Coilovers, hard to install?

[solid]

Hey i just got my coilovers today, i was wondering if you guys know how hard it is because i dont want to have to waste money and bring it to the shop. How long does it take average? Would you say its a do it your self job or you gotta have some help or bring to the shop. Imma drop my car untill my tires and fender meet. If i can ill try to get pictures on.

[specialkonrd]

its a do it yourself job. i dont have coilovers but i installed my springs myself. for the front took about 3 hours but ur cars newer so bolts might not be so hard to turn heh

ok so basicallyyou have yoru struts and springs in right nowfor the front, undo the 3 bolts at the topand theres 2 just above or behidn the brakes i dont rememebrthe whole strut and spring assembly will come outreplace with coilover bolt back together how it was

on the back theres 2 on the top and one on the bottomsame deal. remove old and put it back how it was with coilover in place

adjust the car to desired hieght BEFORE you take it to alignment shop as it will be aligned for that ride hieght

[solid]

so i have to take it to alignment shop? Never heard.

[Munki4ce]

You dont have to bring your car to get an alignment done. Just make sure that both sides are equall height (count the threads)I have coilovers too, the install is real easy.

[Mayhem_J30]

after doing suspension work like replacing shocks, struts, springs whatever...it's recommended you take it to get aligned and camber adjusted

[nnkfws333]

Best plans are to just start early in the morning cause it might take a while. My fronts took only 1 hour and 30 minutes but rears were worse cause the bolts were really hard to get off so it took about 4 hours. Well you can include cursing and drinking some beer..heh...Best help was getting a breaker bar and have some friends over to help you out.!Hope that helps

[import silvia]

When I did my coilovers they came fully assembled so it was a simple in and out. It took me about 45 minutes to get it done by myself. But my garage is pretty well stocked and I had air tools. After you install them you will either need to get it aligned or get new tires soon and often, your choice.

[Lsnaple]

i dont think you guys notice but he has obx coilovers, not the full coilover setup.

[specialkonrd]

You dont have to bring your car to get an alignment done. Just make sure that both sides are equall height (count the threads)I have coilovers too, the install is real easy.

^^^ HA! see? see??? i was right about the alignment!

[Jonas240sx]

are you replacing your shocks?? i know that the ground controls are only compatible with konis agx's and gr2's i didnt even know they were not compatible with the stock shocks...

[solid]

haha yes you were right. So do you guys think i should might as well take it to the shop? seeing how i would have to take it to the shop anyway or just do it myself?

[Daunttless]

What's an OBX coilover? I mean, I know who OBX is and all but when did they start making coilovers?

[nnkfws333]

Hey Dauntless, they been making them for a while. Honestly I had a friend buy one of there mufflers and man not even 1 year and it started to rust. I told myself I would never buy there products after seeing that. Also my friend called them for assistance and they didnt even speak buy 1 ounce of english. What great customer service.

[Munki4ce]

Take em to the shop if you want to but I can tell you here, NO-ONE takes it to the shop for alignment tho it sounds like a good idea.

[solid]

really? then how come everyone is telling me to? Well how much do you guys think it will cost?

[C-Kwik]

Take em to the shop if you want to but I can tell you here, NO-ONE takes it to the shop for alignment tho it sounds like a good idea.

The 240sx alignment is not affected heavily by just replacing suspension parts. There is some amount of slop in the front suspension since the strut is a locating member of the suspension. If you lower a car any, you may have some camber changes, but it would be minimal in front. The rear will change, but it may not be a bad thing. More camber tends to lead to a flatter contact patch(up to a point). More than anything, you want to make it even, and make sure there is little to no toe. With adjustable ride height suspensions, I would recommend that you have the car corner-weighted (usually only race shops have the scales to do this) and then aligned. Plus, you'll want to make sure your alignment is set how you want it. I'm quite conservative on toe (I try for 0) but I like camber (3 degrees in front, 1 in the rear).

And I take my car to get an alignment anytime I mess with anything that can affect the alignment and everytime I change my tires.

[solid]

alright. thanx for the info.

