I've been trying to adjust my ohlin road and track coilovers to a more appropriate height for the winter, preferably as close to stock as possible. The owners manual and the mounting instructions (two different booklets) for the coilovers indicate , what seems to me at least, as two different "maximum" ride height adjustments. I had an installer put them in for me this summer so I am not sure what the original "standard" height was exactly. From what I can deduce from the front coilover mounting instructions, the "standard" position is 401 mm from camber adjuster to the top eyelet of the upright bracket (see picture). This page also says that the adjustment range is the standard position +/- 15mm.

So 401 mm +/- 15 mm is the range from the camber adjuster.

The owners manual (see picture) says that the bracket may not be adjusted below the caution line.

The issue is that the only caution line I saw on the front coilovers was WAY below 15mm from the "standard" position. As you can see in the picture , the caution line is at over 460 mm from the camber adjuster, or 59 mm from the "standard" position when the mounting instruction say I *should* only got to 401+15 = 416 mm. This is a far cry from the 460 mm of the caution line.

So how high can I really go and how high *should* I go? Is my "standard" point of reference off or can I NOT go all the way to the actual caution line (even though it says I can in one of the pages), as that seems super high. I have picture of what my ride height looks like at caution line. Maybe I got used to the summer lowered look and the taller summer tires, but it seems like its way higher than stock now, the wheel gap is huge.

 

I think that the problem is this: in your third picture, you (or someone else) has added the label "top eyelet" at the bottom of the 401 mm span. But the top eyelet is not what they are measuring to. The 401 mm refers to the distance from the shoulder on the shock's shaft (which is in line with the upper plate due to the bearing in the plate, so that part is fine) to the bottom of the shock. The bottom end of the measurement is not eyelet; that was just a coincidence. If the bottom of your shock is not in line with the upper eyelet (again, by coincidence), then your comparison is faulty.

As to what height to run, I'd go about 1/2" above stock and run slightly tall tires (e.g., 225/45/18). I'm on 26" tires for winter and love it.

 

Thanks again for your timely responses Iowa,

So the top bolt on the upright bracket (below the "caution line" identified in red in picture two) which holds/squeezes the upright bracket onto the strut is "top eyelet" in picture 3 (mounting instructions), but what they are actually trying to point to is the bottom of the strut inside the upright bracket? Please confirm if I am understanding you correctly.

If that is true, how can I tell where the bottom of the strut is? Its inside the upright bracket. That's a useless measurement they are giving me (and they shouldn't point right to the middle of the eyelet either as its really misleading).I think Im missing something here

 

That's correct. It's just a coincidence that the upper hole on the bracket lined up with the bottom of the shock. It's the bottom of the shock that matters to that measurement.

You can either measure upwards, inside the bracket, from the bottom, and then subtract. Or you can take it apart and measure the distance from, e.g., the top of the lower threading to the bottom of the shock.

I agree that it seems a useless measurement, but to those who either care about the total length of the shock for rules reasons or for total travel calculations, it is useful.

 

Ok so the total length of the strut/shock is only 401 mm according to the diagram? That cant be right since im already at over 460 mm at the caution line. Btw what is the stock height? Like how can i measure that, from the middle of the center wheel cap to the fender?

Also if you say that you put the car at 1/2 inch over stock, wouldn't that be outside the *acceptable* range. The range is +/- 15mm from the standard position. The standard position is 25mm below stock according to the mounting instructions. That would put the max height a 10 mm below stock if you only adjust the lower upright racket. I suppose you're achieving this height by adjusting the lock nut and spring platform nut with the c-spanner?

 

I just stared at those pictures you posted and I think I'm completely wrong. Assuming that those pictures are from the instructions for an Evo X in particular, I now think that they really are saying that suggested set-up is 401 mm from plate to upper bolt-hole. If that's too low and you are already seeing the caution line, then raise the car using the upper adjuster (aka "pre-load adjuster") instead. This isn't optimal in terms of setting the bump vs droop travel, but if you aren't rallycrossing, it will be fine.

Sorry that I didn't read all that you posted more carefully earlier. Feel free to go back and delete the "thanks" ... tee hee.

 

Hehe no prob Iowa

well at 401 mm from the camber adjuster to the upper bolt hole I dont see the caution line, the caution line is only seen when I hit 460 mm from the camber adjuster (near upper plate) to the upper bolt hole.

The Ohlins Road and Track shock absorber"owners manual" says I can go to the caution line. The owners manual doesnt mention any make or model, so it seem generic. The "mounting instructions" is specific to the Evo X, and it says 401 mm from the camber adjuster to the top bolt hole as aforementioned with an adjustment range of +/- 15mm.

So I was wondering which one is right. I guess the model specific one (mounting instructions)? If so, the max height seems real low. It looks kinda ridiculous right now but dropping it from 460mm to 416 (401 +15) mm (so lowering it 44mm) would put it pretty low, lower than I would like for the winter. I was hoping I could go to at least stock height, if not a bit higher like you recommended. The snow, random ice chunks on the roads get high around here unfortunately.

 

Keep it simple.

8mm standard distance is the bottom of the strut to the 1st edge of the strut bracket(the bottom edge).

My suggestion for you is to increase the strut length to the caution line (raise the strut in its holding bracket). One adjustment and come summer you just need to remember how much you raised each individual strut. So you can go back easily to your summer setup.

I would leave the shock absorber length as to maintain the same damping.

On a side note, I'm very interested in getting a set of these. How do you like them? Also which springs rate did you go with and how much have you had your ride height lowered for summer driving setup. Would you say they are too hardcore for a daily driver?
Cheers.

 

But what is your pre-load split? That diagram also gives those numbers on the left side. If the pre-load on the spring isn't squeezing the spring to 198 mm, then all bets are off on the other measurements.

The +/- 15 mm bit has me totally lost.

 

I would assume that the original install had that setup correctly. If such is the case then adjusting the ride height would be best done with the strut length.

 

If you look at picture three ("mounting instructions"), the red circled part on the bottom left states that the adjustment range is +/-15 mm from the standard position.

From the camber adjuster to the spring preload adjuster (see pic 3) my current measured length is about 240 mm. Mounting instructions (pic 3) say 198 mm to the spring preload adjuster when it is in the standard position , but in the pic 3 (mounting instruction) its not measured all the way from the camber adjuster like I did. I need to get in there and get another measurement.

I just took a measurement and I am at 213mm from the top of the spring to the spring preload adjuster ( I took the same measurement shown in pic 3 that shows 198 mm).

 

Disclaimer: These are the only coilovers Ive had for the evo, nor as you can probably tell am I an expert on such matters.

That being said , I have 10k/10k spring rates. In the summer the rears are about 1/4 inch below stock and the fronts are about 1 1/2" below stock. I have 275/30/19 tires on 19 X 10 + 25 advan wheels. Any lower I find they rub at the front and hit the wheel well in the rear on bumps and thats with the fenders rolled and pulled.

They ride very nice. They are a bit stiffer than stock (MR suspension) but still good for everyday, I use it as daily driver and rides good imho. These coilover combined with the new meaty tires and some camber, the car rides like a huge go kart. The car responds immediately when the wheel is turned yet the car feels very stable. The difference is day and night form stock setup.The camber and tires for sure have something to do with it but these coilovers combined very nicely. Ive driven an RSX-S with some decent coilovers with good tires and the handling responsiveness on the rsx now feels loose sloppy in comparison.