dinosaur

I've just put Koni Yellow adj. coil-overs with H&R springs on my base 93 FD, and the front ride height seems too high. I've tried to lower the front as far as it seems to go but it's still about 1.5 inches higher than the rear. There's more adjustment on the rear, but not the front. I'm not a suspension guy so this will be hard to explain, but I think the front upper spring perches are not correct. There's a silver C shaped perch resting on the black cone, it is not attached and can be moved then the tire is off. If someone has this setup and could post a picture of their front upper spring perch it should help me figure out what I've done wrong.

The rear sits down nicely, but the front isn't noticeably lower than stock. I just hope I don't have the rear springs on the front.

hus

I got your PM. And I'll try to post some pics at the beginning of this week. My perch is on the middle ring up front and I'm huggin the tire (but not rubbing). So if you're on the lowest ring up front and it has significantly lowered the front end then I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say the Konies aren't the problem. Again, the perch is on the middle ring up front and the lowest ring in the back.

dinosaur

I may have placed the clip in the wrong place, I plan on trying a spring compressor to see if I can check/move it without removing the entire assembly (almost as bad as putting the springs in backwards, DOH!). I'd still like to see some others upper perches, mine just don't seem securely in place.

ptrhahn

iTrader: (9)

Any chance you've got the springs reversed? The koni yellow adjustment range is only about 1/2 to 3/4" highest to lowest. Something aint right. Got the lower spring perch turned over?

gracer7-rx7

iTrader: (16)

or the spring perch may be upside down...

dinosaur

I didn't think about the perch itself upside down, I'll try and get a few pics posted of the lower perch and see what you guys think. I plan to compress the spring and check the clip the first of the week (it's raining now). I know something ain't right, just haven't figured it out yet.

hus

Just a tip, if you don't already know...I went to Advanced Autoparts and rented a Strut Spring Compressor and compressed the springs on the outside of the spring while they were still on my FD. This allowed me to move the spring around with my hands pretty easy and freed the spring from the seat and perch. I then was able to adjust things the way I wanted. Another tip: if you do this then be sure to alternate between the two spring compressors when you begin loosening them after your done or you'll have one side of the spring trying to become seated why the other side is still compressed and things will start to become very difficult. Just some tips.

dinosaur

Thanks HUS, I an planing on trying the compressors next week while I'm on vacation and see if I can check and move the clip, I hope that's what I got wrong, if I put the perches on upside down, I'll have to remove the whole unit to fix that, and I want to avoid that if possible. Thanks for the tip about loosening the compressors, should help eliminate some of the cusing (my neighbors thank you too). I take it you've done this with a compressor, that's good news, some have told me you have to remove the shock to move the clip, but I'm too stuborn/stupid to believe them. When I get the front down where I want it, will it mess up the alignment other that adding more negative camber? (might not be a bad thing) (corner weights will be off,but I can drive it to a shop and fix that).
Thanks for the help and suggestions.

hus

It shouldn't mess with the alignment...mine didn't. And yes, I was able to take two flathead screwdrivers and free the clip from the ring by prying on it on opposite sides very lightly (as to not warp the clip) and move it to whatever position I wanted (up or down) when I had the springs compressed. I know you're thinking, "Well how did you do that, because what was holding the spring and perch?" They were both resting on the top of my hands and/or wrists as I "fanagled" the clip from the ring. I was pretty determined not to have to remove the whole damn assembly, as I was under the impression I would have to as well...but I didn't. The entire thing took me about an hour-and-a-half....that's wheels mounted back on the car and everything....and maybe a snack or beer in between each spring

Don't know if you've seen my before and after shots but here:

Before


After

dinosaur

Reverse the body, and your before looks like mine now, I'm aiming for your after. I've got to do rotors and pads on my CRX, that’s on the schedule for Monday (love that 45 MPG daily driver), the Maz will be worked on after that is finished. I just got the Tripoint bar today, so now I have sway bars to replace too. Should be a fun week.
I actually thought about using duct tape to hold the spring and perch out of the way while I worked on the clip. It's good to hear it only take an hour or so to do too.

dinosaur

Okay, here's the latest. I couldn't use the coil spring compressor on the H&R springs, it wouldn't fit through the coils. It appears to be as low as it will go, so I have a few pics of the assembly, top perch, and a bad shot of the ride height. what does everyone think?

gracer7-rx7

iTrader: (16)

disregard all of the above posts. they don't apply to a coilover kit as you have. we all thought you were talking about regular koni spring perches and regular H&R springs, not a coilover conversion for the Koni shock.

Take a good hard look at the bottom spring perch. There should be some kind of nut or allen head bolt holding the bottom spring perch in position. You should be able to loosen that up and raise/lower the ride height as desired.

I think your ride height might be ok as is. I'd recommend a ride height around 25.5" from the floor to the fender lip all around.

dinosaur

Sorry, I should have been more specific. I wonder why the rear will sit so much lower than the front, it's about an inch lower than the front, and could go lower. It's hard to see from the pictures I sent. I measure 25.5 in front and 24.5 in the rear. I guess I should raise the rear one inch and stop worring about the front huh?

I haven't seen a set screw or allen head bolt, chadwick told me about it, so I've looked. Probably haven't looked in the "right"place yet. If 25.5 is a good place to be, then the front is set and I should raise the rear to match.