Mopsdrops' Tuning Parts Guide ---SUSPENSION PARTS---

[Mopsdrops]

Okay, this is a lot smaller part, and probably also a more difficult part:

1. ARM BARS

What does an arm bar do? Why purchase one?
A lower arm bar is a brace that ties the front and rear lower control arms to the chassis to prevent flex at the lower arms. They are similar to upper strut tower bars in terms of effect. They stiffen the chassis of the vehicle, resulting in less body roll during turns.

What type of vehicles use arm bars?
Every vehicle: FF (Front engine Front wheel drive), FR (Front engine Rear wheel drive), and MR (Mid engine Rear wheel drive) cars can utilize these bars.

How do you install an arm bar?
Like a strut bar these lower arm braces can be installed in minutes with basic hand tools. Most cars do not come equipped with arm bars from the factory, so you are not replacing anything when you install one.

Which brand is dependable for arm bars?
Cusco and Tanabe are industry leaders when it comes to vehicle bracing and other suspension components. Both companies create under frame braces to add rigidity and give you extra stiffness in turns.


2. BALL JOINT BOOTS

What do ball joint boots do? Why purchase one?
Most vehicles are built using rubber bushings in their suspension and body mounts. They tend to be soft and to deteriorate rapidly. When your bushings are worn, your cars feedback is reduced and sloppy handling ensues. Replace your worn bushings with ball joint boots to revive your vehicles potential. Most aftermarket bushings are made of a strong urethane material.

How do you install ball joint boots?
Ball joint boots do not need to be pressed on, so removal of your stock ones should be straightforward. This part can be installed within minutes with basic hand tools.

Which brand is dependable for ball joint boots?
Prothane and Energy Suspension are both leaders when it comes to bushings.


3. BUSHINGS

What do bushings do? Why buy bushings?
Cars have rubber bushings and mounts throughout the suspension system to provide vibration dampening and movement to the metal suspension components, such as the struts, control arms, sway bars and even engine and transmission mounts. Over time, factory rubber suspension and engine mount bushings can dry, crack and rot away. Stiffer, longer-wearing and more responsive suspension bushings are available to help make your car’s suspension perform at its best.

How do you install bushings?
Most bushings need to be pressed out with a hydraulic press, burned out, or cut and chiseled away. We suggest leaving the job to the pros or give yourself a weekend to change the bushings out if you have access to a press.

Which brand is dependable for bushings?
Energy Suspension and Prothane both make quality polyurethane bushings sets


4. CAMBER KIT

What do camber kits do? Why buy camber kits?
Any amount of ride height change will cause the camber of your tires to change. This means that instead of the tires being perfectly perpendicular to the grant, they will be slight slanted, inward in the case of negative camber, outward in the case of positive camber. It might not always be visible, but having your camber out of adjustment will cause the tire to run on the inside or outside edge only since the tires will be slanted relative to the ground. The lower you go the more negative camber you will get and the faster the tire will wear. There are different camber kits available to combat this problem; the correct kit is determined by how much your camber is away from the factory recommended specification.

Do camber kits come in sets of 4?
No, unless otherwise noted, camber kits are sold in sets of 2, so you buy one set for the front and/or one set for the rear.

How do you install camber kits?
Depending on the car you, camber kits are comprised differently. Contact us for installation details, or simply have it installed by professionals.

Which brand is dependable for camber kits?
Eibach and SPC offer quality camber kits for most cars


5. COILOVER

What do coilovers do? Why buy coilovers?
Coilovers allow you to lower your car and give you the ability to make adjustments in ride height. As opposed to lowering springs, which have a pre-determined, un-changing ride height, coilovers can be adjusted. This can be very valuable because if you don't know the exact ride height that will be optimal for your car, buying coilovers gives you the ability to adjust the right height and make it just right. Additionally, if you want to change your ride height based on different driving conditions, coilovers of course allow you to do so.

Do coilovers come in sets of 4??
Coilovers are only sold in sets of four.

