Lowered my car but now the car is higher

[RYU]

I finally "lowered" the NSX today with the Bilsteins and stock springs. This is the first time the suspension has ever been modified on this car. I was looking for a .75-1" drop but instead it now seems higher! It's easily about .5-1" HIGHER. I actually have some positive camber now. I really can't figure out this one. I double and triple checked the installation and all seems solid. I also repositioned the perches to the lower slot (which is towards the bottom of the shock) but still using stock springs.

Let me just say i've swapped out suspensions on many of my cars/trucks over the years. I don't think this was an installation error, at least I hope not!!! The only thing I can conclude is that I must have been sent the wrong part from Nopi? Is the suspension different from say, NA1 - NA2? Did I get sent the wrong NA2s? I have a 1991. All the bolts and even the brake line bracket fit correctly. Could there be another reason???

I'm full of questions but little answers. Help!

Here are the Part #'s.
Front - F4-B46-1663-H0
Rear - F4-B46-1665-H0

Can someone help me cross reference to see if your own Bilsteins have this same part #'s? They are easily viewable on the silver sticker on the shock body of each shock. I would really really appreciate it! :tongue:

 

[grtahoang]

Check this link from Daliracing and see if you installed the collar correctly.

http://www.daliracing.com/v666-5/catalog/suspension/bilstein_install_properly/index.cfm

 

[kkt]

Are your perches upside down?

 

[ENSSEX]

perches are upside down forsure

 

[RYU]

i feel like the biggest bonehead who ever lived...

i'm sure i installed the perches backwards. all i can do is laugh i guess and get dirty again tomorrow.

thanks very much all!

 

[davidf]

Man that sucks. That is a pretty tough job. FYI, I believe there are 2 positions {upper/lower} on bilstiens. If your perches are'nt upside down they could be on the upper slot.

 

[RYU]

Finished the process today. On the bright side it took half the time to do it.

Here are some pics for the archives. Hopefully the next Bilstein DIY'er will have better common sense than I did :tongue:

Stock height - OEM shocks & spring

Bilstein - OEM springs but upside down lower spring perch on lower perch setting

Bilstein - installed with OEM springs. not sure why the rear sits so much higher in the rear but it looks like the car always had a rake to it from OEM. I'm saving about 30-40lbs in the rear. I wonder if that's enough to cause it to rake.

 

[greenberet]

... not sure why the rear sits so much higher in the rear but it looks like the car always had a rake to it from OEM. I'm saving about 30-40lbs in the rear. I wonder if that's enough to cause it to rake.

If you look at pictures of NSXs with Bilstein shocks here on Prime, you'll see that a lot of them seem to have a bit of a "rake" to them. To get rid of the rake on mine, I had additional snap ring grooves machined into my rear shocks.

 

[davidf]

Now thats some funny pics. I commend you for having the balls for posting them. I would've loved to seen your face when you took it off the jacks.:tongue:

 

[RYU]

greenberet - I'm definitely considering machining another set of grooves. Thanks for proving my theory was possible. I assume there's a "max" before the lower perch starts to hit suspension items. I'm considering having them maching at least 2 new grooves on each shock... hoping that doesn't affect the structural integrity of the shock body. Also lowering the rear should "lighten" up my steering a bit. Its now noticeably heavier to turn with the front sitting lower. How much lower did you go?

davidf - i drove it out of my driveway and noticed immediately something wasn't right. i should have known after noticing the bottom of the spring just would not sit on the perch correctly and was thinking how could the Bilstein guys design something so crappy.. they need to account for boneheads like me in the design process. it didn't help that all the instructions were in german. thank goodness i'm better at other things!

 

[davidf]

I love my bilsteins. Look low/does'nt scrape.:wink: BTW my avatar is before.

 

[RYU]

Awesome info! thank you. i will talk to a few local machinist to save on down time but this is a great option.

The look is great but the front is about .5" lower than i'm comfortable with. I scrape on my work parking structure speed bumps and on/off ramps *annoying*. I think a set of 18/19" will cure that

ryu:

I also have Bilsteins (along with Eibach springs) installed on my NSX.

After installation, I felt that my NSX was sitting a bit low in the front; even with the Bilsteins set on the upper perch. I subsequently contacted Bilstein in order to discuss my options, and - as noted by Green Beret - the "best" solution is to cut a new snap ring groove.

If you have a reliable local machine shop, they can probably handle the process. If not, however, you can ship the parts to Bilstein, and they will cut the groove for you. Bilstein has primary offices on both the east and west coasts, but only the west coast office provides this service.

