I debated for a while how much to cut , a half coil, two thirds, a full coil. With how high the car was, I decided to got for a full coil. I still have several OEM springs laying around, so I was able to do this side by side comparison photo:

The far left spring is a unmodified Insight. The center spring is an unmodified Matiz. The far right is a Matiz spring with one full coil removed. Note you can barely see the two white dots on the lower coils of the far right Matiz spring.

I noted not only are the Matiz springs thicker, but they have one more full coil when compared to the Insight spring. The Insight spring I measured was 0.370" thick, and my Matiz springs are 0.425" thick.

 

The car sits much nicer now:

Overall, I am very happy with the initial result. Ride quality is unchanged, the car is not bottoming out as a result (keeping in mind I'm 165 lbs and I carry maybe 10 lbs of cargo). I have not been able to drive it enough yet to decide if I would recommend this or not. With the full coil removed, the springs are now a hair shorter than the distance between the axle and frame when the struts are attached. That's a fancy way of saying the spring can get loose (but not fall off) while driving. I have had this happen to me once on a very bumpy intersection. I need to drive it more to see if the loud thump when the spring re-seats is going to be very rare or more frequent. If it happens too often, I would probably not recommend this modification to others. The noise doesn't bother me though, so I am very happy with the change. Overall grade: A-

 

Interesting. I have blue/white dot ones and I think mine did not start out as tall as yours. I have been tempted to cut mine, but I absolutely love the ride. My wife and I often go on long road trips fully loaded so I have not attempted to cut them yet.

Here is my height after install. Nothing else in the car. Doesn't that seem lower that yours? My Matiz springs look the same as yours as far as I can tell. Mine were supposedly 2001 model year.

 

Just sat in the car and it dropped less than 1/4". I don't think that's the issue, but good idea

The above photos are all with no one inside the car.

Here is my height after install. Nothing else in the car. Doesn't that seem lower that yours? My Matiz springs look the same as yours as far as I can tell. Mine were supposedly 2001 model year.

I agree yours looks noticeably lower, probably at least 1/2". I have the white/white and you have the blue/white dots. Otherwise they look identical. I also noted from the other thread that we both basically measured the same 0.37" wire diameter also. I'm really curious to try a "blue white" dots set on mine and see if it makes a difference.

Also, no more 'unseating' events to report, but I've been on flat surface streets for the most part this week. I'm very happy with this mod so far!

 

The unloaded ride height is only higher when you are not in the car.

I assume you got someone to take a pic with you seated in it before you cut the springs?

 

Jeff, Explain why you wanted Matiz springs in the first place. Thanks Wayne

 

Many people, including myself, feel the Insight is under-sprung in the rear from the factory. This can and does result in frequent bottoming out of the frame against the twist beam. When this happens, spring rates are ∞ and backs get sore fast. The Matiz springs are an easy, convenient solution that eliminates this bottoming out problem.

They also significantly improve cornering: increasing turn in and reducing rotation. The make the car feel 'tight' and 'responsive' especially when combined with the Monroe strut solution.