10 hours for springs and spacers??
 

I stopped by a local garage two days ago and asked them how much it would be to install Eibach springs and H&R spacers front and back (I had the parts with me for them to look over), and they told me they'd have to do some research to see how long it would take. I just got an email from them, and they said it would take 10 hours (including a 4 wheel alignment). This seems incredibly high to me. They're $80 /hr, so that's $800!

What's a more realistic time for installing springs and spacers? I was thinking more like 2 (to maybe 3) for springs, and 1 - 2 for spacers, but I'm no mechanic, so I don't want to be a jerk and tell them how much me, an average person, though it would take, haha.

well me and my friend mark just put spacers on my car yesterday the backs took like 30 minutes to an hour for both. things just went smoothly. the fronts we worked on from about 10-2 stupid spring compressor kept slipping. anyways it shouldn't be more then 4 hours for anyone knowing what there doing, I'd suggest finding another shop that is more competent in spring installs.

oh also regarding your spacers, it depends on the spacers 25mm in the rear will be slip on and you should have no worries they can do this while they are putting the rims back on the vehicle aka like 5 minutes per side... if the fronts are lower then 20 mm then the stud replacement is necessary and idk how long that takes, if the fronts are Exactly 20mm there is some grinding that needs to be done to get it to fit correctly, or as others have said you can attempt to sandwich a 3mm plate in there, but i wouldn't recommend it.

i was quoted 5.5 hours TOPS for coilovers and rear camber kit.

hummm...

spring install should take a shop no more than 2-2.5 hrs.
spacers (with new studs) no more than 1hr.
alignment could take about 1.5hrs.

5hrs tops.

if you add new rods (camber kits, adjustable endlinks) in the process, add 30min-1hr.

if coilovers and want corner weighting then it could take another 1-2hrs to get it right.

it does not take 10 hours. They are trying to rip you off

:iagree::iagree:

LOL, that sounds hella fishy.

You should post the shops name to warn people not to go there.

rip off

:bowrofl:

:tup:

I would have listed the shop for sure :icon17:

Thanks for the replies guys. 10 hours sounded way too high to me too. I just wanted to confirm it, and also get a better idea of what kind of time it should really take.

When I do find a place that isn't going to BS me, is it recommended to get an alignment when everything is put on, or should I wait a few weeks for everything to "settle" first?

^^yes let it settle for a little while and then go back for the alignment.

Took me ~6 hours. But did it myself and I worked slow. I would say 5 hours tops for a shop.

I would just do it myself and pocket the $80 bucks an hour!!! Maybe someone local can help you out? If you were local I would help.

Which spacers do you have? The bolt on or stud replacement type?

It takes about 20 minutes a wheel to replace the studs on the front, 40 minutes a wheel on the back as you have to fiddle with the drum shoes. If they are the bolt on type then 10 minutes a wheel.

Spring replacement in the rear is 15 minutes per side as you just have to remove one bolt and loosen another.

Strut removal in the front is pretty straight forward but takes a little time. 3 bolts holding the plate, 1 lower shock mount, brake hose, 3 bolts up top. With a proper impact "strut" compressor (not spring compressor) it takes about 15 minutes to swap the spring on the strut once the strut is removed from the car. AutoZone actually rents one that is pretty decent.

So basically 4 hours of work (would bill 5) plus 1 hour on the alignment rack.

Cool, yeah, it's the H&R DRS for front and back, which replace the studs. I understand that'll take a little longer than the DRM with the studs integrated, but after looking over the DIY writeups, they don't look very difficult at all.

I'd definitely do the work myself if I had the tools and maybe a little more guts, LOL. I'm not sure I'd be comfortable trying to do it all by myself, having not done either before. With someone else who was familiar with that stuff, then sure. All of my friends are nerds, though, haha. They'd be over to help work on a computer in a heartbeat, but not so much a car ;)

LOL, I gotta find someone close who would be willing to do it for 6-pack and a pizza, haha. Or just a shop that is actually reasonable with their pricing..

It should take one person approx 5hrs. And two ppl 4hrs max.

ONly way 10hrs makes sense is if two techs are working 5hrs each. Even then you shouldn't be charged labor for a second person for a basic task.

Sent you a PM...come on over and we will slap em on.

I could do it all in 3 in my garage on jackstands. 10 is way too much. However, I've done about 10 - 15 spring installs on G35/350z/370z, so I've pretty much got it down.

me n my bro installed my hks coils, eibach spacers, hotchikis sways n mxp exhaust in about 4 hours. thats including the time it took to adjust the ride height n taco lunch break...n big-o did my alignment in 35mins, afterwards.

what kind of tacos you have?:icon17:

taco truck tacos...good only while they're hot :tup:

Now I want tacos..

Anyhow, are there any national chains that could do this kind of work (and do decent work)? I didn't know if this is something I could ask a place like Pep Boys to do or not. (I know I could call them, but I don't know if they're any good.)

Nurseryboy, What part of SC are you in? I'm outside of Charleston. I have everything needed to do this and i'm more than happy to help you out. Send me a pm.

oh ****!..those are my favorite!:icon17:

1.6 alignment
1.5 spacers
2.4 to remove springs from struts 1 for strut removal
1 for rear springs

thats 7.5 from what i can remember from working at a shop. It'll take the tech maybe 2-3 hours tops.

itll take u about 6-8 in ur driveway with impact tools and a jack and a good spring compressor if its ur first time by yourself. maybe 5-6 if u have someone help you that knows what they are doing.

