Recently, a local customer brought down a set of used RSX coilovers that he purchased from somebody. He wanted us to inspect them and make sure they were good before he installed them on his Acura RSX. In short, we see many coilover kits come in that are set up incorrectly, but this one has to be one of the worst. Apparently the original owner of these coilovers tried to go as low as possible. Certainly, that’s fine, but there is a right and wrong way. This is a prime example of how to NOT install coilovers.
The Acura RSX kit has standard linear type springs in the front. In the rear is a larger inner diameter spring. Basically, the front and rear springs are NOT interchangeable because their inner diameter is totally different. The first image blatantly shows the issues. The spring is loose and there is damage to the top mount. To sum up, what we predict might have happened was that the car was too far on the ground. Consequently, there was metal on metal contact due to the spring diameter being too small to sit properly atop the mount. How someone could have put up with that metal on metal sound constantly is beyond me.
Pictured in the images above and below is the incorrect setting of the front spring preload. This loosened all the spring top hat pieces. Additionally, when setting preload on all of our coilover systems the springs should be snug to where you can barely twist them left or right and there is no up or down play.
In addition, this next image depicts how the shock is thread too far down. This will cause contact with CV boot/axle on many FWD cars. Both front shocks had some nice groves worn into the bottom of the shocks.
Below is a zoomed out view of the rear shock assembly which shows the helper springs that come with the RSX kit are missing along with the spring perch locking collar.
Here is a pic of how the rear shock bumpstops looked. Completely destroyed and pretty much useless.
So those are some examples of how NOT to adjust or install your coilovers. Moreover, if you aren’t satisfied with the maximum drop the kit offers, there are many other ways to go lower. Many kits have shorter shocks and springs available that could assist in getting you lower. Feel free to contact us if you need help.
Furthermore, we invested over $200 on replacement parts for the kit. Photos of the them assembled correctly can be found below. Now the kit should perform as designed and hopefully this local customer got a pretty good deal on these coilovers in the end.
