Suspension Tuning: Toyota Celica

We bet that when you were younger, all you really cared about was having your vehicle lower than the next guy's ride and lowering was the first thing you did to your ride. Although your vehicle seemed to bounce over every single bump in the road, it didn't matter, because all you really cared about was acquiring that lowered stance.

Of course, everybody wants to drop their ride the proper way; however, we all know what happens with limited budgets and resources. Back then, the cheapest way to drop a vehicle's center of gravity was to chop the stock springs in half. The ride quality definitely sucked, but who really cared? As long as it was slammed to the ground, you were cool.

Nowadays, we're much older and wiser, so we consider the performance and safety factors that coincide with the aesthetics of suspension tuning. Why, that's the whole idea behind Import Tuner. Look good, dust the competition and spread the knowledge. Some things--such as lowering your vehicle before doing anything else--may never change, but the manner in which you do so will forever evolve as long as technology keeps advancing.

Long Ly of Import-Trader.com wanted to drop his 2000 Toyota Celica the proper way, so he contacted Endless USA and copped a set of race-bred Zeal Function-B6 coil-overs. Although a suspension coil-over system is much more expensive than replacing his stock springs with engineered progressive lowering springs, Long felt it was worth the investment in the long run.

In any case, lowering the center of gravity is the key to increased handling and performance. Many high-end suspension coil-over dampers feature an adjustable cup or bracket on the bottom of the threaded shock body that you can spin up or down to lower or raise your vehicle to the desired height. This enables you to adjust the ride height of your vehicle without affecting the length of the damper stroke, which translates to good ride quality no matter what height you set the coilovers at. Many high-end coil-over dampers also include some type of click-dial setting that enables the driver to adjust the expansion and contraction damper rate. Companies such as APEX'i, HKS, Tein and Zeal all manufacture race-bred suspension components based on their own racing experiences, such as on-the-track professional driver feedback. By doing so, the consumer gets the highest quality coilover system available to the public.

Long Ly decided to have Non Fujita at Enonvativ Force in Torrance, Calif. install his newly purchased Zeal coilover dampers. Follow along as Fujita guides us through the step-by-step process for all you "do-it-yourselfers."