Coilover install??

[ca2822]

How feasible is it to install coilovers (say Tein Flex) by yourself with an extra pair of hands or do they need to be installed by professionals? Also, what would you need to do after installation and an approximate 1.5" drop - could it just be taken in to get aligned?

 

[amengineering]

If you like to work on your car, go for it. It's not much harder than changing a tire. It's pretty easy, mine took 15-20mins each. Air tools help to speed things up, get some cheap spring compressors, a 3-4ft 2x4, and a basic socket set and your good to go. Do a seach, there are a few good DIY walkthoughs. Once you finish you'll be glad you saved the money because it was so easy and the next big job you attempt won't be so intimidating. After you are done just take it in for an alignment. good luck.

 

[chado]

How feasible is it to install coilovers (say Tein Flex) by yourself with an extra pair of hands or do they need to be installed by professionals? Also, what would you need to do after installation and an approximate 1.5" drop - could it just be taken in to get aligned?

Only attempt it if you have the tools.

 

[NSXclear]

It's not really that difficult if you have changed your suspension on other cars.

But I disagree with it being a little harder than changing your tire. It's much harder than just changing a tire.

 

[Ryuji]

It took me about 1 day and a half

I do admit that I'm maniac , I work slowly (taking care not to
break something), I check everything twice (3 times if I can)
and I clean everything I can while doing the job...

It's not that hard but surely harder than a tire change (2x4
method rocks).

 

[ChopsJazz]

Do a search and find a DIY for it. It's really quite easy if, as mentioned above, you've got the tools and done some suspension work before.

A little advice: Remove the brake line clips from the front suspension for clearance to remove/install the front shocks. Also, have a 2X4 (about 3 or 4 feet long) to use as a lever to lower the rear A-arm to remove/install the rear shock.

The first time I did this it took me 2 days (with help) but that included dismantling the shocks and changing out the springs. The second time I did it alone in under 1 hour. Good luck.

 

[RON98]

depends on the car.
:biggrin: somtimes its very smooth and other times it takes forever.

if your asking this question.... probably better to get it installed by someone else.

 

[ca2822]

Well I've done one spring install on a 92 prelude a few years back. Basically just used the servive manual to do it.... sooooo I think I should be good. Is the service manual much help for the nsx? Following how to replace spring/strut and just doing the reverse to put the coilover in?

 

[RON98]

Well I've done one spring install on a 92 prelude a few years back. Basically just used the servive manual to do it.... sooooo I think I should be good. Is the service manual much help for the nsx? Following how to replace spring/strut and just doing the reverse to put the coilover in?

if u have done some car stuff, then go for it. you might be looking at 3-8 hour or more... depending on how smoothly things go.

i would use the 2x4 trick and look at the walk through.

you need spring compressors. i tired doing them when i could not find my spring compressors.. it took me 2X longer then usual

 

[ca2822]

would you still need compressors for a full coilover? Wouldn't the whole OEM shock assembly slide out?

 

[Ojas]

C-speed posted several DIY articles recently, including "How to install coilovers":

...for those that would like to change/upgrade their stock dampers:

http://www.c-speedracing.com/howto/nsx/coilovers/nsx_coilovers_install.php

 

[RON98]

would you still need compressors for a full coilover? Wouldn't the whole OEM shock assembly slide out?

the spring compressor is for when the oem setup is ON the car.

When you push down with the 2x4, the springs will push down and extend the suspension preventing you from taking it out fo the mount.

you dont need spring compressor to install tein coilovers.

 

[RON98]

C-speed posted several DIY articles recently, including "How to install coilovers":

ya... its not a very good walk through.

there are lots of other stuff to deal with.

 

[enkrypt3d]

Getting the OEM shocks out is going to take the longest.. Remove all but 1 of the top bolts out so its loose, then undo the bottom bolt then use a 2 x 4 to push down on the rotor (have someone sit on it) but they dont have to put down a lot of pressure.... You just have to move the rotors down a bit - not all the way or you cant get them out.... then have your friend twist and pull the bottom of the shock out of the cup (where the bottom of the shock sits)

Putting the coilovers back in is so much easier because they are much shorter than the OEM ones.... good luck!

By the way you do NOT need a spring compressor... It will only get in the way of you removing the shocks... compressing the spring gives you no benefit as you still have to remove the shocks which does not compress if the spring is compressed.

