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Andrew
12-19-2010, 11:34 PM
so this is my story ephatch.

i acquired megan racing coilovers for cheap from a local member. they needed a little TLC nothing i couldnt take care of, so i installed them and the ride height seemed the same on all 4 corners. after sometime the wheel gap has changed dramatically imo. the driver side now has pretty much no finger gap between the top of the tire to the fender. while on the other hand the pass side has a 1 finger gap to half a finger gap. i don't understand what is it? i'm a heavier guy around 230, so i'm not sure if it's my weight b/c i usually ride solo, but i'm not sure about that idea. if anyone has any input please help me. thanks in advance

civictype_r04
12-20-2010, 08:53 AM
You should look into getting the car counter balanced man..... the drivers side is a little heavier if I remember.

IntellecTEC
12-20-2010, 11:19 PM
I had the same problem on my passenger side with the Megans. My issue was that the bottom collar for adjusting the ride height was coming loose as I turned the wheel from left to right. All I did was threaded on the extra collar that came with the coilovers and "double locked" the bottom collar down. Now I don't have any mysterious ride height changes.

You can check to see if this is the problem by just inspecting the coilover while its on your car and if the bottom collar is loose then slap on another one. If you didn't get an extra one with your set then call up Megan and get them to ship you one.

Andrew
12-21-2010, 11:10 AM
I had the same problem on my passenger side with the Megans. My issue was that the bottom collar for adjusting the ride height was coming loose as I turned the wheel from left to right. All I did was threaded on the extra collar that came with the coilovers and "double locked" the bottom collar down. Now I don't have any mysterious ride height changes.

You can check to see if this is the problem by just inspecting the coilover while its on your car and if the bottom collar is loose then slap on another one. If you didn't get an extra one with your set then call up Megan and get them to ship you one.

the wierdest thing is that my megan racing coilovers the 2 front struts' ride height collars were locktite to the same level so i'm not sure if what youre saying will apply to my situation. thanks though i'll try your method out and see if it works out for me

Andrew
12-22-2010, 01:02 AM
anyone else bump?

ep_hatcher_510
12-22-2010, 10:05 AM
Andrew, if everything was measured correctly at install, it could be possible that the spring collars came loose over time, I would get under there and check.

Andrew
12-22-2010, 04:04 PM
Andrew, if everything was measured correctly at install, it could be possible that the spring collars came loose over time, I would get under there and check.

Wen, isnt the collar where the spring is for the preload? does that also affect the ride height? because i thought the ride height collars were lock tite so i didnt think it would move. oh yeah i still need to meet up with you sometime for the extra locking collars and instructions

ep_hatcher_510
12-22-2010, 06:28 PM
Wen, isnt the collar where the spring is for the preload? does that also affect the ride height? because i thought the ride height collars were lock tite so i didnt think it would move. oh yeah i still need to meet up with you sometime for the extra locking collars and instructions

Those collar still affect the height if moved. Yeah man just let me know when you wanna meet up, im free most of the time.

Andrew
12-22-2010, 07:29 PM
Those collar still affect the height if moved. Yeah man just let me know when you wanna meet up, im free most of the time.

damn foreals? i didnt know that well i'll most likley get that checked up in like the next few weeks. is it a MUST thing to do? because i have no time what so ever this week? oh and lmk what your school schedule is like for next quarter so we can meet up? just pm dude

27rocks
12-23-2010, 12:02 PM
Preload!!!! Sometimes some springs settle more then others. That's why you have to mess with the preload. In some cases you will either have to add more or take some out depending on weight distribution. This is exactly how i set up my car! After i chose my desired ride height i made sure everything was the same length. Then i waited a few weeks for the springs to settle and did the preload adjustment to level the car. And it so happened that the drivers side was slightly lower or heavier.

