How to Install Coilovers in Your Car
Upgrade your car's suspension by replacing factory struts and springs with adjustable coilovers to achieve custom ride height, better handling, and proper alignment.
- Read the tools, materials, safety notes, and steps below for free.
- Tap Start Camera Coach when you want hands-free voice help.
- Allow camera and microphone. Point your phone at the work; the coach watches your progress and tells you the next step.
🧰 Required Tools & Equipment
- ✓ Floor jack and 4 jack stands
- ✓ Metric socket and wrench set
- ✓ Torque wrench (10-150 ft-lbs)
- ✓ Breaker bar
- ✓ Measuring tape or digital calipers
- ✓ Penetrating lubricant spray
- ✓ Suspension spanner wrenches
📦 Materials & Supplies
- ✓ Full coilover kit (4 assemblies)
- ✓ Anti-seize thread lubricant
- ✓ Heavy-duty zip ties or bungee cords
⚠️ Safety Checkpoints & Warnings
- • Never get under a vehicle supported only by a hydraulic floor jack; always rest it firmly on rated jack stands placed at factory pinch welds or frame rails.
- • Support the brake caliper and knuckle with zip ties or bungee cords so brake lines and ABS wiring are never stretched or tensioned.
- • Do not remove the center top-nut on factory struts unless the coil spring is safely compressed with an external spring compressor.
📋 Step-by-Step Guide (7 Steps)
Measure Baseline Ride Height and Loosen Lug Nuts
Park on level ground and measure the distance from the center of each wheel hub straight up to the bottom of the fender arch. Record all four corners in a notebook for reference. Break the lug nuts loose by half a turn on all four wheels while the tires are still planted on the ground.
- • Measuring tape aligned vertically through wheel center to fender edge.
- • Lug nuts cracked loose but still hand-threaded securely to the hub face.
- • Forgetting to record baseline height before jacking up the car, making drop calculations impossible.
- • Trying to fully remove lug nuts while the car is still on the ground.
Safely Lift the Vehicle and Remove Wheels
Lift the vehicle using the approved front and rear central jack points. Lower the chassis onto four sturdy jack stands positioned under factory pinch welds. Fully remove all lug nuts and slide the wheels under the car frame rails as a secondary fail-safe.
- • Car resting level on four secure jack stands.
- • All four wheel hubs exposed with brake rotors visible and wheels stowed flat under side frame rails.
- • Placing jack stands on suspension arms or floor pans instead of rigid pinch welds or frame points.
Disconnect Brake Lines, ABS Sensors, and Sway Bar Links
Spray all suspension mounting bolts with penetrating fluid. Unbolt the brake line brackets and ABS sensor clips from the strut body, securing lines to the chassis with zip ties. Disconnect the sway bar end link from the strut or control arm.
- • Brake hose hanging completely loose without tension, supported by a zip tie.
- • Sway bar end link detached and swingable away from the strut body.
- • Letting the heavy brake caliper or hub hang by the rubber brake hose.
Remove Lower Bolts and Extract Factory Strut Assembly
Remove the lower strut pinch bolts or clevis bolts securing the strut to the steering knuckle. Move to the engine bay or trunk, support the strut from underneath with one hand, and remove the upper strut mount nuts. Carefully maneuver the entire strut and spring assembly out through the wheel well.
- • Empty wheel well with upper strut tower holes clear.
- • Factory strut assembly fully removed and resting on the floor.
- • Accidentally removing the center strut shaft nut instead of the perimeter mounting nuts, which can dangerously release spring tension.
- • Letting the strut drop abruptly onto the CV axle rubber boot, tearing it.
Preset Coilover Spring Preload and Baseline Length
Apply a light coat of anti-seize lubricant onto the threaded shock body. Adjust the lower spring collar until the spring is snug with zero free play, then tighten it according to manufacturer preload specs (usually 2-5mm of compression). Adjust the bottom bracket to match your target length and lock the bottom collar using the supplied spanner wrenches.
- • Spring held firmly between top hat and lower collar with no vertical wobble.
- • Left and right coilover overall lengths measured identically with tape measure.
- • Locking collars snugged tight against each other.
- • Adjusting ride height by compressing the spring collar instead of threading the lower shock mount bracket up or down.
- • Failing to match left and right coilover lengths before installation.
Install Coilover Assembly and Reattach Hardware
Slide the coilover assembly up through the wheel well into the upper strut tower and thread the top nuts by hand to hold it in place. Align the lower mount with the steering knuckle, slide the lower through-bolts in, and reconnect sway bar links and brake brackets. Thread all nuts by hand until snug.
- • Coilover top studs protruding through tower with nuts threaded on fully.
- • Lower clevis bolts passed completely through the knuckle and secured with nuts.
- • Brake lines and ABS clips securely remounted to designated coilover bracket tabs.
- • Cross-threading aluminum top mount studs or lower steel bolts by using power tools immediately.
- • Installing the coilover backwards so brake line tabs face the wrong direction.
Pre-load Suspension Bushings, Torque Hardware, and Reinstall Wheels
Place a floor jack under the lower control arm and lift it until the car just begins to raise off the nearest jack stand, simulating full ride height weight. Torque all lower mounting bolts, sway bar links, and top tower nuts to factory torque specifications. Remount the wheels, lower the vehicle to the ground, and torque lug nuts in a star pattern.
- • Jack supporting knuckle arm at normal ride angle during bolt torquing.
- • Torque wrench audibly clicking at specified foot-pound settings on all suspension bolts.
- • Car resting fully on wheels on level ground with lug nuts torqued.
- • Torquing suspension pivot bolts while suspension is fully hanging at droop, causing torn rubber bushings when lowered.
- • Forgetting to torque lug nuts once the car touches the ground.
Credit: inspired by an original tutorial by ChrisFix — watch the original on YouTube.
Don’t have everything?
- No Suspension spanner wrenches? Brass punch and rubber mallet (tap collar notches gently only in an emergency)
- No Penetrating lubricant spray? 50/50 mix of automatic transmission fluid and acetone
- No Digital calipers? Standard metric tape measure or metal machinist ruler