Your ride may look hot and even have a powerhouse under the hood. However, without the right suspension, your ride is no more than second best. Regardless of how much power you have under the hood, a tuned suspension is vital. Without the right suspension, adding too much power to your car can be detrimental. A finely tuned suspension will keep your tires where they are supposed to be: on the road. Additionally, a good suspension will reduce body flex and roll through turns, resulting in faster times, less under steer and other benefits.
So, what do you need to tune your suspension? What items are included in the suspension? Here are the answers to a few of those questions. First, you should start by lowering your ride height. Coilovers offer you the best way to do this. However, if you purchase lowering springs, make sure you get a camber kit to keep your alignment in check. Coilovers will let you adjust your ride height as needed, unlike lowering springs, which provide a fixed height.
Second, you’ll need to invest in a good set of sway bars. Sway bars are positioned under the vehicle and tie the two sides of your suspension together. OEM sway bars are usually very thin and somewhat flexible, often consisting of a single bar. Aftermarket sway bars are much thicker, providing much greater stability during turns and reducing body roll, as well as under steer.
Third, you will need to invest in strut bars (also called strut tower bars). These bars go under the hood and span the distance between your strut towers. They provide additional rigidity and stability to you ride. You can also purchase rear strut bars, which will tie the rear shock/strut towers together for similar benefits.
Tie bars should be the third thing you invest in. These mount below the car and tie the control arms to the chassis. As with strut bars, these provide greater rigidity and stability during cornering. Arm bars provide the same benefits as tie bars; spanning the gap between control arms, as well as anchoring them to the chassis.
Pillow ball mounts can also be used to enhance your steering and suspension. The ideal time to install these is during the lowering process. They take the place of the standard rubber strut tower bushings and provide a smoother turn, eliminating any judders or jumping.
As a note, every bushing should be replaced during your installation. Many accessories will come with new bushings. However, you should check to make sure they do. If they do not, you will need to purchase bushings as well. Old bushings can be reused, though they will be of limited effectiveness and can detract from the quality of the handling. If you follow these few simple guidelines you’ll find that your suspension can handle almost anything, allowing you to power through turns, rather than hit the brakes and be held back. Your suspension is vital to the performance of your car and should be one of the first things that you modify.
