Everyone has heard about the dangers of compressing coil springs yourself when trying to do a suspension refresh or upgrade. Fact is that injuries occur and the risk is real. This is true for even professionals as seen in a bunch of Youtube videos, like this one:
And it recently happened to me! I have done hundreds of assemblies on BMW and MINI. I have all the best equipment, including a commerical-grade spring compressor and accessories. I am always careful, but the truth of the matter is that all springs are slightly different and one piece of machinery cannot work perfectly with all of them. Well, a while back I was building a kit and a spring perch under extreme pressure gave way right when I was grabbing the strut. The perch "bit" off the parts of my thumb and palm that were touching it. The above is the result! Extremely painful when it occurred... and again when doctor cleaned it out... and again when the dressing stuck to the wound and had to be pulled off.
LESSON: For all of you thinking of installing a new suspension, the risk is even greater because you may be doing it for the first time and using a $20 auto store rental. Seriously, this why Strutmonkey only sells fully-assembled kits. We do the hard, and sometimes painful, work so you can do what you want: Open the box and install your suspension. And we pretty much do it for free because if you tried to buy all the assorted parts you need, you will likely spend the same amount as our kits, which we build at wholesale prices. Even if you end up bringing your kit to a shop, the labor charge should be up to $300 less than if you walked in with loose shocks and springs. Either way, you win!
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