Setup Coilover Preload and Ride Height
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- Опубліковано 1 жов 2024
- Step by Step instructions to setup your coilover preload and ride height for the BC Racing Coilovers (front of mercedes)
Keep it simple and relax, Take your time. I'm not responsible if you screw up and damage your car in anyway shape or form. TAKE YOUR TIME.
Disclaimer:
Due to factors beyond the control of Raymond Urias, I cannot guarantee against improper use or unauthorized modifications of this information. Raymond Urias assumes no liability for property damage or injury incurred as a result of any of the information contained in this video. Use this information at your own risk. Raymond Urias recommends safe practices when working on vehicles and or with tools seen or implied in this video. Due to factors beyond the control of Raymond Urias, no information contained in this video shall create any expressed or implied warranty or guarantee of any particular result. Any injury, damage, or loss that may result from improper use of these tools, equipment, or from the information contained in this video is the sole responsibility of the user and not Raymond Urias.
This is the most clear tutorial I've ever watched thank you!
Hell yea it is!!! Watched another video before this and the damn dude said you had to unbolt the strut from the bottom and twist the bottom half 🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️ I never did it that way and "thought" it was like it was mentioned in this current video. Glad I found this one, I was about to cancel my coilover order.
Great video
Felt like I was watching chrisfix video lol
Sohayel Nafi haha my thoughts exactly when I saw his hand enter the screen at the start lol .... was waiting for the .... Heeey guys...
Lefty Loosy but also LOWERS the car.
Righty Tighty, but also RAISES the car.
Thats how I remember it!
Peter HMan but isn’t it the opposite for the rear
Yeah I have to say. You where very clear on explaining how to preload and adjust. Very good job. High five man.
This is the best video on this that I have found. Be careful when you set the preload. You do not want to turn the top ring rather lock it in place by the force of the bottom ring. If you look at your procedure you actually turn the top ring causing some loss of preload. Yes I am being super picky but if you go through all of the work then this is important .
Thank you for posting!
Thank you so much for this video, I was having trouble with preload. You explained everything I needed to know clearly and perfectly!
Same! My take away: max finger tight, then raise 4 mm. But I feel like there should be a more accurate way than just "by feel"?
Preloading your coil overs can make a dramatic improvement, and the only way you'll know whether it makes a difference is to make adjustments, document and test. In my case, adding 200lbs of preload made a tremendous difference in that my suspension had less compression modulation and less rebound pressure which translated to a smoother ride. -2 cents
Increasing the preload smoothed out your ride?
@@dennisrobinson8008yes because it made it stiffer and his car was probably bouncing a bit more than normal cars so stiffening the suspension will make the ride quality a bit better
@@toyotanehal Mines is a bit "too harsh" with the 8k fronts 6k rears. If I could smooth that out over bumps i'm told "Shockworks" brand controls stiffer springs better most than other brands so they would indeed "smooth" the ride out.
@@dennisrobinson8008 i haven’t heard of that brand but I went with a generic bc racing coilover with 8k’s all around and they’re pretty good
Ln@@toyotanehal
Such clarity and detail .. I will be raising my car and this video is just what i needed... thank you very much mate
Great video, clear, and detailed! Good job! In the process of installing coilovers on my 06 Mustang GT.
They look great! One question about the aftermarket wheels, how do you know how strong they are? I was watching AutoVlog's video and saw that his aftermarket wheels cracked after driving over a small pothole..... something which wouldn't have happened to the stock Mercedes wheels. Are these aftermarket wheels genuinely well built (to Mercedes standards)?
Daniel Sadjadian he bought knock off rims (Replicas) Never buy thoes IMO. These are 100% real rotifoms each rim can support 1600lbs
www.rotiform.com/blq-cast-1-piece-w-21872.htm
That exceeds the standard set by Mercedes 1200lbs. Alot of factors need to be accounted for including the tires. If skimp on the side wall then you have no cushion for the pushing. If are considering upgrading your rims make sure you buy them from a reputable company and always check with the manufacturer if they are licensed to sell them. I personally have never had a rim crack....had one a long time ago bend from a big ass pothole.... couldn't avoid it lol
Its All Weight, Depends on How Much Weight They Can Threshold
Thought it was just a slap on part. Thanks for explaining pre-load.
