Coilovers are a suspension upgrade that combines the coil spring and the shock absorber in one adjustable unit, replacing the factory springs and struts or shocks at each corner. Most performance coilovers let you set the ride height, and many also let you adjust damping, so you can lower the car and firm up or soften the ride to suit the road or the track.
What are coilovers made of?
The name is short for "coil over shock": the spring sits around the shock body, held between a lower perch and the top mount. The main parts are:
- The damper (shock): controls how fast the suspension compresses and rebounds. Monotube dampers, like those in the BC Racing BR Series, use a single tube.
- The spring: holds the car up; its rate decides how stiff the suspension feels.
- The threaded body and perches: set the ride height and the spring preload.
- The top mount: on many kits a pillowball mount, often with an adjustable camber plate at the front.
What can you adjust?
- Ride height: on full-length (dual) height-adjustable coilovers you change height by threading the shock body in its lower mount, so height is set separately from spring preload. The BC Racing BR Series works this way.
- Damping: a knob on top of the damper changes how firm it feels. The BR Series has 30 levels of damping adjustment, which change compression and rebound together.
- Camber: camber plates let you set the tilt of the front wheels. BC Racing includes front camber plates on applicable kits and rear plates on some.
How to adjust coilovers
- Start from the maker’s base settings for height, preload and damping, and record where every corner is set.
- Measure ride height the same way each time, for example from the wheel hub center to the fender lip, with the car on level ground and settled.
- Change height in small, equal steps side to side. Respect the minimum thread engagement in the instructions, and check that tires do not rub at full lock and full compression.
- Adjust damping a few clicks at a time. Go firmer if the car floats or wallows, softer if it skips over bumps; change front and rear separately to adjust the front-to-rear balance.
- Get an alignment after any height change, because lowering changes camber and toe. A corner balance helps on a track car.
Are coilovers worth it?
Coilovers make sense if you want a lower ride height you can set yourself, more control over handling, or a setup you can change between street and track days. If you only want a modest drop and are happy with the factory ride, lowering springs cost less; see coilovers vs lowering springs. A quality kit can also be rebuilt rather than thrown away when the dampers wear, and the BR Series is fully rebuildable.
Coilovers we carry
We carry the BC Racing BR Series coilovers for Subaru models at $1,195.00, the BR Series Extreme Low with shorter bodies and springs for extra drop at $1,345.00, and the BR Series for the 2008-2015 Mitsubishi Evo X at $1,195.00. Tell us your exact year and model so the right kit is matched. More parts for these cars: Subaru WRX and STI parts and Mitsubishi Evo parts.
More guides: clunking noise over bumps · coilovers vs struts vs shocks · how long coilovers last · BC Racing BR vs Extreme Low.
Shipping is a flat $80.00 per order to US addresses, with 15-day free returns. Questions? Ask a parts specialist.