$800 for springs, shocks, sway bars installation

N

Nguyen Nguyen

Registered Member
Joined
22 February 2002
Messages
97
Hi ya all,

Is $800 reasonable for installation of springs, koni shocks, sway bars, and alignment? I am contemplating diy, but the FAQ on this procedure is pretty scary. Is there a simpler procedure? Many thanks!

- Nguyen
 
yup...that would be the labor :D

Nguyen Nguyen said:
Hi ya all,

Is $800 reasonable for installation of springs, koni shocks, sway bars, and alignment? I am contemplating diy, but the FAQ on this procedure is pretty scary. Is there a simpler procedure? Many thanks!

- Nguyen
Click to expand...
 
Agreed. Probably translates to about $70 to $80/hr. which is reasonable
(even in the midwest). Having watched some of this procedure on my car, I think it's worth it.
 
I did my springs and shocks on my car in about 4 relaxed paced hours. (Not reccomended for the inexperienced) If you have done civics or integras successfully before, you can handle it. If not pay the labor. Also you still need to pay the $100 or so for the rack time. For me I saved $700. :D
 
I had mine done at a race shop/customer/friend of mine and I was quoted and charged $500.00 for everything including the alignment. When they were done (including a looooong time to get the alignment perfect) they told me they really should have charged me about $700.00
 
For installation of Eibach springs and Bilstein shocks I was quoted about $350 (without an alignment), so a friend of mine and I did it ourselves. Granted, we have done springs and shocks a couple of times before, but it was worth saving the money to me. Probably took us about 5 hours.
 
I would have paid $500 to be able to sit back and tip a few cold ones, while watching someone else get al dirty now looking back on it! :D But what a great way to "learn" your own car especially a track car by getting in there yourself.

A side note, make sure you get an agreement that you can bring it back for free if after a few days it pulls left or right to get re-aligned. Like Aaron said it is a complicated thing to align a car. Camber, caster, toe-in, toe-out, steering wheel location etc etc.
 
T Bell said:
I would have paid $500 to be able to sit back and tip a few cold ones, while watching someone else get al dirty now looking back on it! :D But what a great way to "learn" your own car especially a track car by getting in there yourself.

A side note, make sure you get an agreement that you can bring it back for free if after a few days it pulls left or right to get re-aligned. Like Aaron said it is a complicated thing to align a car. Camber, caster, toe-in, toe-out, steering wheel location etc etc.
Click to expand...


I just felt like saving the money and learning to do it myself. I kind of value that learning since I presently do not know a whole lot about mechanical stuff. Learning on my own car is easier for me to justify. LOL!! :D

I had the alignment done professionally though. ;)
 
go shop around. It shouldn't cost that much. a REALLY GOOD alignment cost about $100.

Spring and Shock install is the same labor. most speed shop will do it for 200-300. Sway bar installation should be mixed in there because they are working the strut/spring anyways. $100 more is reasonable.

I usually do suspension / brake install lmyself. but you prob need an impact wrench for the strut top nut.
 
Remember we are talking about Springs/Koni's/Swaybars/alignment. You have to swap the lower perches, etc, which you do not have to do with other brands. Very simply, it is more work:).

My $.02,
LarryB
 
Larry Bastanza said:
Remember we are talking about Springs/Koni's/Swaybars/alignment. You have to swap the lower perches, etc, which you do not have to do with other brands. Very simply, it is more work:).

My $.02,
LarryB
Click to expand...

Yeah Koni's absolutely "suck" because of this. If it wasn't the deal I got, I would NEVER buy Koni's again. I had it made with my Tokico Illumina's on my Teg. Actual #'s to "click" for adjustment as well.
 
Glad I bought Bilsteins. ;)
 
Got my NSX-R shock put in for $150 and alignment for $80
 
The NSX-R set comes with the spring pre-assembled right? So you only need to change out the 4 struts complete. Very nice:). That is still a VERY good price though.

