OK guys, had my S-OC II coilovers put on a few weeks ago. I think we put in the rear springs in upside down so I had to redo the rear and turn them the other way around. Just to clarify: the springs are progressive, and the coils should be closer together at the top of the spring, right? The pictures in the instructions were no help so we put them in so the lettering on the springs was facing up which I think was the wrong way. That isn't the real issue, I don't think.

I noticed a few days ago that in the back of my car the driver's side sits about 1/2 inch lower than the passenger side. What could cause that? I have the car apart now, and the springs are still the same height so it doesn't seem like they were messed up or anything. I don't think putting those rubber boots in wrong could make a 1/2 inch difference but they are the only thing that I could think of. Both sides on the rear are adjusted all the way down, so I am totally lost. Any help greatly appreciated.

I just got back from switching the springs in the back. I put the spring that was on the driver's side on the passenger side and vice versa. Same story. I also made sure the rubber spring boots were in correctly. This is starting to really ____ me off.

Pictures:

difference in ride height
pass side
http://img190.exs.cx/img190/2633/p10001547gp.th.jpg (http://img190.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img190&image=p10001547gp.jpg)
http://img173.exs.cx/img173/8476/p10001440pn.th.jpg (http://img173.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img173&image=p10001440pn.jpg)
driver side
http://img190.exs.cx/img190/9052/p10001534dm.th.jpg (http://img190.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img190&image=p10001534dm.jpg)
http://img173.exs.cx/img173/5585/p10001430ga.th.jpg (http://img173.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img173&image=p10001430ga.jpg)

adjusters all the way down on both sides
http://img190.exs.cx/img190/9520/p10001509fw.th.jpg (http://img190.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img190&image=p10001509fw.jpg)

http://img173.exs.cx/img173/2745/p10001494ts.th.jpg (http://img173.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img173&image=p10001494ts.jpg)

Should the springs look like this?
http://img173.exs.cx/img173/2222/p10001489cu.th.jpg (http://img173.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img173&image=p10001489cu.jpg)

http://img173.exs.cx/img173/4943/p10001474hs.th.jpg (http://img173.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img173&image=p10001474hs.jpg)

So am I crazy, or does it look like something isn't right here?

It looks about right to me , normally it doesnt matter too much which way the springs are , the brand name/ tanabe should be able to be read right side up.

Well right now they're not like that. Either way, the spring looks overcompressed. I might switch them back tomorrow and see if it makes a difference. :roll:

Thanks, hotbox.

Kev, you did get rear ended about a week before we put these on your car.. that may be something to think about.....

defective spring is also a thought..

I think you have those on right, (trying to remember all the springs I put on), but you're right, they look limp. I've not put these on or anything, but I'm thinking Tomango might be on to something. Is you right height equal with the springs you took off to put these on?

Thanks guys. Tamago, you have the Tanabes too, right? Do your rear springs look like that? Which way do you have them in? Are the coils closer together at the top or at the bottom?

Brian I don't think the accident would have changed anything in the suspension because it happened at a very low speed. I might have to look into that if it turns out to not be something obvious.

Jere I never got out a tape measure to check the stock height before we put the coils on, but the visual difference was nowhere near as substantial as it is now.

---edit----

I called Tanabe, they said the springs were supposed to be the way we put them in originally, so I changed them back. Looks the same though as far as the difference in ride height. I don't know what else to do.

Maybe you could get Tanabe to swap out the rear springs?

I don't know that its the springs though. Since no matter if they're upside down or right side up or on the left side or the right side of the car....same story.

Could someone go measure your ride height from the ground to the top of your wheel well and let me know if theres a substantial difference in the rear? I don't care if you're factory or lowered...just looking for comparison. Thanks

just a thought.. what do you have in your car>?

I was thinking about that too, but I don't have a heavy system or anything. Nothing non-factory, just a dealer-installed bazooka tube which doesn't weigh that much. The guy I talked to at Tanabe said it might be caused by the way the car is weighted.

Like since the spare is more on the drivers side, that added weight could make that side sag more. He recommended just adjusting that side up, but I feel like I shouldn't have to do that...what if they were just regular lowering springs with no adjustment? You would expect both sides to be level. If I have the adjusters set to the same point the car should be the same height on both sides.

This still bugs me even though they claim its normal. I'm half tempted to sell the things and just get springs now.

Kevin,

I have tanabe s-0c coilover with helper springs (not type-II). And your rear springs sit just like the way mine do. I once had the ride height problem like yours, and it turned out to be alignment problem - a lousy job done by the mechanic, and without re-alignment. I tried readjusted the front struts myself a couple of times to "temporarily" workaround the problem so that I felt safer when i drove before I had time to go to a reliable mechance who knows what he's doing for re-alignment. my point is that dont trust your bare eyes only when you set the ride height of the front struts. After realignment, the ride went so smooth since.

