FAQ: How do I adjust the preload on my coilovers?

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www.andysautos...
Adjusting the preload on your coilovers will provide you with the handling capabilities you need from the drag strip, circle track, to the road course. From stock replacement parts to high-performance aftermarket accessories, Andy's Auto Sport has what you need to get the looks and power your vehicle deserves.
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[@MrAndyS]

Hi, my new girlfriend is pretty fat compared to the previous one. can I put a bit more preload on just the passenger side to compensate for her weight and stop the tyre rubbing on her side of the car? Somebody pls help my tyres are getting shredded

[@Lockdrew92]

+Andy S hahahahaha wow youre brutal

[@GarrettAbsher]

crank preload up, and hope you have dampner settings, if so, make it hard as rock.

[@imanigrazette1088]

Andy S Savage😂😂

[@zizzte2956]

Lol

[@kslvlkdfhkvhkfviwehbhjhj]

Send her to Jenny Craig and leave the suspension alone.

[@koukimonzta]

i only go drive for looks. no need to play with preload but this is very informative for all of us to know its meaning.

[@decaygrim8943]

Hey bro thank you for mentioning that Tein does a good job of applying the right spring rates because I looked all over the Internet and I could not find that information. I installed fully adjustable Flex z coilovers to my 04 accord and I forgot to set the preload but I did adjust ride height.

[@darkneoncruiser]

ive been wondering the same thing to ill have to raise it for winter too and this is my first time with coilovers

[@Grechieman]

This helped me understand, thanks!

[@XxLaMaravish13xX]

Street advance tein adjust the height by also adjusting preload?

[@centralcoast6720]

what is the purpose off preload..how tight should the springs be on tein suspension

[@spydr202]

Hey Andy my rear coilovers are loose on the rears in order to be maxed out. However, i have been hearing squeaky noises while riding and even the springs making noises. What can i do to stop the noises and keep the height as is? Thank you

[@ec4341]

Same problem 4 years later what did u do to fix the noise and keep the same height ?

[@reallifeengineer7214]

@@ec4341 Did you consider adding a support (helper) spring? Otherwise, possibly consider adding some kind of a spacer-block in the tower mount area, so you can increase slightly the pre-load (instead of loose), and still get the ride height you want. I've seen some earlier Tein coilover YT videos that showed up with spacer blocks. But it seems recent years Tein doesn't ship them with those spacers. Could reach out to your coilover manufacture and inquire if they have such things.

[@ryansmith2814]

Yeah my shit was used and came unpreloaded. I can't get these function and forms to ride correctly

[@Yakuzafunds]

Hey man so my boy maxed out my rear megan for me and took off the lock rings off since im maxed out but ever since I've been hearing clunking noise when i go over potholes and bumps. Idk if he touched the preload tho Help me and also how do i set the preload back to normal. ps my right rear also lil higher than my left rear

[@Shadow1986]

it's probably hitting bumpstop. Put your car back on stock ride heihgt and don't be a dummy. Suspensoin arms are desinged to work within a specific range of motion - when you lower the car significantly without adjusting suspension geometry and roll centre adjustment you're just fucking everything up.

[@nathansoucy3404]

I’ve Hurd you shouldn’t max out your damping on either hard or soft

[@lesterawalt3184]

He has no idea what he is talking about

[@EseGeuy714]

For real.

[@bdubq3653]

I had no idea what pre-load meant. Great simple explanation. You explain it w/o making us feel foolish. Thanks a ton!

[@jacobf.8992]

Very helpful information regarding WHY I would change preload, thanks!

[@solidsnakec20]

pre load is how much the spring is compressed (squeezed) when there is no weight or force on it. zero preload is not loose and not tight, just barely flush so there is no play on the spring.

Will increased preload make the ride even firmer than what the damper setting is capable of? Just wanting clarification before I tinker with these yonakas

[@solidsnakec20]

not sure, to be honest, my adjustable dampers can get pretty damn hard.

Aye. Was curious because I want Yonakas for my MX-5 but have been getting mixed messages about them and that they aren't up to the job or reliable (as in people are saying they don't even last a year) I;m kinda on a budget so it would be a means to tide me over and to replace the tired OEM suspension

[@92billly]

If you increase the pre load this will reduce weight transfer and suspension travel. Adjusting Dampers will adjust the speed that the springs are compressed and released via the shock for eg harder shock/damper setting will slow down weight transfer but soft will make the weight transfer faster

[@phoenix21studios]

Just watched another video on preload. They said it’s not apart of suspension tuning, once weight of car is on spring the preload doesn’t matter.

