All right - i am new to the scene and was wondering what was all involved in installing a set of coilovers. I was wondering if i had to take off the bolt that holds on the strut or whatever the center bolt is that is holding everything together if you are under the hood on the suspension. Do i need any special tools to install coilovers or just the basic tools found in an average garage. Any help would help me out greatly

 

Coilover are a good idea, but if you are thinking about the ebay ones or other cheap versions, don't. To do coilovers right its gonna run you $1500

 

eather way the dam thing is going to ride ruff and you need to compress the spring so you can put the new ones on. so, i dought you have a spring compresser. so yea check in to all that

 

The ebay coilover sleeves will make the car ride higher on stock-style struts no matter what. You can cut off the spring perch (dremel - careful though, it's pressurized) and use some exhaust piping and a clamp to make your own new perch, but the high rates of the coilover sleeves, plus the lower height will still blow out the struts pretty quick. You will need a spring compressor to get the old springs off (unless you have Mopar springs on there...). Getting that center shaft out is a hassle. I used a spark plug socket (7/16"?) with a 6" long 1/4" extension going through the hole and a 10mm socket on the end of that. Ratchet on the extension, wrench on the spark plug socket. Otherwise the shaft just spins. Don't use an impact wrench if you plan on reusing the struts.

If all you're looking for is lowering, the KW coilover set from Modern is only $1200, but it doesn't have adjsutable struts. There's a group buy on the .org for a very nice set of height adjustable, camber adjustable (includes camber plates), compression/rebound adjustable (single ****) complete coilovers for $950 last I looked. Even if you never plan on competing, that's a heck of a deal.

Best of luck!

 

what is the spring perch and where do i find it at ...

 

The spring perch is where the spring sits when it's installed on the strut. If you are planning on cutting those off, be very careful. The tubes are pressurized, you don't want to cut through them or overheat them. It will take a good 5 or 6 fiberglass cutting wheels if using a Dremel. Wear safety goggles (not safety glasses) - take it form a guy with permanent damage in one eye...