How to make your car handle better

HOW TO INSTALL COILOVER SUSPENSION IN YOUR CAR

By Gavin Deriu

Background:

I happen to drive a car that isn’t all that fast. It isn’t even supposed to be fast, because it’s a car that’s all about cornering. Going around corners is what it does best, but I wanted to make it even better, so I replaced the standard suspension struts with fully adjustable coilover suspension.

What does this all mean!? It basically means I took out the 4 old, soft springs (and the 4 shock absorbers that are coupled up to them) and I replaced them with 4 aftermarket springs/shocks which are more firm so they keep the car flat when you throw it into a corner. There’s also the added benefit of these new ones being adjustable, so I can change how high/low my car is whenever I want, and I can also change how soft/hard they feel when I go over bumps in the road.

Most people would take their car to a mechanic for this installation. But since I own a fairly simple car, and this kind of thing is what I actually love doing, I decided to install it all myself in my garage, and now I’m here to take you through the process.

STEP 1:

Just like with the last car DIY job I wrote about, the first step is to buy the new parts and gather together all the tools you’ll need. Here are the coilovers... YellowSpeed Racing Dynamic Pro Sports!

You’ll also need some essential tools. They include:

-          Jack stands

-          A car jack

-          A lug wrench to take the wheel nuts off

-          A socket wrench and socket set

-          Various screwdrivers

-          WD40 lubricant

-          A tape measure

STEP 2:

We’ll start by raising the front end of the car. Use the jack to lift up the left side of the car and once it’s raised high enough, slide a jack stand under that side of the car to safely hold it up. Do the same for the right side of the car. It’s a good idea to loosen the front wheels’ nuts before raising the car, and then once it’s up you can take the wheels off completely.

STEP 3:

Before I could do much work, I had to take off the plastic protector panel that is attached underneath the engine. Then you can undo the front swaybar links so that the suspension arms can move freely.

STEP 4:

To summarise a bit here, in this step you have to undo the suspension arms from the car so that they can swing down. Rather than explain the process in detail, I’ll just recommend that you do your research in relation to whatever car you are operating on (use car forums, car service manuals, or speak to a mechanic) because every car is a little different. The other important thing to note is that if you’re not confident or the process is too complicated for your particular car, it might be best to take it to a professional. Suspension is what keeps your car on the road so you wouldn’t want something going wrong when you’re driving at 110km/h!

STEP 5:

Once the suspension arms have dropped down, you go up to the engine bay and loosen the top mounts of the suspension strut. Then you undo the bottom mount of the strut and it can be angled outwards. Hopefully it looks something like this:

STEP 6:

To put in the new coilover, it’s pretty much just the reverse of what you’ve already done. Make sure you torque the bolts correctly so they don’t loosen over time and cause your wheel to fly off one day. I started with the front right wheel, so then I went on to do the same for the front left corner.

STEP 7:

Now that the two front struts have been replaced, lower the car down and raise the back end. Repeat the same process for the rear suspension as you did with the front. You might need to take the carpet panels out of your boot so you can access the top mounts. It looks pretty ugly without the boot panels!

Quick tip: in the above photo towards the upper left you’ll see the petrol lines. Be very careful around these obviously for safety reasons, but also because spilt petrol will very quickly smell out your whole garage!

STEP 8:

Once the rears have been replaced (same process as the fronts, in fact the rears are generally easier because there’s less going on down the back end) it’s now time to drop the car down completely and put the boot carpet panelling back in.

STEP 9:

At this point in time, I’d recommend you grab some food and sit down to admire your work. But the job isn’t over yet, because if you installed adjustable coilover’s like I did, they may need further adjustments to their height. This was the height of my car when I was done:

Not bad, but the rear end was a bit too low. It’s a good idea to take the car for a drive at this point and test out whether it will scrape on any speed bumps or on the kerb entering driveways etc.

Also note that NSW road laws require that your car is at least 10cm off the ground at any point (except of course the wheels, which make contact with the ground) so try to keep it above this height to avoid a fine and a defect!

Step 10:

If you care about handling performance (or if you just want to do things properly, really) you now need to get a wheel alignment. This is because when you change a car’s suspension, it alters the whole geometry and changes the angle at which the wheels meet the ground below. So you’ll need to take the car to a mechanic or tyre workshop to get everything back into alignment.

And there you have it! You’re now ready to carve up some corners even better than before. Remember to enjoy your car responsibly, and if you really want to get your Tokyo Drift on, it’s probably a good idea to take it to a race track where you can drive like a maniac without the danger of hitting a tree or hurting pedestrians and road users.