raising my sc in the rear... i know i know, why?

[chip60clark]

as many threads as i have viewed on here for lowering front and rear suspensions, i have yet to see anyone discuss having to raise their p-car. i recently bought some 1" spacers (in lieu of the 8" wide wheels i wish i could afford), had my fuchs refinished and powdercoated (pics to come) and put a new set of kumho ecsta tires on. on my maiden voyage, i kept noticing a little rub noise and upon further inspection, it definately was rubbing on the drivers side. it's really a little superficial damage to the tire, nothing serious. i got out my tape measurer and sure enough, the driver side is riding about 1/2" lower than the passenger side (to fender measurement). so after a little further research i put the car up on stands and started tinkering with my newly aquired 36 mm. my question is this: i seem to be having to almost "load" the spring plate to lower it any, and honestly, the thing feels like i'm putting it in a bind with little to no drop in the wheel hub (measured off the ground before and after adjustment). am i doing something wrong? is the springplate possibly just bound up after years of not being adjusted? does it sound to anyone like i may have a bigger problem? i'm supporting the car with the jack stands under the torsion bar covers. could this be binding things up? please help.

Thanks,

Chip

[Jack Olsen]

One inch spacers are going to push 8's further outboard than 9's would be. 9's go further in as well as further out. Half inch spacers might work a lot better.

[midnight911]

possibly maxed out the adjustable range? If so, lower the other side. Then add more camber to clear the fender.

[vash]

those bolts are eccentric. you can turn them around and around. your height will go up down up down..when you feel it bind, you are on the high part of the eccentric. the tension goes up at that location. midnight may be correct, you may already be maxed out in one direction. take a picture and post it up

[chip60clark]

i understand the concept of the eccentric bolts, but my concern is that i am not able to get a full rotation out of the bolt. it seems to get to a point where it is pretty bound up and usually my wrench pops off at that point with substantial force. do the torsion bar covers need to be removed before making this adjustment? is supporting the car at the torsion bar covers causing a problem? or is it more likely that the spring plates are somewhat fused together due to years of neglect?

[vash]

the limited rotation you do get...do you see the plates moving?

[chip60clark]

yes, the plates are moving (the outer plate moving up compared to the inner plate), but it reaches a limit and then my wrench usually pops off. it would make more sense to me if the inner plate (the one that continues to the wheel hub) was the plate that actually moved. this would move the hub closer to the ground and i could get to the level of adjustment desire followed by tightening everything down. as it stands, i'm nervous that the spring plate will go right back to it's original position after i drive it and i'll still have the same problem.

[vash]

hmmm. i put the jackstand on the car, inboard of where you have it. on the torsion tube. i do it to get them out of the way. but maybe our ARE binding something.

[the]

Originally Posted by chip60clark

yes, the plates are moving (the outer plate moving up compared to the inner plate), but it reaches a limit and then my wrench usually pops off.

That seems normal. You've reached the limit of the adjustment.

[chip60clark]

figured it out. didn't realize that the adjustment would reach a limit, i assumed that the rotation of the 36 mm would continue to rotate through all levels of adjustment. made the adjustment and raised the driver side 3/8". thanks for all the advice folks.

-chip

[911st]

He has 7's out back, not 8's.

I did not think the SC had height adjustable plates. I think the only adjustments on an SC are toe and camber.

If you do not have the two big nuts back near the front of the spring plate (two adjustment bolts back toward the rear) you will have to re-index the torsion bar. However, camber can effect ride height and tire clearance. Evey deg is about .3 inch at the tire side wall. You have about 3 deg of adjustment so the top of the tire can move about 1" from total in to total out.

Before attempting to re-index, check if the rear is out of balance, disconnect one side of the sway bar and jack up the front of the car from the very center so it can balance there. Then measure from the ground to the bottom rear tip of the spring plate. Mesureing to the fender will not tell you if one side is out of adjustment. If both sides are close to the same or the drivers side is up to 1/4" heigher you are ok and the camber is out on at least one side.

Good luck.

[the]

Originally Posted by 911st

He has 7's out back, not 8's.

I did not think the SC had height adjustable plates. I think the only adjustments on an SC are toe and camber.

SC has height adjustment on the plates.