 

[RON98]

would you still need compressors for a full coilover? Wouldn't the whole OEM shock assembly slide out?

if you think the oem will just "slide" out. your in for a big surprise. :wink:

i would take it to a shop if i was in your shoes. you can spend hours on hours on this and not get it installed right.

keep it simple. pay some one to do it.

i install these all the time, its no fun for the first timer.

 

[RON98]

Getting the OEM shocks out is going to take the longest.. Remove all but 1 of the top bolts out so its loose, then undo the bottom bolt then use a 2 x 4 to push down on the rotor (have someone sit on it) but they dont have to put down a lot of pressure.... You just have to move the rotors down a bit - not all the way or you cant get them out.... then have your friend twist and pull the bottom of the shock out of the cup (where the bottom of the shock sits)

this has not been my experience with the 2x4 trick even when putting extreme leverage on the rotors. the stock struct and springs still extend far enough to catch the mount by 1 inch.

maybe im doing it 1 person and cant get enough leverage on it or my 2x4 is too small . this is where the spring compressor comes in.

 

[KooLaid]

it's going to suck no matter how many hands you got to help. It's best with one other hand. Any others and it starts to get too crowded. Before you go with the full blown coilover route, I would HIGHLY suggest the stock spring on lower perch bilstein shocks route. It was my perfect match I found out after I had spent thousands messing around with different combinations of EVERYTHING from coilovers to sways to tires, etc.

Don't make the mistake I did by having a minor issue I wanted to fix by ending up with a completely screwy handling car, and throwing hundreds and thousands more at the problem to try to fix it. Especially when the solution simply meant going back to step 1 and starting over instead of compounding a problem.

Lowering it 1.5" will hugely affect your camber. Any amount of lowering will require an alignment.

Figure out,
1) what is the problem you want to fix, handling or cosmetic or both?

Then obviously like the AF, start at the lowest simplest level and work up. Because it only gets ALOT more expensive from there.

 

[enkrypt3d]

this has not been my experience with the 2x4 trick even when putting extreme leverage on the rotors. the stock struct and springs still extend far enough to catch the mount by 1 inch.

maybe im doing it 1 person and cant get enough leverage on it or my 2x4 is too small . this is where the spring compressor comes in.

yea if u push down too hard, you wont be able to get the OEM shocks out... theres a small gap where you can get the shocks out of the lower cup... We spent 3 hours trying to figure this out... You dont have to be heavy as long as your 2x4 is at least 4'+ long

 

[RON98]

yea if u push down too hard, you wont be able to get the OEM shocks out... theres a small gap where you can get the shocks out of the lower cup... We spent 3 hours trying to figure this out... You dont have to be heavy as long as your 2x4 is at least 4'+ long

lol. didnt have 3 hours to "figure this out". time is money when your working. :wink:

how about lets put it this way..... get spring compressors and save a couple of hours. :wink:

mark's car i just worked on was a nightmare, the structs would not come out in the front for the life of me. i ended up dropping the lower control arm...... took about 10-15 min each side to drop and install the lower control arms in the front and it was done fast.

cars are like people. each one is different. just have to adapt to each car.

 

[enkrypt3d]

lol. didnt have 3 hours to "figure this out". time is money when your working. :wink:

how about lets put it this way..... get spring compressors and save a couple of hours. :wink:

mark's car i just worked on was a nightmare, the structs would not come out in the front for the life of me. i ended up dropping the lower control arm...... took about 10-15 min each side to drop and install the lower control arms in the front and it was done fast.

cars are like people. each one is different. just have to adapt to each car.

Please explain to me how the spring compressor works on a coilover system?

Compressing the spring does nothing for you really when the coilover body itself will not compress with the spring. The spring compressor will get in the way more so than its worth to me... having the spring compressed is a waste of time and $.... and if u do something wrong, u could have a spring to the face..

 

[RON98]

Please explain to me how the spring compressor works on a coilover system?

Compressing the spring does nothing for you really when the coilover body itself will not compress with the spring. The spring compressor will get in the way more so than its worth to me... having the spring compressed is a waste of time and $.... if u do something wrong, u could have a spring to the face..

you dont need the spring compressor to install the aftermarket coilover system since they are lower profile and will slide in easily for the install.

The spring compressor is used to lower the profile of the STOCK SUSPENSION SYSTEM.

When you use the 2x4 or just go at it the regular way, by compressing the spring 2-3 inches will give you just that much more clearance to pull out the STOCK spring and strut instead of spending 3 hours trying to find that sweet spot.

it has nothing to do with installing the coilover but removing the stock system.

