Ridetech 11013509 - Manual (Page 4)

Ride Height
We have designed most cars to have a ride height of about 2” lower than factory. To achieve the best ride quality &
handling, the shock absorber needs to be at 40-60% overall travel when the car is at ride height. This will ensure that the
shock will not bottom out or top out over even the largest bumps. Measuring the shock can be difficult, especially on
some front suspensions. Measuring overall wheel travel is just as effective and can be much easier. Most cars will have
4-6” of overall wheel travel. One easy way to determine where you are at in wheel travel is to take a measurement from
the fender lip (center of the wheel) to the ground. Then lift the car by the frame until the wheel is just touching the
ground, re-measure. This will indicate how far you are from full extension of the shock. A minimum of 1.5” of extension
travel (at the wheel) is needed to ensure that the shock does not top out. If you are more than 3” from full extension of
the shock then you are in danger of bottoming out the shock absorber.
Adjusting Spring Height
When assembling the CoilOver, screw the spring retainer tight up to the spring (0 preload). After entire weight of car is
on the wheels, jounce the suspension and roll the car forward and backward to alleviate suspension bind.
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If the car is too high w/ 0 preload then a smaller rate spring is required. Although threading the spring retainer
down would lower the car, this could allow the spring to fall out of its seat when lifting the car by the frame.
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If the car is too low w/ 0 preload, then preload can then be added by threading the spring retainer up to achieve
ride height. On 2.6” - 4” stroke shocks, up to 1.5” of preload is acceptable. On 5-7” stroke shocks, up to 2.5” of
preload is acceptable. If more preload is needed to achieve ride height a stiffer spring rate is required. Too
much preload may lead to coil bind, causing ride quality to suffer.