JIC coilovers do need to be preloaded
04-23-2003, 03:37 AM
#42
Originally posted by LOT-TECH
damn that sucks that after spending so much money on jic coilovers and they have no travel. i talked to one of the local s2k guys and he too had the same problem on the first night of installing his coilovers. you guys should have spent money on tein rs dampers
damn that sucks that after spending so much money on jic coilovers and they have no travel. i talked to one of the local s2k guys and he too had the same problem on the first night of installing his coilovers. you guys should have spent money on tein rs dampers
I just hope I didn't damage the dampers by riding on the bump rubbers for 1000 miles....
George
04-23-2003, 05:40 AM
#45
Registered User
BTW... keep in mind, the calculations above are just rough estimates, and are "theoretical" calculations using values which may not be accurate for the real world application. For example, a spring which claims to have a spring rate of 8kg/mm, may actually be 7.5kg/mm or 8.5kg/mm. And, you should also take into account that the spring won't be supporting any unsprung weight (wheels/tires and the like), so you should probably knock about 100lbs or so off of the 2800lbs that I used for my estimate.
Just keep that in mind... my calculations will give you a good "jumping off" point, but you'll need to fiddle with it to get it where you really want it.
Just keep that in mind... my calculations will give you a good "jumping off" point, but you'll need to fiddle with it to get it where you really want it.
04-23-2003, 06:03 AM
#47
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My ride height right now is about 1" below stock. I doubt the JICs would allow me to go more than about another 1" lower than that (at the rear), unless I reduced my preload. I think I could lower the front by another 2".
04-23-2003, 06:43 AM
#49
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Mxt_77, I have to admit I almost went into a convulsion when I read your post. You are correct, it's just that it's dejavu for me - I've seen that exact same post now WAY too many times. I would never have spent this much money on a set of coilovers if I didn't FULLY understand that ahead of time. The separate height/preload adjustability is why I bought these dampeners instead of Teins or any of the other single-adjustment coilovers on the market.
You can probably lower the front end all the way to the ground with the JICs, but not the rear. They used the shortest rear dampener they make, but it's still not short enough for the S2000. So if you thread the lower collar as far onto the dampener as it will go and you still want to have suspension travel, then you're only going to be able to lower the rear end about 1.5" - about HALF the 3" drop they claim in their advertisements. Currently, I have about 107~112 mm of gap between the top of my wheels and the top of my fender arch, depending on which wheel you measure from. I think 122 mm was about as low as I could get it with the 8K springs preloaded by 10 mm (when I first installed the dampeners). Frankly, that's just not very low - and their website advertises I can go much lower than where I already am. I should be able to tuck my wheel into the damn fender if I want to, but I can't.
Slick Rick sits about as low as I do, so unless they gave him special dampeners (which is possible, since he's had them do a lot of work on his setup) he too is riding on his bump stops right now.
So this weekend, I need to adjust the things so I have some suspension travel. But not only does that piss me off that I'll have to raise the car about an inch, it's going to throw my cornerbalance and alignment totally off. I'm definitely not paying to have it done again - they owe me big time.
The only hope I have of siting at the proper height is the little gold bracket that screws into the lower collar piece. There's about an inch of thread on that and it doesn't need so much. If you bottom out the lower collar on the dampener, then there isn't room to screw the bracket piece into the lower collar any further without hitting the dampener, but there are extra threads. So I might cut a few threads off of that to get the extra space I need. I just need to make sure to leave enough room to screw it all the way into the collar and still fit the set nut on the bottom. If they fabbed a lower collar as one piece with the bracket machined into it (like they show in their damn pictures), then there were probably be enough room to lower the car 2.5" with the existing dampeners.
You can probably lower the front end all the way to the ground with the JICs, but not the rear. They used the shortest rear dampener they make, but it's still not short enough for the S2000. So if you thread the lower collar as far onto the dampener as it will go and you still want to have suspension travel, then you're only going to be able to lower the rear end about 1.5" - about HALF the 3" drop they claim in their advertisements. Currently, I have about 107~112 mm of gap between the top of my wheels and the top of my fender arch, depending on which wheel you measure from. I think 122 mm was about as low as I could get it with the 8K springs preloaded by 10 mm (when I first installed the dampeners). Frankly, that's just not very low - and their website advertises I can go much lower than where I already am. I should be able to tuck my wheel into the damn fender if I want to, but I can't.
Slick Rick sits about as low as I do, so unless they gave him special dampeners (which is possible, since he's had them do a lot of work on his setup) he too is riding on his bump stops right now.
So this weekend, I need to adjust the things so I have some suspension travel. But not only does that piss me off that I'll have to raise the car about an inch, it's going to throw my cornerbalance and alignment totally off. I'm definitely not paying to have it done again - they owe me big time.
The only hope I have of siting at the proper height is the little gold bracket that screws into the lower collar piece. There's about an inch of thread on that and it doesn't need so much. If you bottom out the lower collar on the dampener, then there isn't room to screw the bracket piece into the lower collar any further without hitting the dampener, but there are extra threads. So I might cut a few threads off of that to get the extra space I need. I just need to make sure to leave enough room to screw it all the way into the collar and still fit the set nut on the bottom. If they fabbed a lower collar as one piece with the bracket machined into it (like they show in their damn pictures), then there were probably be enough room to lower the car 2.5" with the existing dampeners.
04-23-2003, 08:02 AM
#50
Registered User
Sorry.. I didn't realize that the JICs had such a limited amount of adjustability in the rear. Sounds like they need a re-design. I'll have to see how low gernby sits (with the properly pre-loaded springs) before I decide if I'd be willing to buy these coilovers.
Aren't the Buddy Clubs a similar design? I wonder if they have the same problem with limited adjustability?
Aren't the Buddy Clubs a similar design? I wonder if they have the same problem with limited adjustability?