You wont get a spring in the face because the springs are still held in place by the strut should the spring compressors slip of.... but the point is if you do it right, they wont. :smile:

I know you can do it with out spring compressors. Im not disputing that. What im saying is if the difference is between 2-3 hrs or 6-8 hours is a 20$ set of spring compressors. it makes more sense to get them.

Its about opportunity cost.... if you make 20$ an hour, you waste 2 hours of your life installing coilovers when you could be working... you just lost $40 worth of productivity and also lost 2 extra hours you could be sitting back drinking beer/working or driving your nsx. It makes more sense to spend $20 and buy the spring compressor. Less pain, less time, less opportunity cost.

As a mechanic, its all about high quality work at the fast pace. Its not professional to charge the customer extra because the mechanic is slow. Spring compressors are a good investment.
My rule is if I think I'll use it more then twice in my life. I buy the tool.

if you need a good work out, sweating and cussing at your car for 8 hours. by all means, enjoy the cool concrete on your back between episodes of ranting and raving, save that $20.,

if you like to get the job done, with least effort and still have 1/2 a day to go do stuff, spend the 20$.

 

[ca2822]

Thanks for all the info. After some searchin through some threads, I am nearly 100% sure I'm going to go with bilstein/tein on the lower perch, but all the info for the uninstall of the OEM piece should be helpful.

 

[RON98]

Thanks for all the info. After some searchin through some threads, I am nearly 100% sure I'm going to go with bilstein/tein on the lower perch, but all the info for the uninstall of the OEM piece should be helpful.

remember you need to be careful with this setup because you do need to compress the tein springs to put on the blistein strut.

this is a different kettle of fish then just putting in a matched set of tein coilovers with springs already installed. There is a real chance of getting hurt. If your going this setup, i would take it to a shop.

 

[enkrypt3d]

you dont need the spring to install the aftermarket coilover system since they are lower profile and will slide in easily for the install.

The spring compressor is used to lower the profile of the STOCK SUSPENSION SYSTEM.

When you use the 2x4 or just go at it the regular way, by compressing the spring 2-3 inches will give you just that much more clearance to pull out the STOCK spring and strut instead of spending 3 hours trying to find that sweet spot.

it has nothing to do with installing the coilover but removing the stock system.

You wont get a spring in the face because the springs are still held in place by the strut should the spring compressors slip of.... but the point is if you do it right, they wont. :smile:

I know you can do it with out spring compressors. Im not disputing that. What im saying is if the difference is between 2-3 hrs or 6-8 hours is a 20$ set of spring compressors. it makes more sense to get them.

Its about opportunity cost.... if you make 20$ an hour, you waste 2 hours of your life installing coilovers when you could be working... you just lost $40 worth of productivity and also lost 2 extra hours you could be sitting back drinking beer/working or driving your nsx. It makes more sense to spend $20 and buy the spring compressor. Less pain, less time, less opportunity cost.

As a mechanic, its all about high quality work at the fast pace. Its not professional to charge the customer extra because the mechanic is slow. Spring compressors are a good investment.
My rule is if I think I'll use it more then twice in my life. I buy the tool.

Yea I'm talking about removing the OEM coilovers... compressing the spring does nothing for you as the top mount does not compress with the spring making it a moot point. And with the spring compressors on the OEM spring, the threaded bolts are so long that you can not remove the OEM shock out of the suspension... Trust me I spent a lot of time trying everything and was only able to get it out with the above method.

Putting on aftermarket coilovers is very easy since they are about 8" shorter than the OEM ones... I can remove my TEIN's in about 10 minutes per corner...

 

[KooLaid]

Go ride around in some other owners cars to get a taste of what you want to do. Then make a decision. I wouldn't suggest any major changes until you REALLY get a feel for the car in stock form. Winter in Colorado definitely won't give you the time needed to get a feel for it. Wait till summer. Till then, how about doing power mods? Power is always a good thing

Also if you're looking at Tein on lower perch, you're going to want to get some camber correction cams. Can't go wrong with bilsteins no matter what though. Have fun with it, swap out the perch locations with the stock spring, then try it with the teins. Seriously though, the stock stuff is VERY good considering it saved my butt when I should of been launched through a guard rail and off the side of a mountain a few years back when I got sent air born on two wheels rounding a corner.

Putting on aftermarket coilovers is very easy since they are about 8" shorter than the OEM ones... I can remove my TEIN's in about 10 minutes per corner...

Removing or installing aftermarket coilovers are cake. 10 minutes is about right. Now oem shocks and springs..... no fun whatsoever.