Bilstein B14 coilover install / adjustment help

[Tony Sparta Evo]

This is how it sits now

 

[Navi]

As others have said, you need to wait for the springs to settle. They are too stiff and no matter how much you play with the height, you'll never get it right. Wait a couple days and you'll see.

 

[Tony Sparta Evo]

The suspension probably needs to settle. With them wound all the way down...you should be able to tuck the tops of your tires if you have the stock 18in wheels. I have the B14. I still have a bit more to go before being bottomed out. With that said...I wouldn't really recommend winding them all the way down. That might really degrade the ride quality. Good thing about coilovers is that you can always play with the ride height until you find something that you're happy with.

I have mine set where the control arms are parallel with the ground.

View attachment 168474

What offset are your wheels & are you running spacers on there at all?
My wheels are 8x18 ET40 no spacers currently

 

[GTI Jake]

RjR.. hopefully one last question.. when i use the impact gun to secure the mount on top of the strut, will should the spring still be able to turn some when car still off the ground and no vehicle weight on spring? I used impact gun but could still turn spring and i am now wondering if i went tight enough..

NEVER use an impact to install mounts.

The nut gets torqued to 44ft lbs IIRC, but that has nothing to do with the spring being able to move that’s only securing the mount/bearing to the shaft.

 

[Chogokin]

What offset are your wheels & are you running spacers on there at all?
My wheels are 8x18 ET40 no spacers currently

Mine are 18x8.5 45et with 225/40/18. I have 5mm spacers up front and 15mm out back.

 

[Tony Sparta Evo]

Mine are 18x8.5 45et with 225/40/18. I have 5mm spacers up front and 15mm out back.

Any issues with rubbing anywhere?

 

[Tony Sparta Evo]

Have you removed the spring locking ring on the rear leaving just the adjuster to allow that few extra mm?

 

[Chogokin]

No rubbing and I didn't remove anything from the rear. I still have more room to go lower front and rear.

 

[Tony Sparta Evo]

No rubbing and I didn't remove anything from the rear. I still have more room to go lower front and rear.

Ok, I’ve got plenty of room to go down on the front but nothing left on my threads on the rear

 

[Chogokin]

I have enough threads front and back to tuck the top of the tires...but I've found the car to ride very poorly at that height. When turned all the way down...the suspension travel is greatly reduced.

 

[Tony Sparta Evo]

I have enough threads front and back to tuck the top of the tires...but I've found the car to ride very poorly at that height. When turned all the way down...the suspension travel is greatly reduced.

Makes sense that it would tbh, I’m thinking I wind the front down a little more (few mm only) and 5mm spacers on the rear, maybe 3mm on the front (I might need to space the front anyway due to the brake kit with 6 posts going on there soon)

 

[Chogokin]

I have mine set to where the front lower control arm is parallel to the ground. From what I've read for the longest time...it gives the best "performance". Set the front and set the rear fender gap to match the front. The other thing you can to to visually reduce the fender gap...is to run spacers. This will push the wheel out and reduce the sunk in hovercraft look.

 

[Terriquez88]

I’m sure some one had probably answered this before but does anyone know how to adjust the dampening on the B16 coilovers. I hear you have to reset back to zero then set it to the desired hardness level. Is that true?