[razzle45]

I purchased a set of ST coilovers a few months ago and have been tinkering with them since. How are you supposed to properly set the ride height? I originally counted the number of threads and set the front L+R to be equal and the back L+R to be equal but they sit at different heights from left to right. I measured it both from the ground to the fender and wheel to fender but get different heights on both sides? Are you supposed to set the left and right to a different number of threads to achieve the same height? Someone please tell me what I'm doing wrong here. Thanks!

[ClintimusPrime]

Equal measurements don’t always mean equal heights. Need to pick the height you want and adjust each side to that overall height. My Ohlins were the same way…measured both the same, but on the ground one side was lower.

[SevenNine]

Originally Posted by razzle45

I purchased a set of ST coilovers a few months ago and have been tinkering with them since. How are you supposed to properly set the ride height? I originally counted the number of threads and set the front L+R to be equal and the back L+R to be equal but they sit at different heights from left to right. I measured it both from the ground to the fender and wheel to fender but get different heights on both sides? Are you supposed to set the left and right to a different number of threads to achieve the same height? Someone please tell me what I'm doing wrong here. Thanks!

How is the ride on these coilovers? Have you played with adjusting the dampening? Was your stock suspension the adaptable one or the static one?

[razzle45]

I had the adaptive suspension. Drove it stock in Newport Beach and Houston for about a year then put it on springs for a year before changing to coils. I've experienced the suspension on every type of road from the worst of the worst in Houston to the best backroads of California. The stock suspension is relatively soft in my opinion. When changing to sport of course the dampening stiffens up and you get more feel but it's nothing compared to true coilovers.

Springs are exactly what people say they are, they are a cheap solution to one part of the problem. If you solely want to lower the car then yes springs are a good option. And yes, the car handles better because the center of gravity is substantially lower. But at the end of the day, the stock shocks were not designed for lowering springs. So the difference in travel and spring rates makes the ride feel very bouncy because it's almost as if the car is just sitting on top of the springs. Coilovers are different in that the spring rate is aligned with the shock travel. With this you get much better handling because the shock travel is designed for lower ride heights.

The ST coilovers have 16 clicks of adjustability. I initially had it set to 12 all around. Granted, I like to feel every little crevice in the road. I wanted to see what they're capable of but read that you should never set it to maximum firmness. So I stiffened it further to 14 on the front and 12 on the rear. When I say you can feel everything, you truly can feel everything. One thing to keep in mind is sidewall and tire pressures will also affect the ride.

One thing to note with the coilovers is that if you adjust your ride height to something lower, even if you do not adjust the rebound rate, you will feel the road more. So if you really want to feel everything slamming it will make you feel more. I originally had it set up so it sits right over the fender. While it was fun, I found my back to tense up in anticipation for a firm ride. I raised it to sit about an inch or so above the tires and while you don't feel as much it performs much better, especially with poor roads like Houston. You can hold higher speeds through corners much better. While generally you would think slamming it would give you more grip and lower center of gravity, changes in elevation on the road cause for inconsistent tire travel. So if you make the car sit right of the tire and set it to near max compression, the entire car will in a sense jump over the crevice. Raising it to be slightly more over the tire will make the tires max out the compression height at a certain point that is prior to the bouncing point.

Below is photo with before and after I raised it and a pic with the final ride height I ended with. This was after about 10+ adjustments.

[SevenNine]

Originally Posted by razzle45

I had the adaptive suspension. Drove it stock in Newport Beach and Houston for about a year then put it on springs for a year before changing to coils. I've experienced the suspension on every type of road from the worst of the worst in Houston to the best backroads of California. The stock suspension is relatively soft in my opinion. When changing to sport of course the dampening stiffens up and you get more feel but it's nothing compared to true coilovers.

Springs are exactly what people say they are, they are a cheap solution to one part of the problem. If you solely want to lower the car then yes springs are a good option. And yes, the car handles better because the center of gravity is substantially lower. But at the end of the day, the stock shocks were not designed for lowering springs. So the difference in travel and spring rates makes the ride feel very bouncy because it's almost as if the car is just sitting on top of the springs. Coilovers are different in that the spring rate is aligned with the shock travel. With this you get much better handling because the shock travel is designed for lower ride heights.

The ST coilovers have 16 clicks of adjustability. I initially had it set to 12 all around. Granted, I like to feel every little crevice in the road. I wanted to see what they're capable of but read that you should never set it to maximum firmness. So I stiffened it further to 14 on the front and 12 on the rear. When I say you can feel everything, you truly can feel everything. One thing to keep in mind is sidewall and tire pressures will also affect the ride.

