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Hi all

My regular mechanic (works for European high end shop) will install my new coilovers for $250. He said it will likely take most of the day due to post-install adjustments like spring preload & height. I guess that is a fair price, yeah?

Just checking because I'm still learning these things. Height is obvious but don't fully understand spring preload.

Cheers

That doesn't sound too bad.

Allow an hour to 1.5 for fitting the shocks etc (probably less, but let's assume they hit a few rusty stuck bolts)

Then another half hour to an hour for adjusting (not hard, but fiddly and slow)

Height is obviously how high the car sits afterwards.

Preload is how much tension is on the springs at rest.
No preload would be no tension at all, so you could rattle the springs around between the perches, high preload would be the springs squeezed tight by the perches without weight on them.


It depends on the coilover if both can be adjusted independently or not.
Preload affects height, but some shocks have a threaded lower sleeve to allow another height adjustment unrelated to the preload.

Very good price. Shouldn't take all day though considering he would have access to proper tools and a hoist.

Great, thanks guys. Yeah he doesn't have a hoist, and he is also installing rear pads and rotors for $100 more. So probably a fair bit of work.

Super excited. Got the MCA X-C. Think I may be the first person on the forum to get them, will have to post a review once I get some time to test them properly

After installing coilovers, a wheel alignment should be done which costs ~$100 so if that's included, $250 sounds very reasonable.

Having said that, you should let the car settle on the new coilovers for a few days before getting the wheel alignment so that your ride height is where you want it.

When I installed my coilovers, I spent ages getting the ride height correct. Two days later the car settled much lower so I had to redo the height adjustments all over again before I got an alignment. These days I'd just install them with minimal effort to get the ride height even and where I want it, possibly even a bit higher, then correct it a few days later.