[@hansg.schaetzke8470]

Hey Andy can I manually adjust the ride height on my 2003 SL500 ?

[@Bursti_]

I have a question... If you have the preload set to high does it tend to make the coilover make the binding noise? that ting ting sound?

[@WhenImGoneCa]

+Bret Hurst yes you are binding the spring

[@TeknikIE]

@Little Reptilian Scooby Doo Papa

[@alomechanthasinh4079]

I don't understand.

[@JNguyen07Max]

+Alome Chanthasinh dude same here lmfao

[@jeffarcher400]

In MX preload sets the race sag or the amount the bike settles under the weight of the rider. It also sets the center baseline for suspension movement. You definitely don't want to be topped out or slammed. This is why the Transporter got bent when they added another passenger. He'd set the car up for a certain weight of payload. If you weigh 230 and have a big passenger along you might have more preload then if you weigh 130 and drive alone mostly.

[@Swayy_dT]

Trial and error here. I was adjusting height on mine and most likely messed up my preload because I didn’t loosen up the height adjuster and preload adjusters. Time to fix this mess 😅

[@Honja999]

Can adjusting this cause my car to be lower after adjusting ride height multiple times???

[@MostGenericUser]

I think I accidently adjusted my preload when trying to adjust my height on my bc coilovers. The assembly wouldnt spin unless the top 2 perches were lose I tried to keep them together as much as possible when spinning the assembly to lower the car but I understand now they were supposed to be tight the whole time. How fucked am I? dont have anyway way to know if the preload is the same on both sides like it was from the factory preload when I got them which is what I want. I'm freaking out this is what I get for trying to do something myself

[@manuelsantellan8808]

Aspiring to Inspire dude. I just did the same with my coilovers. I’ve been riding like this for a few days. Car feels fine. I’m a little freaked out to i aint gonna lie. Lol

[@MostGenericUser]

@@manuelsantellan8808 it's fine so long as the top 2 collars are tight and the spring isnt loose. it's just a bit anoying to get it back to how it was from the factory just need to usually set the preload to zero and then measure how much you need to move it back up based off what the manufacturer says. I did a bunch of research I'm going to measure it tomorrow. I dont think I messed mine up that much it's only like slightly off at most for me

[@TimurIskhodzhanov]

Didn't explain what is the benefit of achieving the same effect by adding ride height. I believe the answer is balancing compression/extension travel range of the shock.

[@AlexStuntn]

if i get the spring loose you say that , thats just lowering the car & not a adjusting preload so were would the preload be if i got the spring loose to lower my car somemore & then drop the car onto the ground?

[@midnight694k5]

Alex1Down5Up you wrong

[@reifukaiyukikaze]

Damn....this videos straight to the point 👍👍thanks

[@lexmichael2040]

every time I roll on a dip i feel my car bouncing hard what is that mean? any related on pre load? do i have to adjust it? and btw I just change my suspension from stock to basis Z coil over from stock and to this new coil over I still feel the same every time my car roll on a dip or rough road. any explanation please I really need help.

[@Mar-vp8ig]

I’m only doing this cause each time I turn my front left wheel rubs the wheel well

[@Bad_handle]

Don’t worry about shock length or bump stop or anything like that though…

[@sieve5]

Nice Integra

[@RaJahDathurr]

Just set everything on hard, your gonna be fine

[@FvD714]

if you are trying to just lower a car go with the suggested preload. i doubt youre trying to track your car

[@DeeJayAmuze]

video on how to roll fenders?

[@youngplies772]

Hey andy what is im use coilover ahocks with stock springs would it a problem

[@msknuked]

What about when your changing the preload will that also change your ride hight ? I adjusted my preload and ride hight but two of my adjustments dont match the other side of my car i did all 4

[@reallifeengineer7214]

In theory, If you adjusted ONLY the pre-load, and did not compensate by adjusting the ride height jam nut, then yes that pre-load adjustment will change your ride height. This is also why during install: First set the pre-load. Then after install, check & adjust ride height as needed across all four corners.

