Ride height question

[Tbev]

Hi all,
I googled this before posting and could not find a post with a similar issue. I have a MK4 Roadster with IRS and standard Koni shocks. I have been trying to dial in the ride height. I have the fronts set to 4 1/4 to the bottom of the 4 inch tube-even side to side. I counted the threads on the Koni's and the are identical. The rear I have set at 5 3/8. Same deal with the rear threads on the Koni's side to side. I plan on driving it a bit more in my driveway, once the snow melts, to see if it settles to 5 inches in the back. My issue is that there is a 5/8 difference in the gap between the lip of the wheel well and the tire on the rears (Rear left 1 1/4 and rear right 1 7/8). The fronts are both 1 1/2). Now I have not driven it much, just a little in my driveway. I do not like the way the left side looks because even though it is only a 1/4 difference from front to back, it has a noticeably bigger gap in the front wheel well than the rear. The right side has the opposite with the gap in the rear noticeably bigger than the front. The look of the right side is more acceptable as it just looks like the rear is slightly higher than the front, which is the look most of us are going for anyway. Will driving it a bit more make a difference as the springs settle? I didn't think it would since the measurements to the 4 inch tubes are even side to side. Any advice is appreciated. Thank you.

[Jeff Kleiner]

The bodies are not symmetrical side to side. The chassis is. Get it ;)

Jeff

[CraigS]

What Jeff said but...my only thought is are the correct springs in the correct corners? I know probably they are but it's a quick check. If they are then yep, wait until it has been driven a few 100 miles. Also take a look through FFR's galleries. I'd look at the cars FFR put together vs customers or suppliers. I am thinking they may be more likely to be set at what FFR thinks is proper ride height. Just off the top your car seems high overall and a little too much front to rear rake.

[Tbev]

The bodies are not symmetrical side to side. The chassis is. Get it ;)

Jeff

Ok, that makes sense....so do I wait it out and see where things settle or should I lower the front a bit now so the passenger side doesn't look like it's higher in the front than the back?

[Tbev]

What Jeff said but...my only thought is are the correct springs in the correct corners? I know probably they are but it's a quick check. If they are then yep, wait until it has been driven a few 100 miles. Also take a look through FFR's galleries. I'd look at the cars FFR put together vs customers or suppliers. I am thinking they may be more likely to be set at what FFR thinks is proper ride height. Just off the top your car seems high overall and a little too much front to rear rake.

Thanks for the reply....Do I lower it now or put some miles on it? And if there is too much rake front to rear and I lower the rear won't that make the passenger side look like it is squatting even more?

[Jeff Kleiner]

In all the ones I've done I have not seen any significant "settle". Run up and down the driveway a time or two to move the bushings and tires call it good. I agree with Craig...seems like you're high. I usually go right about 4" in front and 4 1/2"-4 3/4" in the rear.

Jeff

[CraigS]

Adjust it now if you like. It is so easy to do that it's no big deal to do it several times whenever you like. BTW those little screws in the adjuster collars are best thrown in the trash. There is no tendency for the collars to move on their own.

[Tbev]

Adjust it now if you like. It is so easy to do that it's no big deal to do it several times whenever you like. BTW those little screws in the adjuster collars are best thrown in the trash. There is no tendency for the collars to move on their own.

I adjusted it again yesterday. It brought the front down to 4 inches. The back is still a little high but I might wait to move the car around a little before attempting to adjust it again. Lowering the front made the difference in the gap between the wheel and the wheel well on the front and back passenger side a little better. It still looks like it is squatting to the rear slightly. I'm not sure what I can do about that besides trying to lower the front a little more. The drivers side looks good though. I will throw out those screws next time. I barely tighten them anyway out of fear of ruining the threads on the shock.
On a completely different issue....I noticed a small amount of fluid on my garage floor and traced it back to the drivers side shock. It appears it has a very slight leak to it.
Thanks for your help.