I have Koni Yellows + Tein HTech springs on my 98 prelude base. I know that the front shocks have 2 perch height settings and the back shocks have 3 perch height settings.

I would like to adjust my perch to the lowest setting on both the front and rear shocks.

From doing a search, I have gathered that the springs have to be compressed a bit before adjusting the perch ring with a needle nose plier.

Can this adjustment can be done without removing the whole shock+spring assembly? What is the easiest/fastest safe way to adjust the perch height?

Thanks

 

The lower perch setting is for stock springs. Lowering springs used on the lower perch will probably result in a lot of bottoming out of the suspension...

If your spring are not free at full droop, you'll need to either compress the spring or remove it from the shock.

What you can do is remove the upper nuts on the shock shaft (the ones under the hood / inside the trunk), jack up the car until the shaft comes free (or at least until the spring hangs free) and then move the circlip. Afterward, lower the car slowly and get the shock shaft back into the upper mount hole correctly. The weight of the car will compress the springs allowing you to reinstall the upper nuts with the car on the ground.

 

Thanks for the quick helpful reply.

My springs are near stock springs in height (I have a huge 5 finger wheel gap i the front and 4 finger gap in the back) so I would really like to lower the perch setting.

Since my springs are not the very short kind, I think I'll need to compress them. I can get a spring compressor, but is it possible to use it with the shock/spring assembly still on the car, for the purpose of adjusting the perches? Is your method the same knowing that I have access to a spring compressor?

 

Use a spring compressor and then adjust. As for it being on the car I don't know if the spring compressor would fit with the shock assembly on the car.

 

Some will fit. Most won't. Depends on the spring compressor used.

"My" method (not mine really, read it elsewhere and used it personally) uses the weight of the car to compress the springs. It isn't the "correct" way to do it, but it does work. Just be very careful to get the shock shaft back into the upper mount hole when lowering the car, and lower it slowly.

 

do u have to compress g/c coilovers to do lower the perch setting as they already move so easily when the car is jacked up?