Hi. I am a noob and I am trying to find out How to adjust the ride height.
I understand that you have to turn the things at the bottom to adjust height....
But how do I know how much to turn them?
What if I turn them but for some reason lets say the right side ends up being spun more than the left side... wont that make the car sit crooked? leaning to one side?
And do I need a special tool to adjust the height?

 

do you have a single height adjustable coilover or dual?

adjusting height by the spring seat is the only method to do so on a single height adjustable coilover. it changes ride height via spring droop and spring preload. but you need to know what you are doing as droop eats into shock travel and preload can kill ride quality if you set more preload than static sag. to lower the car, simply lower the spring seat. raising is reverse. you have droop if the spring is loose at full shock extension. conversely, you have preload if the spring is under tension when the system is unloaded.

on dual height adjustable, set the spring seat so that the spring is not loose when the shock is at full extension, and adjust height by moving the shock mounting bracket on the threaded body. you can actually do this by turning the entire threaded body, rather than unbolt the bracket from the knuckle.

haha, you don't. the amount you lower on the actual coilover will not translate 1:1 into actual lowering at the corner. (see below).

worse. its more complex than that. changing the ride height on one corner changes height and weight at all 3 other corners as well.

the proper way to set up the car is to set an average height you want, then take it to a shop to have the car corner weighed and aligned. corner weighh ensures cross weights are equal so car responds evenly turning left and right.

the way most people do it, however, is to simply go around the car, lower all around, put it back on wheels, set it down on the ground, figure out what you dont like, raise it again, take off the wheels, **** around with the coilover heights again, etc. rinse and repeat ad infinum till it looks good. then go get it aligned.

spanner wrenches (should have come with the coilovers). lube and a rag as well to clean threads and make movement easier. hammer and punch for collars that are seized, which shouldn't be a problem if they are new.

 

Dam Thats quite an explanation... Thanks. haha
I dont have the spammer.... i mean... Spanner wrench.... lol I bought them slightly used so no wrench.... but i can just turn the Rings on the threaded body with my hands... they move freely. .....or is that a bad thing? lol
Also..... what if while you are driving, the rings move down the threads and mess up the settings... thought about it.... sounds possible.... or is that NOT possible? Because it doesn't seem like they are super tightened or anything.... can they move down the threaded part while you're driving?

 

There should be two rings on each coilover, one is to lock the other into place, you tighten it against the other. THis keeps them from moving unless you physically move them. This is what you need the spanner wrenches for.

 

you can buy spanner wrenches from summitracing, harborfreight, etc. if you don't already have some. and yes, as ^he said^, you need to lock them down or they will move on you.

 

Grab a tape measure and a roll of masking tape as well.

 

What is the tape measure and masking tape for? Tape measure for measuring the distance so both coilovers will be the same right? What about the masking tape? what's that for?....

So is it safe to drive on the coilovers before tightening them with a spanner wrench?

 

Tape measure will be used to measure ride height, from the ground to whatever reference point you choose, usually the arch of the fenderlip. The masking tape will be used as a sort of "marker" on the coilovers, so you can measure off of when adjusting. If I wanted to lower a corner 1/4 inch, I would put the masking tape at 1/4 inch above the lower collar, then adjust until the tape touches the collar.

Either way, these adjustments are rough, but will get you in the ballpark.

If the spring perch collars are not tight, you will see variations in ride height over time as the spring seats spin up and down.

 

Cool. Got it. Thanks a lot for the help.

 

Go to Home Depot and get an adjustable spanner from the plumbing section.

 

Actual ride heigth will change more than the distance you move the coilover collars. How much more depends on the ratio of the distance of the lower shock mount and outer ball joint (or outer bushing) from the A-frame bushings.