King Springs in today, now car is uneven

[2times]

put low front and super low rear into my 03 stivo today!

looks good so far except the whole passenger side is higher. didnt measure accurately but i can say it is about one and a half fingers width higher!

is it true what they say about "settling in" i thought that was a myth!

passenger side was on jackstands for a few hours during install, i did drivers side first. everything went in as it came out, just with yellow springs.

DID I KILL MY CAR????

[Kenshin X]

let them settle for a few hundred kms

[QTOOSEEMEE]

drive it around more, let it settle in.

[2times]

ok cool... thanks for calming my worries! i was freakin out a bit cause it took me a long time to do as i was the only set of hands doing it...

is there anything i shold keep my eye on while this settling is taking place???

[DJKOR]

I'm going to quote the man himself... pay attention to the first paragraph in particular:

King Spring Super Lows NORMAL?

The myth that springs settle is rubbish. It is bushes that cause the drop in height. Eg bushes on rear torsion housing mounts at stock height run at say point a. You fit springs and lower it now the bush is twisted to run at point b. What happens over time is that the bush starts to soften due to the tension placed on it from lowering the car hence the drop in height. It has nothing to do with the spring!!!!! When you fit springs in the rear of a corolla you MUST loosen the torsion housings mount bolts off a lil and re index the bush or it will slowly over time become softer and softer due to increased pressure from suspension now sitting at a different angle. Easiest way to do it is loosen bolts off and tighten just a little then do for a quick drive. Throw it around a few corners till the bushes find their new happy spot. Then tighten back up to specks and away you go.

As for the car sitting level put lows in the front and super lows in the rear. The height difference front to rear is under 3mm. Sportivo's sit approx 15 mm higher than ascent all round plus all corollas sit higher in the bum by roughly 15mm hence using lows in the front (35mm drop) and super lows in the rear(50mm drop) will get the car to sit almost dead level and improve handling as well on good quality shocks. It will kill oem shocks quick so go with konis or kyb excel g's depending on your budget. I ran 17 x 7 with 215/40/17 and had tyre touch inner guard only once with 3 in the back on a big dip. Again the right offset on your wheels is crucial to the way you car will handle and ride.

I have set up a lot of corollas this way and it works a treat and makes the car a joy to drive fast or slow.

[2times]

thanks KOR, i had read this before. the reason i posted is because only 1 side is not sitting how i expected. personally i think its because the drivers side had been compressed for so long while the passenger side springs went in.

so what im going to try is jack up the drivers side a couple of hours and hopefully that will force passenger side down to where it should be

[2times]

so, being armed with a tape measure i checked each corner and discovered it was only the front passenger side side wich was off, after checking things out i discovered that the difference in height is like 9mm. i also discovered that for some stupid reason my two front tyres a different sizes, the taller one being on the passenger side lol...

[DJKOR]

so, being armed with a tape measure i checked each corner and discovered it was only the front passenger side side wich was off, after checking things out i discovered that the difference in height is like 9mm. i also discovered that for some stupid reason my two front tyres a different sizes, the taller one being on the passenger side lol...

Well... good to see you found the answer to your problem.

[2times]

Got new front tyres today... with alignment and everything car dives much better!

BUT!

car is stil uneven!!!! it is still front passeneger side which is higher... i pulled out the strut again today, made sure everything was where and as it should be, went back and still same problem!

anyone got any thoughts? i dont beleive it is "settling in" ive traveled 300kms since sunday and height hasnt changed!

anyone know where i should starting looking to solve this problem???

[P_T]

Why don't you contact king and ask them to replace it?

[2times]

not a problem with the springs, they were doubled checked before they went in. theyre exact same height, thickness and part number...

next step both front struts are coming out on sunday to be checked!

[P_T]

Maybe It's defective and stiffer than the other 3?

[2times]

after pulling out the two front struts, putting them back together and swapping springs from side to side brought the gap down from 12mm to 5mm...

but still 5mm higher on passenger side...

will cal king springs soon and talk about possible defects, but considering they got swapped sides and drivers side is still the same probably not that.

considering whether or not to get new strut tops?

or give up and except the fact my panels are just not straight... measured chasis and both rails and control arm bushings are equal hieghts from ground...

am now stuck for solution!!!!!!

[DJKOR]

Before even considering spring problems etc, have you even had your car corner weighed? For all you know, there may be less weight on the Front Left compared to the Front Right and you are wasting time thinking the problem is elsewhere.

[clifton]

5mm wouldn't bother me! Pretty sure no ones car thats lowered on springs is even.

Edited September 11, 2011 by clifton

[SILVABULLIT]

Are you 100% sure the spring is sitting in the spring perches properly. Also the other big mistake people make is not seating the strut tops on the strut shaft properly. Did you line the strut top up on the shaft so it fits on the strut shaft where the 2 flats are machined out of the shaft? If they are not lined up with the flats on the shaft then it will sit about 5mm higher!! also ensure the rubber boot on the top of the spring is aligned properly as well. That can also be an issue.

FYI dont forget to get another wheel alignment once you get it sorted!!

[Phivrne]

i think its normal dude! my car is sitting on normal springs and still using the mcpherson struts. im about to put king springs on my car in about a week.

my passenger side is higher than my drivers side - my theory is because im always sitting on the drivers side. ive had no problems for the past 30,000kms that ive had the car and the passenger side is still higer as always. ive even had it checked out and toyota said its quite normal to some cars. the toyota mechanic said there was nothing wrong with my springs or struts as well.

dont worry too much