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Coilovers: Types, Features, and Performance Benefits

Coilovers combine coil springs and shocks into one height-adjustable assembly. We cover advantages they offer for racing, ride comfort, and altering ground clearance.
Coilovers: Types, Features, and Performance Benefits
Performance Coilover Kits

What Are Coilovers?

In a nutshell, a coilover combines a coil spring and shock absorber into one integrated assembly. The coil spring is seated around a specially designed shock housing that mounts in place where the OEM coil springor MacPherson strutwould be. Like those parts, coilovers serve to support the weight of a car or truck's body. However, it's important to note that even though a coilover's housing plays an integral role in supporting vehicle weight the same way a strut does, coilovers are not technically struts.

First, not all coilovers provide a structural link between the vehicle and steering knuckle. Second, there is an indisputable advantage of any coilover over a traditional strut or shock absorber: adjustability. It makes coilovers much more than "just springs and shocks" in terms of flexibility and customization, and although the cost of coilovers is normally higher, if properly selected, they are worth the money you invest in them. In our online store, you will find a wide range of Performance Coilover Kits sourced from leading brands.

Skunk2 Pro-S II Coilover Lowering Kit
Skunk2 Pro-S II Coilover Lowering Kit

Thanks to built-in adjustability, coilovers offer the ability to be shortened or lengthened – lowering or raising the ride height of your vehicle through manual adjustment, without complex electronics or hydraulics. As they compress, ride quality becomes firmer and more buttoned-down without the harshness of shortened coil springs.

Coilover Manual Adjustment
Making manual adjustments to coilovers is as easy as turning a wrench.

Methods used to change height vary according to design. Some use a threaded collar at the base of the spring, while others use a knob at the bottom to vary the length of the shock body. Thus, any corner of your vehicle can be dropped from factory ride height to a setting that's up to 3 or 4 inches lower – reducing or eliminating the gap between the top of tires and fenders to create a desirable "flush stance". This makes them an economical alternative to air suspension kits. Most coilover kits include the wrench or similar tool needed to make adjustments, and almost all these kits allow the adjustments with the units mounted on the car.

Diagram Of Typical Components Found On Coilover Application
This diagram indicates the typical components found on a coilover application. Unlike most coilovers, the one shown here is fitted with a second helper spring.

Coilover Types and the Adjustments They Provide

As described above, all coilovers can change the ride height, but it's just their basic feature. Depending on their designs, these assemblies can also provide the following adjustments:

  • Spring preload, or initial tension. It's measured in inches and means that you can partially compress the spring with the help of a special ring or collar for better suspension performance and safety.
  • Adjustable rebound or compression.
  • Both rebound and compression adjustments are available individually.
  • A changeable camber angle. Typically, this is ensured by a built-in graduated camber plate installed on top of some coilovers.

Spring preload adjustment enables you to reduce the softness of springs. The higher the compression, the shorter distance the suspension has to travel. Besides, you can eliminate the risk of unseating the spring if it's too loose for your application.

While the ride height and spring preload imply adjusting the springs, rebound and compression settings refer to shock absorbers. Typically, these settings can be changed through special knobs. To put it more exactly, it's all about altering the flow of oil circulating inside the shocks when you're driving over bumps or potholes.

  • A firmer compression setting means the piston inside the shock has greater resistance to moving downward and the ride will have less give.
  • A firmer rebound setting translates to a shock absorber that will bounce back up less eagerly during its extension.

For example, on the drag strip, you want the front end of a rear-wheel-drive car to quickly rise on takeoff then slowly drop to ensure more weight stays over the drive wheels for grip. For best results, rebound (extension) would be set to soft, and compression would be set to firm.

With these types of coilovers, it's easy to dial in the amount of firmness you need for hard cornering, then select more give when you're loaded down with a carful of friends and gear on a road trip. The wrong rebound and compression settings can lead to an unnecessarily harsh ride, a reduced tire contact patch on the road, compromised grip, and the costly expense of accelerated tire wear. When wheels hop excessively from shocks that aren't pressurized correctly for the ride or handling you want, you're not getting the full benefits that adjustable coilovers offer.

