After installing new KYB GR-2 front struts and KYB upper mounts, the front of my Shelby Charger was raised about 1". This is most likely from the fact that the KYB struts are gas charged and the old shocks were, well, old. I believe that the upper mounts were a little different than the stock ones but I'm not sure if that added to the rise in the front end as I already got rid of the old mounts and can't compare them to the new ones. If anyone has some stock Mopar L-body front mounts to measure, please send me the distance from the bearing mount to the large flanged surface.

Now the easiest way to get ride of the height increase is to get the Mopar 1" lowering springs, oh yeah they decided to stop making them. And no aftermarket company makes any either. Well I can't afford coil overs so the only option is to cut the stock springs. Cutting the springs will not only lower the car, but will make the springs stiffer as it takes out some of the compressability of the spring.

Now as always - the general disclaimer applies. If you decide to do this you must follow strict garage safety procedures because you can be seriously hurt if the car falls on you or the spring slips out of the compressor. If you hurt yourself, its your fault. This is only my experience with cutting springs.

Procedure:

1. First jack up the car (on jackstands please) and remove the front struts. There are two 18mm bolts that bolt the strut to the spindle, two 13mm bolts that holdthe upper strut mount to the strut tower, and one 10mm bolt that holds the brake line to the strut.
2. Safely compress the springs with a set of spring compressors. Remove the large nut on top of the strut. Now pull the hole mess apart.

3.Place the spring firmly in a table vice. The side you will cut is the bottom rings. I originally cut one ring off but this didn't give much drop since most of this ring is already bent up for the spring seat. I then cut another half ring (for a total of 1.5 rings) which netted a 1" drop off the front on a car without A/C. I used a electric angle grinder to cut the springs and it went through the ring with very little effort. 1.5 rings is about the maximum you can cut off these L-body springs. At this point the spring is so short that it is no longer under tension when you reassemble the strut (hey no spring compressor needed) and it is just barely tall enough to touch the upper seat.

4. Now after you've cut the spring you will notice that the spring will not seat very well on the lower seat. So we have to come with a way to hold the spring to the seat enough til the car's weight is reapplied over the spring and compresses it. Now you could do this many ways. I chose to use a set of spring lox since they already had the spring wire shape and were just the right size. You need to drill a 3/8" hole in the hump of the spring seat just inboard of the spring seat on the strut and just back from the raised notch where the end of the spring goes. Now clamp down the spring lox with one bolt hanging outside of the strut. Use locks washes and double nuts to keep them from working loose.

5. Reasseble the car and check ride height, you may have to drive the car to let the struts settle. Also check the alignment as camber will change will ride height. I could tell the difference in spring stiffness after cutting (placebo effect?). I wish that Mopar still made the 1" lower springs as they have a stiffer spring rate than all L-body springs, but the XHD springs cut are still pretty stiff.