HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO GET THE RIGHT TYPE OF COILOVER?

It’s essential that you get the right coilover for your car – not only so the kit can be fitted onto your car’s existing suspension mounting points, but also because they are designed to work with the specific weight, height, geometry and steering setup of your car. But even if you could physically fit a coilover that was not designed for your make or model of car, it’s still not a very good idea, as it will likely mean that the shock body length, spring rates and damping characteristics will not be optimised and could actually worsen your car’s handling and ride.

Most performance coilovers are designed to suit each model perfectly, yet can be tailored to fit with your specific needs: stance or off-road ride height; ultra-comfortable street car or race-car stiff; compliant rubber OEM-style top mounts or hardcore camber- and castor-adjustable pillow-ball top mounts – it’s up to you.

Quality coilovers will match the damping rate to the spring rates. The damper length and damper stroke is altered to ensure you don’t run out of damper travel if you do go for softer springs, or end up with a car sat too high if you choose a stiffer spring rate. These calculations are made for you when you purchase a kit designed for your car; you just choose ride height and damping rate and let them do the hard work.