HELP! - HKS Hipermax Touring uneven ride height

[SawZallSurgeon]

SO recently installed the HKS Hipermax Touring springs on my 26 MT. I left everything set as it comes out of the box and I have driven the car about 150 miles so far. Everything feels and rides fine, but it does not seem to have settled evenly. I have went back over everything and made sure everything is seated correctly and everything is torqued to spec. Has anyone else had this issue?

Before / After
Driver Front - 27 3/16" / 26"
Passenger Front - 27 3/16" / 26 7/16"
Driver Rear - 27 7/8" / 27 3/16"
Passenger Rear - 27 7/8" / 26 7/8"

I am wondering if this just need to settle more, but I want to get it adjusted to about 7/8" drop all around before I put my new wheels on and get an alignment. any help is greatly appreciated!

Sponsored

 

[Strych9]

Any time you want to check setup, you need to eliminate as many variables as possible.

-You need a level surface. If you don't have one, get something to shim/crib until you have 4 level pads under the car. A $50 line laser from Home Depot and a wide base square is priceless for this. Make sure each pad is level and that each is level with the other 3. A nice touch is to grab 8x 1'x1' sheets of .065" or thicker stainless plate and pair them together with some oil between each pair. That will allow the tires to move more freely when you settle the car.

-Pick a predetermined amount of fuel that you'd like to always have. Full is an easy target as you can stop and fill up before you go check your setup.

-Make sure that all of your tires are inflated correctly.

-Disconnect your roll bars (probably the most overlooked

-Take all of the unnecessary shit out of the car.

-Get your weight in sandbags (or whatever else), then put 15-20lb at the pedals and the rest in the seat.

-Invite a friend over. Pop the hood and trunk. Roll the car forward and back a few inches, then bounce the car 3 times in unison and with the same effort. This is called settling. Settle the car after any series of changes and before any measurement.

Then start checking everything. A half inch of variation is common if you skip any of a handful of these.

By the time you've gone this far, you may as well go ahead and do your own alignments but to each their own.

In addition, MOST drivers corner harder in one direction than they do the other and most people have a few pet corners around town and while commuting that they'll take harder than the rest. This by itself can account for springs relaxing unevenly. Plus, spring materials are ordered in batches and they don't always have the same heat numbers. They are also wound in batches and don't always come in matched pairs.

Never assume any suspension taken out of the box is set accurately, even if the manufacturer says it is.

I'd say let them keep settling. Some springs settle fairly quickly, some take a while.

 

[apatel471]

SO recently installed the HKS Hipermax Touring springs on my 26 MT. I left everything set as it comes out of the box and I have driven the car about 150 miles so far. Everything feels and rides fine, but it does not seem to have settled evenly. I have went back over everything and made sure everything is seated correctly and everything is torqued to spec. Has anyone else had this issue?

Before / After
Driver Front - 27 3/16" / 26"
Passenger Front - 27 3/16" / 26 7/16"
Driver Rear - 27 7/8" / 27 3/16"
Passenger Rear - 27 7/8" / 26 7/8"

I am wondering if this just need to settle more, but I want to get it adjusted to about 7/8" drop all around before I put my new wheels on and get an alignment. any help is greatly appreciated!

When I had these on my car, I had the height set equally between the sides, but they still settled unevenly. I set DF=PF and DR=PR (set and measured with a caliper). What I noticed was that the DR settled lower than the PR (probably due to some weight distribution), so you'll probably have to set the adjusters to uneven lengths to achieve a perfectly equal height.

 

[puzzled]

I mean you're corner balancing the car using eyeballz.. it's not going to be accurate, but it is okay to have different perch heights to even out the ride height if it's just for aesthetics.

 

[SawZallSurgeon]

When I had these on my car, I had the height set equally between the sides, but they still settled unevenly. I set DF=PF and DR=PR (set and measured with a caliper). What I noticed was that the DR settled lower than the PR (probably due to some weight distribution), so you'll probably have to set the adjusters to uneven lengths to achieve a perfectly equal height.

Good to know I’m not the only one with this issue. I plan to drive another 100-150 miles and then adjust and get alignment. I appreciate the input.

 

[SawZallSurgeon]

I mean you're corner balancing the car using eyeballz.. it's not going to be accurate, but it is okay to have different perch heights to even out the ride height if it's just for aesthetics.

Yea I’m not tracking the car so I’m not really corner balancing, just looking to even it out like you said. Thanks!

 

[i3igpete]

Yes, in order to keep ride height the same all around after settling, my perch positions differ by about 3/8 inch

Sponsored