Making coilovers with your own hands

The stability of a car on the road and its handling largely depend on the suspension. There are various types, and they are designed by manufacturers for certain operating conditions. A soft suspension provides better comfort, while a hard suspension allows you to corner at high speed.

In addition, there is the concept of ground clearance, which limits the ability of a conventional low-slung vehicle to move off-road. But there are shock absorbers such as coilovers, or in other words, coil suspension, they allow you to customize the car to specific driving conditions.

EDGE Barracuda X2 Hand-built buggy › Logbook › Part 11. Homemade coilovers.

There are many ways to make adjustable shock absorbers for buggies.
The easiest way is to go and buy ready-made FOX coilovers, as stated in the drawings for the buggy. But the cost will be from 25 thousand per piece. I didn’t take this option into account for now.

There is a high probability that all attempts to make normal coilovers from cheap shock absorbers will not be successful and in the end I will spend an amount comparable to the purchase of correct coilovers on modifications and selection. Ideally, you need shock absorbers similar to these, but long-stroke ones with a rod stroke of 25-30 cm.

First I bought Monroe rear shocks from a Ford F-150. According to the Monroe catalog, they are the longest stroke. But later I postponed it because a more interesting option appeared.

I took the mid-budget route. I did not install cartridges from the VAZ 2108 (front) due to the small stroke of the rod and the short body, but there is a thick rod. There are also a lot of problems with turning work, and the Turner is already afraid of me with my orders. This option is the most budget-friendly. The cost of a cartridge is from 1500 rubles. Plus springs for 500 rubles each

I was offered, at a good price, universal shock absorbers for sports SUVs ProComp MX6, adjustable for rigidity. It was decided to build on their basis

The length of the shock absorber in the uncompressed state is about 31″ and the stroke of the rod is 12″. Just like in the drawings.

You can make a coilover from a simple shock absorber in many ways, for example; 1) have a turner cut a thread on the body and turn out a spring support 2) have a turner cut round holes on the body inside which retaining rings are installed on which the spring cup will rest 3) weld a threaded cup to the body to adjust the spring cup.

I followed the path of minimal resistance, used a 50mm plumbing socket and a nut to which I welded a cup (laser cut). I did not weld the drive itself to the body; it is pressed with a spring. This is what it looks like

Well, then the assembly. Rear springs from VAZ 2111 (like everyone else)

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DIY coilovers, making the suspension adjustable

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”!

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.

Helical adjustable suspension

A shock absorber in a car suspension is used as a damping element that reduces the amplitude of vibrations. There are many suspension options, and one of them is shown in the photo.

Each of the elements, spring and shock absorber, being components of the suspension, serve for specific purposes. But in some cases, they are structurally performed in the form of a single unit. This combination is known as a screw suspension, one of the variants of such a device is shown in the photo.

It has already been mentioned that this combination is called adjustable suspension. One of the options for its manufacture is to cut a thread directly on the shock absorber and attach support washers to it, between which the spring is located. This results in a new single rack that replaces the existing one.

Coilover design and varieties

The design of this element differs insignificantly from the classical one. Although it has better performance and greater reliability, the basic idea of the rack has not changed. Among the main components of the coilover it is worth noting:

frame;
spring;
adjusting coupling.

There is a thread on the body or a cover with it is attached. It is along this that the clutch is adjusted, moving freely up and down. The spring is located between the coupling and the stop, which allows you to change its position by simple adjustment.

The materials used to create a coilover are much better than for a classic strut. After all, here the structure must work in different ranges of spring stiffness, withstanding different loads.

The upper part of the rack is equipped with a fastening in the form of a classic socket under the body. The lower part of the mount is also equipped with a coupling, which is used for further adjustment. The design is very simple, but it is important to follow the adjustment standards to ensure good controllability of the car.

Do it yourself

As already mentioned, buying ready-made coilovers will cost a significant amount. Even purchasing casings separately will be quite expensive. Therefore, the optimal solution for the domestic car enthusiast is to independently assemble such a part. But there is one difficulty; for manufacturing you simply need a lathe. The casing and coupling are made on it. If the machine is not available, then you can ask a turner you know. In this case, the strut will cost a little more, but still cheaper than a purchased one. First, you should choose a shock absorber. It is advisable to purchase sports shock absorbers, they are stiffer. This allows them to work effectively in any conditions (both compression and tension). It is advisable to purchase new racks; remaking old ones is ineffective. They fail quite quickly, and you will have to replace them again. An article on the topic “Which shock absorber is better, gas or oil.”

