Coilovers high after install - opinions

[jt1583]

Just got done installing KTS coilovers on the front of my S14, I know they need to settle but they are pretty high right now.

Here is how I set them
Spring perch - with the coilover out of the car the perch was right under the spring, but the spring could still rotate. Less than 1/8" of up and down play I would say.

Bottom adjustment (thread body into spindle) - I unscrewed the chrome part that bolts to the spindle, almost all the way. I looked from the bottom until i saw the threaded part of this chrome piece, then threaded it back up a bit.

Do these sound right? If i go any lower with the spring perches it seems the springs will sag around when the car is lifted.

http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~jthomas7/coils/one.JPG
http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~jthomas7/coils/two.JPG

[FTMFW]

it looks way to high

[FaLKoN240]

Why don't you show us pics of the actual coil over? I can't see shit.

You need to thread the black threaded piece DOWN into the silver mount.

They should look like that.

http://www.zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=189528

[BiG MiKE86]

I just got the KTS Coils for my S13 - And the bottom adjustment on my fronts is almost all the way up to the spring - ur gonna have thread the bottom in wayyyy more! :) goodluck

[ayuaddict]

put the lower spring perch snug against the springs, remove both collars, thread mounting bracket all the way up and tighten it against the spring perch, that is pretty much the lowest you can go.

i personally put the collars back on under the mounting bracket but it was more to not lose them, rather than safety of anything.

[jt1583]

oh wow that must be slammed. Can I rotate the coilover (thread it into the bottom mounting piece) with everything still bolted up?
Do I need to loosen the camber plates so it can spin?

And I'm guessing no one does this with the wheels on?

[Maiku240sxS14]

Its pretty hard to understand what you are saying...you don't need to loosen the camber plate to adjust the height. You just need to loosen the collar on the shock tower to adjust height. Its up to you, but its easier with the wheel off the car...

As Falken240 said, it would be nice to take pix of the coilover itself so we can see what you are actually talking about. Pix only show the height...and yes it is very HI.

[naed240sx]

Less than 1/8" of up and down play I would say.
This is BAD. You should not have any up and down freeplay on the front coils. This is called spring sag and should never be done on front coilovers.



Bottom adjustment (thread body into spindle) - I unscrewed the chrome part that bolts to the spindle, almost all the way. I looked from the bottom until i saw the threaded part of this chrome piece, then threaded it back up a bit.


So what you are saying is that the bottom of the lower mount(the chrome parts) is flush with the bottom of the strut? This is super high. Spin the strut body down through that mount a few more inches, and then set the preload.

[jt1583]

I haven't driven it or anything yet so I will get this fixed tomorrow. Thanks for the help all.

Also, about how much lower can it be expected after the break in? I wouldn't guess more than 1/2".

[FaLKoN240]

This is BAD. You should not have any up and down freeplay on the front coils. This is called spring sag and should never be done on front coilovers.

WTF? I sag my spring like 1/32" of spring sag to prevent the front end of the car from feeling super stiff. I like it that way.

[mechavore884]

Im not a 100% sure if it would work but try rocking the car back and forth (putting pressure on the springs installed) because although my friend has a mazda 3 when i was helping him install coilovers and a rear sway bar we ran into the same problem.....when we rocked the car for a little while it seemed to go down to where it should have....


...worth a try?

[5t341tH]

he probably lowered it incorrectly. like stated above, take a pic

[jt1583]

well i like how it sat with the suspension I had on it so I tried to match the coilover w/ previous shock/spring and it came out very high. I guess my previous suspension compressed more when the vehicle wasn't supported. I will fix tonight!

[pbcstylez]

yah dont measure/reference using prior shock/spring combo, the coilover shock length is much different than standard shock setups, the lengths of travel are different in both scenarios

[4bangers]

spin your lower mount up the strut and it'll lower your car, what you're at now is almost the max height.

lower mount up the strut - car lowered
lower mount down the strut - car raised

[jt1583]

question regarding the rears -
I'm positive I saw this somewhere but now I cannot find it.
The long cylinder on the bottom of the rear mounts, that slides only the stock piece attached to the spindle. It protrudes more in one direction than the other, left and right if you're looking at the back of the vehicle from behind. The cylinder is parallel to the ground. Kind of hard to understand, but if you have these or similar you know.

Is the long part supposed to go on first or the short?

I got the fronts adjusted and they rock = )
Although now when I jack up the car the other sides start to lift up too. Is this bad?

http://www.splparts.com/main4/parts/SilviaShared/Suspension/Coilovers/KTSCoilovers.jpg

[4bangers]

stance is like that too, and I was having the same question. Anybody has an answer?

[naed240sx]

The side with the taper goes on first.

[naed240sx]

WTF? I sag my spring like 1/32" of spring sag to prevent the front end of the car from feeling super stiff. I like it that way.

All that is going to do is reduce available compression travel. It's not going to have ANY effect on stiffness because kts use linear spring rates.

[LongGrain]

you moved your bottom brackets the wrong way, you need to move them up, not down.

as far as the rear bottom mount, the protruding side goes on the inside (facing your wheel)