Ground Control Coilover kit install, 2G

First thing, measure the height of the stock suspension at all four corners and write it down somewhere. I measured from the center of the rim to the top of the fender well at each corner. Then jack up the front of the car and place it on jackstands. Here is the front suspension fully unloaded.

Remove the lower shock nuts. Be very careful on the top bolt, if it seems to be stiff coming out, the threads may be stripped (seen below).

Pull the lower mount off of the strut, setting it on the drive axle. Remove the top mount nuts, and pull the shock out. Then lift the lower mount off of the axle and remove it (though you can leave it in place if the bolts came out easily). Here's a pic of the shock and lower mount out of the car.

Here's what the bolt can look like if some boneheaded shop used an air wrench to tighten it. We did 2 shock installs on the same day, and on the Spyder, the owner had had a shop install lowering springs. They obviously used and air wrench to tighten the lower shock mount clamp bolt, and the bolt stretched.

Removing the bolt completely removed the threads from the lower mount.

The fix was to go get some Grade 8 bolts, remove what was left of the threads in the lower mount, file the side of the mount flat (where the nut is), then use a nut to clamp the mount to the shock. The nut does not interfere with anything on the car.

Once the shock is out, slip an openend wrench over the shock rod nut, then clamp the top of the rod with a pair of Vicegrips, then loosen the nut.

At this point, you can use a set of strut compressors if you are truly paranoid, but it really isn't necessary. Once the top nut is loose, place a ratchet/socket on it, turn the entire assembly upside down, step on the ratchet, and turn the shock to remove the nut. Press down on the shock while turning or when the nut comes off, the shock will pop up from the spring pressure. The spring doesn't exert that much pressure on the shock, so you don't have to press down like you're a gorilla. Just keep firm pressure on it. You will feel the nut come free, and the shock will pop up a bit. Then set the assembly down to take it apart.

Here's a view of the Koni shocks, one completely assembled, and one with all the parts laid out roughly in the order of install.

Place the plastic wiper on the shock rod.

Here's a view of the internal shoulder on the GC threaded collar. This collar is specifically for Konis, you must tell GC if you are using Konis, so they can send you the right collar. The non-Koni collar does not have this internal shoulder, as it sits on the spring perch on stock or other shocks. Note the shoulder on the Koni shock, this is what the collar's internal shoulder rests on.

Slide the threaded collar onto the shock.

Slide the bumpstop onto the shock rod. Note this one has been cut down about an inch.

Slide the top small washer onto the shock rod.

Drop the spring onto the threaded collar, then put the top rubber washer on it. You may need to spin the spring collar down on the threaded collar to get the rubber washer to line up with the top small washer.

Place the stock mount metal tube and bottom bushing on the shock rod.

Slide the top mount, top bushing, Koni washer, and Koni nuts on the shock rod, and tighten the nuts. The Konis come with 2 nuts, use both. Tighten the bottom one, then tighten the top one against it to lock them both in place.

Here's the bottom of the shock. Note the stop that is welded to the casing. This stop keeps the shock from going too far through the bottom mount. Notice the tab on the stop.

The tab fits into the gap on the bottom mount.

Drop the bottom mount over the axle.

Lift the shock into place, snug the top mount nuts down by hand. Then make sure the Koni stop is towards the inside of the car. Rotate the shock if necessary. Lift the bottom mount up onto the shock, making sure the tab on the stop lines up with the gap on the lower mount, then bolt the lower mount to the suspension arm with the lower bolt.

Hand tighten the lower mount top bolt into place. Then place the wheel back on the car, drop it off of the jackstands, and put the full weight of the car on the shocks. Make sure the shock has pressed down into the lower mount until the stop on the shock is resting on the lower mount. Then tighten both bolts on the lower mount, and the 3 nuts on the upper mount.

Here's the stock rear setup.

Remove the lower shock bolt, circled here. Pull the shock bottom off of the suspension.

Remove the rear hatch shock cover to access the top of the strut. If you are installing on a Spyer, just push the rear top liner back to access the top of the shock. The rubber cover over the shock top doesn't have to be removed, but it makes removing the nuts a lot easier.

The 2 top mount nuts are circled here. Loosen them almost all the way, then hold onto the shock as you remove them. Pull the shock out of the car. Remove the top mount from the shock the same way as you did for the front.

Here's a view of the Koni shocks, one completely assembled, and one with all the parts laid out roughly in the order of install.

Again, here is the internal shoulder on the Koni-specific GC collar. It sits on the bumps shown on the shock body.

Slide the plastic wiper on the shock rod, place the collar on the shock body, and drop the bumpstop onto the shock rod.

Place the spring, small metal washer, rubber washer, and large metal washer on the shock.

Add the stock upper mount bottom bushing and metal bushing tube.

Add the stock upper mount, top bushing, Koni washer and nut.

Lift the shock into the car and snug the top nuts. Lift the bottom of the shock onto the suspension, and bolt it down. Tighten the top nuts, and replace the covers. Bolt the wheels back on and drop the car.