hey
im very close to ordering a set of jic coilovers, flta2.
i have been looking around and reading about their adjustability, and i am wondering how i am going to know how to adjust them once i have them installed.
the stiffness im not worried about. its more like finding a practicle ride height, a camber that works with it, and then adjusting the shock body to maximize travel. is there some type of manual that comes with them that might include suggestions? aside from dampening adjustment, is it easy to get each side the same, does the height adjustment move in clicks?
then, when i get new wheels and tires, i have to worry about a whole new set of problems, and ive heard wheels/tires act different with coilovers because of where the spring sits. tho ill worry about that when i get them.
so if anyone might have suggestions or experience, thanks for any comments =)
coilover adjusting
The height adjustment moves with rings that spin on the shock body.
There are 3 ways you can set your ride's height.
1. Take one from the front and one from the back and just set them close to the middle. Then take the one from the other side and set it even with the one's you already adjusted. Then say 'screw it', it's close enough and drive happy.:-\
2. After doing what I described above, get the factory floor jack and raise it to the height of the frame rail on one side of the car. Then bring it to the other and see if the height varies. Adjust accordingly. You should have someone sitting in the car when measuring (close to your body weight). Obviously, your not gonna measure the front and adjust the back...do the rear seperately. This type of adjustment is for people that care more about looks than anything else.
3. Do it the right way and get your car corner balanced. Find a race shop with scales. They aren't too hard to come by if you know where to look. If you have trouble, go to an auto-x or track event and ask around. If you are an uber-do-it-yourselfer, buy some scales and measure yourself. The job shouldn't cost any more than $100 and the shop you get it done at should communicate well with you to find out your target weight distribution, height, ect. Be warned though that your car may look lop-sided when this is done, but it will be perfectly balanced (until any weight in the car changes...gas, you, parts, ect).
Oh, and let your springs settle for like a week before you do any precision adjusting.
The Jic instructions should give you a good idea of how to set the height during installation. IIRC, you have to preload the Jics...but anyway, just read the instructions and call Jic if you have any questions (or a reseller that has experiance installing them).
The camber plates should already be set in a good street position from the factory. Since there is no camber adjusment on a 240 stock, you won't have to worry much about having different camber angles (extremely different that is). If you want more camber, set it evenly on both sides. It's really easy (just don't try it without jacking up the front end).
As for dampening, you'll have to figure out what's best for you on your own. Some struts have to be broken in at first though, so make sure you find out if this applies for you or not.
There are 3 ways you can set your ride's height.
1. Take one from the front and one from the back and just set them close to the middle. Then take the one from the other side and set it even with the one's you already adjusted. Then say 'screw it', it's close enough and drive happy.:-\
2. After doing what I described above, get the factory floor jack and raise it to the height of the frame rail on one side of the car. Then bring it to the other and see if the height varies. Adjust accordingly. You should have someone sitting in the car when measuring (close to your body weight). Obviously, your not gonna measure the front and adjust the back...do the rear seperately. This type of adjustment is for people that care more about looks than anything else.
3. Do it the right way and get your car corner balanced. Find a race shop with scales. They aren't too hard to come by if you know where to look. If you have trouble, go to an auto-x or track event and ask around. If you are an uber-do-it-yourselfer, buy some scales and measure yourself. The job shouldn't cost any more than $100 and the shop you get it done at should communicate well with you to find out your target weight distribution, height, ect. Be warned though that your car may look lop-sided when this is done, but it will be perfectly balanced (until any weight in the car changes...gas, you, parts, ect).
Oh, and let your springs settle for like a week before you do any precision adjusting.
The Jic instructions should give you a good idea of how to set the height during installation. IIRC, you have to preload the Jics...but anyway, just read the instructions and call Jic if you have any questions (or a reseller that has experiance installing them).
The camber plates should already be set in a good street position from the factory. Since there is no camber adjusment on a 240 stock, you won't have to worry much about having different camber angles (extremely different that is). If you want more camber, set it evenly on both sides. It's really easy (just don't try it without jacking up the front end).
As for dampening, you'll have to figure out what's best for you on your own. Some struts have to be broken in at first though, so make sure you find out if this applies for you or not.
The ride height is adjusted by a threaded shock body. You turn either the spring perch or the shock mounting piece. You can count threads or do what i do and use a tape measure to measure the fender gap. There might be a factory recommended height to start out with. With the tein he the manual says to measure the distance from the spring perch to the locking ring on the shock mounting point and set them to a certain measurement. Just make sure that the right front and the left front are the same height. Then do the same for the left and right rear. Check to see that the wheel gap is about the same all around. You might not want to set the ride height too low for daily driving or you wont be able to go over speed bumps and driveways without scraping or even getting stuck and messing up something under the car. I recommend adjusting the ride height using the shock mount part instead of the spring perch so as not to affect shock travel. I have about a 2 1/2 finger gap all around for daily driving. If i go lower i cant even get inside my drive way. Driving in my driveway at my current height, my front bumper just barely touches the ground at the dip in the driveway.