The next step is to grind out the sleeve (casing). At the same time, 2 nuts are prepared, as well as a support cup. It should be done based on the diameter of the spring. This concludes the preparatory work. For assembly, the protective cover is removed from the standard rack. A blank is installed in its place, with nuts and a support washer screwed onto it. Don't forget to secure the glass by welding a couple of metal plates. A silent block is installed. Please note that the shock absorber that was previously installed may not be suitable. Of course, you may get lucky and guess the diameter correctly, but this happens relatively rarely. The boot is installed. It can be borrowed from the steering rack of any foreign car. The last step is installing the spring. To do this, you will need a screed, this will simplify the work as much as possible. The finished part is installed on the machine.

How to make coilovers with your own hands. Some secrets

If you wish, you can make coilovers yourself. If you don't want to spend money on new springs, you can simply purchase a kit that allows you to upgrade your old suspension. This is simply a casing equipped with threads. At the same time, your significant financial savings are obvious. You will also increase your own safety.

If you have some lathe skills, you can make your own coilovers. To do this, you need to take a regular stand and just modify it a little.

The easiest way to make coilovers:

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.

NIXAS Blog What is a coilover, coil suspension

Springs are created in the form of coils, which allows them to compress and decompress. Coilovers (helical suspension) allow you to compress the spring relative to the shock absorber. The shock absorber can be made with adjustable stiffness.

What types of coilovers and coilovers are there? There are two main types of coilovers. One of them allows you to keep your old strut by installing a screw thread and a spring with modified characteristics. The problem with this method is that by changing the ground clearance of your car, the shock absorber cannot cope with the work of the suspension (which leads to deterioration in handling). The second type changes your entire stance. In this case, the threads are applied directly to the strut body, which is the preferred method for lowering your vehicle. One of the advantages of this method is the ability to adjust the ground clearance directly on the car without disassembling the suspension.

How low can coilovers or coilover suspension lower your vehicle? It all depends on the brand of coilovers and the specific vehicle. Most coilovers have a drop of about 20mm at their highest position. The range of lowering settings is possible from 20mm to 100mm, although most car owners lower their car in the region of 30-50mm. Some people prepare their cars for shows and exhibitions by lowering their cars as low as possible. So in most cases, coilovers allow you to lower your car more than necessary. There is also a helical suspension that allows you to increase the ground clearance of your car or jeep, but this is a topic for another resource. We can help you lower almost any car. Complete Kit: When people want to buy coilovers, they usually mean a complete kit with shock absorbers. This is the most expensive and complete set. Depending on the manufacturer and vehicle, they also come with journal bearings or simply top mounts. This means you won't have to use your old parts when installing coilovers. They also come with new bump stops specifically designed for lowering the car. There are also incomplete sets; front coilovers are produced separately especially for drag racers. There are also separate springs with screw threads without a stand (I described them above).

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.

What it is

How to make coilovers with your own hands? To answer this question, it is advisable to understand the features of this device. In a nutshell, this is a stand with height adjustment. This is what the screw thread is for. Thanks to this, you do not have to cut the spring struts. The adjustment is made by unscrewing or tightening the coupling on the shock absorber. This allows you to lower the car without reducing the ride quality of the suspension. After all, the spring retains its length, the shock absorber is not clamped, and is able to perform its work completely as usual. Now let’s move on to the question of what this tuning gives, besides the low landing. The thing is that with proper regulation, the camber angle can be slightly corrected. This allows you to achieve higher performance on sports and drift cars.

Device. The basis for the coilover is a regular shock absorber strut. But only with sufficient rigidity, otherwise problems may arise when working in a “twisted” state. A threaded casing is used to control the rack. It can be initially threaded, or installed on top of the standard one. There is a spring between the upper platform and the control coupling.

Settings

Set all strut controls to zero. That is, in the softest position. The most common adjustment is clockwise, clamped, counterclockwise, loose. When opening to ZERO, make sure you feel the first click. This is necessary, because if the regulator is between the clicks, the valve will be closed and the shock absorber will not work. Having installed and released the shock absorbers, feel free to move to the wheel alignment stand. To begin, set the standard angles. If the AL has castor adjustment, set the caster. If the AL is cambered, set the desired camber on it. Remember that at high camber angles the tires will wear out quickly.

Next, your task is to find a road with a surface similar to the one on which the car will be driven. It is desirable that there be some holes, uneven surfaces, in general, all types of surfaces on which you are supposed to drive. Ride around the selected area several times with adjustments to ZERO. The car will most likely be sluggish and reluctant to turn. This will be especially noticeable on gravel shock absorbers. After you have ridden, you should analyze your feelings. How the car behaves.

Then feel free to add 20 % to the front and 15 % to the rear adjustment. That is, if you only have 30 clicks to adjust from lock to lock, this means that you should tighten the front by about 10 clicks, and the rear by 5. Ride along the road again, analyze the sensations. Ideally, the car should lick bumps, not nod its nose too much when braking, and be controlled on uneven roads. Then add 5 clicks and then do test drives, achieve optimal handling, braking and overcoming bumps. The rear should not bounce off obstacles; after compression, the suspension should straighten and remain in this position (there should be no swaying). The car should “lick” holes and bumps and accurately follow the profile of the road. The wheels should not leave the road.