Why is there such a huge price difference between some coilovers? Are there different types of coilovers?
There are two different kinds of coilovers: full coilovers and coilover sleeves. Coilover sleeves are just the adjustable coils themselves. If you already have shocks or struts and have a camber kit that you're content with, then just buying the coilover sleeves will be adequate. Also, if you are looking for adjustable lowering components that are inexpensive, coilover sleeves are the way to go. Full coilovers come with not only the adjustable coil, but also with replacement shocks or struts and with a built-in camber adjuster. Full coilovers let you drop your car and maintain or improve ride quality, and maintain even camber. The shocks that are built into full coilovers are specifically made for lowered cars, so they will ensure a great ride quality.

How do you install coilovers?
Depending if you opt to go with the full coilovers or the coilover sleeves, the spring and strut housing will need to be removed. Once the factory coil springs and struts are removed they can be replaced with the full coilover setup. If you're using a coilover sleeve then the factory spring will be removed from the strut setup and replaced with the coilover sleeve unit. A professional shop should install your coilovers as an alignment and corner-balancing services will need to be done at the same time the installation is completed.

Which brand is dependable for coilovers?
TEIN, JIC Magic, and HKS make world class full coilovers. Ground Control is a great brand for coilover sleeves.


6. END LINKS

What do end links do?
End links are what connect the sway bar to the strut body. Most factory end links contain a rubber bushing to help reduce sway bar twisting and flexing. Upgraded end links can help you get the most from your sway bar's performance.

Which brand is dependable for end links?
Energy Suspension and Prothane are great aftermarket bushing manufacturers.


7. PILLOW BALL MOUNTS

What are pillow ball mounts? Why buy pillow ball mounts?
Pillow ball mounts are positioned over the shock towers, replacing the stock rubber bushing. By keeping the positioning design of the upper spring and shock absorber close to the manufacturer’s standards, pillow ball upper mounts keep height change to a minimum and maintain the stroke center, giving you the best handling and feedback.

How do you install pillow ball mounts?
Pillow ball mounts are installed by first removing your strut setup completely. These then attach to the factory or aftermarket strut setup and everything is put back as normal. This is an excellent upgrade when choosing a spring and shock combo.

Which brand is dependable for pillow ball mounts?
TEIN's pillow ball mounts replace the rubber bushing with a pillow ball, which eliminates the load input compliance and reduces the change of alignment to improve the grip of the tire. They use a top spherical bearing on all their mounts and use adjusting plates for maximum strength and durability.


8. PILLOW BALL TENSION RODS

8. What are Pillow ball tension rods? Why buy rods?
Pillow ball tension rods make a huge impact on your cars handling characteristics. Factory tension rods use rubber bushings, which deteriorate over time creating a sloppy feel. Most aftermarket tension rods replace the rubber bushing with a spherical bearing to eliminate tow change during acceleration or deceleration and to allow only vertical movement by the lower control arms. Tension rods also reduce roll at corners and ensure quicker steering response.

How do you install pillow ball tension rods?
Pillow ball tension rods are installed by removing the factory rods off of your lower control arm. With them removed, install the pillow ball tension rods using factory bolts. An alignment is suggested after installation.

Which brand is dependable for pillow ball tension rods?
TEIN is a leader in aftermarket tie rods.


9. SPRINGS

What are springs? Why buy springs?
Coil springs cushion and absorb the shocks and bumps as the vehicle is driven. Coupled with a shock absorber they makeup the main element of your vehicles suspension. When you want to lower your car, you buy new springs that are made to set your car closer to the ground. Anybody who wants to lower his or her car has to replace the factory springs.

Do springs come in sets of 4?
Springs are sold in sets of four; unless otherwise specified on the website.

Are springs adjustable?
Springs are not adjustable; you cannot change the ride height. See our product descriptions to find out the exact drop the springs offer for each listing. If you want an adjustable lowering system, then you should look at coilovers, which are essentially adjustable springs.

How do you install springs?
The factory spring and strut housing need to be removed. Once the factory springs and struts are removed, they can be replaced with your aftermarket springs. A professional shop should install your springs, since they are pressurized and since an alignment will need to be done at the same time the installation is completed.

Which brand is dependable for springs?
Eibach is an industry leader in lowering springs.


10. STRUT BARS

What is a strut bar? Why buy a strut bar?
Strut bars are used to reduce the amount of flex in the factory strut towers. Under hard cornering loads, the strut assembly is pulled laterally at the strut top. A strut bar/brace ties together the strut towers and, braces them against flex and movement. So in other words, if you want to be able to accelerate through some turns instead of being forced to brake, a strut bar can help you do that since strut bars help reduce body roll during turns.

