Spring means installs, and for some of us this year that includes new suspension. While the springs were good and I liked having them, I always knew I’d replace them with coilovers and recently that happened.

This couldn’t have been done without help however, so I have to say thanks first; Rebel Devil Customs sponsored the coilovers which I am grateful for, and when it came time to install them a small army showed up and we did it in one night. Dave, Jacob, Mario, and Derrick all helped out and stayed late to get this done; because we began in the evening it was after one in the morning when the Focus was finally back together.

The reason for the title of this post (which you may be wondering about) is that while my car is staying static, someone else is going the air route (you’ll see who soon). It’ll be interesting to compare the two installs and finished results and see how they match up.

Obviously the static versus air debate is a big one, but I don’t pick sides or prefer one over the other. The way I see it, simply pick whichever system works better for your individual application and go for it. Frankly, I’d like air for the sedan but the price is keeping that on the wish list for now.

After a lot of research and debate, I opted to go with ST coilovers. I had been looking at the KW V1s but decided to save some money and get the STs since they’re made by KW and are more or less V1s anyway.

The install wasn’t too bad overall, but there were a few times we got stuck (mainly due to something not wanting to come off of the car). Eventually everything was swapped over and the car was sitting much closer to the ground.

Since we had to check the fitment anyway and make sure nothing would contact, the Tarmacs were installed the same night. Normally I wouldn’t be on summer wheels so early but since I don’t have to rely on the Focus every day, it’s not an issue.

Mario suggested we leave out the collars in the rear to get that much more drop out of the coilovers, and I’m glad we did. The back is perfect! We stared off with the front coilovers having about 1.5″ of thread left and I have wound them down a bit since then. Eventually I want the front to be at this height as well but since the car just got aligned, I’ll leave it where it is for a bit.

So far I am beyond happy with how the car feels now and even with the much more aggressive drop, I have yet to scrape on anything.

The next installments in Static vs Air will show the sedan with its new stance, and reveal who is going with bags.

-Bill