When we get phone calls from customers and sometimes even their garages saying that a kit we have supplied has either not lowered the vehicle at all or not by the stated amount, the vast majority of the time the answer is simple. Here is a quick rundown of the most common reasons we have found:

1) When ordering your kit, please ensure you have either selected the correct one or if we are advising you which one you require that you have supplied all of your vehicle’s details.

We have often found someone has ordered a kit for a completely different variation of their vehicle, for instance buying springs for an Estate or Cabriolet model for a Saloon, or a completely different engine size.
The reason this makes so much difference is because each spring is carefully designed and manufactured to operate under a specific load. For instance a Cabriolet or Estate variation of a vehicle is heavier at the rear, so the springs for these are stronger. If you put these on a saloon which is lighter on the rear it will ride higher than it should, possibly higher than standard ride height on some vehicles!

The same principle goes for engine sizes and types, larger engines and diesels particularly are heavier than smaller engines. So if you put springs for a 1.2 petrol model on a 2.0TD model then the wheel will disappear into the wheelarch and vice versa.
There are also sometimes variations between the same models depending on the exact date of manufacture, so if your car does not exactly fit the criteria we have set it will usually not fit, bar a very few exceptions. If in doubt always call us and we can confirm if it is suitable and if not find something that is.
It’s always best to ask and we may sometimes ask for your vehicle registration if you are a citizen of Great Britain, using this we can usually look up your full vehicle details which stops any confusion and helps us ensure you receive the correct product for your vehicle.

2) Make sure you fit all of the suspension kit.

It’s not uncommon for us to have calls from customers saying that the kit doesn’t lower the car, only to find out after that the problem is they have only fitted 2 or sometimes even only 1 spring.
The vehicle will not settle to the correct height even on a corner by fitting one spring.
You will receive no indication of the final ride height without fitting all of the kit.
Once the entire kit is fitted the apparant problem is usually rectified, so it’s important to make sure the whole kit is fitted before assuming it’s faulty. Of course if you feel there is another issue like it is not physically fitting correctly or something doesn’t look right then do give us a call if unsure, it’s better to check and be safe rather than sorry!

3) Remember to take into consideration how much the original suspension has settled.

Vehicle suspension ’settles’ with age and use. Drops on all suspension kits are based on the manufacturers original specification, so if a kit is stated as being 40mm and your vehicle has settled by 10mm then you will only get a 30mm drop if you measured before and after fitting the kit (See our tip at the bottom for critical information when measuring).

4) Allow the suspension to bed in over a couple of weeks of driving.

Similarly to the previous statement, once you have fitted your new kit you have to give it time to bed in and settle itself, particularly on small drop kits fitted to older vehicles. By the time you take into consideration the old suspension may have dropped by 10mm in it’s life and the new kit needs a couple of weeks to bed in 5mm or so, if you have a 25mm kit then it’s going to look like it’s only dropped 10mm! So make sure you give your new kit a decent chance to bed in and then take measurements again after a couple weeks or so of regular driving. Of course if it looks completely wrong or you are unsure, just give us a call and we can advise you what we recommend next.

5) Make sure the springs are on the right way round.


OK, this basically applies to Honda Civics but being hugely popular as you can imagine this is a phone call we often receive… If you find that the front of your car has slammed to the deck and the rear of the car is stuck in the air then we always find the springs have been installed back to front. It does happen… a lot..! If in doubt then just give us a call with the numbers printed on the springs and we can confirm if this is the problem, but everytime we have had this particular query and the correct springs have been ordered this has been the issue. The springs do look similar on a lot of Civics so it’s an easy mistake to make, just make sure you have the thicker springs on the front.

If none of these apply to you, or if you are unsure, then please do contact us as we always want to ensure our customers such as yourself are happy and satisified with your product. You can reach us during normal office hours on 01935 427554.


**Measuring tip**


When you want to measure how much a vehicle has lowered by you need to measure from the center of the wheel to the top of the wheel arch, these measurements are what the manufacturers of the vehicles and the aftermarket springs use. This is the only way to get a truly accurate reading, so don’t make the common mistake of measuring from the ground to your wheel arch! This is affected by tyre sizes, tyre pressures, wheel size, etc and is inaccurate in determining how much a vehicle has been lowered by and unusable for diagnosis in the event of a problem.