[@billyv5415]

Thought each coilover manufacturer had a pre-load value you have to set the coilovers at?

[@luisguzman3848]

I'm worried if I fucked up my suspension due to me lowering my car and the spring coming loose I'm i fine or should I worry?

[@AzeOfSpadez]

+Luis Guzman You can replace the spring.

[@honorablewiz7447]

I have some BCs I preloaded those puppies up

[@CB-ur7ty]

So I just installed some BCs, on uneven roads the car has a little bounce to it like the shock is counteracting the spring. I can also push down on the corners for the car to simulate this. Did you have any issues with this? I haven't adjusted preload, I'm trying to get answers if this would solve my problem

[@honorablewiz7447]

@@CB-ur7ty tbh I didn't touch the preload I was joking.. I put the dampening knob all the way up on the comfort

[@CB-ur7ty]

@Honorable Wiz I got ya. I'm definitely not going to crank the preload up. I've tried adjusting dampening, but it seems to make no difference in what I described.

[@bfunmaker]

How to soften ride??? don't try to explain it just show me please.

[@brayancortez3212]

Same

[@qrs3658]

Awesome video. Straight to the point!!!!!!

[@jrlude_]

Should you adjust the preload while the coilovers are off the vehicle? Or just fine to do it while on?

[@redbaron2448]

I'm getting that clunking noise on the front of my car. All the nuts and bolts are tight, would adjusting the preload tighter make the clunk go away?

[@josegino2726]

Same problem

[@brayancortez3212]

Dude same, when I go on fuck pot holes I makes a noise, not always tho, I want to reduce the bounciness on my car, any help? I don't understand about preload or stuff all y'all saying, can anyone explain easier?

[@kabutu888m5]

hi I accidentally move the factory preload how can I turn it back? Do you know the factory preload measure? BC coilover For EK

[@DG-hq6rc]

I realize that it is not recommended, but, in theory... would lower the preload by 1 inch mean that static ride height would also be lowered by 1 inch?

[@AndysAutoSportTV]

Correct, but on dual adjustable coilovers you can just thread down the shock itself. Thanks for watching!

[@BNR_248]

AndysAutoSportTV I also just bought coilovers and realized they dont have duel adjust-ability. So is it safe to losen the preload so it drops the car? The coilovers also have dampen settings, so if i losen the preload will i need to adjust the dampen settings?

[@dirtydub3245]

donkey1450 I did this with cheap coil overs and while it looks great it is a bouncy mess

[@winstonbuzon]

If you have adjustable dampeners on your coilovers, there's really no need to adjust the pre-loads

[@apples90able]

Hi I have a 2007 Altima. I installed coilovers and it feels like the rear bounces a little to much. What can cause that? Any help will be appreciated.

[@djkid14567]

If your coilovers are adjustable damping, try making them a little softer. Otherwise it could be your spring rate

[@all-starproduction5672]

I have 2012 Honda accord D2 coilovers Is there anyway I can find the spring rate ive been researching but I can find it for the life of it..,

[@ThatKidKc722]

lol “tain” it’s pronounced Tein (Tee-IN)

Andy. I'm on a budget and am buying yonaka coilovers, to tide me over till I can get something better, for my 93 MX-5. If I increase the preload evenly on all four corners, would this give that feeling that the suspension is welded to the car? Some time ago, I owned a Porsche 996 GT3 and that suspension was brutally taunt but I could live with that, especially with it's superior handling due to how taunt it was (and my less than appropriate street driving habits lol)

[@WhenImGoneCa]

+Porsche Duésnburg might as well throw your money away.... f&f are better.. even tein street basics. yonaka is trash

WhenImGoneCa Got it, I'll look into those. I already got the Yonakas since my stock suspension was dead anyway. What are the spring loads for Teins and F&F?

[@coreymartinez3836]

Function form type 1's are gonna cost alot, I went with tein flex z coilovers since I'll pay extra for my 94 civic sedan, makes my fucntion form type 1 feel like a rookie setup..tein is worth it, plus the dampers makes it even more legit!

@@coreymartinez3836 I went and got the Yonakas already, back then. And they were just fine. A little too rough but setting the dampers to full soft made them ride nicely. I'd increase the dampeners when I was in an area with known smooth(er) roads though. Would buy them again in a heartbeat too.