hot tuning coilovers help needed?

Hi,
I just had a set of hot tuning coilovers fitted to my mk1 cabby. i had them adjusted down to an appropriately low position and when i took it for a test drive the car caught the arches on the outside edge. when i consulted a mechanic he said that the problem was that the small helper spring was not compressed enough and all the travel came from them. the problem is in the rear coilovers has anyone encountered this before?? :dontknow:
How can it be sorted?? :dontknow:
The mechanic said he would take out the smalll helper spring can this be done and will i get any problems from doing this? :dontknow:

Cheers Hobo

Mechanic is talking Balaerics. Its not a helper spring, its there to take up the slack in the suspension eg when the car goes airborne or otherwise fully extends the suspension.

What do you mean "the car caught the arches"????? Which bit contacted which other bit, that shouldn't have? If its wheels & tyres, are they standard fitment? etc

The part that catches is the outside edge of the tyre. seems to catch on the plastic trim but there is a metal lip behind so it will cut through the outer top outside edge.
The tyres are 195x45x14 the suspention seems a little soft at the back as i said it is using the travel on the small spring at the bottom.
Has anyone encountered this before and how do u get round it? :dontknow:
I didnt think that the spring should be removed either but he said he would take up the slack by putting the bottom adjuster up to the main spring?

Hobo

Sounds like the small spring is completely the wrong rate. Maybe this is a problem with that particular unit, or Hottuning coilovers in general? It should fully compress with the weight of the car on it. Removing it isn't the solution - its there for a reason, after all.

I'd spend a little time getting the wheel/tyre to fit. Sounds like you have the wrong ET wheels, how much clearance between the tyre/wheel and spring of the coilover is there?

Once you're happy your particular combination of coilovers, wheels and tyres fits, send them back and get a decent set of coilovers. If they don't then send them back and go for regular springs/shocks, since these give more clearance on the inside.

If you need to swap the wheels too, or do bodywork mods, that's another thread…

Cheers Paul,
it does seem like the spring has too much tention on it and thats why it doesnt compress properly.
whats the ET?
the wheels seem to fit fine but didnt check the distance between the coilover and the wheel. surely the mechanic would check a thing like that tho?
There is no tmuch clearence between the outside arch and the tyre. i think that it would have to be raised like a 4x4 to get it not to rub over the bumps as it is quite soft till that small spring is compressed.
Has anyone fitted these as if it is a common problem i will sen dthem back and get another set????

Hobo

Is a mechanic looking at the car and sorting all the issues out? If so, let him get on with it, he can post on the forum if needs be and my rates are very reasonable LOL. If he doesn't know what he's doing, get the car back ASAP and get yourself some basic tools and DIY!!!!

ET is how far out the wheel sticks (sideways), relative to it mounting on the hub/brake drum.

he is the one who fitted them and i just put it strait back as i couldnt drive like that.
he says the only thing he can think of is to take out that small spring thats why im asking on the forum as i dont want that and have no idea what else to do??

Best look at the wheels and find out the size (diameter, width, offset) and post it on here. If its not on the outside somewhere around the middle, remove it and look on the inside. Whatever it is, the combination of wheels, tyres and suspension is causing rubbing. Plenty of people have experienced rubbing too, especially on cabbys which tend to have more extreme wheels etc, but plenty of people are running larger than stock wheels and coilovers with no issues.

the wheels are ;7x14" et13 4x100pcd Mim 1900`s? Absolutley gorgeous rims that would suit any slammed 4 stud VW. Full pro refurb with diamond cut rim and face with gloss black powdercoated inner spokes. Finished with a set of new VW center caps. Awesome rims, ready for any show worthy car!!

Bought on this site think they are ok. must be somethin to do with yhe coilovers in my opinion. but as i say not 100% :roll:

hobo

The wheels are hopelessly wrong offset for a VW Golf. 7" is wide as it is, but then with ET13 its going to be sticking 63mm further out than stock (5.5") wheels. I wonder why they're so good, yet for sale on this site? Possibly because they didn't fit properly and rubbed a lot?

You might be able to make them fit with a lot of bodywork/arch mods, so all hope is not lost.

Sounds like a bit of a PITA to me, though.

iv had a bit time to think with a clear head. i am going to get some spacers and have come to the conclution that the springs will take a while to bed in think i will rise the suspention an inch or so and see if it beds in. that can be the only logical solution i think brand new coilovers specifically for my car cant be wrong maybe just a bit tight.  
What u guys think i say that is a maybe.

Hobo

Yeah the wheel offset/tyre combo is giving you the rubbing problem.

I dont understand how the small spring isnt compressed with the weight on the car. I have Hottuning coilovers and they fully compress as they are designed to.

