I bought a new civic a week ago, after a long *** search. And it is simply too low for the big city with all those curbs.. Do these coilovers happen to be adjustable? I've done some research and I think it may not be, and it may just adjust the preload but if that's the case... Is there still a way to raise up the front? Which is sitting like a inch lower than the rear?

Here is a pic 2 clarify



It did come with 2 spanner wrenches i believe its called?

Thanks!

 

Curbs are ruining my catalysator, really need to figure out whether I can temporarily higher this basic coilover while i save up for a good fully adjustable aftermarket pair

 

Your pics aren't working for me.

 

Dude.

1) imgur links don't work when embedded in a page, find an alternative host. They'll appear to work for you, since you already have them cached.
2) The spring perch is visibly threaded, of course they're adjustable. Whether the shock shaft is long enough to let you go higher without "topping" out the shock is not something we can tell from a picture though.
3) Unless you want to burn through tires, you'll need an alignment after any ride height change.

 

Nah they dont appear to work for me either, but its with nearly every pic on this forum so figured the chrome was screwed up, my bad! And yah i realise that that it'll need an alignment, i've done my research but its difficult for a non-american to understand each and every term

Anyway pic re-uploaded. It does have a visible thread but just one collar though..


Here is how it sits right now, it looks dope how it leans forward, but its not functional at all, especially on these fucked up roads on these small dutch streets
Not even a finger gap :/

 

Is there an allen screw that locks your single collar in place?

You may need to loosen the allen screw...and then turn the collar upward.

 

I've got no clue, i'll check first thing tomorrow. But the thing is, i've and the previous owner got no clue what suspension is under there either so its a mystery

So basically raising the collar, which is removing preload if I understand it right will make the car sit higher? but wont it also decrease the travel of the shocks?

 

Not removing preload, negative preload is the right term i assume lol n' no theres no allen bolt to keep it on its place!! Cheap *** shitty coilover..

Cud someone name some cons whne it comes to highering the collar on this coilover? Will it affect the drivability at all?

 

Raising the collar would add preload.

You're going up with the collar. The spring will travel upward also.

 

Mm cool bro, How much would you recommend raising the front judging by the pic? A cm or 5'ish? Like a inch or two

 

1" is significant.

How much higher do you want the ride height to be?
Can you take a better pic of the whole shock? Those don't look like the cheapo linear rate springs you see on most crappy coilovers. So I'm wondering what system you have. They almost look like H&R's.

But it looks like you're missing the jam collar. There should be two collars per shock. Like this:



Or there should be an allen screw that locks the collar...similar to this:


Or this:

 

Sorry for da late reply bro, been busy! But yea I find it strange aswell, and I just want the front to match the rear really. Perhaps a little higher if it still doesnt handle the curb {?}... probably a good inch for starters~

I did make a better pic 2 days ago when I was working on it, Jacked up

 

If you or someone could identify them, that wud be great.. But keep in mind I live in the netherlands, may just be a local piece of **** haha. It works for now, all that matters, but its STIFF!

 

Your pic isn't working

 

**** my bad man, too used to using imgur for pics.. Tinypic is slow ashell

~Corrected~

 

They look like H&R's. Your picture shows the allen head set screw for the collars. You loosen those. You turn the collars upward.

Raising them up should make them ride better.

 

That small hole's a screw? Lol... I'll get to working with it tomorrow!! Much thanks!

One last thing, do you got a tip on how I can make sure i raise both the exact same amount with just one collar per side?

 

Use a measuring tape. Measure from the last thread to the bottom of the collar. Or measure the space between the shock fork and bottom of the collar.

You're going to need a spanner tool to turn those. And you'll want to wash the dirt off the threads first, and spray the thread with some aerosol oil/lubricant to make it easier.

I *think* the civic motion ratio is like 1.5. So for 10mm of change at the shock, you'll see ~15mm of change in ride height.

 

Damnnnn yo...... I worked on the car today, on a mission to get a decent ride height for city use and I also decided to switch the rear axle tires with the front axle tires. After having raised the preload collar, I sat the car back down and it raised the front a good 20mm.. But the car has like a ******* 5 degrees of negative camber and the front's stiffness has gone beyond the roof.

The car already had a little positive toe or/and some negative camber after inspecting front tires before switching them out with the rears. Is it possible i put too much preload, hence it wont absorb bumps at ALL? Even small *** potholes > Rip ***

Camber is fun in corners, but not practical for me lol


I expected to notice some small vibrations after the preload adjustment, but not so much camber all out the sudden lol

Edit: the Front Left did however already have ATLEAST 15mm of preload, because I went to check it.. But does that mean with just a SLIGHT preload the car will sit even lower than it already was?

 

It feels like its hitting the bumpstop, but then again the front is so stiff I am barely able to use my own bodyweight to sag the front with the hood open. so I doubt pothole would absorb anything which is what it felt like && I dont think these coilovers even have a bumpstop

The problems if I dont know the exact specifications of the springs on this car, because the previous owner didnt know **** about them either. I think the preload has gone beyond the corner weight of the front tires? From the bottom of the thread, to the only collar/perch it has, I increased the Front Left from 47mm to 70.5mm,
and Front Right from 32mm to 70.5mm which is quite a big leap..

 

I lowered the preload on the front again today, and it yet again lowered the front. But the ride isnt as harsh as it was before, eventho its still pretty harsh, you hear a small clunk noise at small potholes.

Does this mean this car has shortened shocks or something? I would love to raise the car, but I dont know wut else to do with the current unknown setup. Please shime in someone !

Spring sits 280mm unloaded / unpreloaded, the 70mm i was talking about earlier, that was with the spring at 200mm.

PS: Sorry for being vague sometimes, its da first time for me aswell!!!

 

Clunking noises and harshness mean you probably need an alignment. Or could signify an issue with your tires being over inflated.

Or you could have a host of other issues, including loose or worn chassis parts.

Have the car inspected. Then aligned. If its still too harsh, then buy a different set of coilovers that are soft...or buy a stock suspension.

 

I see your point, the car didnt have these issues before the adjustment though, i mean just harsh but no clunk sound. I feel like the shock topped out and is hitting a bumpstop or the strut tower underneath the cover, is that a possibility?

Btw doesnt have to be soft, cuz the ride was already stiff, and its okay, but the ride height is a issue, cant even enter the block i live in hah

&& Isnt there a easy way to get the shock cover out or atleast lower it so i can see the bumpstop if theres any?

 

The bumpstop is inside the black rubber boot. Feel for it with your hand. Its a semi-soft material...probably about 1 to 1.5" long (insert "that's what I told her" type of joke).

You may be at the top height limit of the coilover. If you adjust it too much, you may go above the intended height. Clunking would signify something being loose. The harshness is from the over-preloaded spring.

Your bumpstop is LESS active when you raise up the car. So if you're not riding on the bumpstop with the car lowered....you'd be even further away from the bumpstop if you raised it.

 

Yeah thats what I thought aswell, but it made sense to me that if you preload the spring, that it will compress the shock hence reduce travel. but im still learnin'!

Can you tell me how i can move the rubber boot away to check how much play there is left? I want to consider cutting the bump stop for the time being if dats a possibility