# coilovers vs. gas shocks



## ICP Sux0rZ! (Jan 10, 2005)

i searched and saw lots of stuff on coilovers vs. springs but i want to know what are the advantages between coilovers and shocks


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## chimmike (Oct 17, 2002)

coilovers are full suspension replacements and shocks are just shocks. you're comparing apples to apple sauce.


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## ICP Sux0rZ! (Jan 10, 2005)

so there would be no adverse affects if i were to convert from a shock to coilover set up? (this is not for my Z)


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## chimmike (Oct 17, 2002)

no, you don't quite comprehend dude.

go find some pictures of coilover setups like JICs, then look at pictures of a shock/strut


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## ICP Sux0rZ! (Jan 10, 2005)

this the shock i want to replace









this is what i want to replace it with (or something similar to)









would this be possible or no?


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## pete? (Jul 6, 2004)

of course it would. but if you were to use that coil over setup you would need to take the the spring you have right now off. i can see where it is but you have to have one. 

the spring is what keeps the car up, the shock is what keeps the car from bouncing around on the spring. right now it seems like you may have a torsion bar setup like that found on a truck......this is compairable to a garge door, go to your garage and look at the bar above it with a spring wraped around it to tension, the coil over uses compresion instead of tension. so when you get those coil overs you may need to do some fabing to get them to fit, and you will need to find the existing spring/torsion bar and take it off as well.

to expand: about what mike said

coil over setup, includes the spring AND shock together.

normal/OEM, seprate shocks and springs like on your Z. some times the spring does not sit on the shock (like on many lifted trucks) the shock is seprate from the spring.

to see if that coild over will fit on your buggy you need to measure the shock on your car now with the coilover to see if its the same size, it also needs to same type of mounts or you will need to fab.


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## ICP Sux0rZ! (Jan 10, 2005)

1.6pete said:


> of course it would. but if you were to use that coil over setup you would need to take the the spring you have right now off. i can see where it is but you have to have one.
> 
> the spring is what keeps the car up, the shock is what keeps the car from bouncing around on the spring. right now it seems like you may have a torsion bar setup like that found on a truck......this is compairable to a garge door, go to your garage and look at the bar above it with a spring wraped around it to tension, the coil over uses compresion instead of tension. so when you get those coil overs you may need to do some fabing to get them to fit, and you will need to find the existing spring/torsion bar and take it off as well.
> 
> ...


the mounts are the same, and as for the type of front end, its a link-pin design, the two arms connected to the spindle are the torsion bars, there are no other external springs.


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## bahearn (Jul 15, 2002)

Use coilovers to REPLACE the torsion bars or supplement them if they're too soft and you can't get stiffer replacements.


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## ICP Sux0rZ! (Jan 10, 2005)

bahearn said:


> Use coilovers to REPLACE the torsion bars or supplement them if they're too soft and you can't get stiffer replacements.


if i replace the torsion bars then i would need to make an entirely new setup, the toarsion bars are also the pivot point for the wheels, so i cant take them off, i'll jsut get billet shocks instead, i'll put the coilovers on the back


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