Megan Racing coilovers setup before install...

[ZLODEY]

a) If someone could make an advice on how to setup Megan Racing coilovers before installing them? Ideal situation would be to know what height parameters should I use to get 1.3” (~35mm) drop for the front and rear

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b) Also... We have 62.180.014F/006R which means 180mm spring height on the front and rear coilovers. My question would be should it have some preload (pressed a bit) of ~5-10mm or should I leave it as it is?

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[c5chris]

PM eclipsegsx1736 in this forum. He has been running Megan coilovers for a while now in his 2G.

 

[meliketoball]

It's your preference buddy.

 

[ZmanIV]

When I set up my coilovers (D2) I installed them after I took measurements all around.
I had to turn out the spring preload a lot (previous owner had way too much) released them untill the springs were just resting on the perches.
Then I measured the height, removed the wheel again and turned the lower section of the shock till I was at the heigth I wanted the car.
Dont forget that when you install them you will need to get the car realigned or you will tear up tires.
A rear camber kit will help also.

 

[eclipsegsx1736]

As far as the ride height, the factory setting was very low. I ended up raising mine from the default position maybe 1 inch in front and 1.5 inches in back or something, but then again my car isn't low at all, not too much lower than stock especially in back. Ideally you want to have the front lower control arms flat level with the ground, then have the rear of the car maybe 1/2 inch higher than that. If the lower control arms are pointing up (outer arm by tire is higher than arm by subframe), you're ruining the geometry (and handling) of the suspension. Unfortunately it doesn't take a huge drop to get it to this point.

I can't comment on your specific settings. Every car is different, and even left to right settings will be slightly different. Just throw them on, see where they are, take measurements, and then readjust. You don't have to pull the whole coilover out, for the front just loosen the bolt that holds the bottom of the shock body, and twist the shock body after loosening the red retaining things (wtf are they called again?) until you get to the desired height. For the rear, remove the 2 nuts holding the top of the coilover to the strut tower, and then lift the car. The coilovers will pull out of the strut tower from the weight of the wheels. Remove the wheels, loosen the red retaining THING, and then twist the whole shock assembly (just the bottom shock body won't move, since it's bolted to the bottom of the suspension.) These are the easiest ways I've found to adjust the coilovers. It will definitely take many times to get them where you want it especially if you are picky as hell like me. Once you get them there, ideally you'd have the car corner balanced at that point.

As far as preload, these are linear rate springs so the preload won't affect the performance except to take away from your shock travel. Since the springs are 180mm tall, get the spring length to maybe 175mm to make sure that the spring is tight, but no more preload than that is necessary. Since your're AWD I'd suggest ordering the 62.180.008 spring for the rear to bump up the rear spring rate. I'd ONLY suggest that after you drive the car with the current spring rates first and see how you like them. Going from the 6 to the 8kg rear made a definite noticeable difference.

Let me know if you have any other questions. -Beau

 

[gixxerdrew]

Preload doesnt affect shock travel, but the position of the collar does. Also preload effects the amount of force required for *initial* movement and nothing after that. You can preload to the point where your suspension doesnt move but that would be an insane amount of preload!

If you want to have the sleeves adjusted for height prior to installing them you need to measure your corner weights, motion ratios and current position of your sleeves. Then you can calculate what it should be knowing your current spring rates and lower spring perch position. With that said it will probably be easier to ballpark it and adjust afterward. Best thing is to sit on level ground and measure from the ground to the fender lip or some other points on the body. Also leave yourself a little leway. Its not unusual for your car to "settle" another 1/2" after you install a new suspension over the first little while of ownership.

The way to calculate is measure the distance from LCA mount point to spring perch, control arm end to lower shock mount and lower shock mount to control arm inner. calculate your motion ratio and thus the wheel rate of each spring and then use your corner weight to know how much the springs will compress relative to eachother (old vs new) and adjust your sleeve by the measurements.

Wheelrate = spring rate/motion ratio squared

You can also use this calculator to get your wheel rate and then go from there.
Speed Calculation Math

 

[ZLODEY]

Thanks everyone

...Since your're AWD I'd suggest ordering the 62.180.008 spring for the rear to bump up the rear spring rate...

There also was an opinion to leave rear springs but replace front with 62.180.012

 

[ZLODEY]

Installed

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[95eclipser]

they look sick!! but in the end its all up to your opinion on ride quality

 

[c5chris]

Please give us your review of the coilovers. I will be picking up a whole set in the coming days.

What spring rates did you go with? I may just go with the regular rates since mine is a daily driver and I want them to be relatively comfortable.

Nice work!!!

 

[ZLODEY]

My car is a long term project so I'm not driving it now. I have F14kg/R6kg "from the box" springs and as long as I tried it with 16of32clicks I would say it feels much-much-much better then stock

 

[ZLODEY]

Does anyone has them as well? What F/R damper parameters would you recommend to start with???

