Adjusting the spring rate of coilovers?

[Vicks]

I accidentally adjusted my spring rate after trying to adjust my coilovers. Basically what has happened is that the lower ring was ring seat was lose so when I turned it, the whole sleeve moved therefore changing the spring rate. The coils are now floating/free heaps. So all I wanted to know is that if there are places that can adjust the springs back to default (8kg front, 6kg rears), I was thinking either pedders suspension or the suspension centre...

here's an example..

thanks fellas.

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/2718/coiloverex.jpg

[mocchi]

hey vicks,

linear springs (judging from pic) cannot be adjusted. if its 8kg/mm then it will be 8kg/mm no matter how you roll, dice, kick, bang, chop, turn and swivel.
it takes 8kg to compress the spring 1mm, 16kg to compress the springs 2mm, it's fixed.

and i cannot understand "The coils are now floating/free heaps", can you please explain it?

[Vicks]

Oh thanks for clarifying that, I thought my the spring rate could be adjusted.

I'm guessing it's the spring load then?

Um, I can't really explain. When the car is jacked up, the springs are loose not snugged up. I think what I thought was that the top rings(2 against each other is the ride height) and the bottom was the spring rate. Got them mixed up.. I will take it to the suspension place tmrw and have it checked out.

[mocchi]

can you be bothered taking a pic?
i think you can fix this up easy without going to suspension place and pay them money for something so trivial.

[Vicks]

will do tmrw, thanks mocchi.

[Nebuchernezzer]

I think he means the springs aren't captive.
If the seats are adjustable i'd just turn them all till the coils are just snugged up and then lock the rings there.

[MM89]

This is a traditional type "Coilover" setup which only allows you to adjust spring preload. A coilover simply refers to the coil spring sitting over the shock absorber. There's obviously the more common type on the market where you can adjust the ride height from a seperate lower perch.

With your problem, turn the lower spring seat upwards and allow it to at least touch the spring. Preloading the spring more and more will effectively raise your ride height. Once you sit the car on the ground,
the spring will be captive anyway. So you shouldn't be concerned about the springs sitting loose, provided they're not jumping up and down a couple of cm.

Bear in mind though, spring preloads won't be adjusted correctly unless you corner balance the car. Which can be quite costly and probably unecessary.
For road use, just adjust the spring preload according to the ride height you want and be done with it. If you wanna go lower and the spring starts becoming loose, then you'll need a longer spring.