Tips for ID'ing and adjusting my coilovers

[dancoco808]

hi guys,

after a bit of help id'ing my coilovers (which came with the car) and some pointers for adjusting them. the ride at the moment is really bad; too stiff, too low, tyre/guard/header scraping, and am almost tempted to change to something like stock dc2r sus + aftermarket springs for a more composed ride.

the fronts are running JIC and the rears are bilsteins. i just changed from 17's to 15's wheels, and i can at least see the tyres above the rims now, where as before the top of the rim was tucked up into the guards. stupidly low, and terrible ride quality.

it feels as though the super low ride height has thrown out the geometry, and/or perhaps caused or had cv-joint problems as when i turn at low speed, i get clunking/shudder/thudding on the inside wheel thats pretty bad, and feels like somethings gonna break.

with the JIC damper adjustable tops, how do i gauge exactly what setting they are on or which setting i need? i have no idea what type they are, nor the range of adjustment that i can do with them.

with the rear bilsteins, there doesn't appear to be a lower collar for shock height adjustment, its just got the collar below the spring. the spring is also extremely short, and when jacked up (no load), the spring is loose and can travel about 6 or so inches along the shock, probably owing to the metallic clanging sounds i get when hitting bumps at speed. i take it the spring isn't supposed to be that loose. any tips on adjustment? should i just raise the lower spring collar to meet the spring?

any advice regarding the specs and technique for height/damper adjustment would be great.

here are some pics:

front JIC
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v334/coco69/civic%20blog/IMG_62200640.jpg

so height wise, i just bring the lower spring collar up to meet the bottom of the spring, and loosen the lower shock collar, lower bolt and rotate the shock till desired height?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v334/coco69/civic%20blog/IMAG01300640.jpg

these are the front JIC tops, i dont know what setting they are on, but they seem very stiff bilaterally. do i just rotate the tops to reduce the damper? how do i ensure left and right are set the same?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v334/coco69/civic%20blog/IMAG01270640.jpg

rear bilsteins with 'swift' marked springs that seem really short. should i bring the lower spring collar up to meet the spring? (in this pic, the car is on the ground)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v334/coco69/civic%20blog/IMAG01290640.jpg

bilstein tops, not sure what i can do with these
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v334/coco69/civic%20blog/IMAG01250640.jpg

[civicVI]

i found this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLRdo8atXbM

[dancoco808]

thx for the link man, saw that vid when searching for the same. so raising the spring collar up to the spring is the usual setting? then adjust the shock length via the bottom collar and rotating? that method will work for my fronts.
in the case of my rears, i don't have the lower adjustment for shock length and the springs seem really short.

will take better pics and give it a go in the next few days (once i get my clutch sorted >< this civic is looking like an endless minefield of problems).

[patchwick]

for your fronts - the shock length should be on its highest (longest) setting as possible. adjust the height from the spring..compress it to gain height or just enough compression so when you jack it up..it doesnt move around.

for the rears - if its only the spring that you can adjust..push the spring all the way up until it goes tight when its jacked up..if its still too low then you have to compress it too.

hope this helps

[tmy]

Hey Mate,

In relation to your damper adjust ability.

Generally on coilovers turning the top clock wise results in a stiffer ride therefore anti clockwise makes it softer.

To ensure that you have both sides at the same settings what i suggest you do is turn it to complete soft, then when turning it back clockwise to stiffen it count how many clicks you do. Remember how many clicks it is then do the same for the other side.

[sretocz]

If you can turn the damper adjust 15 clicks you have JIC FLT TAR, if you can click 10 times then you have the FLT FAS. I am not too sure about the springs because I know JICs can come with custom spring rates. Just turn the damper adjust anti clockwise untill you cant turn it anymore then turn it clockwise and count how many clicks you got.

[dancoco808]

thanks for all the helpful replies guys. i've played around with the front damper adjustment a bit, but doesn't make a whole lot of difference in handling or feel. i'm also replacing all 4 tyres as they are all mismatched in brand, wear and size at the moment.

in the mean time i've gone and gotten some 6kg/cm springs to replace the 10kg/cm rears for daily driving. it's made such a huge difference, the car is a lot less taily and doesn't leave the ground as easily.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v334/coco69/civic%20blog/IMG_69760800.jpg

taking out the bilsteins w 10kg/cm

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v334/coco69/civic%20blog/IMG_70000800.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v334/coco69/civic%20blog/IMG_70080800.jpg

you can see in the pic below, there is a difference in the metal collar position. in the rear left (picture below), the metal cover is much shorter and it sits up really high compared to the rear right (picture above). this creates a lot of noise/clanging when the cover knocks the springs when driving. anyone know how to fix this?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v334/coco69/civic%20blog/IMG_70170800.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v334/coco69/civic%20blog/IMG_70120800.jpg

and how it rides:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v334/coco69/civic%20blog/IMG_69920800.jpg

[vinnY]

where'd you get the new springs from?