Lol really? I hate my life. I knew your links were in stock and better than the Racing Beats but I really needed to talk to a human to see how fast I could get them. No matter what a website says, I very rarely get anything when they say I should.

Ok, I have some good news. I got the two driver side tophat nuts off. I completely disassembled the gas lid and gas filler assembly to get them out of the way and I went and bought an extension for my breaker bar and I finally got them out. The bad news is that the impact wasn't even close to fitting in there and I still need to get that passenger side rear nut that is totally stripped out. I am going to borrow a dremel tomorrow and attempt to cut it off.

Don't know if you can get a good angle on it,but if you can use the dremel to cut a good notch in it, you should try fitting a cold chisel into that notch and smacking the hell out of it at such an angle that would loosen the nut.

Now wait just a damn second. Do I even need to get the those nuts off? I watched a "long bolt method" video on youtube and it appears that the guy just took off the lower shock bolt and the shaft nuts, while supporting it with a jack underneath, and then letting the jack down, decompressing the spring safely and letting the shock down. Thinking about the Vmaxx coilovers sitting at my house (I am at work) they just have the shaft to secure into the tophat. If I just left the tophat nuts on and removed the shaft nuts and the lower shock bolt, wouldn't the old shock and spring come out and I could just substitute the new stuff?

It is not necessary to take the rear tophat nuts off to do any suspension work, unless you are replacing the tophats thrmselves.

How do I torque the rear upper control arm bolt when the car is on the ground?

What is the torque spec for the rear upper control arm bolt?

It's not real tight, 40-56 ft/lbs.

At least with the NA, because you had the D shaped shaft to hold the shaft from spinning. With NB tophats you have to use an impact gun to take the shaft nut off so the shaft doesnt spin.

You definitely do not need to use an impact. Nothing ever spun on me. This is all applicable to my stock suspension 2001, I do not know what would work on a different specification car.

In the front:

1. Take off 14mm locknut on top of the 17mm tophat nut while the car is on the ground and loosen the 17mm tophat nut. The car being on the ground will prevent the shaft from spinning and allow you to get that nut loose.

2. Get the car in the air and on jackstands and then remove the wheels.

3. Remove the lower shock bolt

4. Remove the "long bolt" which is the front upper control arm bolt.

5. Jack up the control arm and support it.

6. Remove the 17mm tophat nut that you loosened earlier.

7. Slowly let the jack down and everything will decompress nice and safe.

8. Substitute all your new stuff and reassemble.

9. Make sure and torque the lower shock bolt and long bolt with the floor jack supporting the control arm at a normal ride height.

Tophats DO NOT need to be removed unless you are replacing them. If you need to replace them, then add in that step after #7.

In the rear:

1. Take off the 14mm locknut on the rear tophat

2. Loosen the 17mm tophat nut

3. Get the car in the air, on jackstands, and remove wheels.

4. Remove the lower shock bolt

5. Remove rear upper control arm bolt

6. Jack up the control arm and support it

7. Take off the 17mm tophat nut.

8. Slowly let the jack down and everything will be decompressed and fall out easily.

9. Put in your new stuff and reassemble.

10. Make sure and torque the lower shock bolt and rear upper control arm bolt with the jack supporting the control arm where it would be at normal ride height.

Same thing with the tophats as in the front. As long as you don't loosen those 14mm nuts on either side, then the tophats will stay right where they are just fine.

I wasnt aware that the stock suspension used a jam nut rather than a nyloc like the xidas.

I really am not familiar with mechanical things, so what does that change? The factory uses a jam nut (which I called a locknut above) and the XIDA's use a nyloc? Does nyloc secure way better than a jamnut or something?

No the nyloc just creates more friction between the nut and threads, so even when its not tight down to the mount it'll still spin the shock shaft.