New to coilers - advice

[tzbang]

Hey, so I've recently bought a GT86 which the previous owners had installed BC coil overs, Truhart Camber Arms, adjustable top mounts and whiteline sway bars and strut bracing front and rear.

He says he has the height set so that the driveshafts are inline and horizontal.. not quite sure his reasoning for that. But it's quite low, but then I don't really know what they are standard as this is just how I got the car.

It rides pretty nice, corners amazing. But our roads in the city aren't great since a massive earthquake where I live. So it's a little harsh for daily driving. Not bad.. I'm used to lowered cars.. but I feel like it could be just slightly better. I don't mind a lowered ride but I can currently feel every imperfection on the surface and it would be nice if it was just slightly smoother.

Now my question is whether raising the car 5 or 10mm would make any difference? I've never hard coil-overs before and in my head I can't see that the ride height would make any difference since the spring height doesn't change.

So maybe it's a damper thing, he's got it set to the softest.. from what I've read, soft = bouncy and hard = jarring.. so - that probably won't help much either.

Any advice appreciated. Thanks guys

[jawn]

Yeah, adding more height isn't going to make the valving better. If even at the softest the ride is too harsh, you should probably go with a different set of coils. If I recall correctly, the BC's height adjustment is independent of shock travel, so it's really not going to do much for ride quality.

[tzbang]

Ok - well in that case I'll leave it how it is - it does look good and handle good.

If I get sick of the harsh ride I could look at getting different coil overs.

So no point playing with the shock damping either?

[jawn]

Originally Posted by tzbang

Ok - well in that case I'll leave it how it is - it does look good and handle good.

If I get sick of the harsh ride I could look at getting different coil overs.

So no point playing with the shock damping either?

Yeah, if it's set to max soft, and it's still harsh (not bouncy), there's not a lot else to do that doesn't involve buying new stuff.

[tzbang]

hmm well it is a bit bouncy actually, by 'harsh' I mean I feel all the road imperfections through my tyres and bounce off the bumps. Perhaps it needs to be stiffened slightly.

It's probably as good as it gets and I'm just being fussy. The stock car I took out before I bought this one wasn't that much different.

[jawn]

Couldn't hurt to try. It's free.

[jawn]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

Harsh ride means it's overdamped. I'm not a per-brand expert but if you can adjust the compression damping, try backing that off.

I'm assuming by "set to max-soft" you mean spring preload.

You mentioned the PO set ride height so the output shafts are horizontal. That's a very good thing as CV joints do not do well running constantly at an angle. He was telling you he took care to get it right.

I was under the impression that when he said max soft, he was referring to compression.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by jawn

I was under the impression that when he said max soft, he was referring to compression.

Ugh. I just went back and more carefully read the thread. NVM any of what I wrote. Doesn't look like I offered anything of value.

[jawn]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

Ugh. I just went back and more carefully read the thread. NVM any of what I wrote. Doesn't look like I offered anything of value.

This always happens to us.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by jawn

This always happens to us.

lolololol... I know! Right?