K-Sports and preload

viperboy · 02-02-2009, 07:16 PM

Hi, I just bought a set of K-Sports off of a member here for my 5.5 gen and I was advised to read up on preload. Does anyone have a little more insight into this? i'm reading through the huge K-Sport thread but I'm not understanding what preload really is. The only thing I got out of it was there is an adjustment up top for the spring and there is one on the bottom of the spring which is for adjusting the height.

I don't want the car to be bouncy, but a firm setup, I don't mind. I am just trying to avoid really harsh. The spring rates are 8kg/5kg. So does not preloading the coils mean leave some room at the top? Can someone please explain this to me a little further? Thanks

IHAVEA2KMAXIMA · 02-02-2009, 08:34 PM

IIRC, zero preload means that you slightly tighten the locking collar just enough so the coils have no play. And putting preload means that the coils are compressed by the locking collars. I believe putting preload would make your ride more bouncy.

viperboy · 02-02-2009, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IHAVEA2KMAXIMA

IIRC, zero preload means that you slightly tighten the locking collar just enough so the coils have no play. And putting preload means that the coils are compressed by the locking collars. I believe putting preload would make your ride more bouncy.

Well for the K-Sports, is zero preload going to be the best thing as far as ride comfort? Will zero preload cause more clicking though?

I'm a real n00b when it comes to suspension.

MOHFpro90 · 02-02-2009, 09:46 PM

Its really hard to tell. Adding pre-load may have an effect on clicking. I never really got a definite answer, but in theory, it could potentially reduce it. If you want to stop the clicking, then go to the Ksport thread and look at my locking collar I made.

MorpheusZero · 02-02-2009, 09:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IHAVEA2KMAXIMA

IIRC, zero preload means that you slightly tighten the locking collar just enough so the coils have no play.

Yes.

Quote:

And putting preload means that the coils are compressed by the locking collars. I believe putting preload would make your ride more bouncy.

No.

You are only changing the spring perch position in relation to the strut, or rather the threshold of strut travel relative to the static ride height. The only way that should be making your ride more bouncy is if you're hitting the bump stops/bottoming out more (less preload) or if you're hyperextending the struts/topping out more (more preload).