 

[ZLODEY]

I'm struggling with rear-end dampening parameters or it's a rear spring which is not the best choice for AWD Front is OK, but rear is "jumping" through the bump-stops at any settings (Hard>Soft x 30 clicks now). I see other manufacturers offer 200mm spring for the rear, maybe this is a good idea? 62.200.006 or 62.200.008

 

[c5chris]

Could be the reason why it was suggested by Beau to go for the heavier spring rate for the back.

Not really clear why youre hitting the bumpstops. Do you have a pic of the rear?

 

[eclipsegsx1736]

I'm struggling with rear-end dampening parameters or it's a rear spring which is not the best choice for AWD Front is OK, but rear is "jumping" through the bump-stops at any settings (Hard>Soft x 30 clicks now). I see other manufacturers offer 200mm spring for the rear, maybe this is a good idea? 62.200.006 or 62.200.008

There's definitely something wrong. Even with the 6kg rear rate the suspension is very stiff and should never get near the bumpstops even on the softest setting. Is your car slammed or something? When hitting a bump or dip, even on the softest setting the suspension should compress slightly and immediately return to the rest position with no other oscillation.

 

[eclipsegsx1736]

Does anyone has them as well? What F/R damper parameters would you recommend to start with???

It is hard for anyone to recommend damper settings. You just have to experiment and decide what works for your paticular car and preference. Car setup, weight, type of driving, road conditions, ride comfort prederence, and many other things affect the optimal damper setting. Start softer than you'd think. Too stiff of a setting may feel great in the twisties due to the complete lack of body roll, but you will also stiffen up the rebound too stiff, not allowing the tire to return to the ground quickly enough which will just work against you.

 

[rowland2004]

is it pretty easy to change your Struts/Shocks all the way around at home with the car jacked up.

 

[ZLODEY]

There's definitely something wrong. Even with the 6kg rear rate the suspension is very stiff and should never get near the bumpstops even on the softest setting. Is your car slammed or something? When hitting a bump or dip, even on the softest setting the suspension should compress slightly and immediately return to the rest position with no other oscillation.

No, no, no, I'm not hitting anything Vice versa, what I'm trying to say is that in the rear it is very stiff at any settings That's why I'm thinking of which spring could help rear-end to work properly = to make it SOFTER ... Should it be even softer then 6kg or stiffer - 8kg, maybe higher - 200mm spring, or both parameters together

 

[eclipsegsx1736]

No, no, no, I'm not hitting anything Vice versa, what I'm trying to say is that in the rear it is very stiff at any settings That's why I'm thinking of which spring could help rear-end to work properly = to make it SOFTER ... Should it be even softer then 6kg or stiffer - 8kg, maybe higher - 200mm spring, or both parameters together

I'm not sure I understand what you mean. Your other post mentioned the bumpstops which was confusing since you shouldnt even get close to them, especially now that you are saying the rear is too stiff. What is actually happening that makes you think the rear is too STIFF?

 

[ZLODEY]

When I go through the bumpstops (this is just for example ), front is dampening quite OK (I like it), but rear... it looks to me that it's not dampening at all , whole rear-end (not the suspension only) just goes up ant then down. I don't want to make you think that rear coilover doesn't do its job at all, but compare to front-end it looks/feels so Just like suspension would be full hard, you know what I mean.
So if dampening setting are already on max soft, then this is sping I could do something about, right? Maybe 62.200mm.6-5kg will help

 

[gixxerdrew]

When I go through the bumpstops (this is just for example ), front is dampening quite OK (I like it), but rear... it looks to me that it's not dampening at all , whole rear-end (not the suspension only) just goes up ant then down. I don't want to make you think that rear coilover doesn't do its job at all, but compare to front-end it looks/feels so Just like suspension would be full hard, you know what I mean.
So if dampening setting are already on max soft, then this is sping I could do something about, right? Maybe 62.200mm.6-5kg will help

Basically they have only one valving and they just make it stiffer or softer depending on spring rate/application. So as the spring rates get softer you end up with not enough rebound damping in parts of the curve (bouncy feeling). The damping curve for inexpensive shocks is typically a straight line progressive, linear.

Theres not much you can do except to adjust it higher to get enough low speed damping at the cost of wayyy too much high speed damping (comfort) or buy a better damper.

 

[ZLODEY]

Theres not much you can do except to adjust it higher to get enough low speed damping at the cost of wayyy too much high speed damping (comfort) or buy a better damper.

Thanks for input! But then, maybe it's a good idea not to "adjust higher", but to get a higher spring which will have more space to move? Same or maybe even stiffer 8kg as was suggested before...
BTW who is selling those springs separately

 

[ZLODEY]

?????

 

[redtsi252]

Those are nice Coilovers I have been wanting some for a while now....any pix of the car dropped from the outside?

 

[marcelo_caz]

So with the adjustable height on the coilovers, how low can I drop my car?
Can lower to the point that my tire will be touching the fender?
Like on a point that if I see a bumb on the road I have to go back and look for another street to drive through