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[Webby the Bear]

No don't worry I haven't bought a 'max power' magazine and going to pimp my ''mega'' and all that ghetto shite 

however, had a bmw 3 series come in yesterday for rear brakes and coilover adjustment.... was quite interesting as ive never adjusted these before.

so begrudgingly I suppose I should take the time to figure out how to adjust these properly in case a car comes in wanting it done.

so we'll take the first image google provided 



my understanding is that where the green dot is...that's the locking ring for once you've done your adjustment?
red you turn to the left to lower the ride height, blue you turn to the right to higher the ride height. correct?

I think theres a similar principle with the rears?

so, now weve got that out of the way (cant stand mods personally but each to his own)........who thinks lowered cars look good? I think it makes cars look shite in my opinion. yeahwe can talk about suspension/alignment affects but as im never going to do it I don't care about that.... the look of them, whos thinking they look cool? and why?

and wheel spacers??? wtf are they about (this car had them on just the front only) why!!!!!???!!!! I get that theyre for the ''wider'' look but again how on earth does that make it look good?

discuss!

(ps my moneys on gixer being first poster about extra load on bearings, suspension etc  sorry gix couldn't resist

[Webby the Bear]

oh and of course, bust the lock nut loose first and spin it upwards so you got room for your adjustment and so it doesn't ''lock'' as you make the adjustment?

[106pete]

New coilovers like that need adjusting from the base, you'd slacken off the green ring and unscrew the base up or down according to what you want. The spring locking rings shouldn't be moved. They are in preset positions but yes that's where older designs of coilovers would be adjusted.

Spacers on the wheels are just for looks or brake clearance.  I've used them with no issues but they should increase wear to major components over a long period.

[EMD]

Dont like the lowered look at all  Wheel spacers give a nice stance and fill out the wheel arches nicely imo  Hub centric only though .
We use to jack up our cars years ago on the rear leaf springs 

[Webby the Bear]

thanks boys.

106pete...

with the newer coil overs you adjustat the base.... so you slacken off the lock nut (don't touch the red or blue riings at all) and presumably rotate part of the shock body then? 

[106pete]

Yeah you can either undo the lower bolt and spin the body around or screw the shock around but your fighting the spring tension so isn't always the easy option.

I love coilovers and wish the omega had a decent set on the market!

[Webby the Bear]

got ya cheers mate.

re the omega.... ive seen a few lowered omegas in my time.... are these simply smaller length springs fitted and not coilovers then?

[Vamps]

Dont like the lowered look at all  Wheel spacers give a nice stance and fill out the wheel arches nicely imo  Hub centric only though .
We use to jack up our cars years ago on the rear leaf springs 

[/highlight]

I remember those days well.................

[Twintop]

And did you corner weigh the car after tho,coilovers are not just for lowering but for setting the car up using the correct gear to get the weight right for handling etc.

[chrisgixer]

No experience with coil overs either Weby.

But Generally speaking from experience with bike suspension;

Green. locking ring ride height. Top part of the shock is fixed to the turret so rotating the base lengthens or shortens the shock length and hence alters the ride height.

Red. Lock ring for blue.

Blue. Pre loads the spring to a given amount, usually to the all up weight of the car, which is known ordinarily, unless there's been a major change like interior removal for racing etc. also in some cases it can allows unloading the spring for removal. If a firmer spring is required, say.

Usually if fitting something of that nature I'd expect to see some sort of damping adjustment. Compression and rebound damping at least, possibly with extra adjustment for high and low speed damping on each.

The expense of these simply to lower the car for appearance purposes is daft though IMO. Lowering has its uses for lower c of g and allowing firmer/less wallowy suspension set ups to achieve flatter and more precise cornering. But to simply lower a car for appearance without understanding the implications on the geometry and contact patch is a bit retarded tbh. Sorry. Just is.

I've seen cars so rock hard and with such poor geo they become death traps. Seriously hindering performance at best.

Spacers. Again have their uses to alter the wheel position. In instance of this for omegas is Irmscher sport stars for the vectra and their et of 38. It's too close to the chock body with some tyre sizes so a wheel spacer can be fitted to give more room and stop the inner tyre side wall rubbing on the shock body under cornering loads and tyre deflection.

[chrisgixer]

Although I would add, just fitting spacers for appearance is again, bit retarded if not understanding the implications on the rest of the components. Moving the wheel out board means it will sit nearer the wheel arch under bump compression so risking damage or wear to the tyre and arch, as well as alter the load centre on the wheel bearing as mentioned. Plus the obvious need to fit longer wheel bolts to account for the now limited thread in the hub. Hopefully enough to keep the wheel attached to the car, unlike some dick head round the corner who's wheel came sailing past my neighbours car on braking for a round about. Ffs!

But, sometimes, needs must.

[Webby the Bear]

understood chris thanks

so the lowered omegas ive seen have simply been shorter length, unadjustable springs?

[chrisgixer]

understood chris thanks

so the lowered omegas ive seen have simply been shorter length, unadjustable springs?

. Correct. Assuming the post that no coil overs are available for the omega is correct. Then yes most likely.

There are some adjusters avsilable for the rears but they involve a shorter spring to make room for them. Iirc anywa.

[Webby the Bear]

cheers mate, helpful as ever 

[Diamond Black Geezer]

I'd love to get the wheels out just a little more on mine, just add a bit to the track, but all I know is it does add excess wear to your bearings, and also there's several options out there for how to do it. Now how much real-world wear does it add? No idea. I know a guy who's sell me a pair of used bearings for a tenner, so often pondered for that kind of outlay, if, after 6 months the front bearings are knackered, well, I'm a tenner down. If, after 6 years I'm still fine, well, happy days.

One of those 'try and see' things... but I'm not brave enough, haha.