blown coilovers?

[turbo2nr]

just installed my megan coilovers, bought them used..

so i think the front coils may be blown.

i lowerd the car alot, i have no clearance form wheel to fender. wheels are slightly inside fenders,

when i go over a sharp bump or dip on the hi way, the car scrapes, i removed fender lining , i think its bottoming out.

now the spring in the rear are compressed when weight is off the vehicle but the front springs are not compressed i can move then up and down.

i called up megan and they said struts can be blow. i hope thats not the case.

if i preload the front springs more so they are compressed with no weight on the car think it will make a difference.

main problem is that the car bottom outs on long dips in road and sharp bumps.

of maybe the car is just to low and i need to raise it?

any help will be appericated
thanks

[Def]

Sounds like a ride height issue. If the can will bounce excessively when you press on the strut tower/fender over and over, or if it tends to "bobble" around after a big bump, the dampers are blown.

If you're scraping body parts on the ground... well, that's what happens when you dump the thing on the ground.

[5t341tH]

from the pic in your sig, i do not think u are low enough.
how does it feel when you are "bottoming out"?
it might just be that you are rubbing.

also, are the springs secured to on the coilover?
as in, does it have free play or is it loaded by the collars.

take pics should help us out

[turbo2nr]

http://c4.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/21/l_56c4aa5d19164c6a82b881d05f8d7abf.jpg

http://c3.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/27/l_154ed0abd4534c13a6b43ff1aca815b2.jpg

i know not the best pics to solve my problem..

when their is no weight on the vehicle the front springs have play i can move them up and down.

when im "bottoming out" i hear a loud rubbing sound. also when i hit a bump on the hit way it feels like the wheel hits the body of car. its hit really hard.

if i preload the front springs more will it absorve more shock. also if i make the dampering softer will that aid or make it worse.

p.s. excuse my grammer im at work and not suppose to be on the internet..

[aznpoopy]

preloading will simply raise the car and add shock compression travel, at the expense of droop travel. if your shock is bottoming out this is desirable. if your car is bottoming out, you need to reduce overall suspension travel or raise the car. or roll/pull/hammer frame depending on where it is rubbing. i hope you have your fender harness tucked.

i know what nyc and queens is like. i would not drive a 240sx that low around queens and nyc. which is why i never drive my shit into the city. lol.

just looking at your pics i would guess you are probably rubbing parts of your wheel well. one part on top of the wheel and section on the front where there is a little seam. check it out when you get a chance.

[turbo2nr]

if your shock is bottoming out this is desirable

why? i thought bottoming out was a bad thing? isnt that when the travle of wheel is to short so it hit the body instady of the shock taking impact?

yes nyc roads suck i think im gona have to raise it up even tho i dont want to..

but will preloading the springs solve my issue and make for a more firm ride over dips/bumps?

[aznpoopy]

sorry. i did not mean that bottoming out the shock is desirable. i meant that its desirable to add preload when the shock is bottoming out because it adds compression travel to the shock.

preloading MAY solve your clearance issue if it raises the car enough so you no longer hit your wheel on stuff.

preloading will not make your ride firmer. with regard to a spring, the "firmness" is determined by the spring rate. on a linear spring, rate is constant thoughout compression of the spring. if you want to make it firmer, increase shock damping (i.e. play with the adjustment knob) or swap to a higher rate spring.

in this situation i'd really suggest dumping those coilovers and getting something else.

[Koopa Troopa]

If you think they're blown take them off the car and push down on them, if they come back up you're good.

[A Spec Products]

If you think they're blown take them off the car and push down on them, if they come back up you're good.

Yeah if you take them off though

Make sure they are completely unloaded

You could also cycle through the damper adjustment while the shock retracts

But if its BLOWN when you check it unloaded it should be quite apparent

[turbo2nr]

Yeah if you take them off though

Make sure they are completely unloaded

You could also cycle through the damper adjustment while the shock retracts

But if its BLOWN when you check it unloaded it should be quite apparent


Im not quite following you.

so when the coil is mounted on the car, un load the spring, then compress the shock with a jack, and go through the dampering adjustments?

what should i be looking for?

