I have KW coilovers on my MS3 and I noticed that the height settings for the rear are drastically different from one side to the other. Right now I have the drivers side perch almost all the way up and the passenger side perch almost all the way down for it to be level. Does this make any sense to anyone? The front corners are pretty much at the same setting and are dead even. Thanks in advance for your insight.
Weird Coilover Rear Height Adjustment Issue
- Thread starter RichB
- Start date
garret2331
Member
- :
- Mazdaspeed 3
Same issue here rich im at the lowest on the rear but dont know why the rear passenger side is 1/4 higher than the driver side. I have kw v2s i called KW they said its normal they even said it may have been uneven when i had stock suspension because of weight distribution. Do you hear any creaking noise on the rear panels? Ever since i got them installed i hear creaking noise at low speed.
I was messing around with the height settings in the rear a lot yesterday and I found out that when the rear perches are at the same setting, the Passenger rear is about 0.5 inches higher than the other side. I then decided to try the extremes and set the rear passenger all the way down while setting the rear driver side all the way up (there is only a 0.8 inch variation in rear perch height adjustments). This made things turn out pretty even so I left it like that.
When I checked this morning before leaving for work, all of my wheels had about a finger gap with the fenders. It seems a little weird that my drivers rear perch is set all the way up while my passenger rear perch is set all the way down. After breaking out the tape measure, the passenger rear was still about 1/8th of an inch higher than the other side.
After my drive into work this morning I did a quick finger gap check and now it seems that the drivers rear is 1/8th of an inch lower than the other side. I might not be on level ground so I'll check again when I get home. I have a feeling that I am seeing a spring settling discrepancy. I am going to check things out periodically and I assume I will end up adjusting those rear perches a lot. Good thing it is really really easy to do. It takes 5 minutes tops to adjust the rear height.
As far as the low speed creaking, have you checked your end links? You have to remove them from the lower control arms to install the rear springs so they might not have been put back on correctly. That'd be the first place I'd check. If its not that I'd check the top shock mount bushings. With the V2's they need to be drilled out so they might need some lube or something.
When I checked this morning before leaving for work, all of my wheels had about a finger gap with the fenders. It seems a little weird that my drivers rear perch is set all the way up while my passenger rear perch is set all the way down. After breaking out the tape measure, the passenger rear was still about 1/8th of an inch higher than the other side.
After my drive into work this morning I did a quick finger gap check and now it seems that the drivers rear is 1/8th of an inch lower than the other side. I might not be on level ground so I'll check again when I get home. I have a feeling that I am seeing a spring settling discrepancy. I am going to check things out periodically and I assume I will end up adjusting those rear perches a lot. Good thing it is really really easy to do. It takes 5 minutes tops to adjust the rear height.
As far as the low speed creaking, have you checked your end links? You have to remove them from the lower control arms to install the rear springs so they might not have been put back on correctly. That'd be the first place I'd check. If its not that I'd check the top shock mount bushings. With the V2's they need to be drilled out so they might need some lube or something.
garret2331
Member
- :
- Mazdaspeed 3
I went to my friend's garage which is even and measured the rear height and the passenger rear side is 1/4 higher. I asked hatchi since he has v2s on his car and he said he has the same issue. I was always messing with the height before I even took out the springs to release tension, I got tired of going under the car so decided to just set the height on the lowest.
Already checked the endlinks I made sure everything is tight even lube the bushings. For the shocks do I lube the top part where the rubber part? or where the part that was drilled?
We'll see what happens to my rear height after a few weeks.
I thought the part that needed to be drilled out was the rubber section of the top mount. Since I have V1's, I didn't have to do this so I was just assuming. If the part you drilled was rubber, I'd lube it and see if the noise goes away. If you drilled metal or plastic, I'd check for smooth surfaces.
