help: preadjusting stance before install.

[vboy720]

alright, so im about to install my stance coils on my car but i have a couple of questions before i go for it.

1. I read that your supposed to premeasure your current suspension, and adjust your coils to be the height you want it, before installing because its harder to adjust the coils on the car. Could someone please elaborate on how you do that? To me that sounds like im supposed to measure my current susp from top to bottom, and use that as a reference to the coils im installing, but i need a clearer answer.

2. just to be really clear, once the coils are on the car. to adjust whether lowering or raising, i would move collar #3 up or down, and then turn collar #1 to make the lower part meet with the collar again? From what i understand, you dont need to mess with #2 once its on the car, because that would mess with preload. help.
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c281/vboy720/stances14.jpg

[nathanong87]

collar 1 shouldn't be touched. collar 3 should be loosened then to "lower" or "raise" the car , you would spin the whole bracket (black part on the bottom).

on the rear coilovers, the bottom black part will bottom out on the shock and you will not be able to spin it beyond a certain point.

collar 2 will "droop" or "preload" your spring. you should have no preload and no droop me thinks. then adjust the height by spinning the brackets.

you will need to do SOME adjustments while the suspension is installed, there is no way to get it perfect off the car.

[klits562]

If your going from Stock to Coils then making the coils the same length as the stock would give you rediculous ride height since the coils are way stiffer and wont compress as much as stocks.
So my recomendation and its what i did for my friend. Is bolt the top part of the coils to the chassis then losen collar three and spin the metal part bellow collar 3(the part that bolts to the spindle) Do this untill the coil is about the length you want it to be so when you bolt everything back up(when the cars still jacked up) you'll have the desired ride heigth and when you lower the car the coils wont compress much at all.

[!Zar!]

Collar 1 should be left alone.

Collar 2 sets preload, good start is to have it just touching the spring so that you can wiggle the spring, but not really move it around; you don't want to put tension into the spring.

Collar 3 is where most of your raising and lowering come from.

Not disagreeing with nathanong87, just saying the same thing more or less.

As for the hight of collar 3 is where your ride height will come from. Just experiment with however you want your car to sit.

[lflkajfj12123]

you're both wrong

collar two is used to adjust the height

bottom collar is just to lock the shock mount from spinning

the PERCH above collar two is used to adjust preload

collar one is a PERCH you don't do anything with it

you really don't need any collars just the perches

when the coil is mounted you use your spanner wrenches to rotate collar 2 which spins the coil into the lower shock mount since collar two and the perch create a "lock" and you can do the same thing with the perch if the collar is under it

[vboy720]

thanks guys. i have shocks and springs on my car now, so it is lowered, but from where it currently sits, i want to drop it another 1.5 inches. I didnt know that you could turn the bottom "black part" of the coils once it was installed. I had to take the coils apart to add the helper springs, since stance messed up and only gave me the gr+

[klits562]

thanks guys. i have shocks and springs on my car now, so it is lowered, but from where it currently sits, i want to drop it another 1.5 inches. I didnt know that you could turn the bottom "black part" of the coils once it was installed. I had to take the coils apart to add the helper springs, since stance messed up and only gave me the gr+

Ya spinning the bottom part is easy just losen the third collar and that thing spins.
The way soapgun explained just seems like more work than needs to be done.

[!Zar!]

you're both wrong

collar two is used to adjust the height

bottom collar is just to lock the shock mount from spinning

the PERCH above collar two is used to adjust preload

collar one is a PERCH you don't do anything with it

you really don't need any collars just the perches

when the coil is mounted you use your spanner wrenches to rotate collar 2 which spins the coil into the lower shock mount since collar two and the perch create a "lock" and you can do the same thing with the perch if the collar is under it
It was stated in a way that OP would understand.

If one started changing the descriptions around confusion would have followed.

Keep it simple.

[nathanong87]

dont be so pedantic soap gunner! :P

[vboy720]

you're both wrong

collar two is used to adjust the height

bottom collar is just to lock the shock mount from spinning

the PERCH above collar two is used to adjust preload

collar one is a PERCH you don't do anything with it

you really don't need any collars just the perches

when the coil is mounted you use your spanner wrenches to rotate collar 2 which spins the coil into the lower shock mount since collar two and the perch create a "lock" and you can do the same thing with the perch if the collar is under it

when i read the book that came with the coils, that what i thought was that you rotate collar two. i just wasn't sure because it didn't have any arrows pointing, it just said:

"then using the spanner wrench on the spring perch (upper most collar), turn spanner wrench clockwise (from top view).

so i thought it was collar #1

[vboy720]

got dammit, ok ill stick to what nathanong and zar said.

[nathanong87]

u actually read the coilover instructions?!?1 PAHHHHHHHH

[chituntang]

It is harder to adjust the coilover once its on the car, but its doable, not impossible.
Newly designed coilovers have the height adjustment without changing the spring preload and other stuff. So should you change the car's height with collar 2 or 3? It's your choice.

My instruction from the coilover said to loosen the collar 3, then use the wrench and turn the top/bottom collar at location 2 clock/counter-clock wise depends on raising/lowering the car (turn upper collar clockwise to lower and lower collar counter clockwise to higher). I, on the other hand, just loosen collar 3, then remove the bottom mount on the coilovers from the spindles and spin the bottom mounts.

[lflkajfj12123]

got dammit, ok ill stick to what nathanong and zar said.

no dude

there is only one way to do this when the coils are mounted to the car

go fucking mount them and see... it will be exactly how i said

stop over thinking everything instructions are useless

[!Zar!]

no dude

there is only one way to do this when the coils are mounted to the car

go fucking mount them and see... it will be exactly how i said

stop over thinking everything instructions are useless

wat?

