Pretty much any car designed for the masses is going to be somewhat neutral in many aspects. Suspension is a great example of this as the average person doesn’t want a firm ride or the worry of breaking the front bumper cover off when getting just a little to snug to a curb. Automotive enthusiasts however, are a slightly different breed. We notice that split second gab between turning the wheel and the car following along. We are ok with a little more noise, we want the car to be firm and responsive.
Springs vs Coilovers – The debate will continue. Personally I say springs. You can get a nice firm responsive whip without being overly jaring. Coilovers really limit the amount of suspension travel you have. For example, you might need to jack up your car 4 inches before the tire leaves the ground. With coilovers, it’s only going to be about an inch. The nice thing about coilovers such as installed here, are the advantages of setting ride height, spring rate and shock firmness.
This install is about coilovers. The install is pretty much the same as a regular spring install with a few key differences.
– Since we didn’t reuse the stock struts or top hats, we kept the stock assembly together simply swapping out the assembly with the new parts.
– Adjustments. Once you install the coilovers, the next step is to lower the car and check the ride height. Once this is done, you make adjustments, lower the car and check the ride height again. Do this until you are satisfied. Once the ride height is set, triple check everything is torqued down and you are now ready to set you spring and shock rate. I set the springs as soft as they would go which ended up being a little too soft. The lack of pressure on the spring caused a slight noise which could be adjusted out by putting more tension on the springs and therefore making them a little more stiff. For the shocks, I recommended he try it all the way hard first and drive it around a few days then all the way soft. This will familiarize him with the difference between a shock rate too hard or too soft. Either way, the result is a bouncy ride. The shocks will need to be adjusted over time so the ride is firm and well matched to the springs.
That’s it, check below for pictures of the install and feel free to comment if you have any comments or questions.
Front strut assembly removed
Showing the camber bolt
The bolt should only go through one way, not both
Upper bolt is the camber bolt
The upper camber bolt should only go in one way, the holes are wrong on the strut.
Rear Coilover installed, showing the adjustment
Front coilover separated showing how much addjustment is really there
Front assembly going in.
Rear assembly installed prior to lowering and checking the height
Rear top hat seated
Rear upper adjustment is easy to get to.
Rear hatch back together
Installed with the tires on the ground. Rear looks great, front is a little high. Prerunner style!
View from the rear, looks mean. My wife Heidy coming in to bomb the shot.
From the rear, this is before adjusting the front
Done