so...i got the tein basics for my 2001 sunfire GT yesterday and had them installed last night, now i have a few questions....

1. In the diagram of the instructions, it is said that the length from the top of the fender to the center of the wheel should be 13.4" in the front and 14.5 in the rear. My front is off about .5" and the back about 1". Will this cause problems?

2. The diagram also shows that i should have the car raised from the lowest possible settings UP 1.2". Which would only provide me with about a 1.3" drop which is completely what im NOT looking for, or i would have bought springs. Is this hazardous to have them slammed as low as possible (2.5")?

3. In the instructions, an impact gun was strongly not recommended for installing these. However, i left the car with my friend to get started and he infact DID use an impact gun for the top nut and just about everything else. How much will this impact it?

4. How long before i can go without an alignment, i realize the sooner the better but due to work and other constraints i may need to wait up to a week, is this ok?

1. How far off are you, like what are your measurements? Are they bigger or smaller. That is the suggested height, prolly for best rates etc. You can lower em though, just be a little harder of a ride, as far as warranty on them goes, I think they are good to drop the whole way, I forget cause I dont ride on mine slammed at all.

2. Down all the way and you may have problems with blowing a strut again check the warranty info to see what they are rated for. I forget. I know when I tested mine to see how low the front was and tried to lower it... I lowered my stock jack the whole way down... and the car was still dropping, def would not want to ride on them slammed.

3. The impact gun shouldnt kill it as long as the strut wasnt spun like mad inside the housing. They say dont spin the silver part of the strut, but I know mine turned when I was trying to put those nuts on the top, I ended up having to do a little bit of an angle with the socket to make it break through the plastic part of the nut. Normally not good cause you can cut threads or jam it up, but finally got them down.

4. I have had mine on for a few months and driven prolly 4-5k and not had an alignment. A week should be fine. I just drove a while, and it felt even better aligned than before, then pulled all wheels to make sure the tires wernt rubbing anywhere and no damage anywhere so I said no need, the car has been just fine.



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1. No, they are coilovers, you can ride them however you want. all the way up and all the way down included

2. No, they are designed to run the full adjustment of the threads, otherwise they would have made the thread body differently Mine are about halfway in the front and all the way down in the rear

3. It's possible to damage the valves and whatnot. You'll only be able to find out when you start driving your car whether or not it did. The strut will be blown. Chances are fairly slim though. I've taken this car over some rough ass roads, and everything else breaks but my Teins.

4. I've gone 6k+ without an alignment, and without any negative tire wear. My friend is a GM tech and explains that there are no enlongated bolt holes so there is very little possible alignment issues except for toe. And as long as you didn't mess with your steering, it should be fine.

Cherub (AZ) wrote:

3. It's possible to damage the valves and whatnot. You'll only be able to find out when you start driving your car whether or not it did. The strut will be blown. Chances are fairly slim though. I've taken this car over some rough ass roads, and everything else breaks but my Teins.

Ok so how did you tighten the bolt on the top , when the coil was out of the car, or when it set into the strut mount?

Also what did you use ? Torque wrench?

Cherub (AZ) wrote:4. I've gone 6k+ without an alignment, and without any negative tire wear. My friend is a GM tech and explains that there are no enlongated bolt holes so there is very little possible alignment issues except for toe. And as long as you didn't mess with your steering, it should be fine.

Toe is the biggest factor when it comes to tire wear... When you chance camber, your toe angles change.

Zach wrote:

Cherub (AZ) wrote:4. I've gone 6k+ without an alignment, and without any negative tire wear. My friend is a GM tech and explains that there are no enlongated bolt holes so there is very little possible alignment issues except for toe. And as long as you didn't mess with your steering, it should be fine.

Toe is the biggest factor when it comes to tire wear... When you chance camber, your toe angles change.

I understand that. Alignment feels perfect from the inside of the car. No pull, no drift, and no extra rolling resistance. Dosn't mean the alignment is perfect, I'm just saying that it certainly dosn't appear to be off in any manner.

Jersey Kid: Honestly, I put the strut mount on the strut (with the spring on of course) hand tight or so while it was off the car (the springs are small enough to not need compression.) I used an impact gun when tightening the top nuts in the front, and a torque wand (? air thingy, I'm not good with tool names) on the rears. That probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, but it worked and I've seen no ill effects.

They've been on for 7 months or so now. 10k+ miles. I have a little squeek in the back when it's cool out. Probably from moving across country with my car fully loaded and horrible roads while doing so.

I just added addco sway bars. They help with the harshness, and make the car very very flat in turns. It's a great setup.

Cherub, you could have too much toe in and not know it. The car would track straight, but you would wear your tires wrong.

I just don't understand why anyone would spend all that money on upgrading their car's hanlding and not get an alignment. Wheel alignment has a bigger effect on hanlding than most people think (IMO).