Ride height settled again.

[GTBradley]

Okay, I’m confused by this ride height changing all the time. I set the ride height originally and after it came back from paint it was down a full inch all the way around. I set it again to 4 ½” in October and now it’s back down to 3 ¾”. What’s the deal? Has anybody else experienced this? I mean, I know things settle normally, but this seems excessive. BTW, I have the red Koni single adjustable shocks that came with the kit.

[Railroad]

A couple of things could be happening. On my Koni's the spanner nut has a square shoulder than fits inside the spring. If the car is raised and lowered, I have to guide the springs over the shoulder, or it it will sit on top of the edge and add 1/2" to the ride height.
If you raise your car, adjust the spring tension spanner nuts, lower the car, the suspension will not compress completely, unless the tires can slip.
You can use 2 pieces of plastic sheet with oil or grease between them, under each tire. This will allow the tires to move to a settled position as the load is applied.
Hope this helps.
I also mark my spanner nuts with torque stripe. It holds the nut slightly, but also marks where it was set.

[GTBradley]

Thanks for the input. I'm familiar with the settling that happens when the wheels are moved, but had not heard about the spring catching on the shoulder of the nut. Though, I don't believe that's the issue as I set the ride height months ago, then drove the car more than 500 miles and checked the height again, it was still where I had set it. I'm currently at 1000 miles and had it up on jack stands for my clutch cable repair. When I let it down after being on the stands for about two weeks, that's when I noticed it had settled. Can the collars move on there own? I am using the set screws that were provided with the springs.

[edwardb]

Ride height is primarily a function of the springs. Yes, adjusted with collars on the shocks. But the springs under compression are what's doing the work. So red Koni or whatever shouldn't matter. Yes, you will get some settling. Hard to say whether yours is excessive or not. I agree with the comment about moving the car when you drop it back down after adjustments. I roll it back and forth several feet pushing down some. If you just lightly set it down and don't do anything else, you could easily got an invalid measurement. I suppose the collars could be moving, but probably not. Mark them with a paint pen or whatever and monitor to see if they've moved. Finally, the point about the springs not getting back into the proper position is also a valid point. The way our cars are set up, the springs are loose at full droop. So if they don't get centered and back where they belong, that too could cause a bad measurement. Mine often drop in with a pretty loud bang. So no doubt then. I know Mark at Breeze used to sell little helper springs that keep the main springs under tension all the time. A guy in our club installed them on his a couple years ago. I've seen them on Summit too, but haven't pursued it. That might be another option if you're interested.

[GoDadGo]

I know Mark at Breeze used to sell little helper springs that keep the main springs under tension all the time. A guy in our club installed them on his a couple years ago. I've seen them on Summit too, but haven't pursued it. That might be another option if you're interested in pursuing.

For what it is worth I've got the Eibach helper springs with their required couples on the back of my car and they do stop the banging effect if the rear is temporarily unloaded.

[GTBradley]

Yeah Paul, those collars aren't moving at all four locations the same amount on their own. And it's obviously not the springs. It's only logical that I'm not getting them seated, I guess. I do move the car back and fourth and do get a noticeable drop, but I haven't heard this pop sound.

The only thing I can do is set them again and check that they are seated. I'm going to need to get one of these spanners...my arms can't handle this yet again:(.

[GTBradley]

For what it is worth I've got the Eibach helper springs with their required couples on the back of my car and they do stop the banging effect if the rear is temporarily unloaded.

I'll give that a look, thanks for the lead.

[phileas_fogg]

The spanner you want is a Williams #0-472. Mark at https://www.breezeautomotive.com/shop/spanner-wrench-for-coil-over-spring-adjustment/ has them.


John

[CraigS]

I rotate the front springs so they will slide over the adjuster. Looking down on the end of the spring, the part of the spring where it is ground flat has a sharp inner edge right at the end. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49372968127_33abaaf1e8_o.png (https://flic.kr/p/2idVnia)coil over spring mod (https://flic.kr/p/2idVnia) by craig stuard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152454123@N04/), on Flickr
So since the front spring sits at an angle, I always rotate it so the red portion is toward the tire. This way you have a tapered edge which will ride over the hump at the lower edge of the adjuster collar.

[GoDadGo]

I'll give that a look, thanks for the lead.

Please know that I'm running the 3-Link so I don't know how they would work on the IRS set up.

[GTBradley]

The spanner you want is a Williams #0-472. Mark at https://www.breezeautomotive.com/shop/spanner-wrench-for-coil-over-spring-adjustment/ has them.
John
Thanks John. Well that settles it, I'll order from Breeze instead of working on it today so I can watch my KC Chiefs. Now that the Ravens are out of the way our chances of winning it all have gone way up.

Thanks everybody, I'll let you know how it goes. I'll be rotating those springs too, Craig.