BC ER, SPL Install and Adjust

Robert Yuras

You plan on corner weighting the car?

sandersd

Yes, but I want to drive it for a while so I have something to compare it to.

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2014 370Z NISMO -- HKS Hi-Power Exhaust -- Swift Springs -- BC ER Coilovers -- SPL Suspension Components -- Nismo R-Tune Intake -- Seibon BD CF Hood

sandersd

Installed the adjustment extenders that came with the shocks. To mark the place to drill the holes I took a sanding roll bit from my Dremel set, snipped it to an appropriate length and inserted it in the piece that fits over the adjustment knob at the top of the shock.

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Installed the cap on the shock, then bolted the shock into place. The pointed piece was just long enough to dent the underside of the plastic trim so I could see where to drill.

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I used a 1/4" bit to drill the hole.

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The hole is just big enough to fit the extender shaft and tube through. I trimmed off excess length so they would clear the hatch by about an inch.

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2014 370Z NISMO -- HKS Hi-Power Exhaust -- Swift Springs -- BC ER Coilovers -- SPL Suspension Components -- Nismo R-Tune Intake -- Seibon BD CF Hood

sandersd

Still clunky over bumps so been doing some research. Many threads here and elsewhere regarding clunky coilovers, BC or others.

Things to check:

1. Top nut on shock - tighten
2. Play between lower shock mount and OEM mount - add spacer
3. Preload on rear spring (8-10mm per BC) - verify and correct

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2014 370Z NISMO -- HKS Hi-Power Exhaust -- Swift Springs -- BC ER Coilovers -- SPL Suspension Components -- Nismo R-Tune Intake -- Seibon BD CF Hood

Robert Yuras

All springs should have preload. If they don't, they will bounce during sudden transitions and make a clunk. You should be able to keep your ride height, but adjust your preload if the coil over has a threaded shock body.

sandersd

The fronts had preload set as shipped. The rear had preload set at 5mm during installation. What I'm going to do is jack up the car, remove the wheel, and measure the preload with the suspension weight unloading the spring, then bump up the preload to 10mm per my discussion with BC tech support.

I believe as you said above that, due to the amount of play in the shock mount, the preload is moving between 5mm and <0mm as the suspension moves through its travel, allowing the spring to strike the lower/upper perch with a clunk. This time I will be sure to recheck after I release the jack supporting the lower spring seat and apply pressure in each direction to verify it remains at 10mm preload.

I don't expect the top nut to be loose - I'd be surprised if it was. I did notice the width of the lower mount was wider than the OEM mounting point and this might account for the rattle, but not the clunk. If it seems significant enough I'll add a washer/spacer to achieve a snug fit.

Some have also complained that the locking rings have loosened over time and their solution was to add blue Loctite to keep it from backing off.

There are only so many joints in the rear (or front) suspension system. It's just a matter of eliminating them one by one till the culprit is found.

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2014 370Z NISMO -- HKS Hi-Power Exhaust -- Swift Springs -- BC ER Coilovers -- SPL Suspension Components -- Nismo R-Tune Intake -- Seibon BD CF Hood

B&W_Evader

[QUOTE=sandersd;3097534]Still having difficulty equalizing the height between the right and left rear. The right side is consistently 1/2"-3/4" lower regardless of the height of the spring perch.

Your going to need to play with the endlink lengths on the swaybars to get the car to change right to left. Make sure they're not working against each other by checking the weight at the wheels.

Probably the right way to do it is
1) disconnect the swaybars,
2) get the heights just the way you want with the springs, need to check corner weights so you're not loading on diagonal tires,
3) Reattach the sways and recheck corner weights. Adjust sways to even them out to the weights they were before attaching them

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|RIP|6spd-sport|OSG-LSD|XP8|RBF600|Eibach Sways|RE-71R|FI-34Row|Gen3-CAI|Yaw P.S.|

sandersd

I guess you missed posts #12 & #14...

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2014 370Z NISMO -- HKS Hi-Power Exhaust -- Swift Springs -- BC ER Coilovers -- SPL Suspension Components -- Nismo R-Tune Intake -- Seibon BD CF Hood

Spooler

Corner balance it first, then have the alignment done. That's the point of getting coil overs, to be able to balance the car.

sandersd

My primary motivation is to be able to lower the car and maintain full suspension travel on linear springs. I agree corner balancing is necessary to take full advantage of coil overs capabilities and something I certainly intend to do so, but I want to compare the handling and performance between balanced and unbalanced, so I need a frame of reference.

