What are coilovers? We make a sports suspension

Tuning is often a very expensive pleasure. As a rule, all trends come from the West, so in the arsenal of avid car enthusiasts there are many foreign words that are not known to the common man. So, for example, few people know what downpipes, dampers, and autobuffers are. The same situation repeats itself when we come across the concept of “coilovers”.

Coilovers are an adjustable shock absorber strut that allows you to change the stiffness of the shock absorbers and the ground clearance. Essentially, coilovers act as an adjustable suspension and consist of a support and a spring that wraps around its rod. Coilovers were first developed by Western professionals and used in sports and drifting competitions. The word consists of two parts - “coil” and “over”. If you translate each of them separately (the first is the spring, the second is around), then you can understand what coilovers are.

The main task of the device is to raise or lower the suspension. At the same time, it can be adjusted over a fairly wide range. Consequently, every day you can ride with completely new settings, because the product helps you easily change the ride height (clearance).

If you have a question about what adjustment range the screw suspension has, then the value is 8-10 cm when we are talking about A-arms. When we are dealing with a separate spring and shock absorber, the values vary and are 6-8 cm. However, there may be some variation within different models.

Coilovers (or struts) are an indispensable advantage on roads with poor surfaces or off-road.

How are they different from regular racks?

As you understand, a regular strut - a spring and a shock absorber inside, initially - a non-adjustable suspension. That is, the lower stop in the strut rigidly holds the spring, as well as the lower mount (which is attached to the suspension), an absolutely non-adjustable design. All you can do with your own hands to tune such a one-piece suspension is to trim the coils on the spring, which will cause the shock absorber rod to sink down and the car to become lower. This is what hundreds of popular tuners actually do; probably everyone has seen lowered cars .

But such tuning greatly worsens road grip, no matter what anyone says, because you significantly worsen the characteristics of the suspension, the struts are simply not designed for this!

BUT what to do if your hands itch before the suspension? You should definitely take a closer look at the coilovers.

The coilover is a fully adjustable strut (it's not cast, but adjustable), meaning you don't have to cut the coils on the shock spring. You just need to unscrew the lower stop and move it lower along the thread that is on the body, thereby moving the spring down, which will lower your car, without any “barbaric interventions”, I mean trimming the spring.

However, a coilover provides opportunities not only for vertical adjustment, but also for horizontal! That is, here you can set the angle of the wheel - the notorious “camber”, many will now say - “why bother so much, ordinary foreign cars don’t have camber” - guys, some sports cars need camber - because you need a certain angle of the wheel to the road, because this will give desired speed or drift characteristics.

Bottom line

With the help of comfortable coilovers, you can significantly change the characteristics of the suspension that is installed on a particular car. But you should definitely take into account typical driving conditions. They work differently on different surfaces

That is why it is important to be extremely careful when using such elements in your car. The consequences of such applications must be fully understood. As you know, any modernization is only good in moderation

As you know, any modernization is only good in moderation.

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Coilover device

The base is still a regular shock absorber stock, only with improved characteristics - it should still work in various ranges, from the tightest (compression) to the loosest (increase).

A thread is cut onto its body, or a cover with a screw thread is put on. From below, as in principle on a regular screw, a stop (or a backup coupling) is screwed on; as it becomes clear, it can move up and down the thread.

The spring is installed between the upper stop and the lower (changeable) one.

At the top of such a rack there is a mount, in the usual “socket” of the rack on the body. The lower part of the mount is also put on (screwed onto the thread) and can move up and down.

The device is essentially very simple.

General information about the suspension

To better understand what a coilover is, you must first turn to the most common shock absorber. Its device is shown in the photo below.

Any shock absorber is a cylinder filled with liquid (usually oil) in which a piston moves. The principle of operation of the device is the flow of liquid from one volume to another when the piston moves in one direction or another under the influence of a changing load.

There are different types of shock absorbers, but each one works in a similar way. Thanks to this, vibrations transmitted from the road to the car body are dampened and constant contact of the wheels with the road is ensured.

Types of coilovers

At the moment, there are all two main types:

Allows you to mount a threaded enclosure onto your stock rack, making it essentially a must-have upgrade kit. The downside of such a system is that the standard rack may not be able to cope with the increased load on it and will quickly fail. Also, if the compression is too strong, it practically stops working altogether, which affects the handling of the car.

This is a ready-made coilover assembly - we just remove the old struts and install new ones. The advantage here is that the rack is already designed for different load conditions, its service life is much longer.

How to set it up correctly

It should be noted that these elements can be installed on any car. However, one should not expect total returns from this innovation. It can lead to the car starting to function worse: its handling will deteriorate, etc., since the shock absorber is forced to wear out.

Needs professional adjustment. Only experienced craftsmen can properly adjust coilovers. They often recommend installing the so-called. "full-tap" coilovers, also called "dgr" coilovers. If their adjustment is carried out correctly, it will be possible to simultaneously “kill three birds with one stone,” namely, change both the stiffness of the shock absorber itself and the ground clearance, and at the same time the spring preload. We must not forget that the installation of these elements involves the need to adjust the wheel alignment.

How much can you lower a car?

I know this question is now on the minds of many readers, rejoice guys:

The average lowering rate is from 20 to 35 mm, very good, now you don’t need to cut off the coils, you can lower your car simply by unscrewing the lower stop. In terms of ground clearance, this can give simply stunning figures. Fluctuations can range from 20 to 100 mm. Although when cutting springs, many achieve a lowering of 30 - 50 mm.

If your car is “pumped” and you need to perform at any shows, such as drifting or other sporting events. In just a couple of hours the car drops to the required ground clearance. After the show, it can be raised to a normal “sane” size and move around the city perfectly.