It is, but for race applications i.e track use this is when the pre-load should be adjusted otherwise you should only mess with the ride height if you dont plan of tracking your car.
The best video of coilovers
It helps me very much
Thank you
From Tijuana Mexico
Thank you for one of the most concise videos on all of UA-cam. God, I am sick to death of the legion of clown video productions out there!
What brand coilovers were they? Never mind re watched
"Manufactures spend alot of time and money finding out what the preload should be on these cars"
Apparently not because it's 4-5mm for every single make and model according to youtuve how-to's
Very good job sir.clear turorial.follow from japan
Even if you dont have bc coils! This process is the same for all coilovers! Thanks so much for a clear walk through!😁
Dude, is that a Casio Digital Watch from 1982 you're wearing...?
Patrick Collins this is 1982 you’re just late to the party
Looks great ray your turning your Mercedes into a cool ride by the time your done with all the upgrades your Benz going to look so awesome.
Those rims are sick wat are they?
Thanks man Rotiform BLQ
Most springs on the market sags over time and after 1 year that 4mm preload might not be enough. I will recommend 8-10mm depending on the length of the free length spring. The other way is to reset the spring preload during your usual oil change interval.
I think it will be rare that the distance from perch to perch will be the same on both sides if you are aiming to achieve the same aesthetic looking ride height. You might find a descrepency on the perches of up to 10mm between sides is needed to get a similar ride height.
It's 50/50 with a good brand coilover they settle the same with the cheaper ones I have mirrored the same distance by measuring but the springs settled a lot different
Wow this video was a big help I adjusted my coilovers and was messing with the preload thinking it was ride height and my spring was able to move up and down like 2 inches. Yikes will be fixing it
Have you thought of getting a new front bumper or lip?
SEEB XX New bumper. Really excited to show everyone it's amazing
Raymond Urias looking forward to it!
I'm thinking about getting a set of BC coilovers. Could you give me an update on them? Are they still working good? Some peeps in tube land don't like them or are having problems w/ them. Thanks for any info and the watch rulz btw!
You said, "tighten it until you cant tighten by hand anymore...." I NEVER GOT TO THATPOINT....
I have the same coilovers Mercedes accept my rear the spring is separate from the shock so how do you raise the car up do turn the spring or do you turn the shock? Thanks
You turn the spring. The shock will be your preload.
@@RaymondUrias ok great, thank you
Rookie question but the process is the same for the rears ?
Best video ive seen, i didnt even know you could adjust the coilover without taking it off 😂 im new to all this
Excalty!!! I didn’t know this either it’s going to make things easier!!
I really liked the part where George Clooney's character even through isolation was able to adapt to a somewhat normal way of life. Great Job!
If you want to raise the car, how do you know when you've gone too far, meaning you've screwed the tube out of the lower perch? Does the manufacturer tell you the minimum length of thread engagement, so the lower perch won't fail structurally?
Manufacturer should've supplied info. I'd check their site first then call cs. ISC springs have a small hole (peep hole) drilled through the body of the bottom mount such that the strut/shock tube threads are visible once inserted to required minimum depth.
Wow I didn't know Doctor Banner was also a car enthusiast! Awesome video sir!
The only video where i fully understood the process!!! You just saved me from paying someone else to do this for me!! Awesome!!!!!!
Do you have instructions for how to lower the rear of the car?
I did this and my (Driver side) completely drooped after I took it on a drive and now the spring is fully compressed. when I jacked up my car, the springs do not decompress. I had to angle my tire out of the hub. Has anyone encountered this?
