DisEpyon

I just got my first set of coilovers (kts) and Im trying to get the best out of it, all ive done so far was adjust ride height and going to take it for an alignment tomorrow.

Ive already read the installation part on there website.

One question that i have is after i get it aligned and say later on in the future i want it a little bit lower or higher with the same wheels because im not happy with the height, would i have to get it realigned?

Other question is after i get it aligned and i want to preload the springs, wont that affect the ride height and the alignment?

I found this on another forum, the user name is erioshi on (ToyotaNation), i didnt find much on here that goes into detail on adjustment. so i dug this up on another forum.

What do you guys think about this, or do you guys have any other important input for those of you that actually have some good knowledge on coilovers who go out and track or drift them?




Coilovers can be a pretty complicated mess, and getting a set dialed in can be a challenge. What's worse, if you get things wrong you can hurt your new coilovers and end up with awful cornering and ride quality. But that doesn't need to be the outcome.

Step 1: First you should probably set your damper adjusters (or ride stiffness adjusters) to full soft. This is just a starting point - we'll fix this later. Also set your camber adjustments to 0 degrees for now - again, we'll address this stuff later. Also set the preload rings (at the bottom of the spring) with 1/4 to 1/2 turn of preload - just enough that the springs won't wiggle and make noise when you try to move them back and fourth.

Step 2: Find out what the correct damper operating range is for you coilovers. There should be a set of measurements that describe some limits for where you can set the ride height adjusters for you car. The ride height is controlled by the cups and lock ring at the bottom of the dampers. I tend to use milimeters - they're fine enough to get things set right.

Step 3: Once you know the ride height range acceptable for your coilovers, go out and measure the distance from the center of your wheel to the top center of the fender on each corner of your car - write this down, you'll need it later.

Step 4: Pre-set your coilovers an acceptable setting for ride height (from the data in step 2) and then install them on your car. Write down the distance between the bottom of the spring on each coilover and the top of the cup - you'll need this later.

Step 5: Put the car back on the ground and re-measure the distances between the wheel center and the top center of each fender. Find the dififferences between the new values and the values from step 3. Write everything down.

Step 6: If there are any unequal differences between the measurements from step 2 and the measurements in step 5, jack the car back up. Use the spring-to-cup measurements from step 4 to figure out how much to move the ride height cups up or down as needed. Repeat this step until the car is flat (by flat I mean the change is equal at all four corners). After the car is flat, make additional changes by moving the cups up or down as needed to get the ride height you want. Personally I recomend keeping the car flat (changing the ride height equally).

Step 7: After all this work take the car to a GOOD speed shop that can cornerweight and align the car to your specs. If you don't know what specs to use, ask them - they should be able to help you out. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP! While Step 6 will make make the car look perfect, the handling will still be whacked - no exceptions.

Step 8: After the car comes back with your new cornerbalance and alignment it's time to work on ride quality. The goal is to use as little preload as possible. Since we started with the springs very lightly preloaded, we can increase the preload of the springs by 1/4 to 1/2 turn until the car achievies "minimum bounce" without getting too harsh. Adjust the front and rear individually and always make the same change to both sides. You may need to make several adjustments to both the front and rear to find the right balance and feel.

Step 9: It's damper time! Now it's time to start moving the "ride stiffness" adjusters up until the car's ride gets even better. Just go a click or two at a time, and once things feel good, try moving the fornt end and back end up and down individually until the car has the right feel and balance.

If this sounds like alot of work, you're right! But if you follow this procedure and the advise of a good speed shop for your alignment and cornerweighting you should end up with a car that handles and rides great. If the car still isn't perfect, the link above contains pointer for further adjustments by changing tire presures, alignment settings, ride heights (but then you may need to go back the speed shop for more cornerweighting), and sway bars.

And finally - Step 10: Get some seat time at driver's school, track day or HPDE! You car will now be MUCH faster than it was previously, and how it behaves in corners will also probably have changed - to learn those new limits get to an environment where you can safely and responsible explore them and enjoy your new found performance!

Good Luck!

The only trouble im having is the part where he talks about measuring to the middle of the fender? Do you just go out and find the mid point or guess it?

and i also got this from that thread http://www.wtrscca.org/tech.htm this helped alot on understanding

thanks, brent

babowc

corner balancing seems a bit much for a dd, but nonetheless, nice writeup(?).

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DisEpyon

i didnt write it up, i posted that up to see if that is a good way to adjust coils or if there should be something different to do and i had a few questions.

thanks alot for the rep, and maybe this thread will help others like me.

babowc

you go measure it.

get the car on a FLAT ground.
go out, adjust as necessary.

measure.
adjust.

measure with a meter stick or something.. its probably better.

im sure there are alot of factors that can play in different ride height and such..
depending on how worn your tires are on one side, how much air it has and etc. etc.

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DisEpyon

so would it be best to wait off on getting it aligned and find exactly the height i want and that each side is same height?

and also isnt the rear and front fenders a little different on trying to find out the measuring point? or just start off by getting the front what i want and use that same measurement on the rear? if that makes any sense.

hustlervibes

Great write up, definetely learned something today. +rep for you good sir.

nicku

so if i buy a set of used coilover, do i need to do everything from the step 1 or i can just install them and adjust from there

DisEpyon

i would recommend doing all the steps starting from 1, Do it for the learning and hands on process and each car is different and the drivers liking.

hustlervibes

Yes do it all over again. Their settings may be different from how you want your's and what is telling you it was set up correctly to begin with?

boogerlovers

wow I think this a great post...for those of us who dont know how to properly adjust your coil overs...nice find

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GSXRJJordan

Sticky this? Are you guys daft? There's nothing in there that isn't
a] common sense
b] covered in the coilover install guide/users manual
c] covered on Zilvia

And telling everyone that "corner weighing is mandatory!11!!1!1!" is bogus. Realistically, getting your car corner weighted will cost as much as your shit KTS coilovers. Yeah, it's like $500 for a corner weight and associated alignment.

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hustlervibes

I agree with the corner weight, but I still think it would be a good thing to have just for general info at least. Some people don't even know what preload is or what the knobs at the top really are for and just assume full stiff is the way to go.

DisEpyon

yea i also agree with the corner weight isnt necessary, i wasnt going to do that any ways for starters, maybe later on when i get more in depth with my whole suspension setup.

GSXRJJordan: so your saying kts coilovers are shit????? might want to reword your statement.

nicku

got a dumb question...i am totally new to the coilover world...but i am planning to go some drift events and i have been doing autox for like 4 years with my agx and eibach springs....and looking for upgrade now....as i said before, i was interested in a set of pbm. but i totally had no idea how to adjust it..until now i saw the thread. and i realized i have tons to learn.
i have a few questions here.

what is preload?

aznpoopy

technically, yes

technically, upping preload raises the corner, altering alignment, so yes. the way he's doing it (1/2-1/4 turn), i personally don't think height changes enough to warrant another alignment.

the lower spring perch (what the spring sits on) is adjustable on a coilover. try to imagine the coilover in your lap at rest. if you lower that perch alot, the spring will be completely loose. that is droop. if you raise the perch alot, it will eventually start compressing the spring. that is preload. on a coilover system without adjustable shock body length, droop and preload is the only way to adjust height.

DisEpyon

i just got back from getting my car aligned and it feels so much better.

They didnt mess with my camber plates at all, im not sure if they were supposed to or not or maybe they didnt know i had adjustable camber plates. Should i had told them? they gave me print outs and my alignment was pretty bad. Im still learning about this whole suspension adjusting thing, so bare with me.

thanks for the reply on my questions (aznpoopy)