So... I just installed my tein ss dampners and coils. My problem is, even though they're all measured the same when adjusting lowering height, on the ground one side is about 3/4 inch higher. Is this natural with coils and am I suppose to just adjust one side to match, anyone else with this problem?
Thanks for any help

 

yea man, same here. my car is lower on the driver side. it's not noticeable in the car or on the road, i just assume it's because i usually don't have a passenger. maybe it's just natually heavier on the driver side.

i would NOT adjust the coils to different heights to make the car look even.

if it makes you feel better, i think the difference becomes less the more i drive it. anyone else have this issue with Teins?

 

Are you kidding me? ^^^

Yes, you can adjust the corners separately, that's called corner balancing and that is one of the benefits of having adjustable coilovers.

You might drive it around for a while (couple of weeks) and see how the suspension settles.

Seriously...do some of you guys just pull stuff out of your *** so you can sound smart?

 

all i know is the spring rate changes when you adjust the height, and my instructions said to set all 4 corners the same height. i have never heard of corner balancing, but my car handles like a champ. i wouldn't change my setup if you paid me. my .02 cents man, take it at face value

 

The only way you are going to compress the spring is if you adjust the coilover to raise the ride height. Essentially you would be preloading the spring. You still won't be changing the spring rate, because coilover springs are static rate springs. More than likely, you are not going to do this, because unless your shocks are shortened, you would be raising the ride height above stock.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by zrickety &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">all i know is the spring rate changes when you adjust the height, and my instructions said to set all 4 corners the same height. i have never heard of corner balancing, but my car handles like a champ. i wouldn't change my setup if you paid me. my .02 cents man, take it at face value</TD></TR></TABLE>

The spring rate does NOT change unless you are compressing or decompressing it.

If you are setting your car low enough to take the gap away, there will not be any pressure on the springs. So yeah, corner balance the sumbitch and dont listen to the guy I quoted.

 

btw, i have tried my teins at 3 or 4 different heights, and it felt very different each time. on my ss dampers, changing the height DOES compress the spring. i can't imagine having 2 shocks on one side of the car at a different height and rate than the other. i'm thinking about the cars balance under hard corners, left and right turns

 

Dude...just stop. It's obvious you don't know what you are talking about.

Yes, if you have the left side of your car at a higher than the right (not the coilover height, but the actual height of the vehicle) it is going to handle differently because you a changing the weight balance of the car. Find a common place to take measurements from all corners. I use the jack points...but you can also use a measurement from the center of the hub vertical to the fender. Then...make all of those heights the same.

If you had scales, you could corner balance the car by adjusting the heights so that the cross balance between the driver and passenger side are the same weight.

 

maybe i don't know...i think i have the tein basic damper, they were on the car when i bought it. if the SS has truly adjustable height and separate spring rate, then by all means do whatever.

on my car, i cannot change the height without compressing or decompressing the spring. i tried to get it to a stock height but it was literally too hard for me and another person to compress the spring that much

 

confusing topic.

 

They arent supposed to be the same height at all 4 corners. Thats the point of coil overs. You need a set of scales and have the height adjusted while you are sitting in the car on the scales. With coil overs you can adjust each corner independantly so you can have the car balanced. When I did this no 2 coners were the same height. This is normal since all corners of the car dont weigh the same.

 

Yea I asked a mechanic friend. He told me to drive it a lil and let the springs set, they evened out a lil. He also said that tit's normal especially for a used car to have uneven ride height due to flex and deformation on the steering and suspension system ( I'm getting all that replaced : )). plus the car doesn't weigh evenly.

 

Not even purpose built race cars are going to read 25/25/25/25 on a set of scales with the spring perchs all at the same height.... so why expect anything different from your civic? Just find some one w/ a set of scales and get to adjusting.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by zrickety &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">btw, i have tried my teins at 3 or 4 different heights, and it felt very different each time. on my ss dampers, changing the height DOES compress the spring. i can't imagine having 2 shocks on one side of the car at a different height and rate than the other. i'm thinking about the cars balance under hard corners, left and right turns</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah I adjust my tire pressure 1psi at at time. HUGE difference

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Voodooboy520 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Yeah I adjust my tire pressure 1psi at at time. HUGE difference </TD></TR></TABLE>



i'll give you $1000 if you can win that arguement with that driver.

zrickety obviously has clue what hes talking about, but don't make yourself look dumb trying to flame him. 25 lbs in spring rate... 1/4" in ride height.... 2-3 psi all add up to make the car what it is, no adjustment is ever too small.

 

[QUOTE=ComeOnKip]



QUOTE]

WORLD OUTLAWS THEM CAR ARE BAD ***!

