Coilovers instal

[asylum]

I want to instal tein flex myself. I have already done a coilovers install on my friend's Impreza WRX.

Is the difficulty comparable or is there something special to change the coilovers on the NSX ?

Is there a post or webpage explaining that somewhere ?

Thanks a lot and see you soon for the pics !

 

[ChrisK]

I guessing you mean a complete coil over package fully assembled right? Anyway, I swapped in Eibachs on my car by myself. In my case I had to do the extra step of compressing and removing the stock springs and reassebling with the Eibachs, but other than that it is a piece of cake. Have you done it on any Honda before? If so it is pretty much the same. I'm sure there are more detailed posts somewhere here on Prime, but just off the top of my head you remove the brake lines from the shock, remove the single lower shock mount bolt at the bottom, remove the 3 bolts on the top, and wiggle it out. Install in reverse order and torque to spec.

Also, on the main page there is the PDF format service manual that you can look up the suspension sections and it will show you exactly what you need to remove and also give you all the torque specs.

 

[Jonmarsh]

I've done this on my NSX.

There are a number of posts re the topic on the forum, the search engine is your friend- some of which were a little useful, most mainly recanting the difficulties encountered when approaching the job without experience or the right technique.

There's an article in a recent NSXOCA issue about this; that might be more useful.

The most important thing in my opinion is having a good slender set of spring compressors that you can use on the shock while it's installed in the car. The ones from Parts America work sort of, but one of the ones I received were not properly threaded and stripped out. I found a set at a local car parts place (not part of chain) that had better hardware, but the clamps were too wide to fit; combing parts from both I got a spring clamp that worked well in tight spots.

I jacked the car up and put it on jackstands to have good working room. Refer to the manual (downloadable here if you don't have a factory shop manual from Helm- I recommend that - have one specific to my year) regarding basic mechanical details and disassembly.

Some hints:

Don't forget to loosen your lug nuts while the car is on the ground.

You'll need open end as well as box end wrenches and sockets- check the hardware sizes and make sure you have the right ones on hand- will save you time.

If you compress the springs enough on the car, you won't need to go through any gymnastics or excessive leveraging of the suspension to get them out.

I found the minor leverage I needed on the control arms was well handled by a 3 foot 1X3 oak board I had (I do a lot of woodworking). Doesn't scratch, and is strong enough.

A small pry bar set may be helpful in getting the lower shock mount up and out, or re-positioning it when installing.

Take your time; you'll find the second rear wheel and the second front wheel will go faster than the first, of course. But unless you wrench for a living, plan a long day or more.

Use a jack and wood block to compress the suspension after re-installing the new jack before doing final torque settings.

Save the beer for after you're done...

Enjoy your suspension upgrade!

 

[asylum]

Thanks a lot. It does not seems harder than on the Impreza wrx.

 

[nsxexotic]

""""If you compress the springs enough on the car, you won't need to go through any gymnastics or excessive leveraging of the suspension to get them out.
""""

I never knew you had to compress the spring to get the assembly out? correct?

 

[ATERPAK]

You really don't. You need a medium size prybar and even a crowbar for the rears and that's about it for the stock setup. The Tein's go in without any effort at all since the springs are shorter and the whole setup is that way. Good luck.

 

[asylum]

Done !!! But I really need to put it 1 inch higher. To problematic to drive with that height !!!

The only problem is that we broke the small item that attaches the anti-roll bar to the suspension at the rear (don't know how you call that in english, rod???). No problem at the front but at the rear the antiroll bar is attached directly to the bolt that attaches the shock absorber to the suspension arm. Stupid configuration...

 

[ATERPAK]

Yeah and that part is expensive for what you're really getting. It should have been designed more like the front setup and using shorter rods as well. It seems Acura/Honda has a propensity for using long, skinny anti-sway bar tie rod ends. It amazes me that they even work. I do know they had a recall for them on the MDX because they were breaking a lot. The car looks good at the lowered height however. Make sure when you finally make all your height adjustments that the front end is always slightly lower than the rear. The car needs that for stability especially at higher speeds.

 

[asylum]

Make sure when you finally make all your height adjustments that the front end is always slightly lower than the rear. The car needs that for stability especially at higher speeds.

Thanks. And for the look !

 

[NRG]

looks awesome! but good luck at the same time hehehe.