# @threepiece.us on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/Dc8ffHHmt92
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/70274841-threepieceus-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/f38c90fc1c.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-09-06T12:03:22.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** threepieceus (@threepiece.us) — https://gondola.cc/threepiece.us

## Caption

Your coilovers aren't the problem. The three hours you spent installing them in the air with a floor jack under the subframe is the problem. Bushings don't know what "ride height" means until you put weight on them — torque a lower control arm bolt with the suspension hanging and you've just locked the bushing in a permanently twisted position. It'll ride like garbage, wear out in a season, and you'll blame the brand.

The one that actually kills the shock is quieter. Guys chase ride height by cranking spring preload instead of adjusting the lower bracket, and now the damper is running out of stroke on every driveway. Shock body eats it. Same goes for the top nut — hit it with an impact and let the shaft spin freely and you're grinding the piston internals for no reason. Hold the shaft, hand-torque it. And nobody remembers to unbolt the sway bar endlinks or pop the brake line bracket loose, so they end up stretching the line to get the strut out. Order matters: endlinks and brake lines first, set your height on the bench, install, set the car down, roll it back and forth, then torque everything and go get an alignment same day.

So here's the real argument — do you set height off the lower bracket only and keep every millimeter of shock travel, even if that means you sit a half inch higher than you wanted? Or do you dial in preload to get the fitment exactly right and accept that you're shortening the life of the damper? Both camps show up at every meet and neither one is lying.

Tag the 4 owner who needs to see this.

#ThreePieceUS #CivicSi #FC1 #K20C #HondaLife #JDM #Coilovers #WheelFitment #Stance #SuspensionSetup #CarModGuide

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 441
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 1

## Tags

wheelfitment, jdm, fc1, coilovers, civicsi, carmodguide, k20c, hondalife, stance, suspensionsetup, threepieceus

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