I'm asking b/c I've seen the answers range dramatically. How long should it take a shop to take off OEM springs and install new ones? I've got a set of Swifts ready to throw on, but my shop said it's probably an "all day" job.

Thanks!

 

Took me 4 hours to DIY, this was swapping the springs and installing new F&R camber arms and a rear toe kit. And this was the first time doing this, I'd say a shop w/ a lift and a pro spring compressor should be able to shave at least an hour off of that. If you're not adding any camber/toe kits that should only be a 2 hour job tops IMO.

 

Thanks for the reply! Only springs for me- nothing else since I'm going with the "mild" Swift springs.

My guy mentioned something about he thought he'd have to remove the coils and that would take time. Is he mistaken? I caught him on the phone so he didn't have my car in front of him so I'm not holding him too accountable for knowing my car inside/out .

 

2-4 hours for a shop. The fronts are time consuming. Yes, the strut/spring units have to be removed, compressed and disassembled, springs compressed an reassembled, and then the units reinstalled. That is on the fronts. Rears are very easy and will only take a shop about a half hour or a little more.

 

All day ?
With their equipment the shop shouldn't take more than 4 hours just to do the spring swapping.

This was also my first time doing this and it took me 6 hours to remove the OEM springs and install the eibach pro kit - Install F/R camber kit including rear toe kit - Install F/R spacers.

g/l

 

I wonder if he told me all day b/c he's the owner and always works on my car. Since he's the owner, he's often pulled away to handle some other stuff- thus the "all day' comment.

Would it be silly to try the rears first and see if I like the drop? I'm just so hesitant to mess with the suspension, but I do want to get rid of the 4x4 look of the xS.

 

He may have said all day just so it would give him time to fit other work into his day, I think it really comes down to how much he wants for the job. If it's a couple hundred that's fair but much more than that I'd call around.

Not much you can do if you want to get rid of that gap. There should be a lot of pics of X models on Swift springs to see if you truly want to drop it. I think I'd just put the set on and go from there, the Swifts seem like a easy drop to live with. Keep in mind you will probably have excess camber without installing arms which will wear your tires faster. You'll also need an alignment a week after the installation so the costs tend to add up quick.

 

Thanks for the input. I'm just not sure the drop is worth it. I keep telling myself this car is my commuter but I keep dropping $$$ on it.

He's a straight shooter so he'll charge me less than he probably actually works on it.

 

My local shop took about 2 hours to install those exact springs