Fitting lowering kits and their parts can be potentially dangerous both in itself and also in the consequences when driving if it is done incorrectly. We always recommend that the work is carried out by a professional company or individual with the appropiate skills, tools and legal requirements such as insurance in place.

We do not accept any responsibility for misuse or misinterpretation of the information given, nor do we accept responsibily for the consequences of any other individual or company carrying out the work.

(C) 2009 Performance 3000 Ltd
Not for general distribution, unauthorised copying is prohibited.

Due to popular demand we have now put together this simple guide to adjusting your Jamex coilovers and also some of the things you have to consider when fitting them.

Fitting the coilover kits is usually a straight forward process for anyone who has experience in vehicle mechanics. You simply remove the existing springs and shocks and reutilise the topmounts when fitting the new suspension to the vehicle. Vehicles with torsion bars can be a bit trickier, but this is mainly due to the existing components being seized due to corrosion through normal use. Special care must be taken when handling springs as a lot of energy is stored in them and if they are released suddenly then the force can cause serious injury or even death. Due to the safety implications if fitting is carried out incorrectly we always strongly advise the vehicle is taken to a professional garage with experience in lowering vehicles. However if you have experience and feel competent enough to do it then it is pretty much straight forward and we will be looking at making a video tutorial for those of you in the near future. We did consider making a step by step written guide, but you can get a much better idea on video and as they say ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ – so video’s even better then, right?

A large number of queries we receive tend to be on the final adjustment rather than the fitting though, so we’ve put together this guide for you in the hope it will make it easier and answer your questions.

Firstly we will look at the three main different types of coilover kits available, as adjustment on the rear differs between them. On all of these kits the fronts are the same and are adjusted in the same way.

Type 1 – Spring/Ride Height Adjuster/Shocks on Rear

These are a very common configuration such as the coilovers on the Golf Mk4, Vauxhall Corsa, Audi A3 and many other popular models of vehicle. They have front all in one coilover units while having a seperate spring/shock assembly on the rear as already standard on the vehicle apart from one exception – the spring is mounted on an adjustable platform which can be wound up and down as on the front, changing the initial ride height of the spring. This allows you to adjust the height of the vehicle on the rear.

Type 2 – Coilover on the rear

These kits have a coilover unit on the rear as on the front, examples of which are the Honda Civic for instance. These are adjusted in the same way all around the vehicle.

Type 3 – Torsion bar on the rear

These are utilised on vehicles such as the Citroen Saxo, Peugeot 306 and any other vehicles which have a torsion bar on the rear.

Instead of a spring/height adjustable assembly you simply adjust the height of the rear torsion bar to the desired level as well as fitting the supplied shocks which are designed to accomodate a lower ride height without being subjected to the same stresses a standard shock absorber would be.

Adjusting your Jamex coilover kit

The height of the vehicle on kits comprising of coilovers all round or the seperate springs/ride height adjusters is adjusted by turning the adjuster plates. Using the tool provided, raising the top adjuster plate (turning anti-clockwise looking down) will result in the end ride height of the vehicle to be raised and vice versa when turning clockwise. Once the required ride height is achieved the bottom adjuster is tightened into place as well and the pressure from the spring also helps keep it set.

On the coilover units the adjuster rings are incorporated onto the body of the shock which is threaded, on the rear seperate setups the shock is independant and the spring sits on a platform which is adjustable in the same way as on the front coilovers.

When raising or lowering the vehicle and making the necessary adjustments you should take measurements from the centre of each wheel to the top of each wheel arch, while ensuring the entire vehicle is on a level surface. It is also advisable to safely release the handbrake and reapply it before measuring to ensure that the vehicle has not settled in an unlevel position from it’s normal stance as this can often happen usually on a slope, but also depending on how it was jacked up when being worked on.