 

yea.... anything that weighs 1500 lbs w driver and fluids... runs everything aluminum or titanium for weight... has a 17:1 CR.... makes over 900 hp and pulls the front wheels off the ground out of turns is pretty damn cool in my eyes.

By far the most abusive engine/chassis design of any racing body on the planet today.

But it more over went to my point that those guys have a WORLD of adjustments inbetween 6-11 psi on just the right rear tire alone, all of which drastically effect how the car comes off of and goes into corners.

 

I have the same problem with my Skunk2 coilovers, the left side is lower than the right side. Ive tried raising the leftside a bit, but as i read it will be okay if the spring perches are uneven??? This is the really the fist time i've heard of cornerbalancing.

 

well due to the fact that a car is uneven by design (steering column +driver on one side, other things also effect the unbalance)... the point of having coilovers is to be able to raise or lower the car as needed to put make it statically balanced. When you have a 50/50 L/R split, it makes the car much more uniform and easier to judge (know how some cars just love ripping left turns but right ones make you a bit precarious? exactly). Your drivers side sages because theres more weight over the spring, by raising the spring perches on the drivers side you are putting more of that load onto the other side of the suspension, which is why its perfectly fine to have your coilovers in different positions.

 

that totally cleared it up to me man, good stuff . Ive always had theories about how honda has uneven axels, and a lot of things happen due to weight distribution . I thought it was my frame that was bent, I was trippin for some time now, but i'll adjust my suspension soon, thanks

 

yea to get uneven axles to the point where it would cause binding (due to the unevenness, not from being slammed like 90% of axle failures on this forum) would have to be a RIDICULOUS amount of difference. glad to be of help

 

[QUOTE=ComeOnKip]yea.... anything that weighs 1500 lbs w driver and fluids... runs everything aluminum or titanium for weight... has a 17:1 CR.... makes over 900 hp and pulls the front wheels off the ground out of turns is pretty damn cool in my eyes. QUOTE]

not to mention there sideways all the way around the track.thats why they set them up the way they do!

 

Who gives a **** about an outlaw? Why isn't this **** locked yet?

 

corner balancing sounds good, in theory. but are stock springs on ANY car different rates at each wheel? 4 different height springs? i don't think even Ferraris have that. i believe front and rear springs may be different for obvious reasons, but not LF and RF or LR and RR. you don't see ppl in stock cars complaining of different size wheel gaps.

if we can all agree that changing the compression on the spring affects the rate, then any coilover that compresses/decompresses a spring (like my Tein whatever) should be about equal lengths on the same end of the car. similar to an OEM setup. i want my car to handle better than stock, and it does.

i'll be the first to admit i'm wrong, but i feel like having 4 different height springs, with 4 corresponding different spring rates, would take away from the car's stability and predictability.

 

No, and neither are aftermarket coilovers, unless you request 4 different spring rates.

No, but you do have 4 springs that have two different heights and spring rates (front and rear).

Well, there are stock cars with different ride heights as you go around corner to corner. But, generally, the cars ride with enough fender gap that 1/2" to 1" woudn't be very noticable.

Changing the compression only changes the spring rate on a progressive rate spring (most stock springs).

I can assure you, the front springs are the same length and the rear springs are the same length. The shocks are, too.

I'm sure it does, with the stiffer springs and lowering the ride height of the car, you have eliminated much of the body roll and you have lowered the center of gravity.

You are right, if you had a setup like that you would definitely have an odd handling car. But, you do not have that, unless you made a special request and the company called to double and triple check that setup was what you wanted.

Dude...I have to ask, where are you getting your information?

I have the Progress Time-Attacks on my car. The front springs are both the same length and the rear spring are the same length. These springs (and all other 2.5" diameter coilover springs) are linear rate springs. That means that they are xxx/sq.in throughout their compression range. Now, you can raise the lower perch to where it pre-loads the spring. So, however much you pre-load, the chassis will have to exert that much force before the spring will compress further. More than likely if you do this, the ride height is going to be higher than stock (unless you have shorten shocks), so you aren't going to do that. Plus, you can damage the shock by keeping the shock in the upper extreme of its extension range.
Now on the opposite of that, when you lower the car, you are relieving the preload of the spring (in some cases entirely and having a little distance between the top of the spring and the bottom of the upper perch when the suspension droops - look for helper springs to take up that gap). In that case, the shock is going to compress until the springs are in their perches and the spring receives the weight of the chassis. By manipulating the lower perch (and by using scales) you can move weight balance to be equal (or closer to equal) at all four corners. This would be an ideal setup because you have 25% of the weight on each wheel, so that each wheel/tire has an equal share of the load and do equal amounts of work: perfect weight bias.
Your manufacturer is not going to do this because the typical driver their cars does not care about on-the-edge performance of their suspension. So, they make a ride height and spring rate that will give the best ride for the purpose of the vehicle.