Difference from conventional racks

The classic strut used in cars has a simple design of a body and a spring. This is a very reliable option that has been used all over the world for a long time. However, it has a huge drawback - adjustment of this design is not provided. The spring has two attachment points; it is not possible to change one of them. The only option is to change the spring length, which is often done by beginners in the tuning field.

Important! This modification significantly reduces traction, so modifying classic struts is life-threatening.

As for the coilover, it is fully adjustable. The lower stop moves freely along the thread, changing the position of the spring. Thanks to this, it is possible to adjust the height of the car without irreversible methods.

Among the main advantages of coilovers over conventional struts it is worth noting:

Therefore, they are considered a good replacement for classic stands. However, they also have disadvantages, including the high price, as well as technical features such as camber adjustment and others.

In addition, the coilover allows you to adjust the camber of the wheels, which is essential for many sports cars. Fine-tuning these elements will significantly improve the car's handling, as well as improve its performance for drifting.

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.

Coilovers for VAZ and other methods of lowering video

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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additional information

However, adjustable suspension has not only advantages, it also has disadvantages.

Coilovers require careful maintenance and monitoring. In most cases, there are no seals on the rods to prevent dust and dirt from entering the body. And this leads to rapid wear of the bushings, which will result in knocking and jamming of the rod.
Such a suspension must be adjusted for certain conditions, for example, driving on gravel or asphalt. If the coilovers are set to one surface, but you have to move differently, then this is fraught with shaking and the possibility of damage to the suspension. So, on asphalt it should work with short strokes, on gravel - with long strokes. If the suspension is not configured correctly, it will not follow the road profile, resulting in poor handling.
Significant shaking when driving does not indicate that the suspension is working, but that it does not correspond to the driving conditions.

Coilovers allow you to change the characteristics of the existing suspension on your car. However, it must be designed for specific driving conditions and may not work equally well on different surfaces. So the use of such elements in a car must be treated with caution and the consequences of their use must be fully understood.

DIY coilovers, making the suspension adjustable

Application

As is clear from the above, coil-over suspensions are used to fine-tune a car in order to improve handling. Naturally, this is relevant for tuning aimed at increasing speed characteristics. Thus, the VAZ coil-over suspension is very popular, since these cars have poor handling in stock, and their tuning is inexpensive, which is why it is widespread.

In addition, such parts are used for sports cars to improve their performance to achieve even better results. Therefore, BMW coilover suspension is common, especially for older models, but also for Japanese sports cars.

Helical adjustable suspension

A shock absorber in a car suspension is used as a damping element that reduces the amplitude of vibrations. There are many suspension options, and one of them is shown in the photo.

DIY coilovers

In principle, such a design can be made with your own hands, if, of course, you have the skills to work on a lathe, you can use an existing stand, modifying it in a similar way.

The easiest way to make a coilover is as follows.

Why do you need adjustable suspension? Its advantages are easier installation and the ability to adjust spring precompression. Often this allows you to increase the vehicle's ground clearance.

In some cases, coilovers are used on SUVs, but they are more in demand on sports cars and when tuning passenger cars. This is explained by the fact that with their help you can lower the car and make the suspension stiffer. This change will allow you to move at a faster speed. How to adjust and use coilovers is shown in the video.

What types of coilovers are there?

Depending on the characteristics of the device, several types of products are distinguished:

The most primitive ones consist of a shock absorber, the support of which is made on a threaded connection (instead of the traditional support for a spring). It is this design that allows you to adjust the ground clearance by moving the spring up and down. The main advantage is its low cost, the disadvantage is that the shock absorber stiffness cannot be adjusted.
The second type has the ability to change the stiffness of the suspension. True, you will have to pay more for these adjustable stands than for the previous ones. For such a product, the stroke of the rod directly depends on the change in ground clearance. The main advantage is that coilovers can be installed on any car. There are quite a lot of disadvantages:
- deterioration in controllability;
frequent breakdowns.

All this is caused by the fact that the shock absorber wears out, because we leave both the ground clearance and the factory settings of the shock absorber.

Full-tap coilovers, with which you can change three parameters at once: shock absorber stiffness, ground clearance and spring preload. Such devices are also known as “dgr coilovers”. Complete with the product you can often find support bearings that help adjust the camber angle of the wheels. The advantage is a range of suspension settings, which allows you to achieve the effects described above. The disadvantage is the high cost and complexity of installation.

The last class is more advanced products. With their help, you can adjust low- and high-speed compression settings over even larger ranges.