Leveling a 308's suspension?

As far as I know, the stock springs/Koni setup don't allow for height adjustment. I just replaced my shocks/springs (77 308) with Varishocks/QA-1 springs. Really nice improvement--less wallow, better control.
Some mods on the a-arms were necessary--no big deal.

The Varishock coil-over lets you adjust the ride height by raising/lowering the lower spring perch. They screw on.....

Greg

 

Adkins?

 

You mean cornerweighting?
You can't do it unless your spring are perched on a threaded shock body or sleeve.

 

Bigger tyres on the port side? just kidding......

 

Check the rubber bushings in the upper and lower "eyes" of all four shocks.

If any of the bushings are split or collapsed on the left side you have the cause of the 'list'.

 

Not to hijack the thread, but where did you end up with the stiffness settings on the shock adjustment dials?

 

Check the springs for broken coils too. Rare, but not to be discounted.

Also, the shocks can be partially seized and suffer from "jacking down" with an over stiff rebound due to blocked valve.

 

Greg,

What method did you use to set the spring perch??

A) Install the spring to a measured height??

B) Count the number of turns of the perch nut??

C) Scales?? How close were you able to get??

D) "Back yard method" Remove Wheels from rear of car and support the chasis at the desired height, go to the front end and adjust the spring perches to the desired height. Remove blocks from back end, install rear tires, remove tires from front end and support chsis at desired ride height, adjust back spring perches to achieve correct rear height.

All methods assume:

Disconnected anti roll bars, tires properly inflated, 1/2 load of fuel, flat & level concrete, 180 pound bag of cat food in drivers seat.

As you can see, I am massively confused about this process and could use a little guidance setting things up.

OBTW, what camber settings did you have set after the height was done??

chris

 

Did you measure it while you were in it?

 

Mike,
I set the Varishock firmness to halfway, or click #8 (out of 16 total). I might even go a bit firmer, the car feels pretty plush even at halfway to max. Maybe 3 more clicks per corner....

Chris,
I leveled them out by measuring fender lip height from ground to inner fender lip, all 4 corner, before the changeout (still on stock setup). [Actually, this was Mike's suggestion..]

From this point it's purely trial-and-error. I think I screwed the bottom perches up halway on the shock body, mounted them, and lowered the car.
It was WAY LOW, so I measured again to see how far off I was, raised the car to unload the suspension, and raised the lower perches even further. The car still sits a bit low--I'll probably raise it even more. I'm currently at 25 7/8" front, and 26 1/2" rear. I'll probably go 26" front, 27 1/4 rear.
Yes, I counted the threads (per end) to make sure they match....

Oh yeah, Mike--I found that I had to mount the rear Varishocks with the firmness knob FACING IN!! I then had to cut out part of the lower rear a-arm to clear the knob!! Otherwise, when the car was lowered, it would have sheared the knob off! I surely wouldn't fit facing outward--the knob was already resting on the lower arm, and would also have sheared off when the car was lowered. So, I had to cut out portions of a-arms front and rear.........!! Nobody mentioned the rear a-arm clearance issue before....

Greg

 

Yes, the rear shocks did have to be swiveled around so the knob faces in (no big deal except the pretty decal no longer shows), but I don't recall any problen with knob clearance... I'll have to go look and take a pic. And don't you mean the rear *upper* arm rather than *lower* arm?

 

Don't measure the fender lip. Measure the frame to ground. This is WAY more accurate than measuring bodywork. What if your fender is uneven? Now your chassis is too.

 

Kris,
Good point. Must explain why my right rear fender-to-ground measures a 1/2" lower than the left rear. However, the car is level--I placed a level on the rear bumper--it's perfectly level!!

Why is this? Anomalies in bodywork?

Greg

 

Once again placing a level on the rear bumper doesn't mean the car is level. It means the level is level. The ground probably isn't level, your bumper may be off too. I've measured many cars, and 75% have crooked bodywork, but you can't see it with the naked eye. Just measure from the frame to the floor on a somewhat level surface, and you'll get the best results. Make sure your shock and a- arm bushings don't sag, and disconnect the sway bar links to eliminate the possibility of a bent bar jacking the car diagonally.