Next big upgrade
So the next big ticket item was complete new suspension.
Although this was one of the best purchases I have made. Total adjust-ability, easy to fit plus the quality seems to be pretty good. So here goes the install...
Nice Packaging
The parts are all packaged really well inside a large sturdy box, all the parts were wrapped up too.
Megan Racing Coil Over kit
Few aftermarket suspension companies offer kits for the IQ.
Megan Racing and TEIN are two companies that supply some really nice components to allow lowering will full adjustment.
I opted for the Megan Coilover kit.
Best upgrade for the $$
I was impressed with the quality, and how shiny the new parts were.Comparing the rear dampers
Much nicer quility on the rears.
Comparing the old IQ shocks
I had previously installed TRD springs all round, these woked better than stock and lowered the IQ about 30mm but spring a swap is not the way to go. So the whole suspension strut was replaced with fully adjustable coil overs. removing the "tiny" springs was easy..
Supplied tools
Megan supply the adjustment wrenches, not the best fit but I should only need to use them a few times..
Adjustable ride height
Rears have a lot of ride height adjustment, Sweet.
Old vs New
I really should have weighed both units before i installed the new ones, I`m sure the Megans are a little less weight, but they certainly look a lot better.
Big Difference
Here is reason I could not re use the TRD springs, with the Megan, full adjustment comes with a shorter spring.
Adjustable Caster
A nice touch is the adjustable caster, Will give me lot`s of things to setup later, but for now its set slightly on the firmer side...
And adjustable damping..
Both front a rear shocks have fully adjustable damping, the rear hides behind a plastic panel where the rear seats used to be .
Front sway bar
I already fitted a rear TRD sway bar that comes painted in TRD red, so before installing the front suspension I removed and cleaned up the stock front sway bar then sprayed painted it the same matching color as the rear TRD one.
The front coil overs are easy to fit, they are so light and small one person can bolt them up inside the tight space with no problem.
Rear all completed
The rears were a lot easier to fit than the front were. while the IQ was up on 4 jack stands it was nice to have full access to the suspension. All these parts are so small and light it was actually fun doing it.
Well worth the money
With the existing engine being replaced with the lighter R1 I needed some fully adjustable suspension. I have the car setup with about 25mm of clearance between the fender and the tire, once the springs settle in I will adjust it again, I have the damping set pretty firm, but the car now handles like a Go Kart..
Swapping out the rear springs and dampers
The rear also had TRD springs fitted, but I opted to remove those and fit the Megan springs, along with the adjustable Shock dampers. These allow me to set damping on the firm side, and lower the car to the correct height. Once the springs settle I will set them exactly.
All completed
The IQ is such a great car to work on, nothing is too big or difficult to tackle for one person. The whole suspension job took me a day, and even then I didn't rush. here is a view of the rear end now.
How good does this look now..
Lot's of work involved in this build, here is a photo showing how the new stainless pipe clears the rear cross brace. once the car was lowered there was plenty of clearance, and not a lot of movement, the suspension is very firm...
With the rear custom made valence in place
I made the rear valence using hexagonal grill mesh, this allows some air to flow under and out of the car passing through it, and also allows a crafty peek at the rear underside of the IQ. The only item now TRD red is the Front and rear sway bars.
Now the suspension has all been replaced I can move on to the other stuff. I will do an update to this once the IQ has a few miles on it, that way I will show some of the settings that I ended up with.
Thanks!