# ghetto lowering



## Exalta (Jan 21, 2003)

I couldnt wait to lower my ride (lowering springs for Sentras area b*tch to find here and will take me a months salary to earn.)so i cut my springs.I know i really sound cheap but i`ll replace them as soon as i get my money.I just wanna know if it`ll do any harm to my ride.


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## deception se-r (Jul 24, 2002)

your struts will be shot within days, depending on your roads and how much you drive it could be hours. i do stupid sh*t when im bored and impatient too.


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## Exalta (Jan 21, 2003)

dayum,didnt know that it would cause that much damage.Thanks!

time to get a "loan" from my relatives.


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## UNISH25 (Aug 12, 2002)

I don't think it'll kill your shocks within days man!!! Thats just a really really worse case scenario. The shocks go bad if you go on bumpy roads allll the time! Cuttig your springs won't make your shocks go bad in a matter of days!

It's just plain out dangerous to cut your springs, because you got to worry about the seating of the springs in the strut! 
They recommend not to cut springs, because if the springs come out of the seats, you are F*ED! Imagine if the springs come off when your driving?

Thats why its not recommended, but your strut assembly will not be damaged withing days! Cutting your springs is like the ghetto way of lowering your car. It'll produce the same effects, but its dangerous and not recommended.


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## Exalta (Jan 21, 2003)

whoa.now that gives me more reason to get that "loan"fast.hehe
thanks for the advice!


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## Exalta (Jan 21, 2003)

Also,does anyone know if the front shocks of a b13 can bolt on directly to the front shock mounts of a b14?


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## deception se-r (Jul 24, 2002)

UNISH25 said:


> * Cuttig your springs won't make your shocks go bad in a matter of days! *


that depends on the age of the struts and how low you go. i went 2" and my struts went completely bad within 4 days. granted the ride was not horrible and most people couldnt tell the struts were bad, i definately could.


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## niky (Jul 20, 2002)

depends, knowing the roads here... you should've PMed, i had lowering springs for sale, but i'm installing them now... a good lowering trick would be to use replacement parts for the older B14s, 97' or so... for the front and rear struts... this is a cool mod, as it lowers your front end around 1-2" *without* changing your ride!

check along banaue street off of quezon avenue... there's a nissan certified dealer there that carries parrault struts, which are 1.5 inches shorter than stock... front set cost me 5000php (100$), at 2500 each.

ghetto lowering worsens your ride, true... but if it's done right, it shouldn't kill your suspension... just be extra sensitive to additional underbody clunks and rattles... and when you do change your suspension set, you will have to replace some of the rubber seats and bushings, because those ARE going to wear out.


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## Exalta (Jan 21, 2003)

hey thanks dude!im also havin my camber corrected.Its on the negative right now.


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## zeno (Sep 17, 2002)

Put the hacksaw down and please step away from the vehicle.....

Your ride quality will suck and you WILL ruin your shocks. Days, weeks, or a month or two depending on how worn they are already but they WILL become FUBAR. Cutting your springs not only decreases performance but is also dangerous. Buy some springs ASAP.


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## UNISH25 (Aug 12, 2002)

Exalta said:


> *hey thanks dude!im also havin my camber corrected.Its on the negative right now. *


Easily done with a wheel alignment from SEARS..lol!
Well it depends on how far you went down, then you might need a camber kit. If you got more than a 1.5' drop then you might need a camber adjustment kit!
Other than that you can just do a wheel alignment at SEARS and tell them that the camber is a little off...


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## niky (Jul 20, 2002)

Go to Minerva Tire Gallery in Alabang... it's behind Total, by Brother's Burgers... great place, good prices... try to get a discount card (i get one automatically, the owner's a friend.)...

you will positively drool over the tire/rim combos there...


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## Skinny G (May 9, 2002)

Try HokeySport springs:

Go down to the local auto wreckers and pick out two pairs of springs the same ID as the Sentra springs from some bigger/heavier car. You could even do the math and figure out what the rates are of the springs before you pull them, too. Lucky for us, the Sentra uses a very common spring diameter.

