CGSmith0524

First and foremost, as the title reads, I want to Thank Kyle from BMR for taking the time out to explain things to me, and the outstanding customer service.

With that being said, I thought I’d give some insight from my experience on swapping out all 4 Coil Springs on my 2002 SS Camaro. I have complete pictures; however, I won’t be able to upload them until later tonight or tomorrow.

Over all, the job itself wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t the easiest either. The first thing I’ll start with is the Front Coil Springs:

1- I learned from reading up on this task that I’d need a TR50 Torx Bit for the Drivers Side. You are very limited on the space between the torx bolt and your brake master cylinder, but if you take your time, it can be done. I used an 8MM ratcheting wrench on my torx bit to make life a little bit easier.
2- I don’t know if it’s absolutely necessary, but I completely disconnect my sway bar on both sides. It made lowering the A-Arm Assembly that much easier.
3- I also disconnected the spindle from the upper ball joint prior to removing the strut/coil over. It’s a simple nut with a cotter pin.
4- Now came the difficult part- I’m not sure if anyone else has the Bilstein Ultra Performance Suspension upgrade from SLP, but let me tell you, it was like pulling teeth to compress that spring to remove it. Here on the Redstone Arsenal we have an auto-craft shop where you can work on your own stuff. They have a coil spring compressor that holds the shock in place and compress’s the spring, however, the lower 4-5 coils were compressed so tight that we couldn’t get anything in there. I then went to AutoZone, Advance, and O’Reilly’s to rent a Coil Spring Compressor with hopes of doing it by hand. None of the hand held ones would fit in the coil. I then went to Firestone, Sears, and another shop for help/assistance and again, no such luck! Finally I was able to get NTB to give it a try. After 2 hours, we were able to swap out the SLP Springs with my new BMR Springs. I’ve attached pictures to show just how many more coils are than the BMR’s.
5- Putting everything back together was a snap.

Now, the rears were much easier than the front, but I’m sure everyone already knew and experienced that. I did remove both of my rear shocks to make life much easier. I also replaced the factory panhard bar with an Adjustable PHB from BMR. I choose to keep the factory isolators on top of the springs, as they still looked brand new with no wear marks or cracks from dry rotting. And just like the fronts, the rears went back together with ease.

Just a side note that I feel I should mention- My car only has 20,000 miles on it, so none of my bolts were rusted. All of my bushings, to include the sway bar, still look brand new. Because of that, I didn’t have to cut any bolts off, which made this job that much easier.

As of now, I haven’t been able to drive my car, due to work and weather. However, I plan to put some miles on it this weekend. I can tell you that the stance is 100% better than before!! The car now sits level, which is what bothered me the most. The rear end doesn’t look like it changed much, but the front end is much lower, which is a plus and what I needed!! From a quality stand point- I’m extremely pleased and happy with the products from BMR. I’m anxiously waiting to drive it and put some miles on it to see how much the ride quality has changed.

For those of you that are still reading this, I have one question- Am I the only one that had that this many issues and complications compressing the front coil springs? Or is this normal? There is a HUGE difference between what SLP had installed and the BMR’s. Just curious if this is normal…..

Carl

CGSmith0524

As promised, here are some pictures that I took while doing the install. With the car having very low miles, and always being garage kept, I didn't struggle with breaking anything lose. I truly feel for all of those that have had to use grinders, cutting wheels, or anything else to remove some of the bolts.

I plan to get the car out this weekend for a cruise and then I'll re-measure the distance between the top of my tires and fenders. I took before measurements, but I want to take after measurements to see how much the car actually lowered.

Let me know what you all think!!

CGSmith0524

And here are the BMR Springs installed....

Carl

BMR Sales2

iTrader: (40)

I am glad we were able to help you out and get you taken care of.

This situation shows that no matter how many miles you have on a set of lowering springs if they are not a good quality they can very well still sag and throw off the ride height of the vehicle.

Get some miles on the car with the new suspension setup and let us know what you think about it.

CGSmith0524

We are going to get hammered with some severe storms here in the Northern Alabama-Tennessee Valley the next couple of days, but I plan on getting the SS out Saturday and Sunday. After I get some miles on it, I plan to take an after picture and post both of them.

No problem with a review- whether it's good or bad, I'll be honest and constructive.

Do you all have any idea why there is such a drastic difference between the two front coil springs? After talking to SLP, I was informed that if you ordered the Bilstein Ultra Performance System, you had two choices of coil springs that dedicated the level of your suspension. Both springs were made by Eibach, so I'm curious to know why theirs has so many more coils than the BMR's?!

Please don't take this the wrong way, as I'm not knocking any company, I'm just trying to educate myself. There's 4 and half coils difference between the two front. The rears were a lot similar.

Thanks,

Carl

eteller

A little off topic, but Carl the underside of your car is fricken spotless!

CGSmith0524

Thank you!! I do drive it, trust me, but I try to drive it on nice beautiful days. Back in 2012 I drove it to Missouri & back twice. I have yet to take it on the Hot Rod Power Tour, but I plan to.

I just spend a lot of time detailing and keeping the entire car clean and spotless, just not the outside.

BMR Sales2

iTrader: (40)

I definitely look forward to your review once you get some seat time with the car.

The number of coils a springs has is determined by the design of the spring itself. You get the desired ride height from a multitude of different variable with the number of coils being just one of those many variables. Everybody designs their springs a little differently based on what they are wanting and the particular company that is producing the spring. It is just a different design between two different company's lowering springs.

CGSmith0524

Thank you for the education lesson. It just blows my mind that there is a 4 and half coil difference between the two. Which is what made it so difficult to get the original SLP Springs off the shock.

Again, thank's for all the help!!

BMR Sales2

iTrader: (40)

No problem.

You know where to find me if there is anything else we can help you out with.

CGSmith0524

Ok, so the fiancé & I decided to take the SS to Chattanooga on Thursday for the weekend. We took her cousin, so there was three of us in the car.

My fiancé is 5'6" and she decided to ride in back. Now, as many of y'all know, there isn't much room in the back of these cars. Chattanooga is right at 110 miles to downtown. According to her, the car rode great. It wasn't too hard to where it wore your back down. And it wasn't too soft to where the suspension bottomed out. It was a very comfortable ride!!

Now for my review- I honestly cannot feel a difference between the original SLP Bilstein Suspension Upgrade versus the BMR; however, the stance has improved 100%!! It sits perfect now and I Love it!! I can't wait to get it on the track to see what the 60' times are....

CGSmith0524

So, here is how my SS looked before I installed the BMR Springs and after.....

Like I said earlier, the stance is 100% better!! I couldn't be more happier with the ride height now.

BMR Sales2

iTrader: (40)

I am glad you guys are happy with everything and that you got a chance to put some miles on the new setup. If there is anything else we can help you out with just let me know.