Coilovers are like improved legs for your car. If you are looking to buy a set, check out this article on some important coilover-buying factors.
Your car’s maneuverability depends a lot on the suspension system. If the stock suspensions systems are soft, you will need to replace them with performance coilovers. The right set of coilovers significantly improves your car’s looks, handling, and miles per gallon.
Just like every other car part, there are tons of options to choose from. So, you have to be very picky when choosing a good set of coilovers. An unsuitable set will hurt your car’s performance and longevity.
How Do Coilovers Work?
Your suspension’s job is to absorb the force from potholes and bumps, making driving comfortable. But a lot of manufacturers try to make driving a bit too comfortable and end up installing a soft and squishy set of suspension. You can see this in small sporty cars like the Mazda Miata. Whenever a stock Miata takes a tight corner, you can see the outside suspension literally getting squashed, tilting the whole car. To prevent this, you need to replace the stock suspension with a set of coilovers for miata.
Your average coilovers are made of two major components: a shock absorber and a coil spring wrapped around the absorber. The coil springs job is pretty simple. It has to store energy, so when it is compressed, it can always return to its original shape. That’s why your car always returns to the same ride height after hitting speed bumps and potholes. However, the real hero is the shock absorber since it absorbs and dampens the shock of a sudden change in the road surface.
The absorber controls and slows down the up and down motion of the spring and helps it revert to its original shape. The coilovers use hydraulic resistance to control the motion and offer a better driving experience.
How to Choose the Right Set of Coilovers
There is no definite blanket list for coilovers to rank them from best to worst. Also, coilovers do so much more than just lower your ride height. This is why you need to look out for these five factors when buying your coilovers.
1. Spring Rate
The spring rate is a set amount of weight that can compress the spring by an inch. If the spring rate is 400lbs then it means the spring will compress 1 inch per 400lbs of load. This rate affects driving and performance. If the spring rate is too high, your ride will be stiffer but handle better. If your spring rate is low, your ride will be softer, but it will body roll more when entering tight curves.
Coilovers allow you to adjust and alter the spring rate to some extent. You can simply move the coil-spring up and down to make your ride stiffer or smoother. You can do this without re-valving your shocks too.
Look for coilovers that have a low spring rate for your rear wheels and a high spring rate for your front wheels. This is an ideal setup for all kinds of street driving as it prevents oversteering. But if you are into drift racing, then you need a set of coilovers with a high rear-wheel spring rate. This will allow you to oversteer better.
2. Upper Mounts
The upper mount is a very important part of the coilovers that ensures the smoothness of your car. It basically holds everything together and mounts the coilover to the car. You will find two types of upper mounts: a pillow-ball upper mount and a rubber upper mount.
Pillow-ball mounts are used for better handling, but they are not so great at handling vibrations. The vibrations caused by the harshness of a surface easily transfer through the suspension. Handling the car itself is easier, but you will physically feel the harshness of vibrations during the ride, which may cause an uncomfortable experience.
On the other hand, rubber mounts absorb a lot of the impact and provide a smooth transition, even on rough surfaces. So, it’s to make sure your coilovers’ upper mounts are rubber mounts.
3. Helper Springs
Coilover systems can lower the height of your ride and make it look sleeker. Aside from the looks, the lower center of gravity improves performance and prevents excessive body roll. The coilovers can adjust the ride by twisting the shock body and loosening the lock collars. You can then screw the shock body upwards or downwards to lower the mount.
If you feel the height is still not low enough, you can always go for unloading. This means spinning the lower mount of the spring. But this can cause the spring to become loose, and that is where helper springs can help.
These are lightweight springs installed right in the middle of the main spring and the spring mount. These springs can keep your ride safe even after unloading because they maintain constant tension.
4. Adjustability
Damping and preloading are essential features for any coilover set. Your coilovers should be very adjustable to help you fine tune your ride. It should be compatible with both stiffer and softer springs.
If you’re driving a track car, you will need higher spring rates to improve handling and get a better grip. But when driving on the streets, you will need softer springs for better control. You also have to match the damping with the spring rate to avoid spring oscillation and excessive bounciness. Supashock suspension and coilovers are a great example of this technology make sure to check them out.
5. Compression and Rebound
Regarding damping and adjustability, the two things being adjusted are compression and rebound. Compression refers to when the shock piston is pushed downwards into the body, ‘compressing’ onto the springs. Rebound is the opposite action, taking off the force when the piston retracts upward.
Compression controls the speed of the weight applied on the wheels and rebound controls how fast it can move the weight away. Your average coilover will have an adjuster to change the compression, but high-end coilovers will have multiple adjusters to fine-tune rebound and compression settings.
Compression helps increase your car’s traction but excessive compression or preload can also have a negative effect. Even after compression, the spring is supposed to revert to its original shape, but cheap coilovers will change your ride height when excessive preload is applied.
Final Thoughts
Make sure you buy your coilover set from a reputable store or vendor with these 5 things in mind. There are a lot of cheap coilovers in the market that will damage your car over time. Also, find out whether they have run a dyno test on the set. Upgrading your suspension system to a coilover is a great choice only if you can find a high quality set. So, be sure to make an informed decision.
