archimense

So last night I finished installing my new front axles and new Stasis Track Sports with 550 fronts, and 650 rears. Everything went great until I had to adjust the height of the rear suspension.

The front suspension is set at equal heights on the coilover spring perches and has equal wheel gap on both sides; all good. The rear suspension though, after adjusting both coilover spring perches to be the same height, the right rear of the car has about half an inch to an inch less wheel gap than the left. To even out both sides I had to lower the rear left spring perch to the very bottom, and raise the right spring perch by half an inch.

I talked to Stasis today and they said I must have installed something wrong, and that two wheels would have to have the wrong wheel gap. They said that with the suspension if you raised one corner, it would push down the diagonally opposite corner. But for my car, it seems like only one corner is off.

When I got home tonight I jacked up the front of the car and rested the frame rails on jack stands. The front wheels or suspension were not holding the car up at all, just the jack stands on a flat level surface. Even with the front in the air, and level, the rear suspension still had the uneven wheel gap. So I figure the problem must just be in the rears. So I pull the rear suspension apart and check everything, and here is what I found.

Spring profile:
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/86435/spring_profile.jpg">

Top of the springs:
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/86435/spring_height.jpg">

Looking down on the springs:
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/86435/spring_top.jpg">

Bottom of the springs:
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/86435/spring_bottom_1.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/86435/spring_bottom_2.jpg">

It appears as though the spring on the high side of the rear of my car is 1/8th of an inch longer, and it has an extra quarter of of a spring coil. If you look at the picture of the tops of the springs you can see the extra height. If you look at the picture of the bottom of the springs you can see the extra part of a coil. Both springs are labelled "650" but they do not appear to be the same.

I measured everything three times, even tried three different garages to make sure the ground was level, and faced the car in two directions to double check height measurements. I checked the entire installation three times, and everything is the same height, and was done properly.

Anyone else think this spring is my problem?

Stätus Josh

you ALWAYS have to adjust ride height after a coilover install.

archimense

Stasis told me that having 3/4 an inch difference in the adjustment is not normal

Stätus Josh

so there must be some other issue.

sorry I can't be more help.

archimense

It's a possibility at this point.

Also Stasis states that a 0.7 inch change in the spring height will cause a 1.0 inch change in the wheel height.

Thanks for the help regardless.

Jeff Vader - boscoj

just measure them with 650 lbs on each spring . . .

archimense

The left rear is still lower than the right rear even after switching the dampers and springs from side to side. So I guess this means the problem isn't the springs.

As far as I can figure then... either my frame isn't straight, or something isn't installed properly in the front and is affecting the rear. The strange thing is that the problem did not go away when the front of the car was jacked up and only the rears were touching.

Think it is worth going to a body shop to get my chassis checked for any twists?

GrandPaJohn

I'd check the height with the old springs before I did anything else

FourDs

I had installed everything correctly, just like you. Honestly, I took it to a shop and I think they took care of the ride height and did my alignment at the same time for around $100 or so.

Unfortunately, I don't know what they did to fix it, but at least you know others have suffered this issue.

lemieux@curbside

LOL ... NO .. put the longer one on the driver side