Once you are happy with your results then ensure that everything is tightly secured as it should be and there is no fouling of components, including when turning the steering wheel. On some vehicles such as various models of the Golf Mk4 and Audi A3 for example, you also need to fit adjustable droplinks to stop the anti-roll bar from hitting the driveshafts. It is not often an issue on most cars, but again if in doubt it’s always best to ask first. It does also depend on the size wheels and tyres you have on the vehicle, as well as things like any bodykit you might have fitted. In these cases the vehicle has to be individually assessed so we always advise taking it to an experienced garage who will be able to get a better indication by looking at the setup you have. While we are happy to do this a lot of our customers are not local to us here in Yeovil, so it is not always practical and if you do not know of a garage personally then it’s often helpful to speak to friends/colleagues or to join a local internet forum where you can seek advice from other like minded people that can offer useful advice on where to go. It’s always handy to have other people’s opinions as otherwise you could find yourself seeking advice from a shopping mall retailer without any mechanical experience, whose only concern is selling you the goods without having any knowledge or care if it will actually do the job or not. Unfortunately in cases such as that while you will find them all too helpful when trying to sell you the goods, once you experience the inevitable difficulties later they usally lack the same enthusiasm they had prior to receiving your hard earned money. So do please always either use someone you have personal experience of, or at least someone who consistantly receives good reports from their customers.

It is vital that all adjustments are done when the entire kit has been fitted to the vehicle. Fitting just one unit or even fitting a matching pair on the front or rear will give false results and will not give any indication of the true final ride height without all four corners being fitted. The majority of calls we receive where anyone has had a problem saying there car has not been lowered enough, wherever it be coilovers or springs, has been due to them only fitting part of the kit and basing their final judgement on their observations. In all these cases once the entire kit has been fitted the vehicle has been at the correct height, so it is very important this is done correctly. If in doubt though it is always best to ask and we always happy to answer queries.

Once the kit has been fitted and the final ride height achieved you will need to have the tracking carried out on the whole vehicle. On some vehicles you may also find you need to adjust the camber as well, so make sure you get this done straight away. This is important to do, particularly if you don’t want to have to keep buying new tyres due to uneven wear.

A good garage will include this in the fitting quote, but always ask to make sure. Often it can seem like you are getting a cheaper deal, but that’s only until you find out what’s not included and you have to pay for seperately.

Hopefully this will answer some if not all of your questions with regards to adjusting your Jamex coilover kit, if you feel we have missed anything or simply have a question that is not covered here, please feel free to contact us with your query by clicking here.

Fitting lowering kits and their parts can be potentially dangerous both in itself and also in the consequences when driving if it is done incorrectly. We always recommend that the work is carried out by a professional company or individual with the appropiate skills, tools and legal requirements such as insurance in place.

We do not accept any responsibility for misuse or misinterpretation of the information given, nor do we accept responsibily for the consequences of any other individual or company carrying out the work.

(C) 2009 Performance 3000 Ltd
Not for general distribution, unauthorised copying is prohibited.

Lowering your car has several advantages as well as achieving that great looking ’sporty’ look that is so popular throughout the world.
By lowering the vehicle and hence it’s center of gravity, you can vastly improve the handling allowing you to have better stability around corners and taking away that ‘boat’ handling feeling you can often get with some vehicles.
While you will sacrifice some of the comfort that a standard vehicle offers, which varies depending on how low you can go, the advantages are surely worth it.
But bear in mind you don’t have to necessarily slam it all the way to the deck, a lot of kits are available which lower around 35-45mm on average which are increasingly popular, for some vehicles you can get kits which will lower as little as 20mm. For the really adventurous among you you can slam your car down 60mm and sometimes even more!
Another advantage of lowering you car is that often the aftermarket kits designed for lowering are cheaper than their OEM standard counterparts! So not only will you be upgrading your vehicle, you will actually be doing it for cheaper than standard! So it’s a win-win situation really when you think about it, what have you got to lose?

So let’s look at some of the more frequently asked questions:

What types of lowering kits are available?

There are several different options available to the modifier when it comes to lowering, so we’ll now take a look at those and what the differences are between them. One thing worth considering is that whichever option you choose the labour to fit is effectively the same, so don’t forget this when choosing your required kit.