I thought the part that needed to be drilled out was the rubber section of the top mount. Since I have V1's, I didn't have to do this so I was just assuming. If the part you drilled was rubber, I'd lube it and see if the noise goes away. If you drilled metal or plastic, I'd check for smooth surfaces.
- :
- 06 LS MS6
07 BM GT (shell has been struck from the roll)
Everything looks good up there on both sides. When I get home today I will lower the drivers side all the way down and see what happens. Then my plan is to try the stock shocks in the back to see if I may have a blown KW shock. If my stock shocks show the same lean, it would atleast rule out a blown KW shock.
Tronspeed3
Member
- :
- MazdaSpeed 3 GT, Pearl White
Could it just be the spring rate tolerance? figure +/- 10% is standard thats a possible 20% difference between the left and right in worst case senario.... just a thought
I'm not sure if it would cause this height difference. What are the odds that two other people also installed the stiffer spring on the Right?
Could the RSB cause this discrepancy? Theoretically the bar tries to keep both sides level with eachother. I may disconnect it and see if it makes a difference.
Could the RSB cause this discrepancy? Theoretically the bar tries to keep both sides level with eachother. I may disconnect it and see if it makes a difference.
I disconnected the RSB and the height difference didn't change at all. I'm raising the white flag at this one. I have a 1/4 inch difference in the back with a 5/8 inch thread difference between the adjustable perches. I'll leave it there for a while and re-evaluate in a few weeks to see if the rear right corner settles a little more.
I'd just try to counter balance the car for your weight on the drivers side that way when you are sitting in it.. it will be level..coilovers are a pain to make them perfect..I had similar issues on my GTI with coilovers..but not quite that much.
- :
- 06 LS MS6
07 BM GT (shell has been struck from the roll)
HMMMmmmmm
get a bubble level out, check the surface you are parked on, then check the car (use a couple small blocks of equal size to set the level on the curved surfaces)
This may be a situation where the fender lip is higher on one side, driving you nuts
I made sure that my fender measurements matched some other area on the car. I used the measurement fron the ground to the front of the wheel well and a measurement from the ground to the rear bumper reflectors. All of these measurments yielded the same delta in ride height.
Either my garage floor isn't perfectly level or something I did with the RSB helped things a little but I am starting to see some promising results. When I got to work this morning it felt like the finger gap on the rear passenger side was actually smaller than the drivers side. The 5/8 inch thread difference on the perches still worries me though.
The bubble level I have is 6 inches long so there is no way I can get an accurate reading on my garage floor. Sounds like I either need to rig something up or get a better level.
I'm not touching the ride height in the rear for a while though. I wanna see if it settles in.
Either my garage floor isn't perfectly level or something I did with the RSB helped things a little but I am starting to see some promising results. When I got to work this morning it felt like the finger gap on the rear passenger side was actually smaller than the drivers side. The 5/8 inch thread difference on the perches still worries me though.
The bubble level I have is 6 inches long so there is no way I can get an accurate reading on my garage floor. Sounds like I either need to rig something up or get a better level.
I'm not touching the ride height in the rear for a while though. I wanna see if it settles in.
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Ok it has been about a month and about 1K miles and there is no change (still 1/4 inch difference). I did take another look under the car last night and I noticed that the drivers side spring is much more compressed than the passenger side one. I am going to try and re do the spring installation (maybe I screwed something up) and switch the springs from side to side.
Can anyone with a stock suspension measure the ride heights in the rear? I am wondering if a stock car is showing a difference in the rear.
Can anyone with a stock suspension measure the ride heights in the rear? I am wondering if a stock car is showing a difference in the rear.
I just saw this note in the installation instructions: "During height adjustments on separate shock and spring systems, remove the perch from the vehicle to adjust the height."
I have been trying to adjust the perch with everything assembled. Does this mean that all I was doing was messing with the pre load? Looks like I have to take it all apart anyway.
I have been trying to adjust the perch with everything assembled. Does this mean that all I was doing was messing with the pre load? Looks like I have to take it all apart anyway.
