Question for the Pros :)

[Enigma_Man]

What is the difference between coilovers, and the standard shock/spring setup? Because on our cars, the springs are coiled over the shocks anyway... I dunno, I'm just confused about the terminology.

-Jesse

 

[Tevenor]

Our stock suspension is a "coil-over" setup stock. You are correct there. There difference is that you want an "adjustable coil-over" setup. The stock coil-over-shock system is non-adjustable for ride height or spring rates (I suppose you could swap springs on a stock setup but why?. This allows tuning the suspension to match the demands as well as springs to control weight transfer.

Basically, as far as DSM's are concerned, we use the generic term 'coilovers' to mean aftermarket adjustable coil-over-spring systems.

 

[dsmnate]

Originally posted by Enigma_Man
What is the difference between coilovers, and the standard shock/spring setup? Because on our cars, the springs are coiled over the shocks anyway... I dunno, I'm just confused about the terminology.

-Jesse

Yes, our car have what is called a coil over setup from the factory because the spring are coiled over the shocks but the this setup is not adjustable at all. The stock spring sits on a perch that is welded to the shock and cannot be moved. The picture below is of the stock setup....I circled the perch that the stock spring or even aftermarket springs such as the eibach pro-kit or spotline kit would sit on.

Coilovers, as they are commonly refered to in the tuning world, generally do not use the perch to rest the springs on. An adjustable coilover kit comes with spring and threaded collars. These collars are designed to fit snuggly over a shock with the help of o-rings and replace the standard perch as seen in the diagram. The collars then have locking "perches" that can be threaded up or down the collar enabling you to adjust the height of the vehicle. Most coilover setups have two that you turn in opposite directions inorder to lock them in place, Ground Control only has one that you lock in place by a special tool.
I will post another image right below this post with a picture of coilovers and in the picture I have circled (in yellow) the collar and adjustable perch setup that I was talking about on the left and just the adjustable part of the coilovers on the right.

Hope this answers your question,
Nate

 

[dsmnate]

Second Picture from above....