One thing to note with the coilovers is that if you adjust your ride height to something lower, even if you do not adjust the rebound rate, you will feel the road more. So if you really want to feel everything slamming it will make you feel more. I originally had it set up so it sits right over the fender. While it was fun, I found my back to tense up in anticipation for a firm ride. I raised it to sit about an inch or so above the tires and while you don't feel as much it performs much better, especially with poor roads like Houston. You can hold higher speeds through corners much better. While generally you would think slamming it would give you more grip and lower center of gravity, changes in elevation on the road cause for inconsistent tire travel. So if you make the car sit right of the tire and set it to near max compression, the entire car will in a sense jump over the crevice. Raising it to be slightly more over the tire will make the tires max out the compression height at a certain point that is prior to the bouncing point.

Below is photo with before and after I raised it and a pic with the final ride height I ended with. This was after about 10+ adjustments.

I appreciate the detailed feedback. I see your car has the stock Supra wheels. I got them on my car too with Michelin PS4 tires 245/40 front and 275/35 rear. My tire pressure is set at 32 front, 33 rear. I like the current ride quality with the stock adjustable suspension in Sport setting. I'm most likely going for 1 finger gap lowering.
Do the ST coilovers come preset or with recommended setting for the dampening out of the box? Also, is the ride quality affected by the lowering amount? I read/heard that the BC Racing coilovers ride quality is independent of their lowering.
I'm between these two options due to the price appeal. I've received recommendations for both so far.

[razzle45]

Originally Posted by SevenNine

I appreciate the detailed feedback. I see your car has the stock Supra wheels. I got them on my car too with Michelin PS4 tires 245/40 front and 275/35 rear. My tire pressure is set at 32 front, 33 rear. I like the current ride quality with the stock adjustable suspension in Sport setting. I'm most likely going for 1 finger gap lowering.
Do the ST coilovers come preset or with recommended setting for the dampening out of the box? Also, is the ride quality affected by the lowering amount? I read/heard that the BC Racing coilovers ride quality is independent of their lowering.
I'm between these two options due to the price appeal. I've received recommendations for both so far.

My current setup has 255/35 front and 285/35 on the rear. Pressures sitting at 34 front and 38 rear ambient temperature. I believe they come preset by the manufactur but maybe double check somewhere on that. Yes, the ride quality is certainly affected by ride height. While that is a major let down, the quality of shocks your getting from ST is certainly going to be leagues ahead of some cheap chinese trash they pump out. They are also TUV certified so keep that in mind if a few years down the line they go out or sit different they originally had. I've read some reviews that they every few months they have to adjust it more cause it sags more with time/miles.

That aside the price difference is still there cause BC would come with camber plates whereas ST do not. So when I did the coils I also had to buy new top hats cause the prior ones were apparently blown out, but unlikely situation for you if your on stock everything. Unless maybe with a lot of miles but I'm not sure, you'd have to ask someone more qualified for that. But it was $300 or $400 can't remember exactly what but an additional cost never the less.

[Throatpunch]

Let car settle on flat surface- add enough weight on front seat to simulate your bodyweight, measure wheel center to top of fender. Based on that you will adjust collars to make the distances similiar on both sides.

[SevenNine]

Originally Posted by razzle45

My current setup has 255/35 front and 285/35 on the rear. Pressures sitting at 34 front and 38 rear ambient temperature. I believe they come preset by the manufactur but maybe double check somewhere on that. Yes, the ride quality is certainly affected by ride height. While that is a major let down, the quality of shocks your getting from ST is certainly going to be leagues ahead of some cheap chinese trash they pump out. They are also TUV certified so keep that in mind if a few years down the line they go out or sit different they originally had. I've read some reviews that they every few months they have to adjust it more cause it sags more with time/miles.

That aside the price difference is still there cause BC would come with camber plates whereas ST do not. So when I did the coils I also had to buy new top hats cause the prior ones were apparently blown out, but unlikely situation for you if your on stock everything. Unless maybe with a lot of miles but I'm not sure, you'd have to ask someone more qualified for that. But it was $300 or $400 can't remember exactly what but an additional cost never the less.

I used an online tire pressure calculator to determine the psi on my tires. I think you might be a little overinflated on the rear at 38 (assuming your tires size is 285/30 actually). That will give you slightly stiffer ride. When I first put my bigger tires with the Supra wheels the shop set the psi at 38 front and rear, per stock. It was brutal ride. I went back and had them adjust it to 33f/34r. That made a huge difference in ride quality.
Did you use EDC cancellation kit or did you code out the EDC?

