Besides our initial settings there is no other guideline on how to adjust the shocks since everybody has a different need/want out of their suspension. The initial settings are what we found to be a good balance between street handling and off road performance.
If you choose to adjust the shocks here are descriptions of how the adjusters work. The orange knobs that face down are the compression adjusters. The black knobs are the rebound adjusters. All adjustments are done starting at fully closed which is all the way clockwise. On the compression tubes, the short compression mainly effects ride zone( this can change if you have changed the ride height with different leaf springs, load, etc.), the longer compression tube effects the bottom out resistance as well as ride zone (notice the tubes overlap each other a bit). The easiest way to adjust compression is to work with the long tube until desired bottom out resistance is achieved. Then adjust short tube to achieve desired ride comfort at ride height. Rebound is adjusted the same way as compression. The long rebound in this application is substituted with the cooler ports which act as a long rebound tube. It is important not to make the rebound too stiff because it will cause packing which will cause the wheel to not drop out fast enough which will make the truck feel harsh and may make you reduce compression stiffness to combat the ride harshness. This will drastically reduce off road performance. Rule of thumb on rebound is to have just enough rebound stiffness that the wheel is able to drop freely but the truck does not feel too loose.
Front DSC setting. High speed is large grey knob and low speed is smaller orange knob. High speed is adjusted from full open (full open is all the way counter clockwise) and low speed is adjusted from full closed (full closed is all the way clockwise).
High speed adjuster affects fast suspension movements, ie hitting a curb at 30 mph.
Low speed adjuster affects slow speed suspension movements, ie undulations on the freeway.
Ride height is adjust by first measuring how high the truck sits stock by picking a reference point like sticking a piece of masking tape on the fender before installing the new coilovers. You will want to measure after the new coilovers are in so you know where you’re at. Most professional install shops will always do this on any coilover installation. Then ride height can be adjusted by loosening pinch bolt on preload ring (*note: do not over loosen pinch bolt or the preload ring can skip a thread while adjusting. We highly recommend using a spring compressor to relieve spring tension off the preload ring while adjusting). At this point you should know how much of an adjustment is needed. Motion ratio is approx. 2:1 (ie if you need ½” more ride height you would adjust preload ring towards the shaft end of the shock ¼”). Then retighten pinch bolt and recheck ride height.
Spanner wrench part# 803-00-734 can be helpful but we do recommend you take the spring tension off the preload ring with a spring compressor.
