I didn't know where to place this but I recently tackled the job of replacing my shocks and springs so I figured there's gotta be someone else doing this that could pick up some tips on how to do it.
I picked up all my parts from BavAuto.com, from a gentleman named Jon Broome. He was super helpful with everything and all my parts arrived in a timely manner. Would definitely use them again.
Here's all that I ordered:
A full set of Bilstein Sport Shocks, I wasn't about to use the stock shocks with the lowering springs.
Bav Auto Lowering springs, I decided that these would lower the car just enough to rid some of that wheel gap but not so much that it would affect ride quality. I drive this car everyday so I don't want a stupid low car.
I also got the shock installation kit since I knew my old hardware would be worn out and with this all being apart it only makes sense to change these items out at the same time.
The Bav Auto front and rear camber kits were also a must have just in case I want to play with the suspension when I get my wheels on this car. Plus, I knew that the old front strut mounts were in need of replacement so why not upgrade them right?
I figure if you're going to be doing this job then you'll at least have some type of mechanical experience so I don't need to show how to remove the front strut assembly.
A spring compressor tool set will be needed to get the assembly apart. I had one but they can be rented at your local auto parts store.
Take the suspension apart and you'll be left with something like this.
Here's where I made my first mistake. Instead of trying to loosen the collar nut with the suspension on the car, not knowing better I removed the spring and top hat then decided to have a go at the nut.
This is a good shot showing how rusted this piece was on my car.
With a set of massive pliers and a bit of heat I was able to finally crack the collar. For those of you in the rust belt, I suggest first trying to loosen the collar while the suspension is on the car. It will provide you much better leverage than with it out.
Good thing I bought some new shocks because those look to be well past their prime.
I was worried that I'd have to reuse the old collar but the front Bilstein Sport shocks come with their own and a nice dust boot as well.
With the new shock in place I used the same set of large pliers to tighten the collar nut. Technically you should use a special key for this but I'll argue that the pliers do as good a job.
I slide the plastic collar over the strut assembly as it will be the piece that holds the rubber boot in place.
Next up, the clean vibrant blue rubber boot is installed.
Thankfully, I purchased all new shock hardware because my old rubber pieces were falling apart.
Bav Auto spring goes on.
Before you put the adjustable shock mounts on, you have to reuse the old spring plate in between. In hindsight I should have bought this new as well since mine was all rusted looking. With the top mount in place use an allen key and wrench to tighten it all up. Do NOT use an impact gun on here. I've seen people sheer the tops off by using an impact gun or similar on this piece.
All done! Repeat for the other side.
Reinstall the entire assembly back onto the car...
At which point you can choose to adjust your top mount to the spec of your choice. I set it up so both caster and camber are zero'd for the time being. I'll go get an alignment after and then spec is some more.
Moving to the back, the rear shocks are a bit simpler to remove as they require only one lower bolt and three top bolts to free up.
They still make you to work for it though. The top three bolts holding the shock in place are tucked far back inside the trunk making them hard to get to. Patience was a virtue here.
On went the spring compressor and off came the top hat.
This is where I was really happy I'd ordered all those new shock parts, check out that foam bump stop, or should I say lack there of.
The rear Bilstein's come with a metal ring that sits on the shock body and will hold the spring in place. I noticed the shock is notched so that this ring can be placed lower. At first I thought maybe I should move it but common sense quickly intervened and I left it at the factory spot.
I slid the new bumpstop and plastic cover onto the shock.
Then came the fresh rubber spring tenders followed by the Bav Auto springs themselves.
I should note that when you're taking apart the suspension to keep track of how its all arranged. There are washers that must be reused in the same order as they came off.
On went the top mount and the same technique as up front was used to secure the nut in place.
That looks much better than what came off the car doesn't it!
Bolt that bad boy in place and do the same on the opposite side and you're done!
I was hoping to replace the rear trailing arm bushings with the Bav Auto adjustable ones. That way I could have some camber adjustment in the rear.
It was not meant to be though. First of all, I didn't have a press to do it but secondly, after assessing the rust damage on the brake line fittings and other bolts I knew that if I dove into this job it would turn into a very long and potentially agonizing experience so I passed on it. This job will be left to a shop.
I still had one more thing to attend to though. My brakes were in dire shape so now was better a time than ever to replace the pads and rotors.
I picked a set of Stoptech Street Performance pads up along with some PowerSlot rotors. The pads are supposed to be more aggressive than OEM and dust less. Plus they can endure a light track day or autocross.
And here's what the before and after images look like. I'm super happy with the drop, even though its minimal. I like to call it gentleman low
My initial test drive blew me away at how comfortable the ride felt. I was expecting it to be way stiffer and more rough but the car soaks up bumps much like it did before minus all the floating. It's much more crisp and precise. Body roll is noticeably less and the car feels more planted. I can't wait to add a bit of negative camber up front and a slight caster adjustment. It should really make it turn in well.
It's not bad at all. It a very gentle process with these cars.