[Koopa Troopa]

No, he's saying the damper is completely unloaded as in off the car. Take the dampers off the car and remove the springs.

If it's blown there will be visible signs of oil on the damper body, the piston will make "swishing" noises when it travels because there is little to no oil inside and depending on how bad it's blown and the valving, it will take forever to rebound or it just won't rebound at all.

[turbo2nr]

ughh.. damm i gotta pull them off again.

think the preload is the issue here form the discription or is it leading more towards a blown shock?

[Koopa Troopa]

Raise the suspension enough so that the springs are snug with the lock collar and don't move. Don't preload the spring as that changes spring rates and makes the car ride like shit.

[ZX88]

i would be surprised if you weren't rubbing the iner metal of the fender.unless you can easily push the front down i dont think they are blown.

[aznpoopy]

Raise the suspension enough so that the springs are snug with the lock collar and don't move. Don't preload the spring as that changes spring rates and makes the car ride like shit.

preloading the spring does not change the spring rate. or else stock suspension (which is almost universally preloaded) would ride like ass. factory uses preload to soak up weight which would otherwise compress suspension. that's how four 100 lb springs can hold up a 2500+ lb car and not slam into the ground while retaining the soft ride of a 100 lb/in spring.

it will only get harsh and shitty if you preload so much shit goes into the range where you have insufficient weight to overcome the preloaded spring.

[Def]

If you have the right amount of rebound damping the piston won't extend by itself after being compressed - I wouldn't use that as a measure of if a strut is good or not.

You can always compress/pull on the piston though, it should be stiff it all times, and not feel like it's "swishing around" like someone else said. If you see oil on the outside, that's also bad news.

BTW - you probably have just over an inch of compression travel up front with that ride height, you WILL bottom out if you bomb over bumps with only that much travel. The people here who run their cars that low crawl over bumps just run their car that low. Don't think you can do it on rough roads and drive normally.

[5t341tH]

raise the springs up until they are snug and not moveable by hand. doesnt have to be too stiff, but enough. its bad to drooop the springs like that. gives less travel in the shock

IE.
the spring should be supported by the collars when there is no weight on the vehicle
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v252/xXaZnrAc3rXx/forsalle/IMG_0724.jpg

[turbo2nr]

yea i just drove home the coils arnt blown its firm and responsive it bounces back over little bumps,

when pushing the front down, i cant, i cant budge the car it will not go down. the rear i can push down but its hard and it comes right back up.

so i think im just to low for nyc.. :-(

im already scuffing on my wiring harness on dips.. i dont know how you cali/fl ppl do it. its not possible to drive slammed like that in nyc. i think ill have to raise it .75-1" ahhgg back to drop spring look.. grrr

thanks for all the helpful responses.

[Koopa Troopa]

preloading the spring does not change the spring rate. or else stock suspension (which is almost universally preloaded) would ride like ass. factory uses preload to soak up weight which would otherwise compress suspension. that's how four 100 lb springs can hold up a 2500+ lb car and not slam into the ground while retaining the soft ride of a 100 lb/in spring.

it will only get harsh and shitty if you preload so much shit goes into the range where you have insufficient weight to overcome the preloaded spring.

You're forgetting one thing. Factory springs are progressive. Preloading a linear spring does change the rate on it and it does make for extremely poor handling.

[Def]

Factory front springs are linear, and I'm pretty sure my factory rears were linear.

A progressive spring will have a coil spacing that varies on one end. The rate goes up when coils start binding so you've got the same wire diameter, spring diameter, but reduce the number of active coils.

[buckaroo]

Big cause of rubbing and loud noises is probably because you dropped too low for huge tires.
fix by hammer
or
lower pro tires
Raising is too hard to do, not physically, mentally.

[C. Anderson]

Did you raise your harness under the fender?