Wrong Springs? Ride height adjustment question

[Cobradavid]

A spring/ride height question for you:
I have the front ride height adjusted to be close to the same on drivers side and passenger side. However, the position of the spring adjustment hat is very different on the two sides. My passenger side is adjusted to 4 1/16" ride height and the adjustment hat is about 1/8" away from the spring (not touching the spring) when the car is on a jack. The driver side is at 4" ride height and the adjustment hat is compressing the spring by about 1" when the car is jacked up.

So, how can the adjustments be that much different? Both of the front springs are marked as 500# springs. Could one be marked wrong?

Car details: Mk 3.1, FFR lower control arms in front, 3 link in rear. Koni coil overs on all 4 corners. Front springs are marked as 500#, rears are marked 350#

David

[riptide motorsport]

No they probably aren't marked wrong or incorrect, there's also no problem with them being at diferent spots on the shock/hat. This is all moot untill you drive the car anyway, they will settle and it will be lower, you'll then be readjusting.........Steven

[Cobradavid]

Thanks. I have almost 3000 miles on the car, so I think everything has settled. I was doing some adjusting this weekend and that's when I realized that the drivers side spring is compressed so much more.

I can understand the hats being at slightly different spots, but it seems very odd that, to get the ride height close to the same, I have to adjust the hats so that one spring is compressed 1" while the other side has the hat 1/8" away from the spring. Seems to me that's a lot of pre-load on one spring (500 lbs, right?) and none on the other.

David

[Bob Cowan]

So, how can the adjustments be that much different? Both of the front springs are marked as 500# springs. Could one be marked wrong?

David

Yes, they can. If your cross weights are way out of whack, or your side to side weight is way off.

Try this. Raise up each end of the car, so the shocks are fully extended. Then adjust the springs so the adjusters are touching the tops of the springs. Put the car back on the ground, and roll it back and forth a few times to settle the suspension. Check the ride height at each corner. When you make adjustments, make the exact same adjustment to each side - LF and RF, then LR and RR.

When you're done, the ride height should be pretty close side to side. It won't be exact, but probably within 1/4". If you put it on the scales, you'll find that it's not that far off there, either. If, when you're done, you find the left side is 1/2" lower than the right, there could be something wrong with your weight balance.

[Jeff Kleiner]

Bob's got it ---as usual!. You have the car "cross jacked". I bet if you look in the rear you'll find the diagonal corner (in your case that will be the passenger side) tightened more as well.

Jeff

[Cobradavid]

Thanks for the pointers. This weekend, I'll start from scratch on the ride height for all 4 corners. I'll let you know how it turns out.

David

[Cobradavid]

Bob and Jeff, you guys nailed it. I must have had some cross jacking in it. Even though the rear ride heights were the same on both sides, the passenger side rear spring adjustment had the spring a little lower. I started from scratch on the ride heights, moving the hats just off the springs and then going through the process. The rear sides were equal and the fronts were close (left front was 1/8" lower). However, the rear height was about 5 1/4" and the front was about 3 1/2", so I had to drop the rears and raise the fronts. The rears now are both at 4 1/2 (within a 1/16") and the fronts are both at 4 3/8" (within a 1/16").

Interesting thing, though: the adjustments in the rears were the same for both sides (6 turns of the hats), but the front adjustments were quite different, just to get the ride heights within 1/16". The left front needed 3 turns down (compressing the spring), while the right front only needed 1 1/2 turn down. So, when the car is sitting on the ground, the left front spring is compressed 3/8" more than the right front spring.

Unless you guys think this is a huge problem/safety issue, I'm not going to worry about this small difference.

Thanks for your help! Happy Father's Day everyone.

David

[Bob Cowan]

On the street, I doubt you'll notice any differance. I wouldn't sweat it.