[razzle45]

Originally Posted by SevenNine

I used an online tire pressure calculator to determine the psi on my tires. I think you might be a little overinflated on the rear at 38 (assuming your tires size is 285/30 actually). That will give you slightly stiffer ride. When I first put my bigger tires with the Supra wheels the shop set the psi at 38 front and rear, per stock. It was brutal ride. I went back and had them adjust it to 33f/34r. That made a huge difference in ride quality.
Did you use EDC cancellation kit or did you code out the EDC?

I coded it out. Looked it up on the forums and just got the bimmerLink license and did it myself.

What website did you use? No, I'm actually on 285/35 on the rear. On my door card it says 38 all around but I had 225/35 squared from factory vs my friend who got the 255 on the rears stock I believe his says 38 front and 42 rear. I originally tried to get my tires to be at that psi(38/42) when they're relatively warm at about 105. I realized a lot of my city driving its on cold tires tho so I aired them up to be close to that cold.

[SevenNine]

Originally Posted by razzle45

I coded it out. Looked it up on the forums and just got the bimmerLink license and did it myself.

What website did you use? No, I'm actually on 285/35 on the rear. On my door card it says 38 all around but I had 225/35 squared from factory vs my friend who got the 255 on the rears stock I believe his says 38 front and 42 rear. I originally tried to get my tires to be at that psi(38/42) when they're relatively warm at about 105. I realized a lot of my city driving its on cold tires tho so I aired them up to be close to that cold.

I used this website:

https://tiresize.com/pressure-calculator/

On my car it actually says 39psi front and rear for the stock 225/40 front and 255/35 rear PS4s. When I used the calculator it showed me that the new tires (245/40-275/35) should be 33psi front and 34psi rear.

[peelerec]

Originally Posted by razzle45

I coded it out. Looked it up on the forums and just got the bimmerLink license and did it myself.

What website did you use? No, I'm actually on 285/35 on the rear. On my door card it says 38 all around but I had 225/35 squared from factory vs my friend who got the 255 on the rears stock I believe his says 38 front and 42 rear. I originally tried to get my tires to be at that psi(38/42) when they're relatively warm at about 105. I realized a lot of my city driving its on cold tires tho so I aired them up to be close to that cold.

The door card for most G20’s pertains to run flat psi. If you are running a summer performance tire, 38/42 cold is too high.

[SnowBob]

razzle45 do you have a shop recommendation in Houston? I just got the ST XA put in but I'm having a clunk on the rear axle that I can't get to the bottom with my installer.
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0438...xVCZvIKAkaYW0w

[razzle45]

Originally Posted by SnowBob

razzle45 do you have a shop recommendation in Houston? I just got the ST XA put in but I'm having a clunk on the rear axle that I can't get to the bottom with my installer.
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0438...xVCZvIKAkaYW0w

I'm just down the road from you haha. Ya I got them installed at a place called 4 Low Concepts. Also I will say he left the dust boot at the top of the strut and now the shocks are vulnerable to outside elements and the rubber is ripped. I will say everything seemed to have been installed correctly outside of that. Let them know I recommended you, I kind of left off with them on a bad note.

My instagram is @m340i.htx. I respond quicker there if you have any other questions.

[razzle45]

Originally Posted by ClintimusPrime

Equal measurements don’t always mean equal heights. Need to pick the height you want and adjust each side to that overall height. My Ohlins were the same way…measured both the same, but on the ground one side was lower.

How did you measure exactly? This has been annoying me for months now. I got a metal caliper tool to measure the gap from the top of the rim to the fender and everytime I measure it on a new surface I get different numbers. I set the tire air pressure to exactly the same but for some reason I get different measurements nearly everytime.

I set the the rear left to 12 threads and rear right to 14 threads. I also park in a garage that is angled with the left side taking more weight.

[ClintimusPrime]

Originally Posted by SnowBob

razzle45 do you have a shop recommendation in Houston? I just got the ST XA put in but I'm having a clunk on the rear axle that I can't get to the bottom with my installer.
If you haven’t gotten it done, St00pidfast in Houston is who you should call.

[ClintimusPrime]

Originally Posted by razzle45

How did you measure exactly? This has been annoying me for months now. I got a metal caliper tool to measure the gap from the top of the rim to the fender and everytime I measure it on a new surface I get different numbers. I set the tire air pressure to exactly the same but for some reason I get different measurements nearly everytime.

I set the the rear left to 12 threads and rear right to 14 threads. I also park in a garage that is angled with the left side taking more weight.

Well your first problem sounds like you aren’t measuring on level ground. That will have a huge effect on the car.

Doesn’t matter which side takes on more weight, won’t effect them or make the car sit funny.

Find somewhere level then measure and adjust. Only way to get it set correctly.