Quote Originally Posted by viperbite
they are megan racing coilovers.
full coilovers not fake sleve ones.

i had about an inch and a half of preload on the springs before i decided to mess with them.
ive been driving these for a long time.

then i took the front preload OFF. so its neutral. so that when lifted in the air the spring is flush with the top perch and the lower part. i just reduced how much preload i had.

i think the strut portion of the coilover extended too far outward. im not sure though
So, your problem is, that when you set the preload at neutral, then you drive for a bit, you find that the spring perch and lock perch have somehow loosened and moved down, thus giving more up/down free play in the spring than previously? Try cleaning/brushing the threads w/ a wire brush or tooth brush, then measure the length with a tape measure against something that doesn't change and see. Btw, are you sure you're not just spinning the perches in the wrong direction somehow?

As for the strut extending too far outward (literally topping out), Japanese coilovers with these fancy lower brackets tend to be short on travel, but I doubt 1.5" of preload (reducing reobund travel by 1.5", increasing compression travel by 1.5") will make it "top out."