what needs to be done after fitting coilovers?

Hi Guys

Bought some coilovers and top mounts from Funk Star and am gona fit this weekend.

All being well the springs havnt moved in transit and Funk said they should be good to go straight on my cabby.

Im just wondering do i need to get the tracking or anything else done after they are fitted, and if i havnt got time before GTI spring fest next weekend, would it wear my tyres really badly / unevenly if i was to do the 300 miles round trip to spring fest and back ?

any advice appreciated

Thanks

Rich

In my opinion it is absolutely essential that you get you camber and tracking setup before the trip.
You might be lucky or shelling out for new tyres - it is really hard to run a tyre square again after they have been run and worn the inner or outer edges.
The current height setting of them might not suit your car or the stance that you are after.
I spent quite a bit of time making sure that they were all set to the same height and then used "number of turns" to tweak them to just where I wanted them.

Tracking alters drastically with change in ride height, so its essential. I'd go so far as to say, any significant change in height renders the car undriveable even for a couple of miles trip to a local garage to get it checked, so you need to adjust the height (ie fit the coilovers) then do a rough tracking adjustment by eye, even to get to the garage to get it checked properly.

The other thing is, if you have a load compensating valve for the rear brakes, that will need a tweak too.

damm ! fitting coilover this suday, so better get it booked in garage for tracking etc the following sat !

Thanks for the advice

Rich

You can buy camber and tracking measuring tools, you'd only need to do camber/tracking a few times to make it economically worthwhile.

Get some WD40 out today and tomorrow and spray the camber/strut securing bolts on the front and the lower bolt on the rears !!

You will need spring compressors to split the front and rears unless you have all the rubber/dust shield bits new.
On the fronts don't forget the little spacer washer (about 8mm long) that allows the top mount bearing to spin freely - so often neglected !!
You will also need a good allen key to old the strut while you undo the nut - 7mm iirc - my Weitec coilovers used a different size as well !!

Thanks for the advice guys, looks like a bit more of a mission then i thought, but my neighbour merchanic who is gona help me is usually spot on , so touch wood

i'll get some b4 and after pics and let you know how it goes

lhasa

where can i buy the rubber / dust shield bits? GSF?

didnt do coilovers yesterday as neighbours spring compressors were at his unit, and i said i might as well keep old suspension complete and buy new dust shields.

anything else you think i could get before we fit em ?

cheers for the advise

Rich

Spray the threaded portion on the coilies with motorcycle chain wax - helps protect it from the elements.

And 4 wheel alignment (includes tracking) is a MUST! I drove my car a few miles to the tyre place with brand new tyres once I'd set up my coils by eye and the wear was evident! Will cost about £70, but will save you loads on Tyres! Don't forget, sny height adjustments require camber adjustments and tracking, so play around with the height first and get it set up looking how you you want it before paying out £70 and then realising you should have gone lower!

If its really £70 per alignment, its worth checking out how much a camber gauge and tracking gauge (eg Gunson Trackrite) costs. I suspect it would be cheaper in the long run, and pay back afte 2 adjustments!