Common Mistakes To Avoid When Adjusting Coilovers
When you begin browsing suspension upgrades online, one of the first options you’ll run into is a set of aftermarket coilovers. Thanks to their impact on aesthetics and performance, coilovers are popular, but simple mistakes can hurt your experience with them. Read these common mistakes to avoid when adjusting coilovers to make the most out of your experience.
What Are Coilovers?
Before breaking down coilover adjustment, let’s break down precisely how these upgrades work. A coilover is the result of combining coil springs with shock absorbers. The coilover weaves into your suspension system as a way to control ride height, along with performance on the road.
For example, lowering your car can help you improve weight transfer on the road, so you can optimize how your car moves while turning, braking, and executing other quick actions. Thanks to the effect ride height has on aesthetics and performance, coilovers are among the most common suspension upgrades available. However, there are a few things to know beforehand to avoid running into novice mistakes.
Mistakes To Avoid
Upgrading your car with aftermarket parts is easy thanks to the quality options available, but doing so without proper prep can result in less-than-stellar results. Suspension upgrades make a big impact on how your car performs on the road, so learning how they function inside and out will help you make the most out of this upgrade. If you still think coilovers are a suitable upgrade for your ride, read below to learn the top slip-ups to avoid during adjustments.
Using the Bases To Adjust Ride Height
Suffice it to say that one of the most common mistakes to avoid when adjusting coilovers is to do it incorrectly. After all, adjusting the ride height is among the top reasons to install new coilovers in the first place. When adjusting ride height, be sure to do so via the spring perch instead of the coilover base. The reason for this is that taking the coilover base approach can negatively impact suspension travel.
So, how do you adjust the ride height without hurting suspension travel and, moreover, grip on the road? As mentioned above, you can still alter ride height via the spring perch. In doing so, you can fine-tune your ride without making a novice slip-up. Furthermore, by doing this each time, you can make this adjustment process routine, ensuring you don’t accidentally take the wrong approach. Now that we have the most common mistake out of the way, let’s detail more potential slip-ups and how to avoid them from hindering your coilover experience.
Not Fully Utilizing the Coilover
Thanks to how intricately a set of coilovers will help you fine-tune a vehicle’s handling, it’s worth reading into every bit of information the manufacturer can give you about the product. As a result, you can learn precisely how much control it provides you with on the road. Looking for online reviews can also help you learn more about how a specific type of coilover performs. After all, control and handling can mean specific things to certain drivers. Moreover, coilovers allow drivers to adjust their car’s damping, camber, wheel gap, and more.
Beyond learning from the manufacturer and online reviews, your experience on the road will show you firsthand how these upgrades impact performance. From there, you can start tweaking the coilovers to better suit your driving style, helping you become as familiar with them as any other aspect of your car. Now that you’re aware of these common mistakes, let’s take a deeper look at other problems to avoid when using coilovers.
Critical Coilover Factors
Next, let’s address two more critical details—your specific car and the many brands online. After all, mistakes that strike during coilover adjustments can be the effect of issues from the initial purchase. In other words, buying the wrong coilover can make your experience more difficult, even if you’re taking the aforementioned adjustment mistakes into account. Don’t worry; preventing these issues is easier than it sounds. Use the tips below to ensure you have the right coilovers on your ride.
Neglecting Compatible Models
If you’re having issues adjusting your coilovers, it may be due to neglecting your car’s model and year before purchasing. These details are crucial because you can find coilovers that best suit that specific vehicle. For instance, at Springrates, our coilover selection currently includes options for a 1989-1994 Nissan Skyline R32, 1991-1997 Lexus GS300, and more.
Having options like these for specific vehicles makes it easier to find the best coilover for your needs, so take time to dig deep into the specifications on any coilover listing you come across. However, there is another critical detail to consider when browsing online listings—the brands.
Ignoring Brands
When adjusting your coilovers isn’t as convenient as it should be, consider what brand you are using. Buying from a vendor who carries quality brands is an excellent way to give yourself some peace of mind when purchasing. After all, when you’re buying aftermarket parts online, you don’t have the physical part in front of you.
Thus, buying from reputable sources should assure you that the product that arrives at your door is what you expected. This is one of the top reasons why brands are prominent on our website. For example, when browsing our coilover spring kits, you can see that they come from quality brands such as 326POWER, Swift Springs, and more. Plus, sticking with brands you like will help you set proper expectations when adjusting suspension with one of their products, making the coilover’s integration more natural.
Closing Thoughts
As you can see, there is a lot to consider when using coilovers. However, don’t let this deter you from using coilovers because they offer ample control over your car visually and functionally. Thankfully, the mistakes to avoid aren’t too complex. When adjusting coilovers, just remember to make adjustments via the spring perch to maintain proper suspension travel. Likewise, take time to get to know precisely how your coilovers function, so you can accommodate your driving conditions during each trip.
Finally, being careful with your coilover purchase ensures you can make these adjustments successfully. Something as simple as clearly reading product listings will help you instantly learn whether a coilover is suitable for your car. Now that you have these tips in mind, you can start making adjustments to your coilovers like a pro. Then, if you run into any issues, you know exactly where to begin troubleshooting.
