Eibach pro-kit not sitting level

I noticed that my car sits visibly lower on the passenger side than on the driver's side.

Has anyone else had this with their Pro-kit, and is this normal?

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1993 red M6 Z28; custom control arms; bushings; strut bar; Eibach Pro-kit;17" rims & 275 tires; Mac exhaust; K&N cold air; airfoil; TB bypass; 3.73 gears; KVR pads & rotors; -1 camber alignment

I've noticed this on my totally stock Z28

Ditto, I never quite understood why. I actually found clamps on my stock springs in the drivers side rear.

"I actually found clamps on my stock springs in the drivers side rear. "

What do you mean by 'clamps'?

Is there anything that can be done to level it out?

I thought the springs were not seated properly or the rubber seats not in properly or at all.

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1993 red M6 Z28; custom control arms; bushings; strut bar; Eibach Pro-kit;17" rims & 275 tires; Mac exhaust; K&N cold air; airfoil; TB bypass; 3.73 gears; KVR pads & rotors; -1 camber alignment

I post this everytime someone mentions this problem, but I'm not sure anyone's ever done it...

Yes, a lot of our rides don't seem to sit level. I think people notice it after installing springs because they're checking ride-height, but it's been there the whole time. I've had my car back to stock rear suspension, and it still sat low on the passenger's side. After chasing this around, I made a "donut" out of high-density plastic, that I put on top of the spring. Level. Done. No problems.

http://www.go-fast.org/z28/MyParts/spring1.jpg

Dave

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1997 LPE 383/n2o Camaro Z28 Convertible (http://www.go-fast.org/z28)
12.39@112.2, 1.76 60' (na) 11.27@124.6, 1.76 60' (n2o)
LT1 Diagnostics (http://www.go-fast.org/z28/diagnostics.html), New to Nitrous? (http://www.go-fast.org/z28/new_to_nitrous.html) Northern California Racing Club (http://www.ncracing.org/)

Also, make sure you measure height from the fender to the center of the wheel, not body to the road (which is affected by tire pressure...). I would think that if the springs are not seated all identically, you could get a little difference. I think the seam on the bottom of the spring in the rear faces forward... not sure about the front though.

--Kevin

That sounds like it's worth try.

Where can i get some of that plastic and how thick should it be?

Will my Z sit like it is on the passenger side (lower) or how it sits on the drivers side (higher)?

Thanks for helping me solve this issue.

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1993 red M6 Z28; custom control arms; bushings; strut bar; Eibach Pro-kit;17" rims & 275 tires; Mac exhaust; K&N cold air; airfoil; TB bypass; 3.73 gears; KVR pads & rotors; -1 camber alignment

So first make sure the springs are installed right, as Kevin suggests. I presume we're just talking about the rears, my trick doesn't work on the front. The springs should have the rubber donuts on the top, and at the bottom the cut end of the spring should point forward. If that's right, and the passenger's side still sits low, then you need my trick.

You're going to raise up the passenger's side, and you need a chunk of UHMW (Ultra high molecular weight I think) plastic, something like 6" square. It needs to be the same thickness as you want to raise the car, say 1/2" or so. I got mine at a surplus store, that has all sorts of leftover steel, plastic, pipes, etc. I guess you could call around from the phone book - folks seem to know what UHMW plastic is.

Once you've got the stuff, it's sort of a fit/cut/fit/cut deal, cutting it to shape so it sits flat in the "can" above the spring (of course you're doing this with the spring out). You need a hole in the middle of it, so the existing bump can poke through. That's pretty much it. Just make it the right shape so it sits in there flat, then install the spring below it. I don't think I'd do this if the car was off by more than 3/4" or so, since you wouldn't have anything left up there to center the spring.

Good luck,
Dave

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1997 LPE 383/n2o Camaro Z28 Convertible (http://www.go-fast.org/z28)
12.39@112.2, 1.76 60' (na) 11.27@124.6, 1.76 60' (n2o)
LT1 Diagnostics (http://www.go-fast.org/z28/diagnostics.html), New to Nitrous? (http://www.go-fast.org/z28/new_to_nitrous.html) Northern California Racing Club (http://www.ncracing.org/)

My Z actually sits lower on the passenger side on both the rear and front.

I will check to see if the springs are sitting properly first. I am suspicious that they may not be. Could the left ones have been installed on the right and vice versa?

Could it be possible that if the rear sits higher that it would cause the same side fromt to sit higher as well?


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1993 red M6 Z28; custom control arms; bushings; strut bar; Eibach Pro-kit;17" rims & 275 tires; Mac exhaust; K&N cold air; airfoil; TB bypass; 3.73 gears; KVR pads & rotors; -1 camber alignment

[This message has been edited by 93zder (edited June 11, 2002).]

The clamps I mention can be found in JCWhitney, etc. Basically, you just put then around the coil and 2 coils become squeezed together, thereby shortening the spring.

If you are really curious, I can take a pic since they are off the car. These are a pretty common item probably in the ricer's toolshed.

[This message has been edited by Dr.Mudge (edited June 11, 2002).]

One other thing about the spacers, use as little as possible. Say your .5" off, if you used something like .675", it will still look pretty much the same, but you have now changed the corner weights for that corner (say passenger rear) and the drivers front will change the opposite amount. Basicly, make the smallest change possible.

On the other hand, having a shorter spring in there might be throwing off the balance and you could be restoring it w/ the spacer. What do you guys think?

--Kevin

I spoke to Eibach tech dept., and they said it could be the car it could be the isolator pads are worn out, bushings or the springs are mounted incorrectly. So i think we are on the right track to solving the problem.

He said that domestic vehicles are pretty bad for this.

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1993 red M6 Z28; custom control arms; bushings; strut bar; Eibach Pro-kit;17" rims & 275 tires; Mac exhaust; K&N cold air; airfoil; TB bypass; 3.73 gears; KVR pads & rotors; -1 camber alignment