Slideshow: How to Buy Coilovers
Suspension modifications are about much more than making your car look good and handle better over stock. The right set can literally change a beater into a supercar killer given the right conditions. This is what you need to know!
You Get What You Pay For
Sometimes, when it comes to changing around parts on a vehicle there is little to no difference between really bank-busting equipment and penny-pinching bargain parts. In other cases (like shocks) you absolutely get what you pay for. This doesn’t mean you have to fork over thousands of dollars, but if you think you’re getting top-shelf coilovers for $600 you’re only fooling yourself. There are cheap ways to get a great set without forking over all your hard earned cash…
New vs. Used
Buying a brand new set of coilovers has a lot of perks: you know the shocks aren’t going to need rebuilding and nothing is going to be misrepresented if you buy from a reputable source. That doesn’t mean you can’t steal top shelf stuff for next to nothing. Buying used coilovers that someone is giving up as they upgrade hardware is a great way to great equipment on a budget. Autocross forums and other track day organizations are great to post on in order to find a great set of coils for dirt cheap!
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Request Shock Dynos
All shocks are not created equal. Each one is likely to vary slightly when dyno’d so you will want to request a set that has been matched together. This isn’t the same as going online and googling a picture of the shock dyno plot either. You need the actual set that is going in your car to ensure top performance!
>>Join the conversation about buying coilovers for your car right here in the 6SpeedOnline Forum!
Valving and Spring Rates
Deciding on a spring rate is going to be a compromise of performance no matter what. When it comes to setting up a car for the track you will need stiffer springs that are likely to be uncomfortable on the street. If you’re looking to buy a set you should make sure they have been valved to handle whatever rates you plan on using.
>>Join the conversation about buying coilovers for your car right here in the 6SpeedOnline Forum!
On Adjustability
Rebound and compression are the two main adjustments to be made on a shock. A majority of shocks only permit rebound to be controlled which is more than enough for a majority of builds that see street duty. Going to a double adjustable is something that requires experience to tune correctly with 3-way and 4-way adjustable shocks being necessary for cars with high downforce loads. This should not be confused with “clicks” of adjustability which are more about how many ways you can fine-tune each individual setting.
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Cross-Talk
One of the main reasons you do not want to buy cheap shocks is cross-talk. Here’s an example: say your car isn’t responding quickly through low-speed slaloms so you want to sharpen things up. You stiffen rebound and without ever touching compression the compression side stiffens up. Now all the sudden you adjusted both channels unintentionally. This is cross-talk and it happens on A LOT of low-end coilovers. Beware of this!
>>Join the conversation about buying coilovers for your car right here in the 6SpeedOnline Forum!
Conclusions
If you’re on a budget you can get some great stuff used which is definitely the way to go. If you have money to spend opt for quality products that the seller is willing dyno, valve, and support if you go to the race track. Coilover tuning is not easy so many higher end companies will provide trackside support with the purchase of your parts. This is worth double the price of the coils themselves as trackside support can go into the hundreds of dollars per hour! Hope you enjoyed this guide!
>>Join the conversation about buying coilovers for your car right here in the 6SpeedOnline Forum!