I owned a few hondas/acuras and every time that I put springs on them I never preload or even know what that mean. Here is the step I do.

Remove all hardware

Loosen the nut on the top then use a ratchet to take it off. It pops off but only a few inches nothing crazy.

When I put the new spring in I put the top hat on and have someone push down on it until I can start screwing the top nut on. Which is pretty easy since the new spring is shorter than stock. Once that is on I tighten it and reinstall.

Never had a problem doing it that way after 100k plus miles but would like to do it the right way if the way I'm doing it now can lead to premature wear and tear. Since the S I have now only have 15k on the clock.

 

once the spring/shock are being installed back on the car and the bolts are hand tightened , you want to use a jack and place it underneath the bottom part of the shock (place a towel on the jack) and raise the suspension just to the point where it is about to raise off the jack stand (This basically simulates you putting the car down on the floor) Now tighten all the bolts and lower the jack and repeat on all sides. Hopefully i explained that right so its understood lol

 

hmmm seems easy enough. But wondering what is the benefit to doing that.

 

Bump to confirm icantbeseen post and more info

 

Yep icantbeseen pretty much hit the nail on the head with this one. What I did was measured how far it was from the center of the hub to the fender (while car was on the ground), then when preloading it, you do it to that same point PLUS the amount you are going to lower the car. So if you get some springs that lower the car an inch, raise it an inch higher than it was at stock height, or of course until it starts to come off the jack stands.

You may be able to get away with it, but some people had uneven ride heights on all 4 wheels when they didn't do this. One side might have a good half an inch higher than one side, and all of them are not even. Then when they settle they might not all be the same height and will look rediculous, so it is best to do this.

 

Perfect thanks for the detailed posts guys.

 

thanks for that follow up SUZUKA. got to it before me lol. no problem tyfoxx

 

Just to tie in with what has already been mentioned, is it possible to preload the suspension with all four wheels still on the car? The front of my car sits a little higher than the rear by about 3/8 or maybe 1/2 an inch (eibach springs).
I'm thinking along the lines of turning the steering from lock to lock, reaching in and backing off the suspension bolts a little, then bouncing on the door sills a few times before tightening it all up again.
Could something like this work, and would it be necessary to loosen all of the suspension bolts or just some of them?
Thanks guys