BRZ/FR-S Coilover Installation Guide
 

Introduction: This guide will illustrate how to install coilovers on your BRZ/FR-S. Installation of springs/shocks will be very similar, but with a few added steps if you’re reusing your factory shocks. We know there's a great writeup for a spring install, but figured another set of instructions and photos wouldn't hurt. The coilover installation is also a bit different. As always, if you have tips, suggestions or corrections, please don't hesitate to speak up!

Tools: The tools listed below are suggested for this task.

- Floor jack
- 4x Jackstands
- 1/2in Ratchet
- 1/2in extension, 19mm socket
- 3/8in Ratchet
- 3/8in extension, 12mm, 14mm, 17mm deep well sockets
- Flathead screwdriver

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Tips: There are a couple spots where having a friend around will make the installation easier, but don't be afraid to tackle it yourself!

Procedure:
1. Begin by following our guide to safely jacking up and supporting your BRZ/FR-S and remove your wheels once all four corners are supported.

2. We’ll start with the front passenger’s side first. Familiarize yourself with what’s going on up there. Be sure to identify your sway bar, endlink, brake line, ABS sensor line and strut mounting points.

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3. Begin by disconnecting the swaybar endlink from the strut assembly. This will require a 17mm socket and you’ll make the job easier for yourself with an extension. If you find that the end link is spinning with your ratchet, you’ll need to us a 17mm wrench with an allen wrench to keep the stud from spinning. Remove this on both sides at once to release any tension in the swaybar.

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4. Now that you’ve got the swaybar completely disconnected and the endlinks out of the way, disconnect the brake line from the strut assembly. A 12mm socket with an extension will make this an easy job.

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5. The last step before moving onto strut removal is to disconnect the ABS sensor line from the strut assembly. This can be a little tricky, but requires finesse, not force. You’ll release the first clip with a screwdriver, depressing the tabs on the back side of the clip. The second clip will pop open, releasing the line along with the bushing.

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6. Now the strut is ready for removal. Remove the two 19mm nuts on the lower strut mount bolts. If need be, hold the opposite side with a wrench.

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7. With the two 19mm nuts removed, you should be able to work the bolts out of the strut/hub assembly. The brake caliper/rotor is heavy, so be careful to let it down easy. You should be able to tip them away from the vehicle and let them rest.

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8. The only thing holding the strut in place are the nuts on the top of the strut. Loosen these all with a 12mm socket before moving forward. If you’re by yourself, you’ll want to hold the strut with one hand while you loosen the nuts the rest of the way with the other. If you’re with a friend, have him/her hold the strut for you while you remove the three nuts. Remove the strut assembly from the vehicle and set it safely aside.

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9. Strut assembly removal will be exactly the same on the driver’s side. You may choose to do that now or wait until you have this side back together (minus the sway bar).

10. Now, get your coilovers ready to go. We’ll start by setting the ride height and locking the collars in place using the provided spanner wrenches. We decided to start low and raise the car as needed, after installation. Most coilovers will feature three collars. One locks the strut body into the coilover housing after you’ve adjusted the ride height. Another acts as a spring perch, allowing you to preload the spring on the coilover assembly. Lastly, the middle collar locks your preload into place.

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11. The next step will be up to you a little bit, as to how you want to set your original ride height. It may also vary based on which coilovers you’re installing. Here’s what we chose to do. First, we preloaded the spring. After snugging up the ‘set preload’ collar to the spring, we used the spanner wrench to preload the spring 1/4in. We then tightened the ‘lock preload’ collar up to it, using both spanner wrenches to tighten them towards eachother.

12. The last step is to set your ride height. We chose to start low, and left an 1/8in gap between the ‘ride height collar’ and the ‘lock preload’ collar.

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13. Now would be a good time to make sure you’re setting up the passenger side coilover. Compare it to the stock assembly that you removed, noting the side of the strut that the bracket is attached to.

14. You’re almost ready for reinstallation. Remember that pesky clip for the ABS sensor line? You’ve gotta remove that from the OEM strut and reinstall it onto the new one. It’ll release similar to the first one and remember, finesse, not force.

