how low do coilovers go?

[GEN3RATD]

whats the lowest you can wind coilovers? lower then SSL's?

[soop]

Yes.
But dumb question they're all different.

[GEN3RATD]

awww my bad man, looking at picking up a set of D2 coilovers.
i got SSL's and im not happy with the height, want to wind them down to about SSSL height

[soop]

D2's are the dirtiest peice of shit coil overs you can get. for the record.

You'll be replacing them in 6months.

[wikky]

You got money burning a hole in your pocket or something? In the space of a week or two, first asking about cam specs for an upgrade, then a blower and now coilovers.

[soop]

Its School Holidays Wikki...

[GEN3RATD]

haha if you must know im 19 and im not a school, im actually training to be an electronics technician submariner in the navy, and making a packet as i do so.
so yeah if you must know i actually do have a bit of cash lying around doing nothing.

[fitz_vt]

as low as a the coilover you buy goes..... you dont need to be a brain surgeon to work that out.... ummm well d2's errr yeah ... sure..... i wouldnt but its your money

[soop]

If you're making a good wage, save it and get good equipment.
Do some research, aside from asking random questions on a forum.

[Decicrate]

haha if you must know im 19 and im not a school, im actually training to be an electronics technician submariner in the navy, and making a packet as i do so.
so yeah if you must know i actually do have a bit of cash lying around doing nothing.

Hey Shakes take no notice of some of the gooses on the forum. A lot of them like to blow their trumpet, just so they can hear the crappy noise that they make.
Most of them like to spew nonsensical diatribe at any given opportunity. Most of them wouldn't know what a coil over is, even if you were beating them to death with one.

To help answer your question.
The coil spring on a coil over is basically the same as a standard setup, just a smaller width, so to speak.
If you adjust the coil over by the spring seat to lower the height of the car you will run into all sorts of problems.
The spring needs to be held captive between the top and the bottom seats at all times. If you jack the car up and let the suspension sag to its full droop the spring should still be held with enough pressure that it doesn't have any free movement up or down.
If you wind the spring seat down to lower the car, you will find that the spring will come loose on full suspension travel. This can cause all sorts of damage if it happens and the spring doesn't sit back into the seat correctly.
You also have to understand a spring has a rate assigned to it and by backing the spring seat off makes the spring operate out of its assigned rate, this is bad.
Next problem is that if you lower to far you will end up putting your shock absorber out of its effective working range, this is VERY bad as your handling will go down hill at a rapid rate. This can also cause damage to other suspension components.
You can add Tender springs to the coil over that will give you a little more adjust ability to the system or you can purchase a coil over that has two adjustments on it.
One for the coil spring and one for the height of the strut itself, this system is the easiest if you are simply looking at getting your ride height to a set level and not looking for handling.

If you know some one that is a certified welder you can make your own coil overs that will be far cheaper and far better than a lot of the crap that is on the shelf.

Always remember "There is never a dumb question, only dumb people!"

[fitz_vt]

The coil spring on a coil over is basically the same as a standard setup, just a smaller width, so to speak.
If you adjust the coil over by the spring seat to lower the height of the car you will run into all sorts of problems.
The spring needs to be held captive between the top and the bottom seats at all times. If you jack the car up and let the suspension sag to its full droop the spring should still be held with enough pressure that it doesn't have any free movement up or down.

if they're a good coil-over then this shouldn't be an issue..... and yes like you have pointed out in your post that lowering the the coil-over as far as they will go will cause damage... (i was being a smartarse as they will go as low as they can but they wont last long). to be honest id go with a good shock absorber set with a nice low set of springs as apposed to coil-overs but take peoples advice and maybe go see a suspension specialist who can advise based on a professional opinion ... its more then their reputations worth to give bad advise.

Always remember "There is never a dumb question, only dumb people!"

Exactly dumb questions don't exist .....

[soop]

Not true, the question. "How low do coil overs go" is dumb. Because its like asking how long a peice of string is. There are many different itterations on coil overs, all varying.

So its stupid to ask a question like that. It just shows that the OP did 0% research before opening his mouth.
Here's another catch phrase for you.
"its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, then it is to speak and remove all doubt"

[fitz_vt]

I dont see how that question is stupid . the question how long is a piece of string is a redundant question not a stupid question. the question he asked for someone who didnt know is a perfectly legitimate question..... and besides people don't know where to find the information.... although the question itself could of been answered with a google search yes but
a. maybe he wanted peoples opinions on how low they'll go
b. there is often people on here who will give a detailed explanation like decicrate or
c. maybe he wanted a commodore specific answer to his question which would take a few hours to find on google ....
to be honest id rather be considered a fool asking a question then to remain silent and be thinking to myself doing the job and messing something up or causing damage to my car.
albeit the information can be found in a few sources like the workshop manual (not really for aftermarket mod's though more servicing and maintenance), google and suspension specialists are a good source for information maybe a few phone calls...... i was like this when i first got a car i would consult forums often the information i found wasn't all that accurate or i was belittled by someone who thinks they know it all.... so i now consult professionals in the field i have a question for eg brakes, suspension, electrical or a workshop manual.

