Installing Coilovers, Have a question about ride height

[Euro]

I finally got some Coilovers...

So im getting ready for the install, tomorrow 9am. (June 14th)

can any one point me in the right direction of a good write up or DIY. I did the all the suspension on my last car, so im not completely in the dark here. I just don't know where to set the ride height...

Im on my stock 16's right now but not for long. I was kind of thinking of setting them to the center of the threads, but I have no idea how high or low that would be.

I'll be tossing some 18's on hopefully by the end of the month, should I keep that in mind?

For anyone that has installed them your self, where did you set your coil perch to? and what final ride hieght did that give you in the end? what size wheels too?

Any tips or things to watch out for... let me know.

thanks.

[97audia4]

the rears you can go all the way dow, about an 1 inch showing the fronts leave about a 1 3/4 just to see how it will look, you might want to set them a litter highr to let them settle though

[98a4]

As you get in there you will see your way around, its not to hard.
As for ride height, what coils do you have? If you've seen my car I have about 1" front and .5" rear left to drop it. So you can make a judgement off of that. Once its on the ground do ground to fender measure on a flat surface. It will settle so dont adjust it unless its way off on one corner. Figure about a 10-15mm drop over the first week due to settling.

[brlukosk]

Try jumping up and down on the door sill to get it to settle into place. You will notice that if you dont it will settle a good half an inch after driving around. Also, the number of threads showing is not really the best indication of how much you have lowered at each corner.

My car was level with the passenger front side ajdusted all the way up, and the back drivers side is also adjusted higher than the pass side. Each corner is different.

Stasis has some good guidlines for ride height / alignment:

Conservative Street Setup
Between 1/16 and 1/32 TOE IN front and 1/32 TOE IN rear
Ride height at 25.875” front and 26.000” rear
(–1.0 camber front)
Aggressive Street Setup
Between 1/32 and 0 TOE IN on all four corners
Ride height at 25.500” front and 25.625” rear
(–1.5 to –1.75 camber front)
Track Setup
Between 0 and 1/16 TOE OUT on all four corners
Ride height at 25.000” front and 25.250” rear
(–2.0 to –3.0 camber front)
WARNING! The Track Setup alignment recommendations are not for the street and will result in serious straight line instability. STaSIS accepts no responsibility with its alignment suggestions.

[onemoremile]

Avants are easy to set. I just grab ahold of the roof rails and rock the car. Then dump four people in and go for a quick slalom. That'll settle the springs and let you know if you've got clearance problems real quick.

The big difference between Stasis settings are for toe. Their aggressive street setup will be the best all around. Toe out on the street is a big no-no. Remember the old Porsche 911s that would whip around and slide off the road backwards? That was solved with a toe correction. Even if you go lower you should still have zero toe or a touch of toe in for stability.

I don't know the measurement but I've found that about a one finger gap between the tire and fender is perfect. Ride quality and handling are both very good.

[Euro]

I just woke up and were starting right now.


I should have said that they are Koni's.

thanks.

[Euro]

T
Conservative Street Setup
Between 1/16 and 1/32 TOE IN front and 1/32 TOE IN rear
Ride height at 25.875” front and 26.000” rear
(–1.0 camber front)
Aggressive Street Setup
Between 1/32 and 0 TOE IN on all four corners
Ride height at 25.500” front and 25.625” rear
(–1.5 to –1.75 camber front)

That helps alot but I still dont know where to set the spring perches to, to get that ride height...

[tike0rz]

I just woke up and were starting right now.


I should have said that they are Koni's.

thanks.

G'luck! Show plenty of before and after pics!

[brlukosk]

That helps alot but I still dont know where to set the spring perches to, to get that ride height...

Might be too late for this piece of advice, but start up with the coilovers adjusted high in the front because its easier to drop once they are installed.

Put the rear collars an inch or so from the bottom.

[Euro]

All done

Everything went perfectly smooth. about 4.5 hours total.

I did figure out the perch thing. I read some thing on AW, some one measured from the bottom of the threading to the bottom of the perch. So told his information and made a guess that turned out great.

From the bottom of the perch to the end of the threads I measured 2 inches. Same situation in the rear, except I measured 1 inch.

great drop IMO. though Iam on stock wheels. 25in excatly from the fender to the ground (front) and just barely under 25 in in the rear.

I'll wash her and take some pics.