New to the coilover world. Question about height adjust

[dwarfmarine]

Hey all,
My Team Yellowspeed coilovers arrived today so I can clear my defect (which I've already cleared albeit dodgy so I could have it done before they cancel rego!!)
What looks like their full/highest adjustment sits at ~460 mm(so I can see 2-3 threads through the 'inspection hole' (they are bottom adjustable)
nd from what I can see, in car on the ground from bottom of the strut tower to where it sit in the lower arm(front) sits around 460mm too with the current shocks and lowered spring
I only want it 10mm higher, I'm guessing the spring preload is preset from the factory, so can I wind the spring seat up a bit to get the extra 10mm I want or have I fuarked up and ordered coilovers tht arent high enough?

 

[Scottie]

A lot of coilovers have adjustable preload and others have a sort of "floating" design. Are these definitely adjustable?

Is there anything with the coilovers that tells you how to adjust the preload? There should be a general rule you follow ie. 5 turns of the strut = 1 turn of preload..

 

[dwarfmarine]

I had a quick flick through the guide that came with them, I saw it showed how to adjust but didn't give any spec (the only specs was the damper control- hard-soft standard 12turns ffrom soft etc)

Yeah they are definately adjustable.
http://www.yellow-speed.com/dynamic-pro-sport.php

 

[Scottie]

I've never had coilovers that have adjustable strut and spring platforms but i would try having the spring slightly off the lowest setting (maybe 10mm) and adjustijng the strut to suit your height then take it for a spin.

Other than that, take it to a suspension specialist..

 

[Interloper]

jack the car up
with the lower arm that attaches to the coilover loosened and the locking collar and spring seat also loose you should be able to screw the shock body out to the desired height
do up all the bits in reverse of above

 

[dwarfmarine]

I should've mentioned I haven't installed them in the car yet.

So sitting on the floor it looks like their full extension is 460mm(without touching the spring perch adjust, only the lower adjust)

The shock/springs in the car on the ground measure approx 460mm too

With the coilover installed I was hoping to sit 10mm high that I am now
(FYI hub to guard currently is 350mm compared to 450 stock
id like 360-365 hub to guards at the front)

 

[unclepaulie]

they base adjustable?

if so, dont touch the spring, use the base as the heigh adjustment. makes it easy(ish) to do on the car too.


also, you cant really compare the unsprung heights of both shock/spring as they'd have different spring rates. the only way you can do it, is to measure the height of the car, install them. put the car on the ground and drive for a bit so they settle and then wind it up or down to suit

 

[dwarfmarine]

Yeah Paul they are base adjustable.

I know they'd have different spring rates, but the fact that the coilovers off the car are the same height as the springs when under load are the same, ie they'll sit at the same height.

 

[steveP]

Don't touch the spring pre-load once it's set. A good way to set the pre-load on all coilovers (so all 4 are equal) is to unscrew the rings so the spring is just captive. Then give the rings 2 full rotations to tighten them slightly. Now only use the base height adjustability to adjust height.

The best way is to measure them and get them as close as you think off the car. Then once on the car, adjust the fronts at the same time with trial and error, then the rears.

 

[dwarfmarine]

Okay I'll see how I go with that
im not sure if the preload has been preset when they came from the factory or not.

 

[steveP]

They are usually a bit off from factory so I do it myself just to make sure they're all even.

 

[dwarfmarine]

I spoke to Wholesale who I bought they from.
for the 10mm or so I want, I can just undo the spring lock and spring seat and wind the shock out 10-15mm and max out the base adjustment.
I tried to loosen of the lock ring but f**k me it's hand. Might need to borrow some spring compressors to take the strain off the spring seat ring so I can counter turn them and loosen them.
Or give in and have them installed.. I don't really have the time myself anyway.

 

[steveP]

Coilovers should come with specific C-spanners that makes adjusting coilovers an ease.

 

[dwarfmarine]

Yeah it did but the locking ring is super tight with the force of the upper nut and spring on it.
might be easier once in the car

 

[aaron68nz]

I've just recently raised the height 35mm on my tein basic coilovers while on the car. I used lots of CRC and had to hit the tein spanner with a rubber mallet to do the initial loosening. Lying on the ground looking up at the car anticlockwise undoes the locking ring on mine. Bought some spring compressors from super cheap auto but they were very fiddly to put on and try and tighten with the suspension already installed. In the end I just used a lot of force and took ages to wind the the ring upwards 35mm. On one corner of the car the whole spring would just turn when turning the ring so in this case I had to put a spring compressor on tight and just hold onto it to stop the spring from turning with the turns on the ring. Anyway, so now my suspension is a little creaky every now and again. The guy that did my wheel alignment afterwards (and this was needed due to raising!) said this type of suspension is prone to noise, although it wasn't noisy when lowered. Hopefully the suspension is just settling in, otherwise I've still got the original suspension the Japenese owner was kind enough to leave in the car for me.