As for the camber angle, some coilovers offer an improved ability to alter it through a built-in camber plate, which can be especially helpful when the range of stock settings is insufficient. But in many cases, camber plates are available individually. Overall, understanding the coilover's functionality, you can select the right model depending on your application.

Coilovers For Street Driving

Manual Ride Height Adjustment

Coilovers designed primarily for street use normally allow you to change the ride height within certain limits, but many of them have a relatively small number of pre-set dampening rates or cannot change dampening at all. For instance, Skunk2 Pro-S II Coilovers have fixed dampening, however, they feature a full-threaded forged body, independent spring pre-load and height adjustments, and some other benefits providing a good balance of performance and price for street use.

The Godspeed Mono-SS line is more versatile and designed for the more experienced drivers who prefer to set their own damper rebound rates when changing ride height. In addition to some advantages mentioned above, the series features 16 levels of damping adjustment, allowing you to choose softer settings for daily drive and make the car stiffer for a weekend on a track.

Skunk2 Pro-S II Front And Rear Coilover Kit
Skunk2 Pro-S II Front and Rear Coilover Kit

KW Suspensions also offers street-use Inox-Line Lowering Coilovers in three basic variations. For simple, no-muss operation choose the V1 Inox coilovers with pre-set damper settings. V2 Inox models add rebound adjustment, and V3 Inox coilovers also allow compression rates to be adjusted to regulate driving dynamics. For higher-speed highway driving and everyday comfort, there's the KSport Kontrol Pro Coilover Kit (includes rebound and compression adjustment), KW Suspensions Street Comfort Coilover Lowering Kit (height and rebound adjustment), and Eibach's Pro Street Lowering Coilover Kit (height adjustment only).

Automatic Ride Height Adjustment

Automatic Ride Height Adjustment

KW Suspensions offers several street-use-only coilover kits that provide automatic ride height adjustment at the touch of a button. One of them is the KW DDC Coilover series (DDC is short for Dynamic Damping Control). The DDC lineup is available in different kits, depending on vehicle configuration. For vehicles already equipped with electronically activated dampening control, such a kit features a soft-riding "comfort" mode, firmer "normal" mode, and "sport" mode with minimal body roll.

If your vehicle came from the factory with an adaptivesuspension already, the "Plug & Play" kit providesa seamless way to upgrade and tune your setup. Wire connectors attached to each coilover plug directly in and work with your vehicle's existing wiring, factory control module, and interior switchgear.

If your vehicle came with traditional coil springs and shocks and has no components of an electronically adjustable suspension system, choose an "ECU" kit that includes everything needed to retrofit your vehicle (coilovers, control module, switch, and wiring).

KW Suspensions DDC Coilover Lowering Kit
KW Suspensions DDC Coilover Lowering Kit

Coilovers For Racing

Racetrack

Racing-oriented coilovers are designed with higher strength, greater adjustability, and heat reduction in mind. Inside the shock absorber, a "mono-tube" layout (see our related article on mono-tube vs. twin-tube shock designs) keeps hydraulic oil and nitrogen in separate chambers separated by a floating piston. As a result, there's no aerating of fluid within the shock body and no wasted time adapting to irregular surfaces.

Some shock absorber elements are even mounted in an inverted position to locate the hydraulic fluid chamber further away from brake rotor heat. For instance, the Godspeed MAXX series contains inverted coilovers that offer from 32 to 40 levels of rebound damping adjustment. To hold more fluid and maintain cooler operating temperatures, racing shock bodies are usually larger in diameter - or, they may be equipped with additional external fluid reservoirs. For heavy-duty strength that's invaluable on racetracks, lower mounts on racing-oriented coilovers may be crafted from steel rather than aluminum.

