Rear Damper Access:
The easiest access point for removing the trim and making adjustments is through the rear seat pass-through.
Use a small screwdriver to pry out the face trim with the slot provided, exposing the 10mm securing bolt.
Next, remove the bolt. The trim piece is then held in place only by two compression clips on the top and two fixed arms on the bottom.
This next step of getting the trim pieces out was the only mildly challenging aspect of this from my experience. On the first one, I tried to be as careful as possible with various tools so that I wouldn’t break the clips. They broke anyway. On the second one, I used a wide pry bar at the top, listened to the plastic pieces snap and was done on 5 seconds. My advice is to not be shy since the bolt holds everything in tightly and the broken bits are hidden. No one will know.
You can see here why the top clips break. They’re designed to permanently hold the trim in place as they snap up behind the panel upon installation.
This shows the bottom clips. Ideally you want these bottom clips intact so that you can hook the trim piece at the bottom when replacing the trim but it’s not an issue if you break these as well.
Rear Damper Adjustment:
With the rear trim pieces removed, the gold adjustment knob will be accessible towards the front of the car. It’s a fairly long reach but as long as you can get a fingertip on the side of the knurled knob, you’ll be able to adjust it. For those of you with short fingers or very large hands, the adjustment tool available from Polestar’s web site will allow you to gain access to the adjustment knob. The adjustment knob turns easily mid range, but it is rather tight as it reaches its full clockwise position when baselining to 0 clicks. Use perceived rotational travel in combination with the subtle clicks to count out to your desired setting then replace the trim via the 10mm bolt.
Front Damper Access:
For the front, if right handed turn the steering wheel all the way to the right. The damper orientation is opposite to the rear with the adjuster on the bottom. Remove the rubber dust cover and adjust the setting from the back on the left side of the car…
… and from the front on the right side of the car. This way you don’t have to reposition the wheel and your dominant hand is making the adjustment.
Front Damper Adjustment:
The front damper adjustment is the same as the rear, but even easier since you can get both your finger and thumb on the knurled adjustment knob.
Settings:
The following settings recommendations were taken directly from the Polestar Official thread on this forum, but there is a lot of great commentary from others on their personal experiences with various settings under a range of road conditions and driving scenarios.
S/V60 Polestar recommended damper settings
F = Front
R = Rear
Number = Amount of clicks
Base setting: F10 R10
(the best overall setting for performance and all-year usage)
Dry track: F10 R5
(stiffer rear)
Wet track: F15 R5
(softer front, stiffer rear)
Snow: F20 R10
(extra soft front)
Ice: F15 R5
(softer front, stiffer rear)
Rough roads: F15 R13
(softer front, softer rear)
Comfort: F20 R15
(extra soft front, softer rear)
Start by turning the adjustment knob to the bottom (clockwise) and then count the number of “clicks” when turning the adjustment wheel back out (anti clockwise).
When the dampers are fully turned in they are as hard as possible (few clicks).
When the dampers are fully turned out they are as soft as possible (many clicks).