Springs, Struts, Swaybars, Bushings, Tower Braces & more
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By jadeydrag0117
#315414 i was reading a thread from another forum on chassis creaking noises as a result from installing coilovers incorrectly.
there was a reply that listed a number of issues for the chassis creaking but also that when you install coilovers incorrectly it can cause premature wear on bushes as stuff. said something about not suppose to tighten the fork when the chassis is in the air and something about loaded position.

is there really a incorrect way to install coilovers, what is the correct way?
By EJ1_MK
#315419 Not really, there are different theories on the pre-load and non-load where you put pressure on the strut sleeve over coil or full coil over, or spring set ups.

What the bigger issues that most don't think about anymore is that these cars aren't new anymore, there almost 20 yrs old so adding stiff suspension and really not taking care of the years of wear and tear on the bushings and end links and everything else that holds your car together before slamming it to the ground. It just magnifies the problem they where having that they might not have noticed before hand and now are hearing because it is lower to the ground then clearances have changed dramatically. Cars with over 150,000 clicks on them need to have bushings replaced, struts, end link, etc.

This also depends on the set up of the car and the driver as well, thinking you can just drop the car with out any issues, that is just silly. It takes a toll on everything in your suspension when lowering a car. This is why it is so important that you know where you are wanting to take the car, track, street, drag, show, daily, it all plays a factor in how comfortable the car rides and handles or the lack there of.
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By jadeydrag0117
#315420
EJ1_MK wrote:Not really, there are different theories on the pre-load and non-load where you put pressure on the strut sleeve over coil or full coil over, or spring set ups.

What the bigger issues that most don't think about anymore is that these cars aren't new anymore, there almost 20 yrs old so adding stiff suspension and really not taking care of the years of wear and tear on the bushings and end links and everything else that holds your car together before slamming it to the ground. It just magnifies the problem they where having that they might not have noticed before hand and now are hearing because it is lower to the ground then clearances have changed dramatically. Cars with over 150,000 clicks on them need to have bushings replaced, struts, end link, etc.

This also depends on the set up of the car and the driver as well, thinking you can just drop the car with out any issues, that is just silly. It takes a toll on everything in your suspension when lowering a car. This is why it is so important that you know where you are wanting to take the car, track, street, drag, show, daily, it all plays a factor in how comfortable the car rides and handles or the lack there of.


:thumb: ..that is all
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By jadeydrag0117
#315421 actually ...good to know, i like this explanation it really clarifies my suspicions on lowering a car, i always wanted to know the specifics.

well in my case, luckily i had all my bushing checked a few months after lowering my car by my mechanic, but i really dont mind doing lots of maintenance on my car as long as my car is happy im happy.

and what exactly is preloading the springs?, i tried to research last summer but never came to a clear definition.
By EJ1_MK
#315425 Pre-load on the springs is hard to do with out full coil overs. But you can load the suspension when you tighten sway bars and strut bars to where it sucks the chassis together.

On a full coil over from the factory the company sets the springs pre load to a certain spec. IF you tighten that it will add more spring pre load before the shock is compressed if that makes sense. It is better to not adjust depending on setup and spring rates and there are many variables that have to be taken into account. The best way to load the suspension is put everything together on an alignment rack in the air but don't tighten anything, then put the wheels on and then tighten everything down and it will load the bushings and the rest of the suspension but sometimes it wont make any difference, or the driver might not notice at all.

To load the springs you would need to have access to scales to corner balance and then align, ride height adjust after each change cause it will be like forcing the suspension and changing it to load the spring rates.

There are many article on these topics but they are like reading a foreign language depending of you knowledge of cars and suspension types.
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By jadeydrag0117
#315432
EJ1_MK wrote:Pre-load on the springs is hard to do with out full coil overs. But you can load the suspension when you tighten sway bars and strut bars to where it sucks the chassis together.

On a full coil over from the factory the company sets the springs pre load to a certain spec. IF you tighten that it will add more spring pre load before the shock is compressed if that makes sense. It is better to not adjust depending on setup and spring rates and there are many variables that have to be taken into account. The best way to load the suspension is put everything together on an alignment rack in the air but don't tighten anything, then put the wheels on and then tighten everything down and it will load the bushings and the rest of the suspension but sometimes it wont make any difference, or the driver might not notice at all.

To load the springs you would need to have access to scales to corner balance and then align, ride height adjust after each change cause it will be like forcing the suspension and changing it to load the spring rates.

There are many article on these topics but they are like reading a foreign language depending of you knowledge of cars and suspension types.


so it involves more than just adjusting the spring perches and locking thing on the coilovers to like 4mm pre load?

what if i brought it to a mechanic what type of labor would i be asking, can i get my suspension preloaded?
By EJ1_MK
#315433 You would have to take it to a place that specialized in suspension and the setup for what your wanting to do with the car weather it be auto x or road race or drag rac in most cases for street and drag you don't worry about loading the suspension at all. Same with Canberra you want to keep that as close to stock for street and drag. This is where you have to know what you are doing with the car, what is the end game basically. But there are shops that will be able to handle what you want just have to find one in your area.
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By jadeydrag0117
#315434
EJ1_MK wrote:You would have to take it to a place that specialized in suspension and the setup for what your wanting to do with the car weather it be auto x or road race or drag rac in most cases for street and drag you don't worry about loading the suspension at all. Same with Canberra you want to keep that as close to stock for street and drag. This is where you have to know what you are doing with the car, what is the end game basically. But there are shops that will be able to handle what you want just have to find one in your area.



okay i see , / understand more now.

honestly i don't know squat about cars. i've had this EG as my first car and had it for about almost 1 year now.
ever since i first bought it i see my friends, they all know about car stuff they have a bunch of JDM ass modified cars, swaps low offsets with tuned camber specs and what not , and i wanted to learn so i just asked so many questions and learned so much from this forum site and other resources, i thought i could do it just as easy as them.

but i'm just hoping that theres no problem with the way i installed them cause i literally just bolted them up lowered the car and adjusted the springs in the front to the same area or "height" on the thread. and same in the back but different from the fronts. hopefully i'm good?

i dont want to be one of those people who just buy shit and also dont know anything about cars i really want to learn more or at least how to do things right for now lol...
By EJ1_MK
#315435 Yeah you should be fine. Your friends might be following trends more than they want to know, low offset wheels are great for show cars, and mild street cars, otherwise not the good to have to have crazy camber and low offset on front wheel drive. It will create torque steer and relocate the point there the tire meets the road which at higher speeds can be dangerous.

For a street car or daily, keep it simple springs shocks or sleeve over coils and shocks , camber kits if needed bushings, swaybars, strut bars. Keep it simple. Don't need excessive spring rates and crazy camber to make the car look clean and stance it properly.
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By jadeydrag0117
#315436
EJ1_MK wrote:Yeah you should be fine. Your friends might be following trends more than they want to know, low offset wheels are great for show cars, and mild street cars, otherwise not the good to have to have crazy camber and low offset on front wheel drive. It will create torque steer and relocate the point there the tire meets the road which at higher speeds can be dangerous.

For a street car or daily, keep it simple springs shocks or sleeve over coils and shocks , camber kits if needed bushings, swaybars, strut bars. Keep it simple. Don't need excessive spring rates and crazy camber to make the car look clean and stance it properly.


haha no there a bunch of grease monkeys cars are their life,

but i just mentioned them to show how kinda of got suckered into wanting to be cool and modify my car and the noob level that im at but i can never stop gaining knowledge so all is good,

thanks for the help. :thumb:
if i knew how to send a positive feedback thing i would lol