Thank you. Straight forward. Other videos suck.
wow... crystal clear instructions and explanation. good job !
my godspeed monoss coilovers didnt have preload tension set from factory when i got them. i didnt knnow what that meant. i had them improperly installed by someone not qualified for the job. now, about 9 months later, the front right coilover has gone to shit, the piston is fucked, it's been shaving and carving away material
wish I had watched this video before i ruined my $700 ebay godspeed coilovers
fml
#corollalife
That suuuuucks!
Thanks man I’ll be doing that tomorrow.
Damn you made this super easy to understand honestly lol. I don't know if all coilovers come with the preload set to where it needs to be but yeah you did a great job of explaining this. Thanks!
BC or Siliver's Neomax? I CANNOT DECIDE?!?!? Any advice? Thanks in advance.
if you lowered it more to where the tires are flush with the fender, what prevents the tire from hitting the fender when you turn?
Funny. I actually sold my C63 to buy a Vette and build it, this helped me a ton with my car. I miss my Mercedes. Lol
*I must be the only one that thinks the BEFORE is better than the AFTER. But hey that's me. I think slammed without being on a track is dumb*
haha that hand pre-load had me cracking up lol
hahahha me too
i have coilovers fully threaded and my ride is way to stiff how to soften my ride pls help
New to coilovers. This video was extremely informative. Thank you!
lol. lets loosen both the perch rings going the same direction. no no ... lets do one the opposite from the other.
i guess you s should have tested it first.
The best explanation video thanks♥️
Wow fantastic! This makes so much sense now
U copy chrisfix with the hand lul
Rolando Bernal "soapy water" lol
Guilty of counting the threads.. just works for me..
How do you figure out the preload in lbs cause I’m wanting to get 200lbs of preload but don’t know how I set it to that. Is there’s a conversion with the mm gap ?
If you want to adjust the preload you will have to get a set of scales. That's the only way that my shop has ever done it. The car is corner balanced and you can adjust the weight distribution of the vehicle.
I've got some BC Racing BR's on the way! My first set of coilovers, so this has helped a lot. thanks man!
I got some on the way too!😎
Best tutorial I’ve watched. Thank you!
is the preload set up the same for any car or coilover ? nobody really answers this
Can you do a set of stainless steel brake lines next?
I was actually debating it, I probably will.
Best clarification of preload and adjustment. I couldn't find anyone doing it right. Thank you. Just picked up a set and I'm ready to go. Lol
wow....i twas adjusting the preload instead of ride height....i am so dumb i though preload was adjusting the ride height cause it was raising the car up and down.....
do we need to spooring the car again after adjust the ride height ?
What’s the factory ride height compared to where you liked it? Have you any issues scrapping bottom of bumper on slopes?
Did you ever made an video for how to adjust the coilover on the rear?
Could you provide best way to lower front of a 1983 W126 300SD ? I am
Planing to get 17” wheels .
Also , advise on best amplifier and speakers to use with first generation Becker radio and installation.
Thank you very much for your videos and advise.
You said tighten it until you can't push up on the spring anymore. But you were clearly still able to easily compress the spring by hand when you started adding the 4mm of "preload". You also said this is the disadvantage of having coilovers??? As opposed to what??? I just want clarification I don't mean to be that guy
Lowering springs....
And no trust me you can't easily compress it. It gets to a point we're not even King Kong could press on it. After that point you will have to use the spanner to get it to compress. I prefer lowering springs but sometimes you just can't get the vehicle low enough.
@@RaymondUrias Ah, ok. Thanks for the response!
DO NOT rely on this system to reset the preload! I’ll explain why:
If you have been driving for even just a few days with these coilovers, dirt/grit/sand will find it’s way into these threads. Now with that being said, relying on a “tighten as much as you can by hand” method is unreliable as the right side can be more tough to turn than the left side due to differences in how much grit/sand is on each side.