It's just to satisfy my own curiosity. But you're right, if one is into performance corner balancing is fundamental. If one is more into styling and profiling then corner balancing is not essential.

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2014 370Z NISMO -- HKS Hi-Power Exhaust -- Swift Springs -- BC ER Coilovers -- SPL Suspension Components -- Nismo R-Tune Intake -- Seibon BD CF Hood

sandersd

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Very disappointed in the workmanship at EVS Motors so I will find a different shop for future work and corner balancing. I want to speak with the shop manager before I get into specifics.

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2014 370Z NISMO -- HKS Hi-Power Exhaust -- Swift Springs -- BC ER Coilovers -- SPL Suspension Components -- Nismo R-Tune Intake -- Seibon BD CF Hood

sandersd

As mentioned I was very disappointed with the workmanship at EVS Motors. On a positive note the car was aligned which is what I brought it in for. But...

When I dropped the car off I took extra time to go over all the adjustments that needed to be made and how to properly do them. I gave the tech written instructions from the service manual, SPL, and BC for each of their respective products. I highlighted things to watch out for. Still the work was not performed acceptably.

When I arrived home after picking up the car I put it up on stands and took off the tires to inspect the work. This is what I found:

The tech sprayed oil or some type of lubricant all over the shock body and reservoir canister. I assume he thought it would make it easier to adjust the shock length. The issue is he didn't wipe it off and the oil would act as a dirt magnet covering the threads and body with a layer of grime. Sloppy. A better alternative is simply to take a damp shop towel and wipe the threads clean above the adjuster since this will actually remove all the grit that tends to bind the threads.

The canisters must be loosened to adjust the shock length but when the adjustment is complete they must be centered and tightened. One side was completely loose and the other was partially tightened but misaligned so it rode against the side of the slot.

They charged me extra to make a small adjustment to the preload but were 5mm off the correct setting. If one is charging extra one should ensure the adjustment is correct.

The tech damaged the lock nuts and the SPL wrenches by beating on them with a hammer. This angered me the most. The nuts were only hand tight. He beat on them so hard the nuts are rounded and the wrenches have gouges on the faces from the nut and hammer marks on the ends from a checkered face hammer. Perhaps he didn't know which way to turn the nut to loosen it but this can be ascertained by simply looking at the direction of the threads and turning the nut appropriately - no hammer required. Even if a hammer was required one doesn't use a checkered face hammer but a deadblow rubber mallet. One sharp tap should be all that's required to securely seat the jam nut.

Compounding this folly the heim joint (spherical rod end) was left canted over in direct violation of the instruction sheet that I gave him that had pictures of proper and incorrect alignments. The locking sleeve for the rod end was also rotated 180 degrees so it could not be accessed by a wrench. I had to loosen the jam nut and rotate the adjusting nut just so I could access the sleeve to loosen it and rotate it to its proper position.

Last, but not least, the side skirts were damaged by running over something, bottoming out, and deforming the plastic at the attachment points so severely the plastic dragged the ground in three places. I had to remove the bolts and heat the plastic with a heat gun to reform it to its original shape and position. The locking tabs were sheared off so I used tape to hold the pieces in alignment so they will not catch on anything and be further damaged.

I expected this place, given how they placed themselves in the market, working on high end cars, celebrity endorsements, etc, to do exceptional work. They did not. The work was barely adequate and certainly not worth the price I paid or damage to my car. I told the manager when I discussed this with him that there is no way I could ever recommend his shop to anyone.

One only gets one chance to make a first impression.

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2014 370Z NISMO -- HKS Hi-Power Exhaust -- Swift Springs -- BC ER Coilovers -- SPL Suspension Components -- Nismo R-Tune Intake -- Seibon BD CF Hood

Rusty

Think I would be draggin' someone over the counter.

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浪人 - 殺し屋
"The Difficult Anytime, The Impossible By Appointment Only"
http://www.the370z.com/members-370z-...o-journal.html

sandersd

It's a nice thought, but...

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2014 370Z NISMO -- HKS Hi-Power Exhaust -- Swift Springs -- BC ER Coilovers -- SPL Suspension Components -- Nismo R-Tune Intake -- Seibon BD CF Hood

Rusty

I know, BUT they would know I WAS there, and the customers that was there too would know.

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浪人 - 殺し屋
"The Difficult Anytime, The Impossible By Appointment Only"
http://www.the370z.com/members-370z-...o-journal.html