Front Left And Front Right Ride Height Not The Same.. Why?

[snozzle]

hi all

wanted to lower my car recently (height and damper adjustable coilovers) and have i noticed that my car is actually on a slight slant by roughly 1.5cm's

drivers side is 1.5cm higher than the passenger side

thought my coilovers were stuffed so i took them out, put my stock suspension in and car was still on a slant, but the slant was even more, about a whole inch (driver side kinda looked abnormally high)

put coilovers back on, made sure they were same height spring tension etc, they were both exactly the same, i even swapped sides

still...... same!

so then i took both upper control arms off, found that the driver side one was bent, strange as it sounds i was happy to find this as i thought it meant i found the problem, replaced it with one that was not bent - still same problem!

i then adjusted the spring tension down by 1cm on the driver side, and increased the spring tension on the passenger side by 1cm to see if it would even out, but it didnt however i think the passenger side did lift up a tad

its almost asif the driver side wont go any lower?

so now im lost as to what to check/fix/etc and need more advice

cheers!

Edited September 7, 2010 by snozzle

[gotRICE?]

Sounds like the car could have been in a prang?

[snozzle]

pretty sure it hasnt, ive got abit of experience with smashed cars and it definetely doesnt look like it, the wheel may have hit something but chassis wise the car hasnt been damaged/chopped up/welded etc

[just_matt]

Are the suspension bushes binding up?

If the bolts that pass through bushes were done up tight when the wheel was off the ground the bushes may not allow the control arms etc to swing upwards enough to allow the vehicle to sit right.

You could try loosening and re-tightening all bolts that go through rubber bushes (while the vehicle is on the ground).

[snozzle]

yeah i did up both sides bolts very tight then nipped them up slightly with a breaker bar haha but still, y would only 1 side do it? i tighted both sides up the same

maybe i should put some grease on the contact spots

[just_matt]

You could try raising the vehicle, loosen all bolts for rubber bushes enough so they can twist, lower the vehicle completely (weight on all wheels), check ride height Left and Right.

If all bolts/nuts for your suspension bushes are slightly loose and it still sits wrong, then atleast you have eliminated a possibility.

Its not how tight you have done the bushes up, but the angle of the control arm when you tightened them up, compared to the angle of the control arm when the wheel is loaded with weight.

One may twist more due to softer rubber, age, cracks etc...

[snozzle]

Good suggestion, i tried it a few hours ago, didnt work

[DVS JEZ]

does it sag much when you sit in it?

instead of adjusting the spring tension why not adjust the base height to make even?

[snozzle]

well the base height is already at the minimum coz these coilovers came out of my old car (r34 gt-t) - only way i can dump it more is take spring tension off or possibly order in different springs from BC racing

i dont feel good about masking up a structural problem so i wouldnt do that anyway even if i could, ive booked it into a suspension joint for tuesday but i wanna see if anyone has anymore tips on wat else i could try

i have a feeling i will have to measure up the chassis if its bent around the strut top area ill get it straightened out next year when the motor comes out (if build plans dont change)

its just odd because i dont suspect anything is wrong with the chassis, its a really straight car, underbody is very straight, clean and all original

[blind_elk]

...only way i can dump it more is take spring tension off ...

That will RAISE the ride height.

I vote for a twisted chassis. Wouldn't take much of a twist to introduce a 1.5cm discrepancy over the diagonal of the chassis.

I'd get the car corner weighted to work out where the problem lies.

[siamak]

Erm, by dropping the pre tension on the spring it definetely sits the car lower...?

Ive been looking at the car abit more today looking for irregularities and the 90 degree bend in the sway bar sits slightly closer to the cross member that the other side but my dad rekons sway bars are almost never symmetrical anyway so its not very informative to go by that, ill try get some pictures up tonight though.

Keep the suggestions comming guys, much appreciated!

edit: woops i accidently posted from my mates account, using his pc

cheers

snozzle

Edited September 8, 2010 by siamak

[snozzle]

borrowed my panel beaters "is it square" tool and engine bay from the top is 100% square, doesnt quite rule the bottom side out though i know but i wanted to see anyway lol

took some pics to show the difference in ride height - i dont wanna go any lower than the passenger side, happy with that.. but the driver side is too high and just wont goo downn lol

will get some more photos of suspension components tomorrow if i get time

cheers

[blind_elk]

Erm, by dropping the pre tension on the spring it definetely sits the car lower...?

Ive been looking at the car abit more today looking for irregularities and the 90 degree bend in the sway bar sits slightly closer to the cross member that the other side but my dad rekons sway bars are almost never symmetrical anyway so its not very informative to go by that, ill try get some pictures up tonight though.

Keep the suggestions comming guys, much appreciated!

edit: woops i accidently posted from my mates account, using his pc

cheers

snozzle

Try it with the sway bar disconnected at the link pins. If the sway bar is loaded up on one side, then it could cause what you are experiencing.

Is the surface you are measuring on absolutely dead flat?

[snozzle]

Im going to take the sway bar off completely today.

Yeah, no matter where i am, drive side front is always atleast 2cm or so higher than the passenger side. Definitely not the surface im parked on. Very annoying

[snozzle]

Sway bar isolated and that also failed

[blind_elk]

Rear bar as well?

[snozzle]

You think i should try that too? hmmm dont see how that would make the front of the car any different?

[GTTR34 4 door]

If the driver is in the car... Wouldn't the extra weight account for this 1.5cm???

[snozzle]

No definetely not, especially not with coilovers

Edited September 23, 2010 by snozzle

[GTTR34 4 door]

K cool was just checking. Interested to find out why as my 34 sits higher on passenger side...