1) Option 1 – Lowering Springs

Probably one of the most popular methods of lowering your vehicle, mainly down to the cost – or rather the lack of.

Springs are the cheapest route, though on their own using the vehicles standard springs they are realistically limited to drops of no more than about 45mm depending on vehicle make and model.
This is because when you lower a vehicle using it’s standard shock absorbers, the piston in the shock is then compressed down before they are even starting to have to do any work, this means that the life expectancy of the shock absorber will be reduced as well as giving the potential for bottoming out issues and decreased handling.

However if you are on a budget or even just because you are looking to lower a relatively small amount, they more than suffice for the task and give excellent results on their own. And while yes, the shock absorbers even at less of a drop will still suffer to an extent – at least you can spread out payments by not replacing the shocks with uprated lowering models until your originals have seen the end of their life.

Something you should bare in mind though when going down this route it false economy, while you will save money at the start it is usually more expensive to purchase springs and shocks seperately compared to buying a complete kit with a discount. Also, unless you are handy with the spanners and carrying out the work yourself or by a friend, you will have to pay for two lots of labour to end up with both the springs and shocks fitted.

But depending on your plans, this may not be an issue so don’t let it put you off!

2) Option 2 – Spring / Shock Absorber suspension kit

Another option which is definate must when dropping more than about 45mm on most vehicles is a complete suspension kit. If you have the budget this is also generally preferable over springs even at lesser drops as the shocks are specifically designed for the application and will therefore have a longer life, better handling and better ride quality.

A spring/shock kit is the perfect opton when wanting to achieve a fixed ride height, you get everything you need to replace the existing suspension and you don’t have to worry about fastly deteroriating shock absorbers.

Different manufacturers may offer different options on these types of kit, a lot of kits will not offer any dampening adjustment for instance, but you may sometimes have the option to upgrade to kits containing dampening adjustable shock absorbers. That way you can adjust the dampening, on the car, to whatever your desire for different driving conditions. For instance you may find you want it completely different depending on wherever or not you are driving to the shops – or going on a track day with your mates.

3) Option 3 – Coilover kit

Considered by most to be the ultimate lowering modification, coilovers give you incredible looks while having the massive benefit of being height adjustable. This way you can literally adjust the vehicle’s height independantly all round to your desire, all within the specifications that the kit allows of course!
Generally speaking most kits will automatically lower the vehicle by a minimum of around 30mm, while allowing you to drop it as much as 80mm. This varies between manufacturers and also which vehicle you are purchasing for, so ensure you obtain the full details before purchasing if in doubt.

Some kits will also allow you to independantly adjust dampening as well, which is an added benefit, though as you would expect can increase the price of the kit substantially.

On non-dampening adjustable kits, as you would expect, the lower you go the harder the ride becomes, so bear this in mind when purchasing. This is always the case when lowering a vehicle and even on kits where you can adjust the dampening you are going to be restricted to what you can achieve.

The price of coilovers is generally quite expensive when compared to fixed height suspension kits, though saying that more and more retailers such as ourselves are now being able to offer coilover kits at increasingly low prices – as low as £175 in our case! – for a range of the most popular vehicles, such as VW Golf’s for instance.

This is highly comparable to their fixed height counterparts, so it really does make more sense to go for the coilovers in cases like this.

Why have I only got 2 springs / What is a ‘torsion bar’?

On some vehicles such as Saxo’s and 306’s rather than having coil springs on the rear you have what is known as a torsion bar. If you are interested in how it actually works then you can have a read on Wikipedia by clicking this link, otherwise the main benefit you have to think of is that you can actually adjust it to change the ride height without having to buy any additional parts. Though as with the springs it is recommended to uprate the shock absorbers as you are still lowering the vehicle and hence putting them under more strain.

This is why some kits only come with 2 springs and are therefore, more importantly, cheaper!

What are ‘progressively wound’ springs?

