A vehicle’s suspension system is what helps keep it stable both when going over bumps and when travelling at high speeds. This is thanks to various different components working together in order to enable you to steer in and out of corners or around a parking lot with ease and precision.
Coilover suspension does the same thing just a little bit differently. Coilovers are simply a spring placed over a damper which means they are a 2-in-1 solution that works as you’d expect. Coilovers both absorb shocks and provide riding comfort at the same time they rely both on fluid and spring rate for it.
Benefits of Adding Coilovers
Versatility
The biggest benefit of adding coilovers is the level of versatility they offer. You can use them to get stiffer and more precise handling on the track or adjust them so that you get a more comfortable ride off of it. With aftermarket coilover kits for sale, you are not restricted in any way.
Complete
Because you can both stiffen and soften your ride with a coilover kit and make it more stable you’re really getting a complete solution. You’re covered no matter the terrain you’re driving on and the type of driving you’re doing as long as you go for the right type of kit for your vehicle.
Performance
If performance is the only thing that matters to you, you can still opt for coilovers and get a track-ready car with a little bit of adjustment. That’s because there are coilover kits for sale that let you corner-weight your vehicle rather easily. Again you need to make sure you’re getting such a coilover suspension kit in the first place.
What Mattes in a Coilover Kit
Spring Rate
A coilover’s spring rate is how much weight can make it go down by an inch. For instance, if you have coilovers with a spring rate of 180 kg that means they will compress down to an inch when per every 180 kg of weight on them.
A good rule of thumb here is to go for front coilovers with a high spring rate and rear coilovers with a lower spring rate. If you’re building a track car, you should go for rear coilovers with a high spring rate.
Adjustability
Being able to adjust both the damping and preloading is crucial for any coilover kit. This lets you make full use of the capabilities coilover suspension offers especially if you want to drive your car on both the track and the motorway without any sacrifices.
Upper Mounts
The upper mounts of coilovers are what keeps your car smooth no matter what. They’re what hold the coilover to the car and keep it in place. You’ll come across two types of upper mounts, rubber and pillow-ball mounts.
Rubber upper mounts are only useful when it comes to absorbing impacts which means they provide the smoothest of transitions even when it comes to uneven terrain.
Pillow-ball mounts are able to improve your handling which is why such coilovers are best suited for track or even rally-type driving. You will feel everything with such coilovers but you will stay on course.
Compression & Rebound
When adjusting your coilovers you want to be able to fine-tune two types of specs, rebound and compression. Compression is the speed at which a certain amount of weight will bring your car down as it pushes on the coilovers. Rebound refers to the speed at which your car will go up to its normal ride height once the piston in the coilovers retracts up in its original position. High-end coilover kits for sale allow you to adjust both settings with a high number of different levels which makes them even more versatile.
Helper Springs
Since you can also lower your ride height with coilovers you should consider getting helper springs if you want to go lower than what the coilover suspension kit you go for gives you. These springs help keep the original spring becoming loose and keep your car as low as you want it to be.
Dampers
Dampers are what help keep shocks and vibrations from affecting your handling or getting through to the cabin. You can get a set of coilovers with either mono or twin-tube dampers.
Mono-tube dampers are made so that they have both the gas and shock in one tube which makes them simple but not as good at absorbing impacts as a twin-tube damper.
Twin-tube dampers are able to delegate impacts much better than mono-tube dampers since they come with an inner and outer tube. Remember though a coilover with a mono-tube damper is much better at heat dissipation and it’s more responsive too which makes it better for the track.
Final Thoughts
Coilover kits are a universal solution that can also be a custom one if you get into specifics. No matter which coilover setup you go for make sure it satisfies your daily needs and the type of car you drive. Unless it’s a track-only car, then you can go deep into the rabbit hole.
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