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Do not take out Rear Adjusters!


Cooper_GTI
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I have AP coilovers on my GTI and after reading on here that it's fine to take out the rear adjusters to lower the rear, i had a go.

With the car jacked up and no adjusters, the spring was about 3" short of locating at the top platform and simply falls out. This would make jobs such as changing tyres/brakes/exhausts a rather laborious procedure, requiring some poor soul to hold the spring in place whilst the jack is lowered!

I continued to see how it would drive like this, and instantly, i dropped off a kirb and felt a clatter under the car. I limped it back onto the drive to find that, sure enough, the spring had dislodged and was wedged diagonally across the top and bottom platform.

It really pisses me off that people consider this a safe modification and and has been recommended to so many people, often with minimal mechanical knowledge, that this is a safe and practical way of decking your car.

What's more, i only removed the adjusters! I dread to think what it would be like with no platforms, which so many people seem to do.

Rant Over.

Edited by Cooper_GTI
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Run without an adjuster or platform, just the spring, in the rear with my AP coilovers for over a year, never had a problem. I drive my car HARD down bumpy country lanes and not once have I felt unsafe, springs havent been anywhere near being dislodged.

When putting the car down with a jack, you bring it down until the spring just touches the locating bit and then push it in, job done.

It pisses me off that if they have a problem with something, people think everyone is going to have the same problem.

Dont know why you're dropping the car of kerbs if you're running no adjusters, that's just plain stupid imo and just as likely to mash sills up.

Edited by Deadmetal
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Dropping the car off kerbs is an everyday procedure for most people, me included. I obvisouly dont drive UP kirbs, but i have to drop off them, as i'm sure most others do too.

What would happen if you were forced to take evasive action to avoid a crash and you clip a kirb or hit a bump which may well cause a rear wheel to lift?! The spring would fall out and you would lose control as the rear beam comes crashing through the boot floor.

I dont mean to make enemies with this thread. I just want to inform people who dont know any better, that this method of lowering, is, without question, dangerous.

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I drive my car HARD down bumpy country lanes and not once have I felt unsafe, springs havent been anywhere near being dislodged.

You obvioulsy dont drive that HARD down lanes then, cus i know my car often tripods round corners and gets air over uneven ground and hump back bridges.

If i continued to drive how i drive now, the springs WOULD HAVE FALLEN OFF! No two ways about it i'm afraid. If you think it's safe, you're ignorant and wrong.

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Having already had to take avoiding action in my car with just the spring in, I can say its all good.

To get the spring to dislodge on my car you have to get the rear beam to FULL drop. The springs are still in place just before the wheel comes of the ground.

I have three wheeled my car many a time, never got air though.

Being the one who actually drives my car, I think I know how I drive it.

I'd love to see you get the car high enough off the deck for the rear arms to be dropped enough for the springs to fallout.

If you're not happy about running adjusterless, stop bitching and put it back in. Pretty much every one on this forum and many others run with no adjuster and seem to be just fine with it.

Edited by Deadmetal
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Having already had to take avoiding action in my car with just the spring in, I can say its all good.

To get the spring to dislodge on my car you have to get the rear beam to FULL drop. The springs are still in place just before the wheel comes of the ground.

I have three wheeled my car many a time, never got air though.

Being the one who actually drives my car, I think I know how I drive it.

I'd love to see you get the car high enough off the deck for the rear arms to be dropped enough for the springs to fallout.

If you're not happy about running adjusterless, stop bitching and put it back in. Pretty much every one on this forum and many others run with no adjuster and seem to be just fine with it.

I'm not bitching, i am purely stating that if i were to run with no adjusters it would be classed a severe defect with the car.

It sounds to me, as if your springs are longer than mine, as i only have to give my jack one pump and the springs are slack in the cups.

Even when i got my mate and my dad to lift the rear arch to allow me to pull the trolley jack from under it, the amount by which it lifted, was enough for me to see the the top of the spring flopping around in the cup.

If you cannot see that this is dangerous, then you sir, in my eyes, dont have adequate knoweldge to drive a car, let alone work on one.

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Your thinking about ifs and buts, I'm not being funy but why the hell do u want to drop of kerbs in a lowerd car are you mad? There are veriables to everything. Making it sound as if its the end of the world seems abit extreme to me lol if you don't want these problems don't lower it simples :)

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So what you're saying is that everyone runnign no adjusters has a "sevre defect".

So thats LGG, Jowey, Ems, Tia, Max, Chris, Bailey, Rich, Rob (I could go on all week) who all have deadly cars.

By claiming that every one will have exactly the problem as you will is just plain stupid.

You are the first person, that I have seen, to claim that running no adjuster is really dangerous.

People blow cheaper shocks all the time, but no one has had a spring fall out.

People run cut springs with no adjuster with no problems.

And claiming that I dont have to knowledge to drive a car is one of the most ignorant, idiotic, down right offensive things you could of said. Simple question, ever met me? Whats that? No, you havnt? MAke assumptions about people that a very wide of the mark and no one will take anything you say serioUsly.

I suggest you take another look at how you've set your car as you have clearly done somthing wrong to be having this sort of problem.

Edited by Deadmetal
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I hate it when you are wearing a belt and bend over to pick something up then belly button hair gets caught in it

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I'm sorry that my 6 years experience as a chartered mechanical engineer, designing parts for Caterpillar machines means so little to you, but this is my view, and i am sticking by it as i know it is factual.

I can however see, that other makes of springs could well create a different outcome, but with my AP's, they fell out within 2 minutes of driving.

If that's not proof enough i dont know what is?! I should have taken pics i suppose.

Maybe my GTI AP's are different to the non-GTI version i dont know...?

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Or mabey you ****ed it up?

You're an engineer, woopdee doo. You're also a concited arse.

See, if you started a topic asking if any one else had had problems or asking why you might be having problems, rather than spouting complete **** about how every running no adjusters is ignorant and driving a dangerous car you might of got a better, calmer response.

Put an anti roll bar on and then drive it on a oilslicked road and crash the car, its not the antiroll bars fault. Its yours for not driving to the conditions and limitations of your car. You drive a modified car, you cant just go and drive it like a standard car. I'd of thought that would of been glaringly obvious to an "engineer".

Edited by Deadmetal
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You drive a modified car, you cant just go and drive it like a standard car. I'd of thought that would of been glaringly obvious to an "engineer".

The whole reason for modifying my car is to make it drive better. If i can't drive it as enthusiastically as a standard car i'd put it back to standard. The reason i spend £400 on tyres, £800 on suspension and £300 on brakes and keep it in tip top condition is so i can drive it fast, reliably and safely and partake in the odd track day.

Maybe i did **** it up. But i'm pretty sure these shiney blue threaded spacers that sit below the rear springs are called the adjusters?

But, okay, sorry, i'll admit i'm wrong. It's completely normal and safe for my springs to fall out when i jack up the car. Apology accepted?!

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I think **** off is a suitable respone to that. No one claimed that the springs falling out was safe or normal. People are saying that taking the adjusters out is safe.

Slaming the car to the ground (the affect taking the adjusters out has) is counteractive towards handeling. Going that low screws quite a few things over and makes the rear end bounce like a kangaroo.

If you're doing it for speed and not looks then just leave the adjusters in.

Edited by Deadmetal
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