15. Alright, grab that tiny little coilover and set it in place in the wheel well. Everything look right? Make sure the ABS sensor line is running below the two large bolts, not above them. When you’re ready, check that the camber plate is correctly oriented, line up the studs and get it bolted to the strut tower. Similar to disassembly, a friend will make the job easier, but you can definitely do it alone.

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16. With the strut supporting itself, get the two 19mm bolts reinstalled, noting again that the ABS sensor wire is correctly routed. Tighten the 19mm nuts to 114ft-lb once the bolts are installed.

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17. Reconnect the endlink to the strut assembly using your 12mm deepwell socket to hit the required 34ft-lb.

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18. Lastly, we’ll reconnect the brake line and abs line to the strut. Use a 12mm socket to tighten the brake line to 24ft-lb. The ABS lines should clip right into place. (driver’s side, pictured here)

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19. Torque the nuts on the top of the strut to 17ft-lb on each side. Double check that the coilover collars are tightened properly before reinstalling your wheel! Installation on the driver’s side should be just about exactly the same. Take your time to make sure that everything is done right!

20. Now, we’ll move to the rear of the car. Begin by removing the trunk liner.

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21. Next, pop the four (4) clips on each side of the trunk interior so that you can pull the pieces back, exposing the top of the rear struts. If you’d prefer, you can remove them completely. The clips are released using a flathead screwdriver. Pop the center section up just a big and the whole clip should loosen and can be removed.

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22. The passenger side is very similar. Expose those studs as well.

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23. Now, start on whichever side you wish, they’re both the same again. Remove the two 14mm nuts holding the top of the strut to the chassis.

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24. Next, remove the 17mm bolt/nut to disconnect the strut from the control arm. Once removed, you may need to push down on the push down a bit on the hub/caliper if you’re doing one side at a time in order to remove the strut from the vehicle.

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25. Now, we’ll get our rear coilovers setup for installation. It’s a similar process to that of the front. This is how we set ours. Of course, you’ll be able to make final adjustments once the coilovers are installed. Remember to make sure everything is snug, or you’ll be hearing terrible noises. Take note that the rear coilovers are also unique for each side, so pay attention!

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26. Reinstallation is a breeze. Place the new strut into the control arm and slip the 17mm bolt back into place. Tighten the nut to 59ft-lb.

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27. You’re getting close! Move back up to the top of the strut, aligning the two studs with the holes in the trunk. An extra set of hands will make this portion much easier, but aren’t critical. If you’re working alone, use a jack to help hold the strut so that you can sneak around and reinstall the two nuts in the trunk. Once you’ve got those tightened to 22ft-lb, you’re ready to move over to the other side. Complete the opposite side the same way.

28. Reinstall your trunk liners, double check again that coilover collars are all snug, throw your wheels back on and lower the car. You’ll want to drive a bit to get the wheels to scrub out and let the springs settle a touch before really fine-tuning your ride height.

29. Adjusting your ride height requires simply raising the front or rear of the car and removing the wheels. You’ll ‘unlock’ the lower collar and spin the strut assembly in or out of the body, depending on whether you’re going higher or lower.

30. Make sure you get an alignment after replacing such a critical portion of the car’s suspension!

Argh, I have been waiting for my dang coilovers to show up so I could do this DIY, but you beat me to it. :)

Added to the DIY Directory:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7365

Are all of the nuts supposed to be replaced when swapping out the suspension components? They're all marked as non-reusable parts in the service diagram.

That is an excellent question. I reused all of my nuts when I did my spring swap and when I checked torques a week later all was still well. I think it is safe to reuse the nuts, but I'm just a backyard mechanic. Anyone with a little more knowledge on this?

what is the torque spec for the 3 front top nuts?

pictures of the car after installing it? :)

Great figure! Added to the write-up. Looks like 17ft-lbs to me.

Matt

I'm no expert on this subject, however I would fear corrosion perhaps. The nuts are probably all plated steel. The plating may flake from repeated use?

I would follow whatever may be recommended in the manufacturer service guide if possible.

My 2003 Insight is all aluminum, so it has special considerations, but anyway similar problems might be the reason the manufacturer says the nuts are not reusable.

all of the newer hondas are like that if you remove a bolt they want you to replace it. when ever i do a transmission or engine i get about 100lbs in just bolts that need replaced.

Great Write up Grimmspeed!

Yes it is absolutely OK to reuse the fasteners in this job.