Good luck :-)

Sam

Thanks Sam. My issue isn't with the front suspension though, it is the back. The fronts are pretty much even. In the back there is a difference of 1/2" to 3/4" between the sides. And since the rear suspension really isn't adjustable, I don't know that an alignment would do much to correct the difference.

Have you put the rears on a scale to completely rule out weight variations?

Are you on a level surface?

No I haven't, I don't have a scale that could do that.

I measured the height on a few different surfaces to make sure it wasn't just one place not being completely level. The passenger side is consistently higher than the driver side.

I've pretty much reasoned that there is nothing that can be done about this. So mods feel free to lock this thread. Thanks again everyone for your help.

Kevin,

That's it - the front struts caused the rear ride height problem. Reminder that the rear springs are much softer that the front springs. you may not able to see the difference with your bare eyes even if your front struts are not balanced. btw, i have front strut bar installed and i think it might have caused the problem too.

Sam

So what do you recommend sandccie? An alignment? Or are you saying there is something up front that I need to correct? As far as I know both fronts are set to the same height (I counted the threads) and like I mentioned, there seems to be a lot less difference in the height between the front sides than the back. Any advice appreciated.

Kev,

I hear you. I did the same thread count thing when I setup the front struts. Right after I installed and prior to the rear ride height problem occurred, one thing I noticed that somehow the front ride height was slightly uneven - off by 1/2 inch - I was saying "hmm" but I was convinced by the mechanic to give it a chance to break in. I kept driving it for a week and then it started to affect the rear height too - the driver side front is higher and passenger side rear is lower. And I could feel unstable when I drove, especially over potholes. So I brought back my car to fixed and the mechanic told me that he readjusted all 4 struts and realignment to fix the problem and the ride was great since.

hope it helps.

Sam

Do you know what he meant by "readjusting" the struts? I'm not clear on that. I was waiting for everything to settle before I got an alignment. Everything has been on the car a little less than a month. I wanted to get the height dialed in though because I don't want to throw the alignment off again after its already been done once.

Kev,

- What I observed was that he lift my xA up on some kind of "scale" to see the weight distribution. And then he "adjusted" the struts accordingly.
- yes. I agree that in general waiting until the springs settle prior to alignment to save some money - which was also what I did with mine.
- btw, another symptom i experienced was that the tire pressure on the driver side front and passenger side rear kept dropping (more) than the other two in every 100 miles.
- however, consider that you are experiencing uneven ride height problem after DYI installation, and assuming you had taken out the rear springs and verified that they both sag evenly (same length), I would bring it to a reliable mechanic to check around before more damage to your coilover (or chassis) might follow.

my $0.02

Sam

Haven't checked the tire pressure I'll do that tomorrow. I'm not really sure what adjustment there could be to make to the struts. Brian, who did my install, did everything right. He's done many installs before.

I'm not sure..I'm gonna wait and see how things settle and check the tire pressure as well. If I need more help, I'll PM you. Thanks again.

I noticed a few days ago that in the back of my car the driver's side sits about 1/2 inch lower than the passenger side.

I measured my stock XA and it's like that too, so there's nothing wrong with your coilovers.

Go with Tein S Springs there the bomb!

I noticed a few days ago that in the back of my car the driver's side sits about 1/2 inch lower than the passenger side.

I measured my stock XA and it's like that too, so there's nothing wrong with your coilovers.

I didn't measure my xB before the coilovers were put on. I should have, but wasn't thinking about it. Fact is, a friend of mine with an xB and a different suspension setup let me measure his rear ride height while his car was sitting right next to mine in a parking lot; both sides of his were dead even while mine were still off.

I don't really know if anything's changed; I don't pay attention to it anymore. I'm not planning to keep this car for that much longer so it doesn't really matter anyway, but thanks for your help.

Are you sure your friend didn't have his spring perches adjusted to even the height?

if that was my ride i would just go to somewhere ive never been and randomly have someone do a alignment....then drive home....see how it feels...then at home check it out


and go from there

Are you sure your friend didn't have his spring perches adjusted to even the height?

My friend didn't have coilovers on his xB, it was the H&R Cup Kit setup.

if that was my ride i would just go to somewhere ive never been and randomly have someone do a alignment....then drive home....see how it feels...then at home check it out


and go from there

I don't think alignment has much to do with ride height. I had the specs checked at a shop when I was getting a puncture sealed and they said it was fine.

Thanks for your help though guys.