Lotus Emira Coilover Upgrade: Adjustable Suspension, Corner Balancing & Track Performance

 

Upgrading Suspension on a Lotus Emira

This project started as a Lotus Emira on the lift for new race-adjustable coilovers, followed by a corner balance and alignment — with plans already in place for the next round of upgrades including wheels, tires, and brakes.

The common name for this upgrade is called “coilovers.” It’s a bit of an outdated name because it refers to the coil spring and the shock absorber being part of one assembly (a strut). Most modern cars — including the Lotus Emira — already use this coilover-style shock design from the factory.

What we did here was replace the factory strut assembly with a lighter, tighter, and adjustable dampening system to improve handling and track performance.

Removing the Factory Suspension

We first lift the car, remove the wheels, and disassemble the suspension arms to gain room and access to the struts.

We removed the factory system, which is actually very good, consisting of:

• Non-adjustable Bilstein shocks
• Eibach dual-rate springs

Dual-rate springs mean there are two sections of the spring with different stiffness levels. This allows for a smooth, comfortable ride up to a point, where the tighter, sportier spring rate engages under load.

Installing Adjustable Coilovers on the Lotus Emira

With the old system removed, we can assemble the new parts.

These shocks feature:

• A threaded shock body
• Adjustable spring seats
• Fully adjustable dampening

This allows us to manually adjust the ride height at each corner of the car, so it can be fine-tuned and properly balanced.

Understanding Dampening

The shock also features adjustable dampening.

Dampening controls how much bump the shock can absorb and how quickly that movement is transferred into lift in the chassis.

For example, if you hit a small bump in the road at a slow speed, you will feel it more than at a high speed. That is the shock absorber doing its job — absorbing harsh movements while transferring smoother motion into the chassis and effectively transferring grip to the tires.

Why Upgrade Suspension for Track Use

Driving the stock suspension on track, the shocks can absorb too much of the movement. This can cause:

• Leaning
• Shaking
• Unexpected rebound

Installing tighter springs and quicker shocks helps transfer that load into:

• More grip
• More stability
• More predictable handling

And because the system is adjustable, we can fine-tune how the car reacts to:

• Acceleration
• Braking
• Turning
• Bumps in the track

For more performance work like this, check out our:
Performance Upgrades

Corner Balancing the Lotus Emira

The last step, once we are happy with the ride height, is to corner balance the car.

This means:

• Loading the driver seat with equal weight to the owner/driver
• Placing the car on scales
• Using ride height adjustments to balance each corner

This fine-tunes the handling and makes the car very predictable, no matter what direction it’s turning or whether it is accelerating or braking.

Track-Ready Performance at TK Autosports

Suspension upgrades like this are one of the most effective ways to transform a car like the Lotus Emira — especially for track use.

At TK Autosports, we don’t just install parts — we draw on our 20 years of racing experience to dial in the setup so the car performs consistently under real driving conditions.

If you’re planning to track your car, pairing this with:
Track Side Support
keeps everything performing at its best throughout the weekend.

Ready to Upgrade Your Suspension?

Whether you’re building a track-focused Lotus Emira or just want a tighter, more responsive setup, we can help you get it dialed in correctly.