I figured there isn't a better place to post than on this forum, I've been lurking for a while and have never had a reason to join or anything but I guess I'm part of the fam now lol

So I started putting on my RSD's today and it was all going smoothly. I had them set to the 3" drop according to what the pre-set thread on another forum which is recommended by Buddy Club (miraclegarage) said. The pre-load was about 198 mm and the ride height was set to 100 mm. I bolt up the top first, then the bottom, and then I re-install the upper control arm to the frame and I realize the spring set was hitting the upper control arm. Not a little bit, a lot. Not only that but the pre determined specs provided in the "pre-set" thread were COMPLETELY WRONG. In order to achieve a 2" drop without the lower spring set hitting the upper control arm I had to set the pre-load to 175 mm and the ride height to 82 mm. I don't want to sacrifice performance just to gain the ride height that I desire which is about a 3" drop. Another issue experienced by me and a friend who ordered the same coilovers was that the rear assemblies were a hassle when it came to installing the lower bolt that connects them to the lower control arm. Both my friend and I, unfortunately stripped the (TINY) nut that is welded to the coilover. That nut is not big enough to catch the threads of the bolt and strips quite easily. My friend and I both have roughly 5 years of automotive experience each so it was not an accident caused by ignorance. We had to purchase nuts to put on the other end of the bolt just to be safe (M12-1.25 fine thread). Another thing I noticed is that in order to match up the rear overall ride height with the front, I had to almost max out the rear ride height adjustment which means that even if I were able to get the front as low as I want, the rear would not be capable of it (from my understanding, and what I saw). By maxing out the ride height I mean that the threaded sleeves on the rear were probably within 10 mm of touching the bottom of the lower bracket. I've seen plenty of pictures of people who slam their cars on BC RSD's so I don't understand why I have these issues with even trying to get a 3" drop. As of right now the car is sitting at about a 1.75" drop and it handles like it's on rails and it isn't even as rough or bouncy as everything I've read in the past says. If anyone has any suggestions to helping me figure out how to achieve my desired ride height of a 3 inch drop without cranking the hell out of the pre-load I would appreciate it.

 

you should probably try contacting Buddy Club. I've never heard of anyone having these issues.

 

3" drop?? is that even capable on the S??

i know 1.5" is just about 1 finger gap all around but 3" thats like scraper status

 

3" should just about get rid of the gap between tire and fender

 

bump

 

if you want to NOT preload the springs, you can buy some shorter length springs. those springs stock are 180mm height. you can step it down to another size from swift or Hyperco. we offer both if you have questions. with a shorter spring, the spring will react quicker, so ride will change some versus the longer spring.

slamming your car will have some negative effects on suspension geometry and steering rack angle unless you have done the other parts to fix this. Just a tip.

hope this helps!

 

understatement of the year

 

the springs up front right now are 200mm preloaded to 190mm. I have taken the other steps necessary to do the drop right.

 

 

bump... contacted buddyclub, after having their R&D division tell me I had to set pre-load to 190mm and then set height, I tried it. I was able to set the pre-load to that and the height to roughly what I wanted but the issues with the contact between the spring set and upper control arm would've occured if I would have decided to drop it more. I'm pretty happy with the setup now but buddyclub is sending me a set of shorter springs. I don't think the shorter springs will achieve anything.