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- 2019 Kia Stinger GT2
After calling around to several shops and getting labor charges between $700 and $800 for install, I decided to tackle this job myself with help from a friend. I have done the job on an Eclipse and a WRX previously so I figured it couldn't be much worse.
The Front
We decided to start with the harder part first. My car only has about 2600 miles on it and was the first time I had even had it on jack stands. Needless to say I was probably over cautious jacking it up and prepping for the install. Once she was up and the wheels were off we got right to it. I disconnected the wiring from the inside fender well and the wire going to the brakes. This isolated the strut from a wiring standpoint. I then disconnected the steering ball joint using a two jaw puller and the sway bar link. That's all I disconnected other than the obvious three nuts on the top and pinch bolt at the bottom of the strut. We did use two spring compressors inside the wheel well to compress the strut assembly for removal but a third would have been nice as it was difficult to get the compressors 180 degrees from one another. On the second side we ended up using a ratchet strap as the third and it worked perfectly. We used this tool to spread the strut housing and it worked like a charm. As others have said clearing the fender is the hard part. We placed a folded towel on the top of the strut incase we touched the fender coming out or going back in. Mine is the AWD version so when we pushed the assembly down to get the strut out the half shaft pulled out a bit. This wasn't a problem until we went to put the strut back in. We just had to rotate the rotor a bit to get the splines to line back up and it went right back in. Everything else was pretty straight forward and not really special from the others I have done.
The Back
The back was super quick and easy. I only removed the two bottom bolts where the arm connects to the hub assembly and the bottom of the shock. I left everything else connected. The spring came right out. To caveat this, I have not yet cut the rear bump stops. The way they connect to the shock at the top and bottom to support the shock cover made me weary.
Opinion
My previous car was a BMW 335xi Coupe. The one thing I had issues with when buying the Stinger was simply how large it felt to drive. The body roll and softness made it feel less connected to the road and a bit floaty. So far after one day of driving on the new springs that issue is gone. I can take roundabouts more aggressively and with confidence now. I feel way more connected to the road. Yes, you can feel the bumps of the road a bit more but only slightly. The car is still more "comfortable" than the BMW was but now feels more like a sports car. I guess the word that best describes the new feeling is nimble.
Sorry for the long read.
Chad
The Front
We decided to start with the harder part first. My car only has about 2600 miles on it and was the first time I had even had it on jack stands. Needless to say I was probably over cautious jacking it up and prepping for the install. Once she was up and the wheels were off we got right to it. I disconnected the wiring from the inside fender well and the wire going to the brakes. This isolated the strut from a wiring standpoint. I then disconnected the steering ball joint using a two jaw puller and the sway bar link. That's all I disconnected other than the obvious three nuts on the top and pinch bolt at the bottom of the strut. We did use two spring compressors inside the wheel well to compress the strut assembly for removal but a third would have been nice as it was difficult to get the compressors 180 degrees from one another. On the second side we ended up using a ratchet strap as the third and it worked perfectly. We used this tool to spread the strut housing and it worked like a charm. As others have said clearing the fender is the hard part. We placed a folded towel on the top of the strut incase we touched the fender coming out or going back in. Mine is the AWD version so when we pushed the assembly down to get the strut out the half shaft pulled out a bit. This wasn't a problem until we went to put the strut back in. We just had to rotate the rotor a bit to get the splines to line back up and it went right back in. Everything else was pretty straight forward and not really special from the others I have done.
The Back
The back was super quick and easy. I only removed the two bottom bolts where the arm connects to the hub assembly and the bottom of the shock. I left everything else connected. The spring came right out. To caveat this, I have not yet cut the rear bump stops. The way they connect to the shock at the top and bottom to support the shock cover made me weary.
Opinion
My previous car was a BMW 335xi Coupe. The one thing I had issues with when buying the Stinger was simply how large it felt to drive. The body roll and softness made it feel less connected to the road and a bit floaty. So far after one day of driving on the new springs that issue is gone. I can take roundabouts more aggressively and with confidence now. I feel way more connected to the road. Yes, you can feel the bumps of the road a bit more but only slightly. The car is still more "comfortable" than the BMW was but now feels more like a sports car. I guess the word that best describes the new feeling is nimble.
Sorry for the long read.
Chad
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