Yes you do. It makes sure the ride height is set correctly on each corner so the car handles properly.

 

OP, take the above responses with a grain of salt. The bushing preload topic is being blown out of proportion. While it's a good idea, I'd bet it's not the source of your issues. Added preload in the bushings will wear out the bushings a bit faster, have a miniscule effect on ride height (think of the bushings as small torsional springs), and cause the corner weights to be off by a bit...but only if the bushing preload is uneven. Adding coilovers (or lowering springs) to a bone stock car and not relieving the bushing preload will not mess up the corner weights any more than they were already messed up from the factory.

Unless you're tracking/auto-xing, corner balancing isn't really necessary for the street. It's a second or third order effect. Most people have their roll bias/spring rates/damping forces setup wrong enough that corner balancing wouldn't even be noticeable. And, unless the surface has been accurately leveled, corner balances typically are not correctly done.

My advice: relieve the bushing preload as best as you can (sounds like you've already done it) and take it in for an alignment. There are tons of alignment threads on this sub forum, so you'll have to choose what's right for your application.

If the alignment doesn't fix things, there is something else causing "sloppy" handling. But, we'll need you to better define "sloppy" at that point.

Cheers & good luck!

 

Grain of salt? how can you troubleshoot an issue if the suspension isnt even installed correctly. Complete the process of installing everything right then aligning it, then you can troubleshoot properly instead of second guessing everything. I swear to god, nobody has any logic anymore.

 

Yes, a grain of salt. Why does the OP deserve to be belittled for not knowing about bushing preload? It's not even that big of a deal. I'm sure there was a day when you didn't know about bushing preload. Heck, most coilover documentation (or lack there of in many cases) doesn't even cover removing bushing preload when adjusting ride heights.

I don't know why you're questioning my logic. Tackling top-level variables is the first step in troubleshooting...not secondary or tertiary ones, like bushing preload. We haven't heard what the alignment settings are or any other details of the setup. There are many other factors that are likely candidates for handling woes. Maybe he has a blown shock or a spring that has lower/higher stiffness than the others, etc.

 

He hasnt even tried to search for solutions, theres one of these threads created weekly, all he has to do is look and the answers are there. I do my research before I invest in a mod and learn how to install it correctly. The alignment settings mean nothing since he hasnt gotten one since he installed the coil overs. An alignment is one of the steps to correctly installing suspension that changes ride height. Install the parts right then troubleshoot if problem persists.

 

He hasnt even tried to search for solutions, theres one of these threads created weekly, all he has to do is look and the answers are there. I do my research before I invest in a mod and learn how to install it correctly. The alignment settings mean nothing since he hasnt gotten one since he installed the coil overs. An alignment is one of the steps to correctly installing suspension that changes ride height. Install the parts right then troubleshoot if problem persists.

 

Tighten all the bolt, take the car to get an alignment. Don't worry about all this other mess until you get the alignment and still have the same issues. You just lowered your car - your alignment is way way way off. We get calls like this weekly at the shop.