Advantages

The adjustable suspension is easy to install and offers selectable spring pre-compression for increased ride height.
In addition to the ease of adjustment with traditional tools, coilovers have a number of advantages:

Ease of installation.
Affordable prices.
Possibility of adjusting ground clearance without removing the suspension.
Correction of shock absorber stiffness.
Versatility of design. This type of suspension is suitable for cars of any brand.
Reliability and long service life.
Select settings for hardness and wheel camber.

The degree of lowering depends on the type of coilover and the make of the car.

Most adjustable devices allow you to reduce the ground clearance by 20-50 mm.

Pros and cons of coilovers

The advantages include:

Quick installation, no special knowledge required, installed just like regular racks.
Variability of clearance within wide limits. You can either lower the car or raise it slightly (up to 20 - 30 mm), which is important for areas with bad roads.
Rapid change in clearance.
No need to cut springs.
Customize the suspension for yourself, select the desired stiffness or comfort, as well as the angle of the wheels.
Extended service life. If you don’t torture them too much, they will last quite well, because the structure is reinforced.
Possibility to purchase a kit for upgrading existing racks.
They exist for almost all types of cars.

Negative points:

The cost is two to three times higher than good shock absorbers from famous manufacturers.
You need to be able to configure it, be sure to maintain the synchronization of all wheels (the parameters must be the same), otherwise, on the contrary, you will worsen the driving characteristics.
When installed on old racks, they may not last for a long time.
Often camber adjustment is required; this is not necessary with standard drains.

As you can see, there are both disadvantages and advantages, let’s just say that for those who were preparing to cut the springs, this is a real salvation, because often “folk tuners” install only struts and short springs in the summer - thereby lowering the car, and in winter they drive completely different ones. Thus, coilovers will replace these two sets, you can even increase the ground clearance in winter because snow drifts are frequent, and in summer on good roads you can lower yourself a little and “drift”!

Popular manufacturers

Coilovers from a reliable manufacturer pay for themselves due to their long service life.

Adjustable screw suspensions are produced by reliable companies:

(Sweden).
(Britannia).
Concern "Kayaba" (Japan).
Enterprise "H&R" (Germany).
(Germany).
(Netherlands).
(Belgium).
XYZ Racing (Taiwan).
Guangzhou Fat Chassis Technology Company (China).

This is interesting: Shopping with a promotional code

British is the world's most famous manufacturer of screw systems equipment. The company produces four types of coilovers for different purposes.

Is it possible to do it yourself?

To be honest, you can do anything, but think about how you will do it in your garage. If you don’t want to spend a lot of money on new coilovers, just buy a kit for upgrading the old suspension, that is, just a casing with threads for your car. Thus, you will save a lot of money, and your safety will be higher. With your own hands, they may fall apart along the way - so, of course, it’s up to you to think. Personally, I wouldn't risk it.

Now let's watch a short video.

This is where I end my article, read our AUTOBLOG.

Carrying out setup

Once you have installed the new suspension, you can begin tuning and adjusting. Everything is done using screws. Most types of coil suspensions have the ability to adjust spring preload, caster, ground clearance and camber.

For different options, the number of configurable parameters also varies. In some suspension versions, simultaneous adjustment of spring preload and ground clearance will be available. This makes it possible to change the height of the car above the road and the stiffness of the suspension.

But such models do not have individual settings for related parameters. The top models have at their disposal up to a couple of dozen possible rigidity positions and settings of other parameters. These include both compression and castor with rebound, and the adjustment is made individually, and not in the coupe.

Using a stand or machine, you can adjust the first parameter in case of a remote spring installation (spring with locknut).

At the bottom of the strut, you can adjust the ride height using two nuts. You will change it by loosening the locknut without changing the stiffness of the shock absorbers, and to make adjustments to the castor with camber, tighten the bearing together with the spring cup.

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For the fighting weekend

D2 Racing RS Series

These D2 RS coils have 36 compression force settings with separate preload adjustments. This will allow for more precise suspension tuning while maintaining the stance at all times during the race.

Eibach Multi-Pro-R2

Eibachs can help adjust angular weights for optimal balance. They also have a huge range of compression force adjustments, allowing you to optimize the car for comfortable or sporty driving.

Godspeed Project Mono-RS

Designed for the Nissan 240SX, Honda Civic, Subaru, Lexus and Mazda, these GodSpeed coilovers feature 32 firmness settings and a camber plates feature built into select models. A good choice for a weekend at the track on a tight budget.

H&R Premium

Like H&R's Street Performance, these coilovers will cost a pretty penny. This is primarily due to the use of lightweight materials in their construction to help reduce the weight of the vehicle.

HKS Hipermax MAX4GT 40th anniversary Limited-Edition

This is the best coilover option from HKS for street and track. They have 30 firmness settings, but they will be offered in limited quantities, so if you get your hands on one, congratulations.

Ksport GT Pro

Unlike standard coilovers, these Ksport GT Pros are special, using oversized 55mm inverted shocks for better performance. They are made to minimize the time the rod moves. They have 36 stiffness adjustments and also come with camber adjustment.

KW Clubsport

Created for serious guys who drive cars every day, but also don’t mind spending weekends on the track on normal skating rinks, ClubSports are one of the best for these purposes. They allow you to adjust suspension geometry, as well as adjust rebound and compression to fine-tune the entire suspension.

Teen Street Flex Damper

They are similar to Tein's Street Advance, except for more flexible flex settings and universal top mounts. This is a simple, ready-made solution for those who race on the street and around the ring.

What are coilovers? We make a sports suspension - with our own hands