Andrew
12-23-2010, 03:49 PM
Preload!!!! Sometimes some springs settle more then others. That's why you have to mess with the preload. In some cases you will either have to add more or take some out depending on weight distribution. This is exactly how i set up my car! After i chose my desired ride height i made sure everything was the same length. Then i waited a few weeks for the springs to settle and did the preload adjustment to level the car. And it so happened that the drivers side was slightly lower or heavier.

thanks for the confirmation dude! i can honestly say i like how it looks on the drivers side b/c it is more "dumped" but one question. what is the easiest way to adjust the preload for the pass side so it looks equally lowered? i dont have instructions or anything with me so any ideas?

ep_hatcher_510
12-23-2010, 08:22 PM
thanks for the confirmation dude! i can honestly say i like how it looks on the drivers side b/c it is more "dumped" but one question. what is the easiest way to adjust the preload for the pass side so it looks equally lowered? i dont have instructions or anything with me so any ideas?

no instructions are needed, all you need is something to measure with

Andrew
12-23-2010, 10:48 PM
no instructions are needed, all you need is something to measure with

awesome lol i'm about to lower the preload on the pass side then thanks guys!

27rocks
12-23-2010, 11:53 PM
awesome lol i'm about to lower the preload on the pass side then thanks guys!

Just make sure you dont undo it to much to where the spring comes loose.

Andrew
12-24-2010, 12:11 AM
Just make sure you dont undo it to much to where the spring comes loose.

would it be bad? sorry for all the nub questions these are my first pair of coilovers and the spanner wrenches arent the best so ive been using a screwdriver and a hammer to tighten and loosen the collars

27rocks
12-24-2010, 10:05 AM
would it be bad? sorry for all the nub questions these are my first pair of coilovers and the spanner wrenches arent the best so ive been using a screwdriver and a hammer to tighten and loosen the collars

Yeah. Coilovers are designed to keep the spring from moving around. Thats why they have a specific section for lowering the shock. If you max it out (meaning the spring starts flopping around and is still not low enough) make sure you tighten it back up enough so the spring is free from moving. Then you have to mess with your ride height to level it.

My coilovers were a little funky as well that's why i un tighten all the preload on the springs and made everything the same length first. Once that was the same i threw the coilovers on the car and made sure the car was at the desired height i wanted and left it like that till the springs settled. Once they settled the drivers side was slightly lowwer in the rear only, so all i had to adjust was the preload since i knew the measurement of the entire coilover from top to bottom was identical leaving me with a slightly lazier spring. I threw a little preload on that spring to bring it up a little and level it with the other side. I also parked on a very flat surface (garage) and measured heights from the ground to specific chassi points to get even measurements on either side.

A little hint... every time i made an adjustment i would put the car back on the ground and before measuring the height i would take the car around the block to make sure the spring would compress to its normal driving position. If i wouldn't do this the springs wouldn't be fully compressed after having it up on jack stands for a 30 min at a time lol.

Andrew
12-25-2010, 12:34 AM
Yeah. Coilovers are designed to keep the spring from moving around. Thats why they have a specific section for lowering the shock. If you max it out (meaning the spring starts flopping around and is still not low enough) make sure you tighten it back up enough so the spring is free from moving. Then you have to mess with your ride height to level it.

My coilovers were a little funky as well that's why i un tighten all the preload on the springs and made everything the same length first. Once that was the same i threw the coilovers on the car and made sure the car was at the desired height i wanted and left it like that till the springs settled. Once they settled the drivers side was slightly lowwer in the rear only, so all i had to adjust was the preload since i knew the measurement of the entire coilover from top to bottom was identical leaving me with a slightly lazier spring. I threw a little preload on that spring to bring it up a little and level it with the other side. I also parked on a very flat surface (garage) and measured heights from the ground to specific chassi points to get even measurements on either side.

A little hint... every time i made an adjustment i would put the car back on the ground and before measuring the height i would take the car around the block to make sure the spring would compress to its normal driving position. If i wouldn't do this the springs wouldn't be fully compressed after having it up on jack stands for a 30 min at a time lol.

thanks man and have a happy holidays!

27rocks
12-26-2010, 11:31 AM
thanks man and have a happy holidays!

Any time!! I just hope you figure it out. It's not all that hard once you understand how it all works, but if you get stuck in the middle of something just hit me up.

Happy holidays to you too.

Andrew
12-26-2010, 05:51 PM
Any time!! I just hope you figure it out. It's not all that hard once you understand how it all works, but if you get stuck in the middle of something just hit me up.

Happy holidays to you too.

haha yeah, the way you explained it made perfect sense for me. it's just i gotta get down there and do it sometime this week