AussieZ06

Hi guys

Need some urgent help please. I need simple guidance on how to set the stiffness please.


https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...coilovers.html

Hoping you can help

Regards

Richard

ckchan10

I have LG GT2 coilovers on my car. To adjust you simply turn the ***** at the top of the shocks clockwise or counterclockwise. The softer you go the less resistance you will feel. It literally takes seconds to adjust. Hope this helps.

l98tpi

You have to set them before you install them. They have an extension you can attach, but mine was unsuccessful in attaching. So, I set mine and fortunately I got it set at a good setting the first shot. If you have to adjust again you can reach through the hole and turn if you remember which way is firm and which way is soft. Or you will need to lower the coilover and adjust and re-install.

AussieZ06

Thanks guys
The install went well. The problem I had with the adjustment **** on the rear shocks was that it appeared bent and stiff. I spoke to LG who said to apply pressure to turn the **** and it freed itself and clicks ok now for the adjustments.

I am allowing sometime before further adjustments next week.

I think I'll lower the car 10mm. It is currently 690mm (27.16inches) front/710mm (27.95inches) rear to the end he of the wheel guards.

My current damper settings are 7 rear and 9 front, but the car feels bouncy so I'm thinking 9 rear and 11 front.

I would appreciate thoughts / comments from any readers.

RichieRichZ06

Those shock settings are good and the car should not feel bouncy if the pre load on the springs is correct. I see a lot of people crank the pre load up and is causes the car to be stiff and bouncy.

With the car jacked up, tires off the ground and the suspension hanging free, you should be able to turn the springs by hand if you have the pre load set correctly. If the springs are hard or impossible to turn with the suspension in droop then you have them set to tight and will need to soften the spring pre load up

AussieZ06

Thanks RichieRich, I appreciate your comments. I'll check the preload, the installer did say he only loaded them so they didn't rattle with no load.

I'm really wondering if it's my ride height as I think I'm nearly an inch higher than stock - can anyone confirm stock ride height please.

I think LG suggested the ride height should be slightly lower than stock.

Dan_the_C5_Man

Depending on what's going on, this could be a case of needing separate spring pre-load and ride height adjustments.

With a shock that doesn't allow separate ride-height adjustments, your trim height is dictated by a: spring rate and b: spring pre-load.

I think what Rich is alluding to is if "the customer wants his car to run at close to stock ride height, and a medium lbs-per-inch spring is chosen, you'd need to dial in too much spring pre-load to set the trim height to the desired value".

Too much pre-load (e.g. not enough or zero sag - typically an issue with a too-soft spring rate) can cause issues, as can too little pre-load (typically an issue with a too-stiff spring rate).

AussieZ06

Thanks Dan, these are stock LG GT2, so is minimal spring preload the way to go withe the stock GT2 Spring rate.

Dan_the_C5_Man

I admit I don't know what the spring rate is on these front and rear. And I can tell you I don't necessarily see eye to eye with LG on front spring rates.. I am a "stock works pretty well, just give me another 10% or 15% stiffer, equal increase on both ends" type of guy. What I tend to see with the LG philosophy is a very stiff front spring in relation to the rear (of course all of this is relative - the front and rear A-arm angles / shock mounting points are different, e.g. a 600 lbs rear spring is not the same "stiffness" as a 600 lbs front spring - the 600 lbs front spring would be much stiffer than the rear).

Don't forget, our cars have almost perfect 50/50 front-to-rear weight balance. But, I can see use cases for the stiffer front end. Some people want to control the weight transfer under braking, cars with strong aero need more spring as well.

Using my philosophy, you could end up in the 450-500-ish range for the front and 550-600-ish in the rear.

What "works" for one guy may feel like "junk" to the next - some of this really is subjective, which doesn't help you a whole lot.. I spent many years (more than a decade) learning how to tune shocks and springs with my motorcycle road racing experience, using double or triple adjustable shocks, shocks and forks with modified valve stacks, etc. So I know the basics - but I agree that folks that actually race these cars (and are successful) are the authorities - but in that statement proves what I said above - DRM doesn't recommend 600 - 700 lbs front springs, but LG sometimes does. I think it proves there is more than "one" correct answer, and it is completely dependent on the "question", e.g. "how do YOU want the car to perform, be it on the street, or track, or both".

You really do have to pick a vendor that you trust will listen to you, pick up on the key qualities that you want out of the car, the intended use, etc., and go with their recommendations - that is until you have a baseline to work from, and you can start to develop your own opinions..

RichieRichZ06

The GT2 coil overs are ride height adjustable also and that it separate from the pre load. If your cars is not sitting low enough then you can easily lower it without effecting pre load.

It honestly sounds like your installer didn't have a clue and just slapped them on without seeing how they adjust for ride height.

I've ran these coil overs and done very well with them, for a couple years now. In my opinion, they are best set up with about 3/4" rake front to rear and little to no pre load on the spring when in droop. Once you set the ride height (without using the pre load to do so) then adjust the pre load and finally align the car.

A good starting point for ride height is about 2 fingers (tire to fender lip) front and about 2.5 fingers rear. You can go lower if you want, but that is typically about an inch lower than stock.

l98tpi

If just running on the street you can set ride height any way you want; for the look you want. If competing in autox or road racing you need to scale the car, corner balance it. So you will have to set ride heights accordingly. And I like to keep as low as possible.