Modifying Toyota Tercel Coilovers

Toyota Tercels are great vehicles on their own. Some might argue that they wouldn’t need any modification. However, modifications are quite popular for this vehicle.

If you do choose to go and modify your Tercel, it is important that you do it well. For today, we are going to focus on coilovers. We’ll help you figure out what you should look for in case you want to change your Tercel’s coilover.

What Do Coilovers Do?

Coilovers have something to do with the suspension of your vehicles. More people like it as compared to springs. These can be used to enhance the suspension system. Coilovers are made of a spring that is coiled around a shock absorber. This helps to absorb the shock while driving on the road.

With the right coilovers, you can lower the center of gravity of your Toyota Tercel. Additionally, it will also help stiffen the chassis. The effect would be an improvement in control and cornering.

New coilovers can also make your car look better as it has a sportier aura. However, the best part is improving the performance of your vehicle.

Guide To Selecting Coilovers

There are lots of different brands that provide aftermarket coilovers. There are also different types. Selecting one could be a challenge. However, it can be done. These are some of the things you need to look for when selecting coilovers to buy.

Spring Rate

The springs play an important role in your suspension setup. It will determine the ability of your vehicle to bounce or absorb bumps. Those with higher spring rates are more difficult to compress.

Whenever your car accelerates, turns, or brakes, the body of the car moves. By minimizing the movement of the body, the handling is also improved. It also helps with spreading the load across the four tires while cornering.

Most of the aftermarket coilovers you’ll find have stiffer springs. That is a good thing because it improves handling.

Adjustability Of Spring And Valving

Coilovers are usually modified to help lower down the Toyota Tercel. This will produce a lower center of gravity to further improve performance by reducing body roll. One of the important features to look for would be the ride height, damping and spring preload adjustability.

With adjustability, you are able to fine-tune your vehicle depending on your application. Usually, most would replace it with stiffer springs especially if they want to use it not only for everyday street use. However, it is important that you also match the damping with your spring rate to prevent your ride from being bouncy.

Top Mount

Another thing to take note of is the top mount. Usually, the top mount used by OE manufacturers is only rubber bushings. This deflects more but is also known as the main cause of suspension precision failure. The rubber chosen is softer for better energy deflection. Those with a stiffer rubber would reduce the energy deflection and improve longevity.

Some may also have a pillowball bushing, which does not move at all. Some choose this kind of top mount because they are more able to feel the steering and suspension of the vehicle.

Monotube

Coilovers come with either a twin-tube or a monotube. A twin-tube coilover has an inner and an outer tube. The inner tube will hold oil, valve and piston shaft. On the other hand, the outer tube holds the nitrogen gas and the damper oil. The twin-tube is more common for OEM suspension because it improves ride quality and provides more suspension stroke.

On the other hand, with monotube dampers, both the gas and shock are in a single tube. A floating piston is what separates the gas and the liquid. With this design, the gas is compressed quicker. Monotubes are great because you can use them either way up. They are better at heat dissipation and at damper responsiveness.