Very tastefully modded! Good catch, sir!

 

Les Schwab sent me up to a shop who's mechanic works on suspensions that Schwab can't or won't. We put it up on the rack, which was difficult because we couldn't get anything under it.. So I drove up on 2X4's.. good to go.

So, we take off the wheels and he immediately knows how to raise the car.. These are Buddy Club RSD Coilovers, and he started compressing the spring thinking it would raise the car.. Well we ended up taking 5 turns up on the spring (compressing) and it did appear to raise it about an inch, but in the aftermath I don't think so.. It actually rides so harsh now that I was forced to think hard on the way home as to the gnawing I was going through the whole time we were working on it..

While turning the tightening nut up on the spring, the body of one of the shocks began turning, so we tightened the jam nut at the bottom of the shock to stop that.. Well, on the way home that popped out at me as the place we should have been adjusting to raise the car.. We were only changing spring rate, and the fix, I now believe is to screw the bottom mount down some (maybe an inch for a two inch rise.. I sent an email to Buddy Club yesterday looking for tools and some information on the shocks, but so far, no reply.. But I think I'll back off the 5 turns plus another 2-3 to soften the spring, and raise like I said...

There is a clicking adjuster on the top of each of these shocks, and I watched him unscrew one of them.. I didn't know they unscrewed, but he put it back in but it doesn't click anymore.. I'm pretty sure these are damping adjustments, and as I click them, I return to their origin so as to not confuse the issue.. But him twisting that off, I hope is not a big problem..

Anyway he charged my $100 for about an hour and a little time, and I'm hoping to get some hoist time maybe at a better rate to fix it. It's riding so hard that the radio changed modes a couple times.

 

Looks like you adjusted the preload on the springs and spring travel instead of ride height. Seems like you compressed the springs(less travel) making them ride harsher. To adjust height, you need to loosen (counterclose wise) the bottom perch (NOT the two perches below the spring but the perch below all the treads), then turn the entire shockbody counterclockwise to raise the car. Retighten the bottom perch when done. Clicking adjuster is the dampening adjustment. Rotate it clockwise all the way to full stiff. Count clicks backwards to soften it but this depends on the coilover and how many clicks you can go. This is generally how you adjust coilovers and I would assume the same for the Buddy Clubs.

 

Congrats on the nice find....enjoy the summer.
Levi

 

By loosen the bottom perch, you mean to unbolt it and turn it? I think I have to disconnect either the top mount or the bottom perch in order to turn (lengthen) the shock? And yes I know you're talking about that bottom perch, that the shock body basically threads into, and its corresponding locking ring.

Thank you for the damper info too.. Your info sounds correct..

 

I have BC's on my car....you will need two special wrenches to make the adjustments...or at least it will make the job a lot easier. You do NOT want to compress the spring, you want to adjust the ride height by loweing or raising the bottom bracket...you don't need to move it much to make a difference. If you PM me your email address, I will send you some picture instructions I got from BC.

 

Got your email, thanks a lot. How much of a difference? I'd like about 1 inch more tire clearance, so about how many turns of the perch do I need? Maybe 2 or 3 turns?

 

looks like a great price! good luck with it!

 

Thank you. I like the looks of it too, but it leaves
two big blind spots, which take getting used to..

 

and welcome....