[soop]

How are we supposed to answer the question.

If he had said "How low do Koni coil overs to suit my VX go?"

THEN I could have given him an accurate answer.
The thing is, Koni, Bilstein, Tein, D1, D2, Dirty doug from down the roads custom koilova's are all different.

So how can anyone answer the question he asked?
Unless the OP is expecting us to go and do the research for him?

[fitz_vt]

well i would ask for more information as in what brand of shocks were you looking at and besides if the informations that easily accessible then why not do the research for him or point him in the right direction... or maybe on the off chance someone might know around here. if you cant answer the original post it doesn't make it a stupid question .....

[soop]

Bah, we baby people to much as it is.

[fitz_vt]

lol maybe we do but i tend to point them in the right direction as apposed to doing the research for them

[Decicrate]

Not true, the question. "How low do coil overs go" is dumb. Because its like asking how long a peice of string is. There are many different itterations on coil overs, all varying.

So its stupid to ask a question like that. It just shows that the OP did 0% research before opening his mouth.
Here's another catch phrase for you.
"its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, then it is to speak and remove all doubt"

I thought car forums were about helping people with car related questions. The OP asked a question and your contribution was to try and make him look like a fool.
You did nothing to help him except tell him to use google.

"its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, then it is to speak and remove all doubt

You should maybe practice what you preach, you have no idea, you are non helpful and to be honest anyone that takes your advise on anything car related is going to be making a massive mistake.


How are we supposed to answer the question.

You are not, as you have no idea.

If he had said "How low do Koni coil overs to suit my VX go?"

THEN I could have given him an accurate answer.

Well lets see if you can redeem yourself. How low can my VX be lowered using Koni coil overs.
Please supply part numbers, spring rates and what inserts would be needed to run at said height.

The thing is, Koni, Bilstein, Tein, D1, D2, Dirty doug from down the roads custom koilova's are all different.

So how can anyone answer the question he asked?

Quite easy actually, all you need is a little experience in this area.

Unless the OP is expecting us to go and do the research for him?

Again, isn't this forum based around helping members out???
Not all members are going to have a sound back ground in mechanical knowledge, so they come to a forum hoping to get a bit of a hand, not to be told that there question was dumb.



More info for the OP.
If you are only chasing the dumped look and not too concerned about handling you may have to build your own coil overs, but you will defiantly have issues with the shockie. you will have to do a fair bit of cross referencing stroke lengths and diameters to find some thing that works.
Another issue that you will have is the size of rims/tyres that you will be able to run.
to get your car to have the "dumped" look, the lower spring seat and the spring will sit lower on the strut leg itself, which will come down lower than the top of the rim and the tyre. This can sometimes be compensated be adjusting the camber and standing the tyre up a bit straighter. Downside to this is your car will not corner very well.
To be honest you really shouldn't go lower than about 350mm between the center of the front hub and the highest part of the arch of the front guard.
Next issue you may have is to get the height you need, you may have to remove the sway bar link mount from the strut leg to be able to move the threaded section of the coil over down far enough to get the desired height.
You maybe able to get a link system from Whiteline that attaches the sway bar to your lower control arm.

[GEN3RATD]

i relised i sounded like a noob - young and stupid and blah blah blah
to make the question easier how low do pedders coilovers go in particular on a VX? im trying to acheive ever so lower then SSL's.

[GEN3RATD]

anyone know?

[thekid93]

lower then ssl? yer get sssl, haha

bmw springs from e30? tuck 20's by bout 2 in?

[GEN3RATD]

yeah i know springs do. i want to know if coilovers can be wound down that low or not. i want my car to sit just a smidgeon lower then SSL's.

[ducker85]

i relised i sounded like a noob - young and stupid and blah blah blah
to make the question easier how low do pedders coilovers go in particular on a VX? im trying to acheive ever so lower then SSL's.

ok mate well I just put pedder coilovers in mine it sits around 340mm in the front and can go I think another 70mm lower so yeah they go a shit load lower then you SSSSSSL springs

air bags are getting cheap these days if you REALLY wanna get it lower

[GEN3RATD]

yeah well thats well low enough cheers bro. hows it handle?
i thought about air bags but i dont think it will suit my application.

[ducker85]

Dont know the cars back home at Dad's I havn't driven it yet since they have been put in. I just know they can go alot lower then it is now