Coilover Loose/Play
 

Hey so I've been dialing and experimenting with different ride heights over the past few weeks and decided I was gonna almost drop the rear to max. Did the right side rear to about 1.2 cm left and went to do the left side. It was originally on 2.4 cm and while lowering as soon as it got to 1.4cmish it started to become loose and have some play (the lower you go it gets looser), so for now I put it to 1.5 cm (still a tiny bit loose) and just put the wheel back on and lowered the car.

Here's a short clip of what I mean: https://youtu.be/9TalthClfvY

Any ideas of what might be causing this? My first thought it maybe the top locking nut isn't tight enough but not entirely sure. I had a shop put the top nut cause I didn't have the right socket.

They are Tein Street Advance Z

Forgot to add, is there any harm in it having play or being loose? I would think it wouldn't matter much because the weight of the car would keep it stiff, but it's just odd it's happening to only one side.

You can adjust preload on that corner so it isn’t loose when unloaded. Shouldn’t make any difference except reduce rattle

These don't have adjustable pre-load. It's just the 2 perches to adjust height

Preload and ride night are one in the same. Preload is when suspension is unloaded. Ride height is when loaded. Same adjustment nut just measured different. You are over adjusted. Put some preload back in. If you want to go lower you will need different springs.

Not true. Pre-load is how much compression is on the spring before the suspension is loaded, ride height is how elongated the overall strut is. MOST coilovers have separate adjustments and if you don't know what you're doing you should not touch the pre-load.

I'd word it differently. If one doesn't know what one's doing, better follow manual. Some coilovers may ship in state and their installation instructions may need setting first specific preload during installation. Not touching is not exactly best option in such case.

Best coilover advice ever. Two things happened to me after doing this coilover rookie mistake myself: 1. Top hat camber bolts got loose and I got variable camber tophats :bonk: 2. Preload adjusting collar somehow got loose and my passanger side started to make horrible clunking noise when hitting bigger bumps.

But again these don't have adjustable pre-load and I went lower on the other side with no play in the coil that's why im confused

What do you mean by 'overadjusted'? Also the other side is lower with no play in the coil, I was just trying to match this side as that but this one started moving a bit before I even got to the same height.

If you mean that the spring is floating between the perches when unloaded this might be OK. I had lowering springs on my legacy where all 4 floated, granted not ideal... but I used them for a year before I switched to coils and they were "fine." (I was oversprung, but that had nothing to do with the float)

As for why you are lopsided my guess is a manufacturer defect. Did you buy them new? I'd call Tein.

Lots going on here.

1. Left and right differences are normal. Most cars do not weigh exactly the same for each side.

2. Your coilovers do have preload adjustment. The adjustable perch that the spring sits on adjusts preload. Preload also affects ride height.

3. You should pay attention to both preload and shock length when adjusting ride height. Preload for 1 set up may not work for every set up.

4. Many people and even many manufacturers simply do not understand spring preload. It's one of the most common coilover questions and it frequently gets many of the same wrong answers.

Read this:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9J1M8Un..._web_copy_link
^That won't give you all the answers, but it will give an overview.

I would recommend at least following Tein's recommendations for preload.

Yes but preload will affect right height. Preload and ride hight window is designed into the spring.

Racecomp nailed it.

Remember just because it said it is adjustable does not allow you to get any ride hight. The strut/springs were designed for a window of adjustment, sounds like you are trying to go lower then they were designed for.

The recommended adjustment for these coils from Tein was about the same as stock ride height, but the from the instructions manual the range went to a 3" drop. Right now I've only dropped 0.86" (this was coincidental lol) from stock ride height (taking it as 372mm from hub to fender and it's starting to have play.

The fronts said a 2.6" drop and I've bottomed the front out all the way and it's still way higher than 2.6", but regardless the fronts are still stiff.

My best guess now is still that the top locking nut on the strut isn't tight enough, kinda odd to tell because it's supposed to be hand tightened, and doing so every time I get scared of accidentally turning the dampening adjustment knob and breaking it (did that on the front). Can I tighten it with the strut still on the car with the car jacked up?

Then there may be another issue, possibly measurement or you have some wrong parts. How did you measure your stock ride hight? Where did you get your parts?

Measured stock ride height from center of hub to the fendor. I bought them sealed from a friend, who ordered from Tein

Are you talking about the nut that connects the strut to the top hat? If so, that is a 41lb torque spec on the stock suspension (most likely similar on your coilovers) and you’ll need a pass through wrench so you don’t spin the strut when applying such pressure.

You want to tighten these nuts with the wheels on, car on the ground so that the weight of the car compresses the springs.