with not much difference in height, would never even think of fitting them now!!!  |
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bortaf
Posted a lot
Posts: 4,549
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Jul 14, 2012 16:43:36 GMT
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Thought they were banned TBH here have a barge pole i'm not using it at the mo  |
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R.I.P photobucket
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Jul 14, 2012 21:29:27 GMT
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as others said avoid these! much better of and far safer to cut your springs !
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RobinJI
Posted a lot
"Driven by the irony that only being shackled to the road could ever I be free"
Posts: 2,995
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Jul 14, 2012 21:42:56 GMT
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I'm not sure I'd call them inherently super dangerous or anything, but they're definitely not something I'd ever consider buying or fitting to a car either, they are a bodge, but if done properly, they could be 'safe' although far from ideal. If done wrong though, they can be dangerous, but then so can eating a yogurt....
The idea is definitely not to use them to to adjust height to exactly where you want it, but is to clamp one coil tightly shut, so it cannot open at all. Obviously if this isn't done then they will be loose and will move the instant the spring compresses. As jack has mentioned, the other coils of the spring will hit them too if it compresses too much, so the springs compressed length will be longer than it was before, if this happens, then this is NOT safe, as it will point load the spring, and may well snap it. So what I'm saying, is if used to fully compress a full coil, on a car that will hit the bump stops/bottom out the damper before they hit the other coils, then there is no real theoretical issue with them.
A Volvo 240 I bought had some on the back, and to be fair to it, it drove fine, they didn't move at all, and worked perfectly, but I did still remove them fairly quickly. I'm not defending them, they are a bodge, and like I said, I'd never buy them or fit them my self, I'm just stating the facts.
Oh, and yes, I believe they are 'illegal' in that I think they're either an MOT failure, or against constructions and use regulations.
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Last Edit: Jul 14, 2012 21:46:23 GMT by RobinJI
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Davenger
Club Retro Rides Member
It's only metal
Posts: 7,272
Club RR Member Number: 140
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Lowering clamp kitsDavenger
@dminifreak
Club Retro Rides Member 140
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Jul 14, 2012 22:21:29 GMT
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Thought as much.
Just thought I'd get some second opinions
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V-Force
Part of things
I like Hondas.
Posts: 846
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The idea is definitely not to use them to to adjust height to exactly where you want it, but is to clamp one coil tightly shut, so it cannot open at all. Obviously if this isn't done then they will be loose and will move the instant the spring compresses. As jack has mentioned, the other coils of the spring will hit them too if it compresses too much, so the springs compressed length will be longer than it was before, if this happens, then this is NOT safe, as it will point load the spring, and may well snap it. So what I'm saying, is if used to fully compress a full coil, on a car that will hit the bump stops/bottom out the damper before they hit the other coils, then there is no real theoretical issue with them. That's a good point actually, I didn't think of it like that. If it was used in the way you described (closing one coil, and hitting the bumpstops before the compressor) then that does work in theory. Only thing is though, we've all heared of spring compressors (as in the ones you'd use in your garage) snapping or pinging off, this have pretty nasty consequences if one were to snap mid corner or something and let the spring open up again instantly  Can sort of see the theory behind it but it's definitely not something I'd want to be driving round on. |
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1999 Impreza WRX typeR STI Version 5 Limited
1999 Civic VTi-S Aerodeck
2005 Bora TDI daily
Several other 90s Hondas (shhh they're sleeping)
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madmog
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 1,153
Club RR Member Number: 46
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Lowering clamp kitsmadmog
@madmog
Club Retro Rides Member 46
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Jul 15, 2012 11:20:04 GMT
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Many years ago I used a set to try to lower a Rover SD1 (silver with silver moon discs and blacked out indicators - was acceptable in the '80s - no pictures  ) I digress, anyhow, they didn't do anything dangerous but didn't seem to lower the car by much either. pulling two coils of a spring together seemed to just make the rest of the spring expand to make up the difference. Best thing about them was I could take them off to sell it as a 'normal' car after. |
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bortaf
Posted a lot
Posts: 4,549
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Jul 15, 2012 13:46:52 GMT
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Back in the day these and extended shackles or jack up kits were all the rage, I bent 3 jackup kits and these? well I had one snap on a cortina rear that made the spring bend and it fell out, no fun landing with a large stone going through your fuel tank, the clamp had weakend through rust, another stripped the thread, most never even made it and stripped before they got half closed. If you concider the job of a spring is to force it'self open then clamping a coil shut is asking for trouble, ok stainless wont rust but it will split and shatter as it less maliable (bendyish), totaly hate the things from experiance, I remember a Ripspeed catalog when they decided to stop selling them, pretty sure it mention legislation as the reason hense I thought they were banned in some form (construction and use or one of the many differing laws we have over here) Actually looking at the way modern cars are made IE soft springs, stiff shocks and thick ARBs they would probably be safer on modern stuff that the older cars with soft shocks, thick stiff springs and hardly an ARB to speak of  |
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Last Edit: Jul 15, 2012 13:48:47 GMT by bortaf
R.I.P photobucket
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) I digress, anyhow, they didn't do anything dangerous but didn't seem to lower the car by much either. pulling two coils of a spring together seemed to just make the rest of the spring expand to make up the difference. Best thing about them was I could take them off to sell it as a 'normal' car after.