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Why is it lower???

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Old May 6, 2005 | 09:43 PM
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Default Why is it lower???

OK guys I lowered the bird about a month ago and for the most part it sat pretty level on each side. Today however I noticed that the passanger side rear is much lower than the driver side rear. I did pick up my father and brother from the dealer when he left his car for some work. I gave them a ride home and noticed it but didn't pay it much mind. Then I went out to the store. At the store I noticed it was lower but went on my way. When I got home I looked at it some more and thought I would take a closer look at it. It is a lot lower! I can fit two fingers on the driver side easy and have a tiny bit of room to move them around. On the passanger side I can only fit one finger maybe two if I squeexe them together.

Has anyone had this happen before? What should I do to correct it or will it level off again after some driving?


Oh and if it matters I have BMR springs and Koni SA shocks
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Old May 7, 2005 | 11:35 AM
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just to clearify something. I know that our cars are notorious for being lower on the passanger side but this is crazy. ITs only the back passanger corner. looks like someone is sitting back there still.
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Old May 7, 2005 | 11:36 AM
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Springs settling, maybe?
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Old May 7, 2005 | 11:56 AM
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see thats what I thougth at 1st but its been a month. I didn't think it would settle this much more. I'll post up pics to show
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Old May 7, 2005 | 02:47 PM
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ok here the pics.

passangerside....LOW




Driverside..




From the back...Leans a lot toward the passangerside


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Old May 7, 2005 | 04:34 PM
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I checked the springs and they look ok. One was a tiny bit shorter but not much I couldn't get the shocks out because they would keep spinning when I would try to loosen the top nut.


here are the springs. Just for fun I moved them around to the opposite side to see what happens but I'm leaning more to the shocks now



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Old May 7, 2005 | 05:10 PM
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maybe you could remove the driver side spring isolator(i think thats what its called) and put a piece of hose on the top of the spring...would lower it like 1/2 an inch..this is assuming the passenger side rear isnt lower than the front. i dunno!
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Old May 7, 2005 | 05:15 PM
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i have the same issue. the passenger side is about a half inch lower than the driver side. i gave up and told myself it evens out when i get in it.
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Old May 7, 2005 | 06:15 PM
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well I swaped around the springs and measured. Now its only a 1/2" before it was more than that. I guess I could do the hose mod on the driverside to even it out but since it wasn't this far off before I would like to find out why its like this. Before it was about 1/4" lower


Has anyone figured out why they are lower to start with?
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Old May 7, 2005 | 08:50 PM
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I am experiencing the same thing right now. Looks almost identical to yours in the pics. Mine was perfect before I went to the track Wed night. On the way home it seemed to pull to the right. It still does and makes a vibration now. Still sitting the same way.

Stupid question, but how do you jack the rear of these cars??? I was going to put jack stands under the rear to let the rear end hang so I could yank out the springs, but I was too paranoid about the car wanting to roll forward with the rear in the air just hanging....
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Old May 7, 2005 | 09:42 PM
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Put some blocks in front of the front wheels... or jack up the front and put jack stand up there too....

I too experience this problem... but i have forgotten about it and ignored it... i suppose it is possible that the body of the car gets a little bent outta shape... maybe see what a set of SFC's does... doubt theyd help that tho....
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Old May 8, 2005 | 12:21 AM
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Originally Posted by BrandonSS
I am experiencing the same thing right now. Looks almost identical to yours in the pics. Mine was perfect before I went to the track Wed night. On the way home it seemed to pull to the right. It still does and makes a vibration now. Still sitting the same way.

Stupid question, but how do you jack the rear of these cars??? I was going to put jack stands under the rear to let the rear end hang so I could yank out the springs, but I was too paranoid about the car wanting to roll forward with the rear in the air just hanging....

just put a pair of blocks in front of the front wheels. When I jacked the car up I jacked up the axle pulled the wheels and put jack stands under the car. I let the rear hang but I still have the "sag" on that side even after switching springs to opposite sides.


BrandonSS can you post up some pics of yours??
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Old May 8, 2005 | 01:05 AM
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I just put new DMS springs and new Bilstein HD's on and I can fit 4 fingers on my d-side and 2 1/2 on the p-side. I thought I installed the springs/shocks incorrectly.
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Old May 8, 2005 | 10:24 AM
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I don't see how you could install springs incorrectly unless you didn't fit the spring in the groove of the spring isolator but other than that I don't see how you could install them wrong.
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Old May 8, 2005 | 01:35 PM
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i dont wanna lower my car now...
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Old May 8, 2005 | 03:20 PM
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01 red WS6,
Nice pics - you've done a good job documenting the issue. This is a common problem and I think its due to one of two things: (1) since its usually higher on the driver side it may be "designed-in" to compensate for the weight of the driver (assuming he/she is the only occupant) or - and more likely IMO - (2) GM's build tolerances. Just to give you an idea, I've been through two rear axles and four sets of rear springs and through it all I've had about 3/8" difference between the driver side rear and the passenger side rear. This difference has been consistent regardless of which combination I used. I think that the upper support for the springs varies somewhat from side to side and from car to car.

So, with that said, what do you do to fix it, right?

1) Rear coilovers (probably not a good idea if you've just bought nice rear springs and expensive shocks)

2) Adjustable spring perches like those GC sells (requires a shorter spring)

3) Use a spacer (LG used to sell 1/4" spacers IIRC) or mess with the spring isolator (i.e. remove it on one side and replace with the hose mod, etc) on the high side.

That's about all I can think of...
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Old May 8, 2005 | 05:07 PM
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Well it has always been off some but not this much.. Makes me wonder if there may be something else wrong. To just happen in one day (actually just a few minutes) makes me wonder
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Old May 9, 2005 | 05:10 PM
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I just measured... I can take a few pics if you want.

Driver Side is 26.75" REAR
Passenger Side is 26.25" REAR

same up front... 1/2" difference.
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Old May 9, 2005 | 09:26 PM
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Same problem with my car, all the reason to switch over to coil overs
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Old May 9, 2005 | 10:49 PM
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Well the car looks better today. I think it has leveled out some more in fact. I did have to mess with the PHB today. One of the jam nuts came loose and threw the whole rear out of wack. I fixed it and put lock tight on the threads. It was a pain to get it right. I wonder how long the nut has been loose and I wonder if it put the axle in bind or something.

I'm just throwing out ideas now since its okay now
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