LarryB
 
I think my car was on and off the rack (the most state of the art Hunter rack on the market today) for a total of about 2 1/2 hours alone. Granted these guys know how I treat the car and knew I had to have it as perfect as possible. The shop is 45 min from my house and the owner picked up and returned my car for the small fee of being able to drive an NSX. He has some serious cars too! I would never do that with just any shop, but I guess that's the difference when dealing with friends. Either way, the car looks so much better lowered! :)
 
awsomr1 said:
Got my NSX-R shock put in for $150 and alignment for $80
Click to expand...
The R kit is easier due to fully assembled strut, and the price is on the low side. I think labor should be around 5-6 hrs for the R kit.
The quality of the work should be the #1 priority in looking for the right shop to work on the NSX, but it seems like price is the main shopping decision. I hope you guys don't look for doctors this way!:confused:
 
I hope you guys don't look for doctors this way!

ROTFL!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eiffel, Good one:):)

LarryB
 
I just did the Konis/swaybars install on my 91. First off, at about 1/4 turn on front/rear, the car feels GREAT. Amazing. But before that, was the install...

I did the install myself -- but I recommend using a friend. The rear shocks require a bit of muscling around as well as some creative manuevering to get out. Brent Cobb did a write-up a few years back that did a good job of explaining the process (a cursory google seach doesn't reveal the article).

The fronts weren't that bad at all. Once off, BFH will make short work of the spring perches. Simply turn the shock upside down (after you remove, the spring, of course) and give the back of the perch a good whack. Comes right off.

You'll need a spring compressor, a good friend, some patience, and a day -- but you can make it happen. The swaybar install was pretty easy -- I went with the stiffest settings on mine and didn't have to switch out the enlinks (there's a cool little trick if you get the comptech bar where you switch endlinks out from side to side if you go on a softer setting -- more info on the dali page). Personally, that's worth an easy $800 saved for me -- the friend can be paid off with $30 worth of beer/pizza :)

-Matt
 
I got lucky. I did my Eibach springs on OEM shocks myself in about 4 hours total time. I actually did the fronts one day and the rears the next, but it wasn't that bad. After reading Prime I thought I would have to call my friend over, but I was able to do it myself with little to no trouble. Before I got the car aligned I redid it a couple of times the next week because my left front was sitting lower, so I swapped it to the right side and it sort of evened out. I would think a pro shop should be able to do a shock/spring swap in 4 hours max, not inculding alignment time which could take a while to get perfect. I've done about 6 suspensions swaps so I was not as nervous about the NSX suspension and I actually found it to be easier than my Legend suspension.

Personally, knowing what is invloved and after doing it myself I think $800 even with alignment is too much. I think $500 would be reasonable. 4 hours labor at a high rate of $100/hour and the local Acura dealer charges about $80-100 for a 4 wheel alignment.

PS, I know see you are also intalling sway bars so maybe $600 total is reasonable. That is just my opinion though.
 
T Bell said:
Yeah Koni's absolutely "suck" because of this. If it wasn't the deal I got, I would NEVER buy Koni's again. I had it made with my Tokico Illumina's on my Teg. Actual #'s to "click" for adjustment as well.
Click to expand...

I'm amazed you like Illumina better than Koni yellow. From my experience, the Illumina is a nice street shock, the Koni is actual performance shock.
 
If I open a shop, I will not charge less than $200 to do an alignment on the NSX. I've done maybe 50 alignment on various NSX, and usually takes 3 hours to be precise (I'm anal). Factoring $65 per hour, and the cost of good equipment ($20K), $200 is a bargain.

As far as installation for the Koni and springs, I think 5-6 hours is a fair time. Add 1 hr for the sway bar installation.

Personally, I would charge more for height adjustable coilover suspension. Due to it takes time to set the car at the desire ride height and proper rake. Easily add 1-2 hrs of alignment time (has to be on alignment rack).
 
Andrie -- sounds like Custom Alignment's philosophy. I bit the bullet and paid $200 for an alignment after I did the shock install. I'm very happy. Granted, my utility comes from a collinear combination of the konis and an alignment done right. :)

Having said that, the car drives *perfectly.* It feels absolutely great, certainly the best since I've had the car. The small details at Custom -- such as them sandbagging my weight in the driver's seat -- really make a difference in the end with the feel of the car.

It's amazing how subtle modifications done right can really enhance the driving experience.

-Matt
 
I just installed Koni shocks, Ground Control adjustable spring kit and the Alignment for a total labor bill of $240.00 that included machining of the shocks to fit the Ground Control adjustable sleeves. Anti sway bars would be another $50.00
It shouldn't take anyone that works on cars for a living more than 4 hours to do the service.
 

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