Id personally say you should do it. It give u experiance and you can tell people that you did it. Always my fav thing to say at a car show :)

Thanks for all your input everyone.

Today I talked with another shop (they're an UpRev dealer/tuner) that, at least looking at their website and according to them, does a lot of Z and G stuff, and they told me it would take 11 hours! I was quite surprised, coming from a place that's familiar with our cars. But, I think I found out why the number is so out there. The guy I spoke to told me he gets his numbers from a program called AllDataPro, which I guess tells him how long certain things should take. Obviously, AllDataPro has no idea what's involved, and it was telling him 2.4 hours for JUST the rear springs alone. Obviously waaaay off.

I was hoping to find a place that was local that would give me a realistic number, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. Thanks to a few of you, though, I've gotten some offers to help do the work if I drive a little bit to meet up. the370z.com community FTW!

^^dont forget the tacos while your at it..

your clue should have been when they said to you "we'll have to do some research to see how long it would take".:rolleyes:
I had new springs installed on a jetta, it took them around 4hrs.

that's ludicrous! should never take more than 4 hours for springs/spacer install.

Not sure if the quesition was answered, but what type of spacers are these? Are they the pro style that require all of the OEM studs to be extracted, and the new studs carefully drawn back in? Or are we talking bolt on style.

We wouldn't even charge for the bolt in style, if we were doing the spring install.

Either way, 10hrs is too much....how much too much depends on the spacer style.

It's the H&R DRS, which replace the studs. I know they would take more time than the ones with the bolts integrated (the DRM), but you can't use them on the fronts. And like you said, it's definitely not 10 hours worth of work, no matter which way. It's good to know you wouldn't try to charge me a ridiculous amount :tup:

I think oftentimes, when a shop hasn't done a job before or doesnt specialize in a particular type of car, they tend to quote a ridiculously high amount to protect themselves. That's just wrong.

Yea, I do find this to be true. Even the dealers will do that. My dealer quoted $700 to install a NISMO suspension kit not including an alignment (another $100 or so).

A local performance shop mechanic familiar with Z's asked all the right questions and quoted me about $350 including a four wheel alignment - they finished the complete install in about four hours.

Soooo... I got the springs and spacers installed! Not at a shop, but with the huge help of a fellow the370z.com member - ClemsonWill. I really can't thank him enough. He was very knowledgeable, and also very patient with me since I don't (now didn't) have experience doing that stuff. The only thing we weren't able to do ourselves was the front springs (we had to take them to a shop with a heavy-duty compressor). I'm not sure how long the actual work took, but we worked at a pretty leisurely pace, and it didn't take anywhere near 10 hours. It wasn't very difficult either, and I'm sure if we had to do it again it would take much less time.

To me, the ride feels pretty much like stock, but it definitely looks much better. It does have some negative camber now, and I'm going to get an alignment in a week or two that will hopefully take care of it enough that I don't need a camber kit. Once everything has settled, been aligned, and cleaned, I'll take some pics. ClemsonWill took some pics right after the install at his place - http://www.the370z.com/members-370z-...tml#post817251

Anyhow, thanks to everyone for their input (and a BIG thanks to ClemsonWill). I'm very glad I didn't go to a shop. Not only did I save some money, but I made a new friend!

congrats! And, you also got the satisfaction of doing it yourself!

to install a strut its 0.6 book time x4.. 2.4 hours would be total. if u want to change out your springs and keep your stock struts its 1.0 per side so 4.0 hours plus alignment which will range from 100-200$.. our shop charged 129.95, we also charge 109.95 an hour. studs should be 0.5 a side maybe less my system doesnt give me a book time on them. But all you have to do if remove the caliper and rotor. around 650 -700 sounds about right, 1000 is way over priced.

about an hour or less depends if you know what you're doing... Even my mechanic takes about an hour to install the springs. If the spacers are bolt on like the one I got it shouldn't even take any time at all. Put them on while you're installing the springs. Bolt on like these ones...
15mm Spacer - More Japan :: Since 2003

very true, if there bolt on it takes minutes to install. But the other style you have to pound them through, put the new ones on and suck them through with an inpacked gun. Very easy to do aswell, but takes time.

So it's been about three weeks since the springs and spacers were installed, and I finally got an alignment (I don't drive the car very much, so only put probably 300 miles on it or so), and they were able to get everything to back within spec except for the camber (which I expected). They were able to get it to:

Front: -1.2 (L), -1.5 (R)
Rear: -2.4 (L), -2.5 (R)

How good/bad are these numbers? I know they're a few tenths off, but how big of an issue will that difference be? I'm ok with a slightly increased tire wear, but if it's going to be quite a big amount, or if it is bad in some other way, I'd definitely like to know.

The front is okay but the rear is going to be a problem, especially depending on what they set the rear toe to. Once the rear camber is beyond about -2.0 you will start to have reduced traction which is going to negatively affect your handling performance. It will be worth investing in the rear camber/toe kit for both tire wear and performance.