If interested, call Keith at Bilstein's east coast office (704.663.7563) for more information.

 

[striker525]

Awesome info! thank you. i will talk to a few local machinist to save on down time but this is a great option.

The look is great but the front is about .5" lower than i'm comfortable with. I scrape on my work parking structure speed bumps and on/off ramps *annoying*. I think a set of 18/19" will cure that

Yah, looks like only what 3" of ground clearance you got there?

 

[greenberet]

How much lower did you go?

I had Bilstein machine a snap ring groove 5mm below the lower groove on the rear shocks. Bilstein said that machining additional grooves doesn't compromise the structural integrity of the shock bodies. They said the only thing to look out for is that the grooves are at least 5mm apart, otherwise there may not be enough metal between them to support the weight of the car if you decide to use the higher groove.

 

[EuroBoutique]

Frankly I always get coils so I can fine tune the height adjustment. If you get bigger wheels the car will look MORE lifted btw.

After I got my GTV installed, I had to go 5 more turns on each coil to get the car to sit the way I like it.

Your back looks like a hot rod rake, time to get some 50lb salt bags...haha jk

rk

 

[sparky]

hey Greenberet, I too have bilsteins perched on the upper slots all round. Like most I'd say it's a little high at the back (see attached) but the front's quite low, with front lip spoiler it's easy to scrape over driveway entrances if not careful.

When you say you had an extra slot machined, did you do that to lower the car by adding new slot below the lowest slot? Or did you do it to raise the car by adding an new upper slot? Reason I ask is it seems to me the car would be very low if I just switched down to my lower slot, and the thought of machining an even lower slot actually seems absurd / impossibly low?

My current thinking is just to eliminate the slight rear to front rake by lowering the back only, down onto the lower slot. Does that make sense to you ?

 

[greenberet]

Yeah, it makes sense to me. I had a third groove machined into my rear shocks 5mm below the lower of the two OEM grooves. So the rear is even lower now. At the front I'm using the lower of the two OEM grooves and with the new rear grooves, the fender gap is now even front and rear.

Looking at your pictures, it looks to me like you're already using the lower grooves all around. Have a look at the third picture in Post #7 above. That's what it looks like if you use the lower grooves in combination with the OEM springs. The first picture is what it looks like if you use the upper grooves, which give you an OEM ride height with the stock springs.

If you don't want to lower the rear to even out the fender gap, you could have an additional groove machined into your front shocks 5mm above the groove you are currently using.

Edit: My fender gap at the front looks pretty much the same as yours so we must be using the same groove (unless you have aftermarket springs). I don't have problems scraping the front spoiler, but that could be due to the fact that I'm still using the original 1991 front spoiler whose edges aren't as low.

 

[RYU]

I had Bilstein machine a snap ring groove 5mm below the lower groove on the rear shocks. Bilstein said that machining additional grooves doesn't compromise the structural integrity of the shock bodies. They said the only thing to look out for is that the grooves are at least 5mm apart, otherwise there may not be enough metal between them to support the weight of the car if you decide to use the higher groove.

btw... how much did Bilstein charge for the machining work and what was their turn around time if you dont' me asking? Did they also mention if they would still honor the waranty?

(i should probably just call Bilstein later today. haha)

 

[RYU]

If you get bigger wheels the car will look MORE lifted btw.

I was speaking from a fender gap perspective. All else being equal bigger wheels should close up the fender gap but effectively raise the car as well. Which covers both of my goals :biggrin:. I just hope I can live with the harsher ride, lack of tire choices, and heavier wheels.

 

[greenberet]

btw... how much did Bilstein charge for the machining work and what was their turn around time if you dont' me asking? Did they also mention if they would still honor the waranty?

(i should probably just call Bilstein later today. haha)

I can't say how much they charged for machining the snap ring grooves. I had them machine new snap ring grooves in two shocks, test OEM NSX shocks, and revalve all four Bilstein shocks to OEM NSX specs. On the invoice, they charged a lump sum of EUR 300 for the labor on all of that. I brought the shocks to them and picked them up a few days later since they're only about an hour from where I live. I didn't think to ask about the warranty because Bilstein performed the work themselves and told me additional snap ring grooves don't cause any problems.

Edit: Bilstein USA, in the San Diego area, charge $10 per snap ring groove they machine for you. The price list for their services is here.

 

[sparky]

Looking at your pictures, it looks to me like you're already using the lower grooves all around.

No I'm on upper perches BUT I've just remembered - I don't have OEM springs (doh!).

I have progressive springs by Dali Racing, which also lower car by 1.25" all round. That would explain why it's so low already....