Benefits of a right preload adjustment?

[Walla Walla]

i've installed my HSD coilover lately, and i'm trying to find good information about preload setup

with all the page I read, i can now say that i understand what it is, and how we should calculate it, but i never find any information about what will be the benefits of a right preload setup

If i preload my spring for the right weight on each corner, yes my suspension will work and my shock will have more travel, but what difference will i see in the driving? is their a gain, or it wont make a difference except the suspension will work better, have less risk of bottoming out?

what will happen if i put to much preload? what will happen if i do not put just not enough preload? will i see a difference behind the wheel?

i want to take time and corner weight my car to adjust it correctly, but will i see a real difference, and are there better adjustment to do with it than to preload the weight of the car?

[Shankenstein]

Originally Posted by Walla Walla

i've installed my HSD coilover lately, and i'm trying to find good information about preload setup

with all the page I read, i can now say that i understand what it is, and how we should calculate it, but i never find any information about what will be the benefits of a right preload setup

If i preload my spring for the right weight on each corner, yes my suspension will work and my shock will have more travel, but what difference will i see in the driving? is their a gain, or it wont make a difference except the suspension will work better, have less risk of bottoming out?

what will happen if i put to much preload? what will happen if i do not put just not enough preload? will i see a difference behind the wheel?

i want to take time and corner weight my car to adjust it correctly, but will i see a real difference, and are there better adjustment to do with it than to preload the weight of the car?

HSD's are 6/6 kg/mm coilovers, with a similar amount of travel to the BC Clone Army. That's ~4 inches.

The stock car is ~2.3/3.7 kg/mm, with ~6 inches of travel. Our estimate of travel has not been officially confirmed.

Car mass is ~300 kg/wheel, so you're compressing the HSD's by 50mm (50% travel). Similarly, stock springs will compress by 100mm (67% travel).

Both setups will have ~2" of travel in compression, but the stock setup will run into bump stops easier (due to the softer rates). Stock setup has more rebound/extension travel, which is a great ratio for a street vehicle.

Without progressive springs, there's not a huge benefit to using pre-load, and it only serves to limit compression travel, which there isn't alot of.

Moral of the story: You don't really need any pre-load, but if you want it, keep it between 0.0 - 0.5". You don't want loose springs, but running out of compression travel isn't fun either.

[kster1]

Originally Posted by Walla Walla

If i preload my spring for the right weight on each corner, yes my suspension will work and my shock will have more travel, but what difference will i see in the driving? is their a gain, or it wont make a difference except the suspension will work better, have less risk of bottoming out?

You don't normally play with the preload to set the weight of each corner. I usually set a few turns of preload so that under full compression, the opposite side spring isn't loose and bouncing around at full droop (as @Shankenstein said).

Once preload is set, you can optionally set the weight of each corner by playing with the ride height adjustment (typically it's a lower lock ring). You will need scales for this to set the cross weights; or take it to a race prep shop.