Sigh... I knew better! DOH!

[KONVERTER]

I own and run two businesses so unfortunately I do not have the time anymore to wrench like I used to... Plus I live in an apartment and all my tools are in storage 100 miles away.

So 4 weeks ago I got the BRZ and a week later I got my Stance Coilovers in. Without time and me being a little impatient I took the BRZ to a shop for the install. I usually do all the work on my own, but I decided to just let someone else deal with it for once. Dropped off the car, said it will be done before they close and left.

Went in about an hour before close to wait for it to be done. Figured I could be there while they do any final ride height adjustments. I get there to see the tech with a micrometer checking the distance between the lower locking perch and the adjustable shock body. Then I see him lock it in place and I hear a metallic sound. I reach under to feel that the spring is pre-loaded just before he goes to lower the car to the ground... NOPE! He lowered the spring perches rather than adjust the shock body and the spring was probably able to move around 2" before coming in contact with the upper spring perch!

Tech yelled at me saying I don't know what I am doing and called for his boss. Had to explain that the springs need to have some preload on them and you adjust the height by adjusting the shock body.

So the tech made the adjustments, let me check to see that the springs were secured in place and the spring perches were tight. Ok great, car is on the ground things seem secure I am getting out of here.

Took it to an alignment shop right away and said "bring the front camber to -1.5degree and just align the rest as close to spec as possible (no rear camber adjustment etc).

He was only able to bring the front to -1degree, and I was like... hmmm... odd... oh well, as long as the rest is fine...

Fast forward almost 3 weeks to today... First time driving the car since last week, really only drive it once or twice a week. (got this car just for fun). Starting to rattle a bit now which I know is normal for coilovers but there is certainly more clunk than I would expect. So I fear that one of the spring perches has come loose or something... Planning a trip to my storage space to get my jack stands, floor jack, hand tools etc...

I decided to pop the trunk and look at the adjustable camber plates thinking possibly maybe the adjustment screws are loose from the alignment... WTF! I see the camber plates are in backwards!

So now I am going to go back to the shop and get them to issue a partial refund to my card or I am going to dispute the entire charge with my credit card company. I now need to not only to a new adjustment of my probably loose spring perches, but need to essentially re-install the front suspension. It is possible it is just the camber plates that are in backwards as I do not think the guy is so thick that he would actually put the Right shock on the Left and vice versa. Oh how can he be some dumb to not adjust the suspension correctly? Instructions are still sealed...

Welp, looks like this weekend I'll be finding out what more he screwed up...

First time bringing a car to a shop for an install and is going to be my last... I'll post the name of the shop after I get my refund...




Looks like the brake lines / abs line is run correctly, but really need to pull the wheel off...


At least the car looks good! haha


Oh another thing... I think they did the entire installation without removing the factory wheels that were on at the time... heh...

End rant... ugh...

[continuecrushing]

Oh boy...why ill never bring my car to a shop!

Should have left when he screwed up the height adjustment lol

[celica73]

A lot of coilovers have shipped, preassembled, with the right left camber plates switched, the shops just put them in as-is. It's been a common problem.

[mav1178]

Originally Posted by KONVERTER

So now I am going to go back to the shop and get them to issue a partial refund to my card or I am going to dispute the entire charge with my credit card company. I now need to not only to a new adjustment of my probably loose spring perches, but need to essentially re-install the front suspension. It is possible it is just the camber plates that are in backwards as I do not think the guy is so thick that he would actually put the Right shock on the Left and vice versa. Oh how can he be some dumb to not adjust the suspension correctly? Instructions are still sealed...

Don't want to play Devil's Advocate, but... why didn't you inspect the install before you left the shop, or when it was being aligned?

There were two opportunities to visually inspect the installation, and both were missed completely.

-alex

[KONVERTER]

I just checked under the car. Didn't think about the camber plates.

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[Diode Dynamics]

Originally Posted by mav1178

Don't want to play Devil's Advocate, but... why didn't you inspect the install before you left the shop, or when it was being aligned?

There were two opportunities to visually inspect the installation, and both were missed completely.

-alex

The excitement of having them installed on your car coupled with a long work day (owns 2 businesses). I fully understand the honest mistake he made.

I thank you for adding another scenario to ponder lol..hmmm

Nick C.

[KONVERTER]

At the same time... Someone who doesn't know would have never known. You expect a proper install when you pay someone.

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[KONVERTER]

So went in there this morning. The guy I could tell was not pleased. He did offer to drop down the front suspension, turn around the camber plates and send me on my way.

I said, I am not really confident that the rest of the suspension is installed correctly and need to get it checked out and get a new alignment after it is all completed correctly.

He said he would have the guy turn the plates and make sure everything else is tight.

At this point I said, you know I don't really trust you guys to do even that.

So I said to him, you know, It clicked with me last night when I remembered that the guy doing the alignment said he could only get it to -1 degrees.

(Then this is where it gets fun).

Then he starts insisting that "We installed them correctly and we do that for street use, because when you lower the car you need to bring the camber out so it is straighter for the street. Anyone who brings their car in for coil overs we do this so we can get the wheels straight for the street."

At this point I said... "You got to be kidding me, I am glad I paid by credit card, sorry..." and walked out.

[neurokinetik]

You can't rotate the camber plates 180 degrees, as they won't bolt in that way, so that wouldn't have worked. They actually have to be removed and swapped to the proper side.

[KONVERTER]

That's what I figure. Does anyone have the stance coilovers? Is the 0and dashes supposed to be closer to the firewall or the bumper...

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[neurokinetik]

It looks like the hash marks are supposed to be toward the firewall. It also looks like you gain a little caster as you add camber as well with these particular plates, but it is very hard to tell without a good frame of reference.

[ZDan]

Originally Posted by KONVERTER

Then he starts insisting that "We installed them correctly and we do that for street use, because when you lower the car you need to bring the camber out so it is straighter for the street. Anyone who brings their car in for coil overs we do this so we can get the wheels straight for the street."

At this point I said... "You got to be kidding me, I am glad I paid by credit card, sorry..." and walked out.

Actually, his story jibes with what a lot of people who get coilovers apparently *want*. I can't tell you how many times I see people on the S2ki site talking about how they want to slam the car, run hellaflush, with ridiculously overstretched tires on massively wide wheels, BUT THEY DON'T WANT TO RUN ANY CAMBER!!!!
I've seen numerous posts there and here with people buying parts to get camber back down to the ridiculously low stock levels after lowering.

It's absurd, but I see it *all the time*. I would not at all be surprised if these guys have been specifically asked to keep camber absurdly low with coilover installations.

[KONVERTER]

For FWD I can see that... No way though if you want to corner.

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[1stGenBRZ86]

Sorry to hear. After working at retail auto chain for a number of years, I can't say I'm surprised. Most techs at those kind of shops are only trained monkeys that can remove a part and replace it with the same exact thing. They see parts like coilovers and their minds are blown! lol.