For example: my right side i was literally able to keep turning it by hand AS MUCH AS I’D like (i’m sure there IS a limit but not my point). Though tough, it never got much harder and I wondered how i’m going to get a proper preload set knowing there was not much limit on my elbow grease to keep getting that preload tighter just BY HAND. THEN, I go to the left side and attempt the same thing, only to have much more difficulty trying to do the same as the right side; the preload got really difficult to keep tightening by hand, significantly faster than the right side thus leading to an improper measurement. (Yes both preloads started from 0)
Solution? I used a piece of zip tie to measure the distance from the top of the shock body (part with the threads) to whatever the lowest point INSIDE the spring was. So you will have to put the piece (of whatever you want to use) inside the spring, up against the shock body to gauge a measurement and compare to the other side. Thats the closest way you’ll get an equal preload on both sides.
ALSO, that measurement/distance of the shock body to the bottom of inside of spring should NEVER change when adjusting height. There a misconception that the shock body is moving up or down within the spring. It is not. The lower part of the shock (under bottom locking collar) is actually what’s moving up or down, NOT THE SHOCK BODY
It’s a bit complicated and these BC BR’s are very finicky but once you understand the mechanics of it, it will be much easier to use and you’ll be very happy with your purchase.
Also keep in mind, looser preload = smoother ride and more expendability/effectiveness of damping adjustments but it will be harder to adjust ride height with a looser preload as it’s much easier to undo (going up or down) so PAY ATTENTION carefully if you decide to keep a looser preload and want to change your height.
This is by far the best video I’ve ever seen on adjusting ride height and pre load on coilovers
Does your spring move left to right freely? Like if you’re turning it with both hands?
I mean no disrespect. But the fitment looked the same height as when you first started. Did I miss something? This is all new to me so please correct me if I'm wrong? I just installed coilovers in the front and 2 inch drop springs in the rear. I'm having problems with tuning and adjusting the front. It corners like it's on rails. But bounces in the front like it's got hydraulics. Any advice would be much appreciated thank you.
Perfect! I’m pretty sure I messed up my preload by about half a turn when installing my coil overs. This cleared up all my problems and now I just need to set it to what is in the instructions and boom, solid
Hey man good video I'm having trouble with uneven ride height everything set perfectly same measurements on both sides but the front passenger side sits lower than the front driver side what should I do
Was the car involved in an accident? If measurements are the same then the car should be level. Check your tire pressure and other variables
@@RaymondUrias
No I got the car history was never involved in an accident.
@@Tricky_86 then it should be level. I have heard of some cars being off by 1/4" that's normal
Hey dude!
Did you get that fixed? I have the same problem here the driver side is too much lower I had to raise the driver side height almost 2cm.
I believe some wheel fenders are just not the same mine are a bit different by mm
how do you set preload on coilovers in the rear on cars that have the strut and spring seperate?
Great question. The spring would adjust the ride height. The shock absorber would adjust the preload, it will have a lock ring that you can loosen and make the shock longer or smaller depending on the manufacturer preload requirements.
I wish I would have watched this while putting mine on ..
If the tire then rubs the inside tire well liner on bumps and potholes should one increase the preload or increase the height?
Ride height
Preload is for weight distribution
Hi. 2 years late here. What should I do if the shocks have been adjusted to the same length but there's a 4-5mm height difference between the two sides? I was on level ground but still I turned my car around to make sure and still. a 4-5mm difference.
Thank you. My preload was super messed up and my wheels were hitting my fenders over every crack in the road😂
do i need alignment everytime i adjust the height?
Just stumbled upon this gem of a video, just installed some BC BR’s on my Focus ST this weekend....this video is great. Thank you.
I'm new to coilovers, just put a set of Pedders xA's on my GTO... do you set the preload 1st, then adjust ride height, or ones it not matter?
Is better to adjust preload before installing on car?
On the car
Fantastic video- thank you. I messed up adjusting the ride height on my 2005 R53 Mini by adjusting the lower spring collar, thinking that would change ride height - and have been experiencing terrible ride quality since doing it - you just made me realise that basically removed all the preload from the spring completely (it was actually still loose) by doing this and that will hopefully be the cause of the terrible crashy ride quality I had... Just adjusted it and will feedback if this fixed the issue!
