Coilover Quandary

There are many suspension kits out there that come with a coilover that is already valved and outfitted with springs for that specific vehicle. Most of the time a high-grade bolt-on kit, such as the new FabTech or Skyjacker Ford Super Duty kit, the Black Diamond/Superlift XCL for Jeeps, and the Donahoe Racing, Sway-A-way, Bilstein, or Total Chaos kits for Toyotas, is sufficient for normal-to-aggressive wheeling and still lets the vehicle work as a great daily driver.

In addition, there are suspension kits to allow swapping in a coilover shock to a previous suspension kit to gain the adjustability it allows. Examples include the Poly Performance and Currie brackets to add a coilover to a Jeep TJ. These kits and brackets do not come with a specific coilover, but leave that choice up to you.

To sum it all up, coilovers offer more adjustability in ride height, ride quality, spring rates, and shock valving than other suspensions. You need to have a good working link suspension to locate the axle, but this can also give better approach and departure angles as well as getting rid of any axlewrap issues. Finally, the tighter packaging of the coilover can allow for better fitment in small vehicles, but choosing the correct coilover for you is something that you should consult with a deal or shock manufacturer on. Though they are not cheap, a properly tuned and installed coilover can help bridge the gap between your current farm truck, a flexible rockcrawler, and that desert-bombing trophy truck you dream of.