Many people quickly find that their stock suspension components are geared more towards comfort than performance, and many shops charge way too much to swap these components out for you. However, it really is quite simple to do yourself...so this tech article will show you how to replace your springs and shocks with something geared more towards performance. There are numerous combinations of springs and shocks out there, so this article will simply focus on showing you how to do the installation...we will leave the actual choice of suspension components up to you. The setup we will be installing in this write up is the non-damper adjustable FLT-1US full coilover system by
JIC Magic. This system will allow for height adjustment seperate from the spring perch...allowing us to keep full suspension travel no matter how low we go. Installation is very straight forward, so I give this a difficulty of three on a scale from 1 to 10.
Items to gather before you start:
- jack and jack stands
- blocks for front wheels
- spring compressors (highly reccomended for safety)
- lug wrench
- torque wrench
- (2) ratchets
- (1) regular and (1) deep 14mm socket
- (2) regular and (2) deep 17mm sockets
- (1) regular 19mm socket (for most spring compressors)
- breaker bar and liquid wrench (optional)
- 5mm hex wrench
- (2) replacement locking nuts for front fork bolts
- any other tools required by your new dampers
Before you start, you need to raise the vehicle and support it on jack stands. You should never work under a car supported by only a jack. You should also disconnect the negative battery terminal.