Just had my Tein SS Coilovers installed and some questions

[hjkim483]

Hey guys,
I just had my Tein SS Coilovers installed and have a couple of questions. At first it was set to the default setting. According to the manual it said to set it at a reference value of .79 inches from the bottom spring spiral base for both front and back. (for those of you who don't know what i'm talking about check page 5 of this manual: http://www.tein.com/ti/inst/ky70u.pdf ) I'm assuming that this will result in a -1.89 drop in the front and -1.97 drop in the rear. However, when I first saw the car after the install, there was about 3.5 finger gaps in the rear and 2.5 - 3 finger gap in the front. I have stock 16's and with stock suspension there was about 4 to 5 finger gaps in the front and a bit more on the back.
I'm still thinking, isn't this a bit too big of a gap with a coilover installed. Will it settle down? If it settles down, on average how much the wheel gap decrease by?
For now, I set it so that there's 1 finger gap in the front and 1.5 finger gap in the back. I'm thinking about putting it back to default setting though.
Oh and with coilovers and with the same dampening settings, does the ride get harsher the lower you go?

It's my first time messing with suspension stuff and I'd really appreciate any kind of help from you guys.

Thanks,
Mike

[hjkim483]

I really need help on this.

[hjkim483]

tt

[Hungster]

the coilovers should be set, where it doesnt matter too much how low your car is, it shouldnt mess with the dampening on it. However the lower your car the harder it is to daily drive cause you can bottom out. and yes they are set kinda high at first, but you gotta remember to let your springs settle and your struts break in. It will probably drop another inch by the time it settles from when you first install them.

[hjkim483]

Wow.... another INCH?
crap.. I'll be driving with tucked wheels if i don't put it back up soon

[hjkim483]

how many miles does it take for the coilovers to settle?

[hjkim483]

t

[DYI01]

Mine didnt settle down that much. Just set it to what you want them to sit at. I would up the dampening some so you dont bottom out while the ride height is lower.

[hjkim483]

Is it a good estimate to think that it'll settle down about a finger lenth?

[hjkim483]

what's a good way to control the rear settings?
I found it impossible to access it with the little screw driver tein provided

[hephaestus]

You don't need to use that hex key to adjust the damping, just turn the little nob. My Teins came with a larger nob that I attached with the supplied rubber o ring/washer and an allen screw to the back dampers. It makes adjusting a little easier. A little more to grasp on to and to feel the clicks.

[hjkim483]

Ah hah... I'm surprised the shop I installed it at didn't know about this. I'm really liking the adjustability of the coilovers hehe..
Although if you're not decisive you can spend all day thinking about what drop would be best.

[hjkim483]

I know there's a descent amount of people who had these installed. Isn't 3 to 4 finger gaps in the rear and 3 in the front a bit too much of a gap with these coilovers at first?

[Hungster]

i would say go with 2 1/2 in the front and 3 in the rear, if they are brand new so when the settle you should be about 1/2 a finger shorter.

[hjkim483]

I'm going to try going back to the default setting first, even though I didn't notice a big difference at that drop.

[Reyzin]

my springs didn't settle as much as an inch. it was more like .5 inches or so. i have my dampers set aggressively i think it's like 5 from stiff in the front and 3 in the back.

[sheizen]

you should go with the default setting for a few miles so they can break in...and then lower it more

[hjkim483]

I set it back to default settings and to my surprise, the springs started to settle already. It was lower than what it was before.
Right now at default settings, I have little less than 2 finger gaps in the front and about 2.5 finger gaps in the rear.
Does this sound about right at default?

Thanks