Basically, a coilover is simply a coil spring placed over a shock absorber, hence the name coilover. Replacing your factory shocks with a set of coilovers can significantly improve the suspension of your ride. A coilover is like a factory shock on steroids. A coilover has a much greater compression capacity than a factory shock resulting in your tires remaining fully in contact with the pavement even in high speed curves, turns, and rough road. The more rubber you keep on the concrete the more effectively torque is converted to forward motion.
Coilover Kits Boost High Speed Performance
Just how well your performance is enhanced depends on a number of factors such as coil strength, damper and adjustability. These are items we’ll get into in a minute, But first, let’s look at how an improved suspension improves performance.
Lower Center of Gravity. Perhaps the biggest benefit that a coilover offers is the ability to lower your ride’s frame to get the whole body closer to the axels. Obviously, this lowers your center of gravity and that vastly improves keeping the rubber on the road.
Minimizes Lateral Roll. When you take a curve at speed gravity shifts weight away from the outboard wheels which reduces contact with the road and adds it to the inboard tires. Aside from uneven tire wear, lateral rolls cause uneven contact which means less than optimal transfer of torque. The same is true for acceleration which moves the weight from the front to the rear. If your ride is a FWD platform, the drive wheels are not as fully in contact with the pavement as the rear. Lowering the center of gravity reduces the opportunity for any lateral or horizontal shifting of weight.
Appearance and Ride. When you lower your Accord or hot hatch Civic your ride is going to take on a new, aggressive appearance that will make it uniquely yours. On top of that, with a coilover kit installed, your ride is going to be butter smooth even over our crumbling concrete streets.