Finally got my Cross coilovers installed, yesterday, but the shop that did it wasn't able to get the uniform ride heigths I wanted (they didn't have a flat patch of garage floor or nearby street to take accurate measurements from the ground to the wheel arch).

Can anyone tell me step-by-step how to adjust Cross coilover wheel heights
which I believe should be done before an alignment to set camber and toe?

Pix showing which rings on the coilovers get turned to raise (or lower) the car would also be very helpful, if anyone has some.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

 

Your shop should have given you all of the info you needed. Try calling them.

 

Actually, I called them, this afternoon, but was unable to get a clear explanation of what to do. Eventually, they accused me of harrassing them.

So, I'm still just trying to find out which ring(s) on the coilover gets turned, and in which direction to raise the car a bit.

 

I think I know who you used. They are a vendor on this site, yes? Located next to a brewery? Am I warm?

 

I’ll take a stab at your question:

Before you go changing ride height, I’d suggest you put some miles on your new bits and make sure everything is settled. I’ve seen Eibach springs change as much as .25 inches. Once you’ve put on a couple hundred miles, consider the following:

When I’m dink’n around with ride height on the ‘M’, I measure from the lower/bottom edge of the rim perpendicular to the edge of the fender. Ride height is determined from the center of the axle to the 12 o’clock point in the wheel arch. Using the formula:

Edge of rim to fender arch, minus (Diameter of rim, divided by 2). This will give me a fairly accurate ride height. Example:

22 5/16” (22.3125 – (19.625/2)) = 12.5”

IMO, unless you’re going to corner balance your car, you don’t need a perfectly level surface to adjust ride height using the above method.

Most coilovers have a threaded spring perch that is split with a cap screw. When tightened, locks the ring to the threaded body of the shock. Others have a matching lock ring that you tighten against one another. I’m gonna venture a guess that you have the first type.

Using the above method, determine where each corner of the car is at and write down these values.

To make your life a bit simpler, you should determine what one turn of the spring perch equates to in terms of height adjustment. To do this, first take a base measurement, then jack up the car (following the necessary safety precautions), loosen up the perch, screw the perch up/counter clockwise 4 turns exactly. Tighten up the perch, put the wheel back on (torque the lug bolts/nuts) and drive the car around the block to get the suspension to settle. When you get back, measure the ride height. Subtract the new ride height from the baseline. Take the difference and divide by 4. Now you know what one turn of the perch does to ride height.

Armed with that value, now you’re ready to set your ride height. Assuming you have a specific ride height in mind, determine the difference with where the car currently sits (make sure you reset the corner you used to determine the spring perch – remove the 4 turns) and where you want to wind up. Divide the difference by the value of what one turn of the spring perch equates to and now you know how many turns to either add(up) or subtract(down) to get the desired height.

"Rinse and repeat" on all four corners.


Hope this helps

 

Excellent post, hdvato! Very informative, thanks.