2003-2008 FX35 / FX45 BC Coilover Install DIY

Guys need help with adjusting the ride height properly in the rear.. It takes me forever and I'm still off.. Kinda bouncey.. What did u guys use as a guideline btw spring and shock adjustments? Can't seem to figure it out right and I feel like it's off
 
Dracula said:
what are you adjusting in the rear? the spring? or the shock body?
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Both, I want to lower it but u have to adjust both shock n spring so not one is holding more force than the other. That's why I wanted to know what the proper guideline was... Or pics or anything that could help me
 
Slamming45 said:
I'm dialed all the way soft in the back have 0 complaints.
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I'm not talking about the actual setting.. I'm talking about the thread adjustment on both spring n shock.. How far did u guys screw in on both of them.. Pics would give me an idea or even measurements would be cool of how far down did u screw the strut or spring
 
mbarb15 said:
I'm not talking about the actual setting.. I'm talking about the thread adjustment on both spring n shock.. How far did u guys screw in on both of them.. Pics would give me an idea or even measurements would be cool of how far down did u screw the strut or spring
Click to expand...

The idea is that the spring adjustment sets the ride height, the shock adjustment applies preload, and the damping control controls the motion of the spring. You should adjust them in that order.

First set the ride height with the spring mount, and make sure to drive a couple feet between adjustments so you get an accurate picture. Once you're happy with the height, you can do preload. BC recommends 5mm preload as a starting point, so that's what I'll describe.

With your ride height set, put the rear of the car on jack stands and take the tension off the shock by lifting the carrier assembly an inch or so with your jack. Now, loosen the locking ring on the shock and unscrew the shock out of the lower shock body until the spring is loose in it's perch. Once you've got the wheel assembly hanging there and the spring is loose, start threading the shock into the body until the spring is just barley under pressure. You don't want to compress it, but make it tight enough so it doesn't move. This is 0mm preload.

Next you'll want to spin the locking ring all the way down until it rests on the lower shock body, and move it up 5mm. It just so happens that the thickness of the BC locking ring wrenches is 5mm, so that's a pretty perfect way to measure the distance. When you've got the ring up 5mm off the shock body, jack up the carrier assembly an inch or so (to remove the tension)and thread the shock AND THE RING down until the ring touches the lower shock body. This is 5mm preload. Hold the shock and tighten the locking ring.

For damping, go for a test drive. There's no real right answer as it's a matter of preference. Track cars generally have higher damping settings and Cadillac's are pretty low. In general, under-damped springs are often experienced as a fairly low frequency bounce, whereas over-damped springs can feel like more of a high frequency oscillation.

Under-damped = bbbboooouuuunnnncccceeee bbbooouuunnnccceee bboouunnccee bounce.
over-damped = bouncebouncebouncebouncebounceboucneboucnebouncebouncebouncebounce.

Also, don't forget that the BC damping adjustment is up only and 0 is full hard (clockwise). Meaning, if you want to go from a setting of 10 to 5, you have to go from 10 to 0 and then back to 5.
 
tchuck said:
The idea is that the spring adjustment sets the ride height, the shock adjustment applies preload, and the damping control controls the motion of the spring. You should adjust them in that order.

First set the ride height with the spring mount, and make sure to drive a couple feet between adjustments so you get an accurate picture. Once you're happy with the height, you can do preload. BC recommends 5mm preload as a starting point, so that's what I'll describe.

With your ride height set, put the rear of the car on jack stands and take the tension off the shock by lifting the carrier assembly an inch or so with your jack. Now, loosen the locking ring on the shock and unscrew the shock out of the lower shock body until the spring is loose in it's perch. Once you've got the wheel assembly hanging there and the spring is loose, start threading the shock into the body until the spring is just barley under pressure. You don't want to compress it, but make it tight enough so it doesn't move. This is 0mm preload.

Next you'll want to spin the locking ring all the way down until it rests on the lower shock body, and move it up 5mm. It just so happens that the thickness of the BC locking ring wrenches is 5mm, so that's a pretty perfect way to measure the distance. When you've got the ring up 5mm off the shock body, jack up the carrier assembly an inch or so (to remove the tension)and thread the shock AND THE RING down until the ring touches the lower shock body. This is 5mm preload. Hold the shock and tighten the locking ring.

For damping, go for a test drive. There's no real right answer as it's a matter of preference. Track cars generally have higher damping settings and Cadillac's are pretty low. In general, under-damped springs are often experienced as a fairly low frequency bounce, whereas over-damped springs can feel like more of a high frequency oscillation.

Under-damped = bbbboooouuuunnnncccceeee bbbooouuunnnccceee bboouunnccee bounce.
over-damped = bouncebouncebouncebouncebounceboucneboucnebouncebouncebouncebounce.

Also, don't forget that the BC damping adjustment is up only and 0 is full hard (clockwise). Meaning, if you want to go from a setting of 10 to 5, you have to go from 10 to 0 and then back to 5.
Click to expand...

That is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you so much!!

---------- Post added at 10:49 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:46 AM ----------

As far as dampening, I went all
The way to 0 hard and counted 8 over all the way
 
So I adjusted both sides and one side is about a half inch higher than the other side and both spring and shock measurements and dampening is the same.. Dafuq
 
mbarb15 said:
ok, good! just making sure... ill go ahead and do that.. i gotta play with it
Click to expand...

It will also vary 1/4" or so depending on your fuel level and how perfectly flat this surface is on which you park, so don't kill yourself trying to make the measurements exactly the same.
 
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