Just found this video...And have to say, this video alone has now made me more comfortable with fianlly doing my own install. While I knew about the lower part helping adjust ride height, I never knew you could leave it on the car to adjust that part..This helped me (And saved me tons of time) SO much. greta video!!
I have the BC BR coils as well. Raymond, is having a few mm difference going to cause catastrophic wear on tires?
No it will not. Just make sure you have your car aligned after installing them
Raymond Urias they habenero been on a year now. just got summer tires put on but I don't know if they aligned it o ly balaced tires. I asking because I want to lower it a bit more. may use a tape measure but it's not going to be 100% dead on.
That's fine, just make sure the car is level. Measure on a flat surface from ground to bottom of the wheel arch. Both side should be the same height
I guess your right to say most ppl won’t ever adjust preload. But those that do should be corner balancing. That’s where you benefit from preload. They way your doing it is fine for safety but your limiting functionality. Good stuff tho. I needed to see how BC we’re adjusted.
Great vid man!!! Im going to redo my fronts after watching this just to make sure. What tips do you have for the rear? I have divorced rear coil overs and cant find a clear video showing the correct way to do it.
you are a life saver mate!! While lowering my Teen Flex Z, the preload lock got loose and I kind of messed up with the preload setting even though the height is same on both coilovers :( Now I can reset it back!!
What would be your opinion on bagging a w204, Right now I’m in a bit of a decision war on should I just get coilovers witch is cheaper or just pay a bit more to bag the car 🤯
damn you never cut to after you did the final adjustment haha. Awesome video man, definitely learned a few things. I was doing some things very wrong.
Finally a clear tutorial
For what I understood. I shouldn't mess with the spring load unless I'm going to a track race or bs like that???
Thanks bro... New to the BMW scene. I appreciate your video on this! Peace...
Your video jus popped up, thanks I have BCR coming in tomorrow for a Lexus 250 F sport, any recommendations? That be helpful
You explained the front but how do you readjust the height on the rear part of the vehicle i have a shock and spring like yours thers no video i cant seem to find one
Over time. Can the lower perch come undone? Is that a possibility? I’ve had a tire blowout and one side of my coil over rubs/clunks now
Thank you. You did an excellent job. Much appreciated and blessings!
hahah lowers it down and looks the same
Should i use the jack in both sides at the same time for both sides ? Or its ok first jack one side and then use the jack in the other side ?
Do one side first and when you are satisfied then do the other
@@RaymondUrias thanks man!
Huge suggestion. Never touch the pre load
Thank you!!!
Is it the same process for the rear? I’m confused because the spring wiggles around freely even with preload very tight. Do I Jack up the rear spring until it’s tight then adjust preload? First time ever doing coils and I’m really confused haha
The rear of the car in this case the Mercedes the spring which is located towards the center of the vehicle controls the ride height not the preload the preload is controlled by the shocks in the rear of the car they are not combined as one unit like the front of the vehicle.
The spring should not be loose it should not be able to move up and down if your experiencing this there's a chance you probably forgot to put your isolator on which is the rubber piece that goes on the top and the bottom of the spring in the back of the vehicle. The front spring should not be able to move up and down either it should be able to spin freely that's because this particular coilover uses plastic couplers so it can slide and twist. I do have another video for the rear but it's not that good mainly because I lost the camera footage
@@RaymondUrias thanks for the help! Mine is individual as well (the spring and strut). I know I didn't forget the rubber piece, and the car is riding great so far (as in no noise or bottoming out), however, its super bouncy in the rear. I feel like it has something to do with preload because the front is super smooth and comfortable, and the preload was easy to adjust. I'm gunna have to keep looking for videos specific to my car haha. Thanks again!
Easiest instructional video I’ve seen on UA-cam cause others extrapolate too much and some are so vague to the point you gotta watch the video 10x’s.. I only had to watch once.
My project is a 98 Lexus LS and I’m working with Megan Racing EZII coil-over system and 20” Enkei Lusso.