but if not, I'll tell my short story first then get straight to the point.I bought my BC racing coils about a year and a half ago. The front a true coilover, and the rear a 2 piece shock and spring.
Over the time I've owned the coils I've tried just about everything to soften the ride... I've taken them out and reinstalled. I adjust all sorts of settings to the dampener, redid the front preload, brought up my ride height, adjusted the rear shocks independently up and down to see if it made a difference. I did some homework to see if i did something wrong when installing and came up short.
It seemed to me that this brand was just stiff; and i have since learned to live with the stiffness! Until recently...
my back and neck has been aching as my total daily commute of 3hrs to and from work is full of poorly patched potholes and construction work. it doesn't help any that i'm on 19" rims, max drop on front and just about max on rear.
I was about to revert back to my stock suspension struts with H&R lowering springs when I came across this youtube video:
https://youtu.be/NejjkQJFSLE
if this video gets deleted overtime I basically searched "how to adjust rear coilover shocks"
The guy demonstrates shock length on a rear 2 piece suspension system:
After unbolting the top of the strut
the spring sits loosely in the boot atop the control arm
the control arm is then jacked up until the spring is snug
(jacking it up more will begin preloading the spring)
at that exact lift, that is the length the strut must be
adjust strut up (or down) until the top of the strut meets the mounting on car
It seems so simple but I simply missed this important step that was so hard for me to understand or come by.
Trying this on my car I had to raise my rear shocks almost 2 1/2 inches. Which means my rear spring had like a 2 1/2" (1-1/4") preload?! YIKES OMG MY POOR NECK AND SPINE!
My ride is so much smoother now and feels like a normal sports tune package car you buy off the lot.
