SoCal General Chat

[QUKBMER]

Yeah i'm back. Just had to take a breather there for a bit.

[itskingsteelo]

Sup dudes. Damn Terry did you expect to be missed so much on the forums??

[QUKBMER]

I know my E30 family is there for me. It does feels very good.

[E30_Narek]

Quick question, guys. How do I adjust the rear preload on BC coils? I've messed mine up and can't seem to figure it out.

[glnr13]

e30 rears don't have preload, just ride height adjustable. Unless you've switched to a rear coil that is on the shock.

[E30_Narek]

e30 rears don't have preload, just ride height adjustable. Unless you've switched to a rear coil that is on the shock.

They most certainly do have preload. I adjusted the shock height which completely messed up the ride quality. The preload's on the spring.

[glnr13]

They most certainly do have preload. I adjusted the shock height which completely messed up the ride quality. The preload's on the spring.

I'm not following what you're saying. From my use of coilovers e30's aren't set up for spring preload in the rear unless there are 2 sleeves.

is your spring on the shock body or wedged between the frame and trailing arm?

if it's on the shock body than just crank the spring perch upwards.
if it's on the trailing arm you can't adjust preload, that's just ride height adjust.

[IRON-E]

I'm not following what you're saying. From my use of coilovers e30's aren't set up for spring preload in the rear unless there are 2 sleeves.

is your spring on the shock body or wedged between the frame and trailing arm?

if it's on the shock body than just crank the spring perch upwards.
if it's on the trailing arm you can't adjust preload, that's just ride height adjust.

[E30_Narek]

I'm not following what you're saying. From my use of coilovers e30's aren't set up for spring preload in the rear unless there are 2 sleeves.

is your spring on the shock body or wedged between the frame and trailing arm?

if it's on the shock body than just crank the spring perch upwards.
if it's on the trailing arm you can't adjust preload, that's just ride height adjust.

Then what's the difference between the adjuster on the shock and the adjusters on the spring? And why did my ride quality go completely to shit when I shortened the shock a little?

[glnr13]

Then what's the difference between the adjuster on the shock and the adjusters on the spring? And why did my ride quality go completely to shit when I shortened the shock a little?

not all coilovers are the same. Ground Control setup doesn't really accommodate for preload while other brands like BC does give that adjustment. The jury is still out on whether that all makes that much of a difference from a street perspective, a race car driver might be able to feel the minute differences but the average joe wouldn't know.

this is an example of preload adjustment on a bc front coil:


the rear does not have a second sleeve to control the compression of the rear so there is no preload on our oprhaned spring set up.

what coilovers are you running?

when you shorten the shock length you are losing shock travel. less travel means less comfort in it's simplest form.

[E30_Narek]

Thanks for the detailed post! I'm running BC's on mine. I searched around google a bit and found a video BC made on preload adjustment for cars that have independent rear suspension. The video said to unbolt the shock at the bottom, lower the spring as much as possible, then jack up the control arm to a desired height and adjust the spring to that height and finally lower or raise the shock to that chosen height. Apparently that's how you set the preload. But now I'm confused since 2 people are saying these cars don't have preload in the rear.

[glnr13]

my opinion tells me that the technique described by BC doesn't apply to oprhaned spring/shock combos but a shorter shock does in theory affect ride height so there may be some truth to that. try their suggestion, worst case you go back. I definitely would not call this preload on our setup though.

by the way, how do you feel about those BC's? how long you been on them? when you're going down the 2 southbound and you hit those 2 bump/dips by glendale high and eagle rock plaza how's the car feel? does it float at any point or does it feel like it's crashing down? or just smooth all the way through?

[E30_Narek]

my opinion tells me that the technique described by BC doesn't apply to oprhaned spring/shock combos but a shorter shock does in theory affect ride height so there may be some truth to that. try their suggestion, worst case you go back. I definitely would not call this preload on our setup though.

by the way, how do you feel about those BC's? how long you been on them? when you're going down the 2 southbound and you hit those 2 bump/dips by glendale high and eagle rock plaza how's the car feel? does it float at any point or does it feel like it's crashing down? or just smooth all the way through?

Yeah I'll try it out tonight, hopefully it works. Getting tired of every small bump causing the car to bounce or harshly shake. One more thing, what do you mean when you say "orphaned spring/shock combo?" Never heard that term before.

The BCs have been great so far. I've had them for about 2 and a half years. They are a bit on the stiffer side and I do have poly urethane bushings all around so I guess that adds to the stiffness. I haven't driven around eagle rock with this thing in a while so I don't really remember how it feels around there but recently, the car felt like it's been "crashing down" whenever I hit any dip on the freeway though that's because I messed up something when I was lowering the rear.

[glnr13]

Yeah I'll try it out tonight, hopefully it works. Getting tired of every small bump causing the car to bounce or harshly shake. One more thing, what do you mean when you say "orphaned spring/shock combo?" Never heard that term before.

spring & shock coilover = one unit, like a macpherson strut
orphaned = spring one place, shock in another

e30, lots of volkswagens, some older mercedes have orphaned set ups.

[E30_Narek]

spring/shock coilover = one unit, like a macpherson strut
orphaned = spring one place, shock in another

Ah I see. The BC video was for the orphaned setup (independent rear).