This might sound stupid but did he look at the helper spring when the car was on the ground when he said this? I just cant see them being fitted with the wrong rate of spring.

Adding spacers will only make the wheels/tyres stick out further..

paul_c said

Its not a helper spring, its there to take up the slack in the suspension eg when the car goes airborne or otherwise fully extends the suspension.

They are called helper springs :?  :?

ross_m said

They are called helper springs :?  :?

You can call them helper springs if you like!!! My interpretation of what a helper spring is, is an additional spring like a coil over shock spring on a leaf sprung car, or an additional coil somewhere, or a coil within a regular coil spring; or something like "add-a-leaf". Basically, its an additional spring fitted somewhere to increase the spring rate of a car or van, eg to increase the gross vehicle weight capability or for regular towing. These ones should fully compress, so they don't help in normal use - just when the rebound of the suspension is required. At the end of the day is just semantics - similar to why coilovers are called coilovers - what are they over? The shocks? Aren't the standard springs over the shocks too? etc

ross,
when you first fitted the coilovers were they new? have you got a cabby and were they compressed the first time you lowered the car?
the car was down when we checked them i was there to see it.

paul_c said

ross_m said

They are called helper springs :?  :?

You can call them helper springs if you like!!! My interpretation of what a helper spring is, is an additional spring like a coil over shock spring on a leaf sprung car, or an additional coil somewhere, or a coil within a regular coil spring; or something like "add-a-leaf". Basically, its an additional spring fitted somewhere to increase the spring rate of a car or van, eg to increase the gross vehicle weight capability or for regular towing. These ones should fully compress, so they don't help in normal use - just when the rebound of the suspension is required. At the end of the day is just semantics - similar to why coilovers are called coilovers - what are they over? The shocks? Aren't the standard springs over the shocks too? etc

I thought that might have been the way you were thinking. Just wanted to clear it up as thats all Iv known them to be called

Hobo said

ross,
when you first fitted the coilovers were they new? have you got a cabby and were they compressed the first time you lowered the car?
the car was down when we checked them i was there to see it.

Both sets were new on a tin top though bu that doesnt matter. Andthey compressed the first time.

I'm running coilovers on mine, the Hottuning coilovers same as yours, been running the fronts for about a month now and they're rather stiff/hard ride but still solid enough. I wouldn't know if the helper spring is compressed or not because I can't get a decent look at it to see when it's down!

I'm running standard rims for now but will be running banded steels once i've got some rubber on them.

Mine's a tintop, not a cabby.

If you're having rubbing issues, i'd generally say you can run wider wheels with stretched tyres, however I just wouldn't lower the car right down onto them.

The stretch can help to clear the arch but then again you're talking about your coilovers compressing too easily/softly so I wouldn't know too much more than that fella!

Cheers,

Josh.

Cheers josh,
i just got new toyo tyres so not wanting to change them yet.
i never seen this as a problem that could happen i bought new thinking they would slip right on. the mechanic has never seen this either.
I noticed there was minimum clearence so im hoping that if i raise it a bit they will settle down. can only hope.
I have heard of the springs being high then settleing down on saxo's but if you guys are saying you have had no trouble then im lost. The front is properly compressed and stiff issue is only the back

Hobo

I'm slightly confused buddy as to what's the main issue here.

So is it the front or the rears that are rubbing, or all four?

Are the helper springs still loose at the bottom of the struts on the coilovers i.e. are they not compressing at all?

If you could get a couple of pictures up, that would help.

The assembly of the coilovers should be the top cap, then the main spring, then a divider between the main spring and the helper spring.

This divider allows both springs to move up and down depending on how you adjust the bottom nut on the coilovers, then finally a bottom nut that tightens up against the adjusting nut to hold it in place.

Once lowered onto the car's weight, the divider should press down on the helper spring, therefore compressing it completely against the bottom two nuts and the longer spring is the one that takes up any movement as it moves up and down on top of the divider.

If any of that makes any sense haha?

Cheers,

Josh.

the bottom springs were not compressing at all on the rear of the car.

i whipped off the bottom spring today as i checked all the posts yesterday and there is plenty clearence between the coilover and the wheel. when i took it out i wound up the coilover from the bottom to take up the slack and took it out for a wee drive seems fine maybe a bit stiffer than it would have been but not to worry.

I first checked with the 2 closest performance ctrs and they said when they fit coilovers the usually take these small springs out so thats what i done. only time will tell if this is the right decision

hobo

Right I see.

Well yeah, the helper springs are there I believe to help when the coilovers are wound all the way down, they take up some of the slack due to it being so low.

Removing these basically allows you to lower the car even more if I remember rightly.

Anyway, good to hear you've kinda sorted it for now!

Cheers,

Josh.