Had my coilovers on a month now and still cant get it perfect.

Got a metal typy knocking noise from the rears, worse on Passenger side

Had the wheels off again today, springs are all the same distance, 95mm from top coller to bottom collar, and the height inside the strut is 32mm both sides.

I can spin the springs by hand but i have to give it a grunt, but still, i can moved them.

im going to wait for advice so i get it right now,

1, should i be able to turn the springs?
2, if i compress the springs, this will lower the car?
3, all I need do then is raise the strut to higher the car back to the required height?

Thanks in advance guys, had it geo tested last couple of weeks and all is well with camber and stuff, it just the knocking, its fine on smooth roads but a few bumbs and it really get to me

 

You should not be able to spin the springs, you will need to wind up the bottom ring to compress the spring a tad more, this will not lower the car it may raise it a tad but you need to do it to stop them knocking,.

 

you need to get the preload correct to stop knocking etc.
do a search on how to do it for your type of shocks and how much preload it should have.
preload will not effect the height of the car at all. dont just tighten up the springs without knowing what preload is required.

 

All preload mean's basicly is that the spring is slightly compressed before they are fitted, as i said just do the bottom ring up a tad

 

agreed but preload is at a set mm to be correct to avoid too much compression in spring or not enough as the case seems to be above.

 

by compressing the spring more all it will do is raise the ride height so as long as its not slack it will be fine,.

 

are you sure it raises the ride height? maybe some coilovers work different but on my bcs it doesnt.

the spring is held in the strut by two nuts,the top one adjust the pre load on the spring the middle one is a lock nut for the top nut and the 3rd on the bottom adjusts the ride height.

the pre load shouldn't affect the ride height.

 

in theory when the car sits on the spring it compresses it so by already compressing the spring the car wont compress it as much hence raising the ride height,. on most coilovers the ride height is adjusted by spring tension,.

 

http://www.iwsti.com/forums/gr-suspe...coilovers.html

so once the preload is set correct on bcs and the two nuts are locked together you undo the bottom nut and this enables the whole threaded middle section to be screwed in or out to raise or lower the height.

maybe i am wrong here but this is how i adjusted mine. i forget the exact pre load i was told but im sure it was 5mm on bcs, maybe other makes of coilovers are different as this is the only coilover experience i have.

 

as i siad most adjust by spring compression like my bilsteins, yours have the bottom ring for doing this but the majority dont have this option

 

ahhh as i said this is the only experience i have had of coilovers, i had a knocking appear after a few weeks and it was because the car had settled and the spring had become loose in the strut, when i correctly set the preload it cured the problem.

 

yep spot on

 

ahhh my bad i assumed all coilovers had this set up, ahh well you live n learn

but the spring tightening did cure the knocking so guess that is the answer the op is looking for.

 

yes you hit the nail on the head with it settling then knocking, the pre load imho just needs to be nice and tight then you wont have to do it twice once its settled,.
whats the bcs ones like i have the 2k bilstein upgrade ones and they are way too hard,.
steve

 

the bcs are excellent tbh i have set them on a soft setting about 5 clicks from softest and i find them better than the standard sti shocks, only problem i had was that knocking but was cured pretty easily and no other problems.

i did do a bit of research into the preload though and was told not to overtighten,not sure if this applies to all coilovers.

 

right, my dont have clicks, like the expensive ones, just simple locking collars. the ride height is how i like it 30mm of shock raised in the bottom shaft. i have tightened the springs up to 110mm from bottom collar to top collar, went for a drive and too much, chasis was banging, back on jacks, loosened the spring down half way, say 90mm betwen collars, still knocking on rear left not to bad on right, JUST GUNNA TURN MY STEREO UP NOW.......................**** IT!!!!!!!

 

silly question mate are these new?? sounds like the shock's a moosed,.

 

no brand new, watched a few youtube vids and have it suused now, to much preload in any case, im gunna loosen the lower collars right off until the spring can turn and has no lateral movement, im then gunna hand tighten the lower collar, then secure the locking nut in place and them tighten the top collar 4mm (c spanner width) and then lock it off this should then give the right preset. ive watched loads of vids and this seems to be the consensus of opinion, NOTE TO SELF, NOT TRY TO RAISE AND LOWER THE CAR USING THE SPRINGS !!!! LESSON LEARNT IN SO MANY WAYS.

 

as said before when i looked into the problem too much preload is just as bad as not enough

 

Still got rattling on rough roads on both back coilovers, any ideas or who can check to ensure all is set up.

Ive done the preloads to 8mm, but still they rattle, fine on long motorway runs and not like driving a boat, just really pissing me off now, ALL ADVICE GREATLY APPRECIATED IN ADVANCE, THANK YOU

 

Put more load on the springs. 20mm would be fine

 

Right these things are really pissing me off now, ive put 20mm pre load on and still they rattle, im losing patience rapidly to the point were i get no enjoyment from driving it, anyone close to hull want to come have a look for me or give me some better advise, ive contacted the seller to say there may be something wrong with them and im waiting for an answer, the fronts are fine, ok i get a little farting oise fromthe front right over large bumps, but i can live with that, the rayyling from the rear however is driving me to dispare. should i just put as much pre load on as i can get or put some silicone between the top mount and the body, thing is im not to sure where the noise is coming from, but if it aint sorted, car will be going up for sale as its that annoying

 

if they are BC`s then they knock, N/S rear from day one knocked, they have replaced the pillow mounts with rubber but you have to buy them and loose the rear camber adjustment.

 

not bc, racelogic i think

 

My bcs are fine. No knocking or rattling aftee i adjusted preload correctly

 

but how much is to much, as i say, i have about 20mm now, do you think more would help, or could it be that because the springs have been so compressed that they have retained that compresion and now are moosed!!!

 

20mm is far too much on bcs. No idea on racelogic though sorry.

 

Contacted the company and they are going to send me a new set of rears, now thats srervice for you, most would ask for the old ones before offering a refund, gunna get it right from the get go this time

 

Hi mate the coilovers your using are they rokkor/raceland same company I had some not long ago they are **** I had loads of problems with them so they sent me a new set and told me too keep the other ones so that tells you basicley im putting my kybs back on with new springs whatever you do with them raceland you will not stop the knocking on the rear if you do find a cure let me now ive tryed everything

 

Had a second set sent out to me