Virtually all the spring, suspension and coilover kits we sell here are Performance 3000 utilise progressively wound springs, which basically means that the more you compress the spring the harder it becomes. This helps stop problems with bottoming out or rubbing when hitting bumps while still giving a comfortable ride with good handling.

As you can imagine, a soft spring would be comfortable to an extent – apart from when it’s causing the suspension to keep hitting the bump stops of course! A hard spring would solve this problem, but it would be very uncomfortable and wouldn’t help handling realistically.
The progressively wound spring offers an excellent compromise between the two, giving you excellent handling and comfort.

Is there anything else I will need?

One question we often get asked is – “Is there anything else I need”, well this varies to an extent so it is always best to ask if unsure. While you will need the obvious things such as the skills and tools involved or a garage or mechanic to do the job, there are a few other things to consider.

1) You will need to use your exisiting topmounts when fitting a suspension or coilover kit, these don’t come with the kits so if for some reason yours are no longer suitable you will have to purchase replacements.

2) Some vehicles such as Saxo’s and BMW E30’s have shock inserts, we often get calls from people who think they have been sent the wrong part but in fact you have to simply replace the insert rather than whole strut leg. This doesn’t affect a lot of vehicles and it won’t make a difference anyway unless you have damaged something else you were hoping was going to be replaced with parts in the kit (it’s happened before!), but if for any reason you are unsure just ask and we are always happy to advise.

3) When the kit is fitted it is highly recommend to have the tracking carried out all round, this prevents uneven tyre wear and solves bad handling issues that you might experience if you do not do this. We carry this out as standard as part of our fitting service, but beware of some garages that may offer a cheaper initial quote for fitting, only to find out this is not included and be charged an additional cost later! Or worse still remain unaware until a short time after and you have to go to the expense of having your tyres replaced!

If you fit the kit yourself, always ensure you get this done as well at your local garage (unless you are lucky enough to have the facilities to do it yourself) to prevent further unnecessary expense later.

How do you adjust the height on coilover kits?

Coilover kits come in three different configurations depending on the vehicle they are obtained for. The difference on these is on the rear, first we will take a look at the front coilover unit and how it is adjusted:

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As you can see the spring rests on an adjustable ring that can be turned to move it up and down the shock assembly. Using the tool you are provided with in the kit you turn this ring (looking top down) anticlockwise to wind the ring up the thread therefore raising the height of the vehicle.
To lower the vehicle you turn the ring clockwise, winding it down the thread, to make the vehicle lower. It’s all quite straightforward and bar having to take the wheels off this is easily adjustable on the vehicle.
You’ll note you have two rings, you simply adjust it to the required height and then nip up the secondary ring in place. Two spanners are not required due to the tension from the spring.

Now we’ll move onto the rear suspension configurations:

1) Rear coilovers

These are straight forward and found on various vehicles such as Civicss and Golf Mk2/3’s – they look basically the same as the fronts and are adjusted in exactly the same way – pretty easy!

2) Seperate shocks and springs with ride height adjusters.

On vehicles where the rear suspension design does not allow for an exact coilover configuration as on the front, you will often have the shock abosrber mounted seperately while the spring sits on a height adjuster platform.

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As you can see this works in exactly the same was as the coilover units. You turn the ring accordingly to raise/lower the spring to achieve the ride heigh you desire.

3) Vehicles with torsion bar

Some vehicles such as Saxo’s have a torsion bar on the rear rather than springs, so with these vehicles the coilover kits will comprise of front coilovers and just rear shocks.

The rear height is then adjusted using the torsion bar, this is something that we highly recommend is undertaken by a professional with experience in performing the work.

Please feel free to comment on this article, ask questions or submit any other topics you would like us to cover.

Fitting lowering kits and their parts can be potentially dangerous both in itself and also in the consequences when driving if it is done incorrectly. We always recommend that the work is carried out by a professional company or individual with the appropiate skills, tools and legal requirements such as insurance in place.

We do not accept any responsibility for misuse or misinterpretation of the information given, nor do we accept responsibily for the consequences of any other individual or company carrying out the work.



(C) 2009 Performance 3000 Ltd
Not for general distribution, unauthorised copying is prohibited.