Hello everyone, I went through the various threads that discuss this. However, i was not able to find an answer regarding the rear. What bolt(s) would you loosen to allow for the springs to preload? I noticed that my passenger rear has a much bigger gap than the rest of the car. I never preloaded the springs when I installed the Tein H techs to new KYB's(gas-a-just) last year. I went to a local Rx8 meet recently and some of the members suggested I preload all four corners as the car sits higher than it should be per their observation.

 

maybe the word choice is confusing...but there isn't any "preloading" of the springs thats done when you install them. unless you're talking about droop travel and setting that ? but that doesnt seem like what you're talking about.

i have tein s tech springs on my stock struts. you take out of the strut assembly, zip off the tophat, install spring, reassemble, place back in the car, and thats it.

 

This is what I mean. I was not aware of what this was until the club members pointed it out at the recent rx8 meet.

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-whe...reload-121757/

 

iirc you only need to do the fronts but it is a thing. i always leave everything loose in the bottom of the front struts, lower car and tighten the 19mm (i think thats the size) bolts

its been a couple years since i did an 8 suspension tho so im sure in mis remembering something since im not looking at it

 

Thanks for the clarification; it's greatly appreciated. So, there's no need for the rears then? I plan to do the fronts this weekend but wanted to double check if the rears are recommended as well so I can complete all 4 corners this weekend and then take it in for an alignment next week.

 

You should always load the suspension when tightening bolts, not doing so can binds bushings (can rip them and prevent proper travel). You can do one at a time, jack up the suspension until the body starts lifting off your jackstands, tighten bolts, unload suspension, move to the next corner.

 

Thanks JB for the input. I've seen pics for the front so i am set on that. How do you do the rears though?

 

Same way you would do the front; loosen bolts on body side bushings, load suspension, torque to spec. Should be three or four arms on each side, you'll see when you look at it.

 

Dang, so a lot more work than the front -lol. Ok, I know exactly what you are talking about since i tightened all of those when i installed the shocks/springs last year. It felt like I was playing Tetris when I had to put everything back together in the rear - good memories.

 

Easy part is done no Tetris required lol, it should take 15-20 minutes per side. When you loosen the bolts the assembly might sag/drop a little bit, so be careful of pinch points.

 

Will do, thanks again. I just washed and drove the car right now. I did the finger measurement test and it's 3 fingers gap in fronts and driver rear while the passenger side is 4 fingers gap - if that makes sense -lol.

 

Just to update everyone, the preloading did make a difference. The gap went down to 2 finger gap in front and 3 finger gap in the rear. I took the car in for an alignment after the preload as well.

 

all of the bolted attachment points between the suspension control arms and both the chassis and shocks need to be loose before allowing the weight of the car down and then bolting them tightly after this. Otherwise if you cinch all those bolts tight with the vehicle lifted and the suspension extended, then all of the bushings are locked in tight and this will hold the chassis up at a higher ride height with those bushings carrying the weight of the car, in addition to the suspension springs.

Because all of the bushing sleeves that the bolts pass through are firmly bonded to the OE bushing material; they don’t turn freely within the bushing. So the weight of the car needs to be placed on and being carried fully by the suspension springs only, and with the suspension being settled to the natural position, before tightening those bolts and fixing them in place at the neutral loaded vehicle weight position. Hope that makes sense.
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I saw this in the instructions for fitting new bump stops years ago and have done it ever since. Does make a huge difference. Thanks for explaining it again here , I'm sure it'll stop a lot of 'WTF' moments if people do it properly.

 

yup, totally agree. I had to change the upper control arms last week and used the same logic of leveling the suspension before i tightened the bolts on the new control arms.