I just got springs that are about 2.25 drop. Now to put these on would I need a spring compressor. Some of my friends said I have to compress the springs to get it on and off. Is this true? and if so is there a way around it besides having a spring compressor.

Yes you can do it without a spring compressor but I don't recommend it.

Like do you need to compress the springs no matter what.. or can I substitute it with something else. Or just do it without compressing at all.

Just a good jack and stands. Basically you would remove all upper nuts on the corner your working on. Then releive spring pressure with jack. It's dangerous so I'm not posting full instructions.

oh tru I get what your saying.. Like as to have the jack hold the strut in place so it dont fly off. and when putting on new springs jack up the strut to compress the spring.

one more thing. Whats the quickest way to unbolt the strut to get the spring off.. like how many bolts are there. I just put an axle in my today and that shit was simple so I am wondering about this because a lot of people said its a bitch.

nah dude u dont need a spring compressor. i dont use one. this is what i did. with the car on jack stands, first remove all the nuts that hold the brake line in place. now unscrew the bolt and nut that attaches the fork to the lower control arm. once u get the bolt off,place a jack (preferably a hydraulic jack) under one side of the end of the fork. now jack up the fork (which is still attached to the shock assembly) a bit to compress the spring a little bit. once u do this, go under the hood and loosen the 14mm nut that screws onto the shock shaft.( u will need an allen key as well to remove this nut) with this screw out, slowly lower the jack. doing this will un-compress your springs. now u can try to wiggle out the whole shock assembly or do what i do- remove the pinch bolt that holds the shock to the fork. this will make removing your shock much easier.
do this for bot fronts.
now to put the shock back in, place the new springs onto the shock and position i back into the fender well. attach the shock assembly to the fork and tighten up the pinch bolt. now do the same thing backwards- place the jack on the end of the fork and jack it up. u will need to guide the shock shaft through the hole in the upper fender(this is the hole that the shock shaft goes through where u had just removed the 14mm nut) IMPORTANT, make sure u put back all the washers in place. After u have guided the shock shaft through the hole, put the big washer back on the top of it and screw back on the 14 mm nut. after u screw it in, put back the bolt and nut that attaches the fork to the lower control arm. put back the brake hose bolts and ur done!

for the rears u can do the same thing. (it's not really the same, but the concept is the same. i never really have to do this for my rears because i have lowering springs that dont need to be compressed to take them out. but when i first installed my springs i did use a spring compressor to remove the rears

Well one more question. How do i kno what springs go on front n back.... theres a short wide set and a long skinny set. and i have an 88 civic hatch

Skinny/long - rear
Short/fat - front

thats what i thought .. i just didnt wanna go through all the trouble n make a dumbass mistake.... i got my springs compressor .. so i think tomrrow imma sit down and get it done