With the wheels off the car, and the collars loose, you can raise and lower the body no problem.

Same goes for the preload collars.

What are you talking about?

[lflkajfj12123]

are you saying rotating the shock body with your hands?

you use the spanner wrenchs on the second collar to thread the shock body into the lower mount

to higher it you use the spanner on the perch above the second collar

this only rotates the whole shock to spin it in or out of the lower mount which is how you adjust the height

this is how to do it when the coilover is mounted

obviously the easier way to do it is unbolt the bottom mount from the knuckle and spin it but thats not what we're talking about (thats what dong said)

the very bottom collar does not thread in the shock to the lower mount it is only there as a "lock" so there is no adjusting going on there

there is only TWO COLLARS and TWO PERCHES

[chituntang]

You "unlock" the lower mount, so when you spin the collars on the collar 2, the whole shock will move up/down when the top and bottom mount will not move. Same idea is used on adjustable arms. Loosen the lock nuts, then turn the adjustment nuts. The arm will lengthen or shorten.

For example: loosen collar 3, then turn the lower collar at location 2 counter clockwise. Since the collar you are spinning will not move towards the top of the coilover as it is lock against the collar right on top of it, the whole shock will spin (do not matter rather the top mount is on the car or not). Now you lengthen your coilover.

The way you are doing it is adjusting the amount the shock body can travel. My way is adjusting the height where the spindle's height to the shock.

If my English sucks read this:
http://www.f2autolife.com/sites/default/files/uploads/2009/11/F2-6x11-coilover%20instructionfinalfinaledit.pdf

[!Zar!]

Woah, all this talk is mad confusing.

The bottom collar that locks against the spindle/hub mount. Loosen that.

Twist shock body with your hands to raise or lower the spindle/hub.

That's how most adjust ride hight.

Say for instance with the rear, once you thread the shock all the way into the hub mount, you are forced to lower your car by drooping the spring.

To do that you twist the two collars that lock into each other apart.

That way they can screw up/down freely.

With preload you want to set that at zero; no tension on the spring.

To droop the spring, you just bring the two spring collars down to whatever hight you want. Then tighten them into each other.

DONE.

I don't see what is so confusing but I'm willing to help. ;)

[codyace]

Twist shock body with your hands to raise or lower the spindle/hub.

That may be true for those who live in the Southern USA states without road grim or junk, but anywhere else you almots always need to jam the two middle ones tight against each other, and then use a spanner on the upper one to twist the entire shock body into the lower housing because there is no way to twist the shock budy by hand (obviously after loosening the lower jam nut)

You guys are saying the same thing...just different techniques



But the key here is to ensure of zero preload...which most lowerend coilovers come with for some oddball reason.

[!Zar!]

That is true.

I forgot about all the Antarctic people.

Before installing coils, it might help if you put on some lithium grease or something on the threads, so as to help prevent locking or something.

Or do like what mad-ass did and slap a bicycle innertube over the body.
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs077.ash2/37184_165183206829917_100000147175220_577055_56113 04_n.jpg

[lflkajfj12123]

Cody ace is super correct on that one haha

we can't do this here... the threads start to surface rust / dirts up everywhere

we have to adjust it with the spanner wrench at the 2nd collar

codyace nailin it ;)

[codyace]

I forgot about all the Antarctic people.

You mean, Arctic ;) hahahah just teasing!

The only 'downfall' of spraying lithium type grease or any sort of that, is that while it keeps the threads clean in the tube, it also collects some dirt and grime that somehow finds it's way in there. I actually smeared some anti sieze in mine, and I'll be damned that they had dirt in their still.

I do like that innertube idea! Innovative for sure! I've seen that on some ice racer cars to protect tie rod ends from getting water/dirt/ice forming in the threads, but never thought to move it up! Sweet!

[axiomatik]

I don't drive my car in the winter, so I don't have to worry about corrosion. But before I ever adjust my coilovers, I always go over all the threads on the shock body with an old toothbrush to clean out any dirt or grit that might have settled in the threads.

[lflkajfj12123]

ever try spinning a coil with your hands without gloves?

1 million tiny cuts in your palm

[jasoncanseeoh]

^oh hell yeah. sounds nice.

[tougefactory]

Don't use lithium grease. Use Dupont Teflon Spray. It goes on as wet but dries right away. It doesn't attract dirt or debris like the typical grease. Very good stuff.

[codyace]

Don't use lithium grease. Use Dupont Teflon Spray. It goes on as wet but dries right away. It doesn't attract dirt or debris like the typical grease. Very good stuff.

Hmmmm I've not had good experience with it...we use that on roll up trailer doors, and it gets dusty like the rest of the stuff

[vboy720]

*update* i got my coils installed. Soapgun was right about adjusting height, and it basically was the understanding i had from the book.

Soapgun was also right about spinning the coils without gloves... :/

[lflkajfj12123]

smoke 2 dat B)

been had knowledges

[mad-ass]

Old thread, but I ran accross this somehow from bit of searching I was doing.

I wanted to add on the coilover thread protection.

Yes, you'll attract dirt/grime regardless of what you spray on your threads, just un-avoidable unless you can some how find a place with no dirt what so ever. That's why I covered up my coilovers with bicycle inner tubes to completely protect them all together.

here's another type of lubricant you can spray; motorcycle/dirt bike chain lube spray. I completely forgot about that stuff until now. Because if you think about it..motorcycle drive chains are constantly exposed to out side weather while spinning at very high speeds. I mean, if that lube works on a constantly moving part, why not on coilover threads?

I've actually first used the teflon dry flim spray before i started doing the bicycle tubes. they still attract dirt, so I came up with the idea of completely covering them up.

hope this helps.