BETNCORT

I am going to be purchasing a coilover kit over the next month or so.
The products i am debating over are Omni Street's, TEIN Basic's or TEIN SS. I know the price differences of them all,i know the spring rates of them, i know the omni's can be lowered with the spring perch and with the lower collar. Plz no bashing on tein's or omni's and i just want to get a clear answer to my question. I couldn't find a in depth explanation on this anywhere. Here is my question....

So say i have my coils and i pre load them and then install them with my car sitting 1" lower than stock. Then a month later or so i decide to lower my car another inch using the spring perch. How will this affect my spring rates, the shock travel and the preload in neg and pos ways. Also, would the damper adjustability on the SS model help to correct anything that went out of whack if i changed my ride height?

Here's a pic of my car slammed that i chopped,i just put this in cause i know more people will look if there is a pic.




Modified by BETNCORT at 11:13 PM 5/17/2005

94eg!

iTrader: (2)

If your using those newer style coilovers w/ double adjustable settings (like Omni or Tein), then it's pretty simple. First you set the preload by spining the lower spring perch up until the spring is tight between the lower & upper perches. Then, to adjust the ride height, you reduce the overal shock length by spinning the shocks lower mount. The main plus feature with these types of coilovers is that you don't loose suspension stroke as you lower the car (until you start botoming out the chassis or upper control arms)...

Once you get your ride height set, your going to want to reset all your suspension bushings. This will un-twisth your bushings and alow them to do their job within their proper range of motion. It prolongs their life, and preformance...

How to reset your suspension bushings
-Basically you put the car on jack stands
-Jack up underneath one LCA until the car barely lifts off the nearest jackstand
-Next, loosen each suspension bolt that goes through the center of a bushing (releases the twist)
-Now re-torque them to spec & move on to the next wheel (sets bushing in new lowered position)
-This can be done to all bushings except rear trailing arm bushing & inner rear UCA bushing

Now your going to want to do this every time you change the ride height, so find one you like & stick with it.


Modified by 94eg! at 8:20 AM 5/19/2005

BETNCORT

Thanks. I'm pretty sure that the TEIN Basic and SS don't have the adj. lower shock mount. The Omni Street's do. So to adjust ride height with the TEINs i would have to use the spring perch. How would that differ from the double adj. coils.

I am guessing that this is how i reset my all my bushings?

Basically you put the car on jack stands
Jack up underneath one LCA until the car barely lifts off the nearest jackstand
Next, loosen each suspension bolt that goes through the center of a bushing (releases the twist)
Now re-torque them to spec & move on to the next wheel (sets bushing in new lowered position)

94eg!

iTrader: (2)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BETNCORT &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I am guessing that this is how i reset my all my bushings?
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Sorry, I must have forgot to mention that part (yes it is)... I'll fix it right now.

BETNCORT

So the coils with only the adjustable spring perch will shorten your shock stroke when you lower the car? So if i raise my car from where i had it set will this shorten the stroke as well? What are the downsides to lowering/raising with the single adjustable coils? after they are installed,pre loaded and set at a certain ride height.

94eg!

iTrader: (2)

Preload isn't a factor if you don't have double adjustable ride height. Basically, once you have your ride height set the spring sits where it's forced to.

You've got it correct in thinking that the shock travel is reduced as you lower the car (w/ single adjustable coil-overs). The positive effect from lowering is a lower center of gravity (which increases your road holding capabilities). The negative effects would be an increased likelihood of bottoming out your suspension (which will negatively affect handling). If you raise the car up, the exact opposite happens.

If you want your car low, there are solutions to the bottoming out problems. One is to run really stiff spring rates. This can fine tune the cars behavior, but makes the car pretty uncomfortable for people with *****. The other option is to get extended upper shock mounts. These add extra shock travel by relocating the upper shock mounting point higher. Ground Control makes them to go w/ their coil-over kits, and they work with any 2.5" inner diameter springs. If you are using a full coil-over system, you may not be able to take advantage of this idea (since they include their own upper mounts).

This is the main reason I went with the Ground control sleeve/spring system. When combined with really good shocks (like Koni Yellows of course), they will outperform any entry level Full Coil-over shock. Also, you are able to pick any spring rate you want (they can recommend the perfect rates for you if you call them). You can't get that with any other suspension brand...

BETNCORT

I could use the extended upper shock mounts because the TEIN SS does not include upper pillow ball mounts and you must re-use the OEM upper mounts.I am not worried about using extended mounts because i am not going to slam my car and the SS has a ride height range that suits me. From what i have read the Pillow ball mounts give you better susp. feedback but the downsides are more road noise, occasional squeaking and the steep price for them. I don't feel they are neccesary either.

I want a well rounded set up for my car to give a nice planted feel but still be good for everyday driving. I know the spring rates on the TEINs are relatively soft and are most likely what i am looking for. They also are not very heavily front biased, taking away some of the understeer from stock and i am sure would be a big imporvement over stock. I know they are overpriced because of the JDM bling factor but that doesn't take away from the quality of the product. I am going to be ordering a set of the SS soon and i am confident i will be pleased with the purchase.

Thanks for the help