[solid]

alright so i just got new questions about installing coilovers. i notice how the stock springs are monster compared to the coilovers, the stock boot fits the stock springs, can i fit my coilovers on the stock boot that looks pretty damn big? Or do i have to get new struts? that would suck. $$$

[burgy240]

If you lower an s14 1.4 inches or more you will get a camber of .80 or higher. You must get it aligned to return it to within the .75 allowed from factory. If you don't care about the price of new tires then don't worry though. You will have to get camber correction bolts for the front and your choice of bushing, control arms, etc to fix the rear. If the drop is less than 1.4 inches then you will be fine. Even when the camber is .75 or less you will still get wear on the inner tire. Mine was at .68 after alignment and my tires wore fairly noticable. Good luck

[solid]

ok so say i want to drop it 2 inches. I have to bring it to the shop? get new what? damn this is hella more to it then just lowering my car. So tell me exactly what i have to get and how much it is.

[Onizuka]

I'm quite conservative on toe (I try for 0) but I like camber (3 degrees in front, 1 in the rear).

Wow, how often do you change your tires? like every other day?

[sheadee240]

When you drive hard you have to sacrifice tread life...Sounds like C-Kwik likes over-steer (drifter styley). Personally I like a neutral car...1.75 front and 2.25 rear neg. camber works well for Auto-Cross. And buying Yokohama AVS intermediates on tirerack helps offset tire cost.

Whats the big debate about allignement..It's only like 50-60 bones, and it need to be done every now and then anyhow. You can't go by what the tire shops say (every 5000 miles) because they are sales-people...need I say more, but if you mess with the suspension then I'd say suck it up and drop the $60.

BTW: I know nothing about S13s, but on the S14 the KYB GR2 is almost an exact copy of the factory strut, so maybe they will fit a coil-over sleeve, but I'm sure the coil-over will blow 'em out with a quickness!

Wow, how often do you change your tires? like every other day?

[perpetual gyro]

Quote »I'm quite conservative on toe (I try for 0) but I like camber (3 degrees in front, 1 in the rear).[/quote]I don't like toe-in either...something about oversteer that scares me. Camber is good though, just make sure you rotate often

[C-Kwik]

Wow, how often do you change your tires? like every other day?

I'm quite hard on my tires to begin with. That being said, since I take turns hard, I tend to promote more even contact across the tire. But my front tires have been on the car since Late June or so. It's barely showing signs of accelerated wear on the inside tread. With 0 toe, the tires do not scrub, so the camber wear is minimal. If I had any toe-in, the inside tread would have probably been toast by now. Camber by itself is not as bad as you think. Just make sure the tires point straight, and tire pressures are correct. I'll be flipping the tires on the wheels soon to extend the over all life. Frankly, I went through tires more often before the camber plates. I was climbing over the outer edge of the outer tire on the track and basically wore the outside before the inside on my last two sets of tires. I went to an autocross on an airport runway and the conctrete on runways is very aggressive. I had a good 3/16 of tread on the outer blocks when I started. 5 runs into it and the starter had to pull me off since I was showing cords on the outer tread block. With more camber, I've increased my tire life. But again, I drive hard and actually use all of my tire in a turn. If you drive more conservatively, you may opt for 1-2 degrees. i did see a car last weekend with what I would guess some 7-8 degrees front camber. Sick.

[sheadee240]

Thanks for the info about 0 toe, I would not have thought about that.

Does anyone know a tire shop in or near CT that will do a allignement to very precise measurements. I do not trust some of the clowns that do an allignement at Town fair tire in like 3 minutes.

Thanks,

SHEA

I'm quite hard on my tires to begin with. That being said, since I take turns hard, I tend to promote more even contact across the tire. But my front tires have been on the car since Late June or so. It's barely showing signs of accelerated wear on the inside tread. With 0 toe, the tires do not scrub, so the camber wear is minimal. If I had any toe-in, the inside tread would have probably been toast by now. Camber by itself is not as bad as you think. Just make sure the tires point straight, and tire pressures are correct. I'll be flipping the tires on the wheels soon to extend the over all life. Frankly, I went through tires more often before the camber plates. I was climbing over the outer edge of the outer tire on the track and basically wore the outside before the inside on my last two sets of tires. I went to an autocross on an airport runway and the conctrete on runways is very aggressive. I had a good 3/16 of tread on the outer blocks when I started. 5 runs into it and the starter had to pull me off since I was showing cords on the outer tread block. With more camber, I've increased my tire life. But again, I drive hard and actually use all of my tire in a turn. If you drive more conservatively, you may opt for 1-2 degrees. i did see a car last weekend with what I would guess some 7-8 degrees front camber. Sick.

[Sylvia240sx]

What company does everyone feel makes the best kit or parts for rear camber adjustment on the 240sx? Whitch "parts" do you feel are best for the rear alignment on these cars?