Above is quick overview of the process. Below is a step-by-step guide on what I did...
Watch the video I made showcasing my coil-over set up on YouTube.
1. The stock springs sit on top of a very large perch:
2. When removed, each spring is very wide and short (when compressed):
3. This is the stock MacPherson strut, without spring:
4. Coil-overs can be used to re-adjust ride-height without the need to change springs:
5. Initially, I placed the coil-overs on top of the stock struts, but that only gave me 1 inch of wheel travel:
6. This was due to the fact that the spring-perch sits on top of the wheel:
7. My cousin and I began to remove the spring perch, in order to lower where the coil-over sits:
8. The stock strut, minus the perch:
9. With it removed, the coil-over sits dramatically lower:
10. Luckily they make 2.5 inch diameter springs, which just barely clear my 18x7.5 inch rims:
11. Here is a better view:
12. This is what the vehicle looked like when lowered over 5 inches in front, on stock wheels:
13. After some time, I decided to change my original pair of coil-over springs with a softer taller pair:
14. The finished product:
15. With the coil-overs installed, I was able to maintain a softer/smoother ride, 5.45 inches below the stock ride height, all without much sacrificing wheel travel:
More images of my coil-over setup can be seen here: 8/21/01, 3/05/02, 8/23/02 and 3/30/04-10/25/04.