Lowering springs need breaking in?

[626Chevelle]

I just installed some global west lowering springs for my 198 Chevelle. The front doesn't seem to be lowered at all. They are the correct springs ( S22) for a small block. The new rear springs are fine. I did have some very very old springs on before that sagged. But the the GW springs seemed to have raised the car. Do lowering springs need to be broken in? If so, how long should I wait?

[astroracer]

Stock lower arms? Make sure the springs are seated correctly. There is a depression in the spring pocket that the end of the spring sits in. It's an anti-rotation thing. If you installed the spring and it is outside this pocket it can sit a bit higher. The other consideration is did you have the lower arms off for bushing replacement. tightening the bushing bolts with the car up in the air will cause some binding after you first set it back on the ground. This will take some miles to re-establish ride hieght.

[626Chevelle]

I do have stock lower and upper lower control arms. I did replace all off the front end bushings (poly). a whole front end rebuild at the same time as the new springs and shocks. It was all up in the air when I did, so the lower arms were off during the bushing replacement. Im about 99 percent sure the springs are in the correct place. I hope GW didn't send the wrong springs. I really appreciate the feed back. This is my first post.

[Nothingface5384]

yes typically they need timne/miles to settle unless the description specifily stated pre-settled..

but yea your worn springs were probably sagging an 1in to an 1.5in already.just make sure theyre seated correctly and everything is fine as mentioned above. if they are, put some miles on those babies if you can to help the springs settle

[626Chevelle]

Thanks u guys. I'll double check the seating of the springs.

[astroracer]

No Problem. Post some pics as it is now and take some after you put some miles on it for comparison.
:)

[Nothingface5384]

yes put some spirited miles on it lol i try to pamek a point to hit a couple bumps/divits lol
If its still not low enough after its settled you can always uninstall it, cut half a coil off then reinstall..or skip thgat and upgrade to spc tubular lower arms
if you look around on the net you can find them for cheaper then the popular vendors

[rustomatic]

I always expect to have to cut coil springs, whether they're stock height or "lowered." Nothing comes in my size...

[GeoffP]

It's not all that uncommon for lowering springs to sit higher than sagging original springs. I ran into this with the leaf springs on my 68. The Hotchkis 1.5" springs sit considerably higher than the original mono leaf's.

[BonzoHansen]

... I did replace all off the front end bushings (poly). a whole front end rebuild at the same time as the new springs and shocks. ....

the new body bushings may pick up the car too.

[JEFFTATE]

My new springs took about 300 miles of driving before they settled ..

Also make sure to tighten the front lower a-arm bolts with weight on the car ( like on a drive-on lift )..
The poly will bind also , so make sure to lube the lower bushings ..

Welcome to the site !

[Tony_SS]

Any lowering springs I've done have always took a good few hundred miles to settle in. They usually settle about an inch too.

[626Chevelle]

I drove it from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. It didn't lower much. I ended up going to global west and they cut the spring to lower the car an additional inch. It's a lot better now. Thanks everyone for the support

[astroracer]

That's one way to skin a cat...

[BigDawgDavao]

The drop advertised is listed from original height, which is actually quite high out of the factory. With old sagging springs generally they are already sitting close to or lower than the advertised drop so your drop from current levels will almost always be lower than you expected. I replaced my old springs with 1 1/2" drop Hotchkis and it initially sat much higher than I was hoping for. As I wasn't in a position to drive it yet, I ended up hanging my compressor (300 lbs or so) off the front end overnight while on my lift. Ended up about 3/4" lower than just after installed.