Now lets see some pics of the car lowered!

We'll take some better pictures shortly, but here's one to get it started. This is just before we took off for Chicago to go to the Midwest Subaru Shootout.

Matt

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...76652591_o.jpg

Nice DIY but in the OP, the camber plate top hat is installed in a wrong orientation

How's the suspension holding up on the track?

Great DIY! if i decide to drop my car, this will be very helpful

<<<CORRECTIONS NEEDED>>>


^^^^^ INCORRECT: this is a 17mm nut and requires 17mm socket/wrench.

^^^^^ INCORRECT: this is a 12mm nut and requires 12mm socket/wrench.

Please fix @GrimmSpeed

-alex

Anyone else had any trouble with the end links? not sure if i went full retarded but i was having the hardest time putting it back together when i did my springs...

Great DIY.

About how long should I expect this to take, on average?

If you've never done this before and you're attempting this on your own, give yourself at least 3-4 hours. This way you're not in a hurry and you can triple check everything, and still have enough time to adjust/set your coilovers to your liking.

Optional: you may want to take the car for a quick 5-10 min drive before setting your final ride height. I'm anal about getting the ride height perfect (to within 1mm) all around so what I do is adjust height, drive, adjust height, drive, and adjust again if necessary :D

Cool, thanks. If I do coilovers I'll give myself 6 hours then. Slow and steady wins the race. :)

I used this today as a guide while installing my BC coilovers. Just a note, the OEM rear shocks are MUCH MUCH easier to remove if you loosen the bolt that holds the endlink into the lower control arm. This keeps the "walls" of the control arm from gripping the lower end of the shock so tightly.

Do your swaybar links not make a creaking sound using the stock links? I use the stock links and I get a pretty loud creaking noise from the front when I turn left/right. Was told it could be because the stock links are too long. Any ideas?

Removing Rear Struts
 

Great write-up... used this as a generic guide... installing my new Speed by Design Pro Street Coilovers. When it came time to remove the rear OEM struts, we had to also disconnect the rear sway bar in order to get enough "slack" to remove. And, even with that little bit of extra play, it was a bear.

click thanks by mistake.

anyway, you have to raise the opposite side to make them even to not have to went full retard to put it back on.

Did this ever get answered or did I miss it? Not trying to install them on the wrong side.

Did my coils today. The back were a breeze, 45 minutes tops for both sides. The fronts...those damned endlinks...how does a one year old car have such seized up bolts? It took another 2 hours each side just for those bolts. They're now destroyed and need to be replaced. Blow torch and vice grips should be added to the list of tools needed. Great help though! Thanks guys

The way the sheet metal is where the top hat bolts to the car might not even allow you to install the coilovers wrong. BUT in case I'm incorrect about that:

The "thinner side" goes towards the inside of the car, and the "thicker side" goes towards the outside of the car.

Chase
Engineering

thx alot for this DIY post. really help full for novice like me.

Our pleasure, glad it was helpful!

Matt Beenen
Engineering

Thank you! Installing my KW V3s today thanks to this.

Maybe I missed something but when you install the strut to the lower control arm(rear) aren't you supposed to compress the suspension?

Great write-up guys!

I installed some KWV3s acouple days ago, should I be getting alignment?

Yes once the springs are done settling and you're at your ideal ride height

What are the consequences of not getting one lol just curious

Less-than-ideal handling characteristics for start, like unwanted pulling, biased towards a direction. Uneven tire wear for another.

So, I have my coilovers and my rear LCA's ready for install. I'm pretty mechanically competent, however I do have some concerns. I'm iffy about adjusting the ride height and the LCA's. What's the best way to do it? Just slap them on and then let a shop handle it during an alignment? I'm pretty good at being an instruction following monkey, basically every time I've done something with my car (fog lights, exhaust, intake and new tail lights) I've had either the instruction booklet or my laptop right by my side for that stuff. But, I'm hesitant to install the suspension because to be honest, I'm a bit intimated by all the adjustment possibilities.

What's the best way to do it? Install, then get a shop to do all of the adjusting, or get it installed, do the adjustments and let the shop worry about the fine tuning?

This won't be done until spring time and I've been reading up on just about everything I can for this, I just want to be really, really prepared for such a major job.