Hey guys, great forum and it has been helpful reading so far. Hopefully someone here can answer a couple questions for me.

I'm just about finished installing the front end of a calmini 2.5" suspension lift into my 02 chev tracker.  Everything has gone fairly well, although there have been a few choice words and a couple of calls to calmini.  So I've put the new calmini spring into the bottom arm and I'm raising the arm with a jack to compress the spring so I can run the bolts through the spindle into the strut and button everything up.  I get it to within about 1.25 inches of where it needs to be but instead of compressing, the spring stays put and the vehicle starts to lift off the jack-stands.  I'm thinking that there is not enough weight in the vehicle to compress the spring further.  I have a way to finish compressing the spring, but I am worried that the spring will be too stiff when it is installed and I will essentially be riding around at full extension.  I would imagine that it will be a very rough ride, not to mention I will have zero downward articulation if I run over a pothole etc...  Also I am worried about proper camber.  I am wondering if anyone here who has installed this kit has run into the same thing.  Is this normal, do the springs soften up a bit once the full weight of the vehicle is on them for awhile?  Thanks for any help.

It's typical with the Calmini coils for them to be stiff when new. They will soften up in time, the more you use it the sooner it will settle. A lot of guys will deliberately try and speed up the process by hammering on them, meaning rough trail riding or jumping etc, but just give them a few hundred miles to settle.
I use a come-along to compress my 3 " coils for installation. I wrap the cable over the strut tower, then under the control arm, connect the hooks, and basicly crank down until everything lines up.
It will probably ride fully extended, or close to it until the coils settle, and it may be a tad stiff/rough until they do, but in time they will settle and ride will get better, still never as soft as stock, but better.
You will need to get an alignment, and probably need a camber adjustment as well. Most accomplish this with either camber adjusting bolts, or slotting the strut mounting holes, usually the bottom. I'd get it as close as possible, driveable, and put a few miles on it to settle everything before you take it for alignment.
Hope this helps.

Same problem I had with my 90 Tracker.  Different car, different kit, but same problem.  I used a spring compressor.  Most auto parts stores where I live let you "borrow" them for a refundable core charge (ends up being free if you bring it back).  Got them in just fine with that.
I adjusted the toe-in, thrashed it on the rocks for a day, then put another thousand miles on it before I had the camber aligned.

Thanks for the feedback. I tried a spring compressor but the clearance didn't work when fitting the spring.  I ended up building a brace that went from the engine compartment to the roof trusses in my garage.  It basically pinned the tracker down, it worked fine and I got everything bolted up.  I talked Calmini, they said that they changed the way they make the springs and they no longer need a break-in period like the older springs.  I guess I'll find out soon enough.

A simple solution I use is to wrap a chain around the front axle of the jack and loop it over the frame. Jack up the control arm and compress the spring. ALWAYS BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL WHEN WORKING AROUND SPRINGS UNDER LOAD! This is called "stored mechanical energy" and can kill you if released unexpectantly. I've heard of people wraping an old tow strap or something similar through the coil and tieing it off to restrict uncontrolled movement. Be sure you use a strong HD jack and jackstands. My 2 cents.