Coilover Ride Height Adjustment Problem

[Bigtuna00]

Preface 1: this is about aesthetics (wheel gap), not performance.

Preface 2: I'm measuring ride height using hub to fender measurements; I found out the hard way that tire pressure has a big effect on height measured from the floor! Also, at first I tried to use the jack points but found that they don't correspond to wheel gap very well.

The goal: have the same wheel gap left-to-right; Front Left and Front Right have the same gap, Rear Left and Rear Right have the same gap.

The problem: wheel gap is uneven, but on opposite corners of the car.

The Front Left and Rear Right are low; the Front Right and Rear Left are high. So let's say I want to raise the Rear Right in order to have the rears match. This has the effect of lowering the Front Left even more (it was already lower than the Front Right). If I raise the Front Left as well, then either the Front Right or Rear Left (or combo of both, which are already too high) come up so I have the same problem, just at a different height.

I don't have a clue how you might fix this, it seems that the car is just not square? I have the measurements within about 1/4"-3/8" so it's not a huge difference, but it's enough to be annoying.

I know many of you just corner-balance the car and be done; I'm curious, even in that case, have you found the wheel gap to be uneven in this way? I imagine it has to do with quality control when installing the fenders...

Thanks for looking.

 

[Dolemite]

Make the measurements on the coilovers themselves:

Are you letting the suspension settle after making adjustments? You need to drive around for a while. From what I've seen, this car is remarkably close to being perfectly corner-balanced from the factory.

Professionally corner-balanced cars rarely (if ever?) have even wheel gaps & look weird. But they handle like they should.

Also it has nothing to do with QC when installing the fenders. It would be ridiculous if the body panels were off by that much - even for Tesla.

 

[Bigtuna00]

Yes, I drove the car around after each adjustment.

There's really no point in measuring at the coilover, after the initial installation, if what I'm trying to tune is wheel gap. I'm simply adjusting up or down as needed. I suppose, in a way, I *am* "measuring" at the coilover because I'm turning the adjuster

 

[dsgerbc]

Yes, I drove the car around after each adjustment.

It can take weeks of spirited driving for new suspension to settle.
Also, make sure you tighten suspension bolts at ride height.

Edit: how much of a difference are we talking? If those are within 1/8", it could still settle even. If it's more, you may have some installation issues to fix.