Drag Racing & Short Duration Track Racing

Drag racing coilovers make it easy to transfer or keep vehicle weight over drive wheels where it will ensure the back end stays planted for a quicker launch. We've got single- or double-adjustable coilover kits by QA1, KSportDrag Race Version Coilover kits, and other products praised by many drag racers and tuners. For those who are involved in a more serious level of drag racing, Eibach's Drag Launch Kit is also worth considering, although it's actually not a coilover kit, but a set of very stiff springs and adjustable air bladders that can be fitted to Eibach Multi-Pro-R1 Drag Launch coilover kits to virtually eliminate all body roll, squat, and dive.

Gasser Hot Rod With Specially Tuned Coilovers
On the drag strip, specially tuned coilovers can be set to allow the front end of a rear-wheel-drive car to quickly rise on takeoff then slowly drop to ensure more weight stays over the drive wheels.

Another product that helps adapt damper settings to any situation on the road or track is the Bilstein B16 Series Coilover Kit available for a wide range of makes and models. If you prefer an emphasis on shorter duration track use, consider the KSport GT Pro or the Bilstein ClubSport Coilover Kit. KSport also offers the Drag Race Coilover Kit tuned to offer consistent performance during shorter races where fast, sudden speed and directional changes are the norm.

AFe PFADT Series Featherlight Single Adjustable Street And Track Coilover System
aFe's PFADT Series Featheright Single Adjustable Street and Track Coilover System is a coilover kit specifically designed to install in place of OEM Corvette transverse leaf springs and shocks.
Drift Car

If you've got a Chevy Corvette C5 (or newer), aFe's PFADT Series Featherlight Single Adjustable Street and Track Coilover System is a kit specifically designed to install in place of the Vette's OEM transverse leaf springs and shocks. Once installed, you'll see a more comfortable street ride without the harshness those leaf springs are known for, and you'll see better performance on the track. Featherlight coil springs are also available for other makes and models in street/track and drag strip applications as well.

And if you're into drifting, check out KSport's Slide Kontrol with spring rates and shock valving specially tuned for easier drifting launches.

Extended Track Racing

Extended Track Racing
KSport Circuit Pro Coilover Kit With External Fluid Reservoirs

If you're planning on doing a more serious level of racing, KSport offers the Circuit Pro Coilover Kit with external fluid reservoirs to keep hydraulic fluid cool for steady, fade-free shock performance during long periods of endurance racing.

Gravel & Unpaved Roads Rally Racing

KSport Rally Spec Coilover Kit
The KSport Rally Spec Coilover Kit.
Subaru WRX Rally Car

KSport offers the Rally Spec Coilover Kit for optimum control over uneven dirt trails. In the Product Options fields, you can choose Asphalt Rally coilovers that allow ride height drops up to 3 inches for pavement, or Gravel Rally coilovers for ride height increases up to 2 inches for clearance on uneven trails.

Coilovers For Lifted Trucks

Coilover Lift Kit
Lifted Truck

While coilovers are thought of by many only as lowering devices, we also offer several kits designed to provide ride height lift for trucks. The Freedom Off-Road Coilover Lift Kit provides lift on all 4 wheels of your vehicle with coilovers for the front and replacement coil springs or leaf spring blocks for the rear. For those interested in more serious off-roading where pounding can cause normal shock absorbers to overheat and fade, Fox offers coilovers with external hydraulic fluid reservoirs. Better endurance is provided thanks to a larger amount of fluid that disperses heat more effectively.

Fox 2.5 Factory Series Coil-Over Shock Absorber
Fox 2.5 Factory Series Coil-Over Shock Absorber

As you can see in the picture below, it's possible to enter the year, make, and model of your vehicle in the beginning of your search so that our website automatically does the work of narrowing down which coilover kits are offered for your specific car or truck. When looking through our selection, you'll notice each kit features one main lead picture. These pictures are not fully indicative of all the variations you'll find for each kit, because components vary from vehicle to vehicle. For example, a kit with a main picture of two coilovers may also be available as a set of four, and offer additional choices not shown.

Once you've gotten your coilovers installed, you'll appreciate the high degree of customization you can literally dial into your suspension. Performance will be enhanced, and you'll have features you never thought you could have for the amount of money spent!

Performance Coilover Kits Page
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