Keep cutting coils to set the ride height - you will likely be cutting more coils off one set that the other. Cutting the coils will increase the spring rate somewhat, and therefore the rates will end up being different front-to-rear. Different motion ratios of the front and rear suspension will further add to a reasonable difference in wheel rate at either end.

It will likely either oversteer nicely, or viciously.

You will probably want to use hose clamps to keep the shorter springs from falling out of the spring seats, as you won't have any "progressive" coils taking up the slack.

Now sit back and see how many people freak out that I'm even suggesting this. 

G


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## niky (Jul 20, 2002)

checking out your site, skinny... reaaal nice... too bad we don't have the budget here for that kind of set-up.... but personally, i've found that shortened struts (OEM! different sentra version, very cheap....  ) with OEM springs give you enough of a cosmetic lowering for the fashion conscious, while still giving some modicum of performance for street use.

no, after going through ghetto lowering myself, i can't freak out at the suggestion...  ...thing is, i wonder if any old cars use the same springs... the U13 Altima might work, but seeing those at a wrecker is kinda rare. Other thing is, once you cut just one coil, the stock becomes pretty stiff (even if they're worn down), and you'd probably need a setup like yours to use it effectively. 

*edit*

by the way, did i say i liked your site? reaaaaaal nice!


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## himilefrontier (Jan 21, 2003)

The biggest problem with the cut springs or lowering springs is that there isn't a lot of compression travel in the B14 struts, so it makes to easier to bottom out the struts.Unfortunately, the only way to avoid this problem is with a good set of aftermarket dampners and matched springs.


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## niky (Jul 20, 2002)

unfortunately for *Exalta* (and i've experienced this!), you have to preorder that stuff from the US here... unlike honda boys who can get anything from cam gears to clutches off of vendors on the street...

took us a while to get our springs, and cost a lot! in dollars, it's not much, but for young guys here, it's an entire month's salary to get some of this stuff... and takes something like half a year to save up for, as compared to having it done for about $5 by some ghetto mechanics on the street... 

i've got the aftermarket dampers... but i'm going for stock springs... can't take the extra firm ride because of the distances i travel... still looking to sell my old lowering springs.


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## Exalta (Jan 21, 2003)

yeah,i hate the fact that 1 dollar is equal to 54 pesos.


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## holy200sx (Jan 8, 2003)

lol.. how much does.. lets say.. a ACT clutch cost?.. is it more expensive there.. for example.. here in tx 5.15$ an hour is the minimum wage for working hourly.. whats the minimum wages where you live?


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## niky (Jul 20, 2002)

*the good....* labor fees? depending on the job, it's something like 300-500 pesos labor (5-9$ ballpark) for anything autmotive (small stuff! spring cut, strut swap, tune-up, etc. etc. etc..., no matter how long, as long as it gets done! 

my swap was PhP 10,000 in labor, or less than $200, total cost is now around PhP 53,000 (and counting... but that includes a lot of machine shop work), or just over $1084.

*the bad...* I personally make a combined total of 30,000++ ($566) a month thanks to a family business and teaching loads,,,, starting pay for professionals is at 9000 ($169) a month... if i'd gone back home to Spokane (still have my US passport), i could make $4,000 as starting pay... 

since i'm paying a lot of bills, i've had to take out loans to do this sh*t...  

*the ugly...?* Don't know about ACT, but japanese aftermarket clutches cost around 300+ (clutch disk and pressure plate) here brand new... don't know which one that is, though...

car import prices are huge... if i were to get a $3000 civic from japan and bring it here, i would have to pay something like $3000 in tax to get it out of customs... my cousin brought in a beautiful *240sx* with Enkei mags, new tires, KYBs, the works... cost him almost $6,000 in import tax... and he only got to sell it for $3,500 when he got married... that car dealer who sold it for him pisses the hell outta me... he let it go for that low!!! sonofa....


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## Exalta (Jan 21, 2003)

well at least the labor here is cheap...$10 for a tune-up...i wish i was back in the states...i love those benjamins,even the washingtons...


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