Are strut bars available for the front and rear of each vehicle?
Strut bars are offered for the front and rear tower braces on vehicles, since your car has struts inside each tire. Buying front and rear strut tower bars will dramatically improve your suspension.

How do you install a strut bar?
Strut bars take mere minutes to install with normal hand tools. First remove your factory strut tower bolts and brace, and then simply re-install them with the new strut bar.

Which brand is dependable for strut bars?
Cusco, Tanabe, DC Sports are all great manufacturers of strut bars. Toucan is a company that offers a very affordable strut bar for a wide variety of cars.


11. STRUTS & SHOCKS

What are struts and shocks? Why buy them?
Shock absorbers (shocks) are a device that controls spring motion through dampening. A shock absorber slows down and reduces the vibrations created by imperfections in the roadway. A strut is a shock absorber mounted inside a coil spring that does the same job of dampening. Whether your car uses a strut or shock depends on the factory setup, but both do the same thing and are synonymous in terms of their function. Our product listings indicate exactly what is available for your car. Aftermarket struts or shocks are an especially good purchase when lowering your car because they are specially made for optimal performance based on ride height, and can handle the extra stress your suspension will throw at them. Your factory struts or shocks will be out of their comfort zone if you lower your car, which causes them to wear down faster and ultimately fail.

Is there any difference between struts and shocks?
Struts/shocks both have the same job by dampening the kinetic energy of suspension travel. Struts perform two jobs: They provide a dampening function like shock absorbers, and they provide structural support for the vehicles suspension. That means that the struts deliver a bit more than shock absorbers, which don't support vehicle weight but control the speed at which weight is transferred in a vehicle. Either way, your options are limited to what is available for your car.

Do struts and shocks come in sets of 4? Are the front shocks different from the rear shocks on any vehicles?
Struts and shocks are sold individually, but purchasing should always be done in pairs (one pair for the front, one for the rear). The front and rear shocks for a vehicle will be different in most cases as there are different load characteristics in the front and rear of car.

How do you install shocks/struts?
Shocks are easier to install because there are only two bolts holding in each shock absorber. Struts are a bit more difficult because there is a compressed spring that needs to be removed first. Once the spring has been removed the new strut can be installed with the OEM or aftermarket spring re-installed.

Which brand is dependable for shocks?
KYB has long been recognized around the world as a leader in the design and production of state-of-the-art gas shocks and struts.


12. SWAY BARS

What are sway bars? Why buy a sway bar?
Sway bars give your car additional stability. A sway bar is a metal bar that spans the whole entire axle and joins each side of your suspension together. Aftermarket sway bars they are usually thicker than factory ones, which means they will create a more level ride, reducing body roll and under steer. With a new sway bar, you can accelerate into turns instead of braking through them.

Is an anti-sway bar the same as a sway bar?
Anti-sway bar and sway bar are two terms that mean exactly the same thing.

Are sway bars available for the front and rear of each vehicle?
One sway bar is used to tie the front suspension together, and one is used to tie the rear suspension together, so for maximum suspension upgrade, you could buy a front and rear sway bar. When available, they are often sold in complete sets that include the front and the rear.

How do you install a sway bar?
Sway bars are installed by removing your factory end links and sway bar. Re-install the new bushings and position your new sway bar on the vehicle in the OEM location and secure it with the same bolts.

Which brand is dependable for sway bars?
Progress and Suspension Techniques have a great variety of sway bars available.


13. TIE BARS

What are tie bars? Why but a tie bar?
A tie bar is a lower arm brace that ties the front and rear lower control arms to the chassis to prevent flex at the lower arms. Think of the tie bar as a complementary piece to the upper strut bars. They are another means of improving the suspension of your car and preventing body roll when making turns.

Are tie bars available for the front and rear of each vehicle?
Depending on the type of car, front and rear tie bars might be available.

How do you install a tie bar?
A tie bar, like a strut bar, can be installed in minutes with basic hand tools.

Which brand is dependable for tie bars?
Cusco, Tanabe, DC Sports are all great tie bar manufacturers

That's the suspension guide, enjoy 8) question's ? just ask