ChelsDS

My mom just told me that she noticed the space between my rear drivers tire and fender was much smaller than the passenger side. So much smaller that our fingers can't go between the tire and fender straight! The passenger side we can stick the finger in no problem. You can see the problem on level ground better than my driveway.

Could my driver side spring be bad? I don't hear rubbing or popping or anything unusual back there while I drive. Whatcha guys think it could be?

cobaltbravo

i imagine you havnt had the springs long enough for them to "wear out", although theres a chance the springs are saging due to material failure or something of that nature. did you get under and inspect them? if they werent installed properly, i could see the spring leaving the upper or lower mount plate over a sudden dip in the road or a pot hole maybe. grap the stands and take a look, and i wouldnt drive it till you find the problem.

ChelsDS

I was the R&D vehicle for Tanabe, so they've been on since... September of last year? Don't remember They installed them and I've only just noticed this too. :?

pickledchang

wow, i have this same issue, the passenger side is not as low as the drivers side in the rear.... im pretty sure the springs arent designated for left and right were they? lol.

ChelsDS

I doubt it lol. It would be silly if the Tanabe guys installed my springs the wrong way.

It is less noticeable on a level surface, but even more pronounced in my driveway. I hope this doesn't mean I need to get new springs or something.

pickledchang

hmm, if we are both lower on the same side, maybe it has something more to do with the car itself. its possible the stock springs were designated a left and right, and tanabe has made a generic spring for both side. it would have to be researched further. its just odd now that two of us with NFs are dipping on the same side.

kris68

Maybe it just has to do with the weight balance of the car. Or having the fuel tank to the driver’s side could have more weight to that side of the car. My car still has the stock spring on so I can take a look and see if it has a difference.

pickledchang

maybe... but the car seems to be lower on the rear left no matter how the gas level is. even if i stand on the right rear door sill, it sits higher than the left. im pretty sure it did not sit like that with the stock springs.

ChelsDS

Well that makes me feel better. Means I'm not that fat

It has to be something with Tanabe's springs. I have my stock springs still and I might be able to figure this out given time and extra help. lol.

tmrepp

Have fun, stock springs = spring compressor if you're putting them back on. I was happy I didn't have to use a spring compressor for the rear two springs, not the same strut setup back there as in the front. On the tC, you have to use a compressor all around, it SUCKS.

ChelsDS

I wasn't going to switch them. Was thinking more along the lines of seeing if there were marks saying L or R for which side. Should prolly contact Tanabe about this.

tmrepp

I don't remember any marking on the stocks, but also didn't study them. TRDs didn't have anything special on them either, as far as I noticed. Good luck!

pickledchang

well, if i get the time, i will try switching the rear springs from side to side, or maybe putting the stock rears back on and see how it sits. somethings definitely not right now that i really look at it.

SeattleGuy

I've noticed the same. Will be doing some other shop stuff on the car in a week or two. Will take a closer look then and let you know. Perhaps someone with stock and/or trd springs could look and see if there's any side-side difference in the rear?

cobaltbravo

as far as i saw, theres no left or right, just front and back on springs. the only thing on the rears that was specific was which end was facing up ( obviously) ans that the toe on the lower end of the spring was installed at the 3 oclock position.

pickledchang

maybe all three of us just happened to put the same spring in upside down or something on the same side? i dunno, sounds a little more than coincidence. ill have to double check mine again, but im pretty sure they are in right.

ChelsDS

Do you think Tanabe screwed up putting their own springs on my car? Possibly. cuball in another thread has NF210s as well so in a few months maybe he'll notice. If he does have this then its gotta be the springs.

SeattleGuy

I've done the spring install twice on the same car. Once when swapping out the stocks and again to install performance struts. It's not possible to misinstall the springs upside down and "clocking" the spring bases is simple. Only one pocket at three oclock as said earlier. So I'm reasonably sure installation is not an issue for any of us. After a little observation: When parked on a completely level and flat surface (surprisingly hard to find), side-side differences are much diminished and parking on some slopes actually reverses the effect. There appears to be some real difference but it is actually fairly small because the car is so sensitive to its attitude at rest. I suspect this sensitivity is due to the "coil-binding" tanabe topology. Still haven't got the car into the garage yet to look into it further. Will let you know.

pickledchang

if it is an issue with the springs, than have all of us just happened to put the same "bad" spring on the same side? i think youre right seattleguy in the fact that it might have something more to do with the car and its sensetivity to slopes maybe. ill have to start paying even closer attention, but its definitely more sensitive to squatting on the drivers side.

BigDaddy101

If it is any consolation, I had the NF 210's installed about a month ago and no issues with gap differences yet. I will keep an eye on it and let everyone know if I encounter the same issues.