i have had my hotchkis springs in my car since the middle of january and it's now early april (so almost 3 months later) and i still have a 2 finger gap in the front. is this unusual? has it taken anybody else this long for the front to settle? i know i installed them when it was cold and it's still cold, i have had several people telling me they won't settle untill it warms up. does that make any sense? i'm just looking for some input and hopefully some reassurance that it'll still even out. i have about a 1 to 1.5 finger in the rear, which seems about normal. but the front it a bit higher.

 

i believe that is normal since hotchkis made the springs to be more lowered in the back then the front

 

yea but from the pics everybody posts and from what everybody says the front should be a 1 finger gap.

 

did you get it aligned? a wk after installation? thats really all i know you need wait for other to put in their comments

 

Alignment won't fix the problem. Alignment is basically getting the car to run straight and getting rid of the negative camber. It has nothing to do with how high or how low your springs will go.

I have also heard it being warmer for the spring to really settle because when it's warmer the metal is more flexible and this would allow it to compress more. Maybe I am wrong but this is what I have learned in school.

 

It's not normal dude. Hotchkis states the measurement seems to be lower for the rears compared to the front, but it evens the car's stance once installed and settled. IDK if the temperature is a major factor why isn't it settling the way it should be.

I suggest try and reinstall that strut to make sure the spring is seated properly.

Which side is it?

 

When I installed springs on my Matrix it took a week or two for them to properly settle, give it some time, or maybe u installed it wrong and they didn't settle right.

 

hell no that is not normal..i HAD hotchkis and mine settled after like 2 weeks. my car had basically no finger gap. it sat even all the way around. maybe you got messed up springs or just installed it wrong...

 

maybe you have fat fingers!!!

 

^^

 

I've got Hotchkis and I can't even put a finger straight in from the side it's so low. 2 fingers, at least in comparison with my car, is not normal. I'm beginning to think that the Hotchkis springs are the most inconsistent in drop because the pictures I've seen put these things all over the board.

Easiest way to check about proper installation for you would be to take a look at the bottom of your struts and see if your springs are sitting correctly, i.e. the end of the spring sits in the little divet that's made for it. If it's like that, I'd contact Hotchkis and see what they can do to help.

 

Oh i didn't notice that's 3 months later :D

Yeah what Magnus213 said, they'r supposed to fit right into that little cut at the bottom, don't know how to describe ot, but u'll see it.

 

Bring it to a shop and make sure you installed them right

 

ok i know the bottom is sitting right but i'm not sure about the top. any easy way to find out or do i have to take the whole strut back off and uncompress the spring and everything? the gap right now is about 2 on the drivers side and about 2.5 on the passenger side. i guess i need to ter it back apart and check it all.

 

^^ That's a big gap. I suggest check it out ASAP!!!

 

I have about a 2 finger gap and mine have been on for about a month.

 

ok guys i just got done putting it all back together and everything was put together perfect. i even had a friend look at it and he's lowered a lot of cars so he would know what looks right or not.

so idk what the deal is. the car is an 07 with only 10,000 miles on it, about 4-5000 have been with the springs on. idk what to do it looks ok but i know the front should be lower so it bothers me.

maybe i'll call hotchkis on monday and see what they can do. i paid for lowering springs and it doesn't really look lowered in the front.

 

I think you've got the right idea. Keep us posted!

 

i've got people telling me all sorts of things like "they won't settle very quickly because it's cold outside" and i have also been told "it's because the car is so new and the struts are still in good shape". idk what to think.