newbie-type question

OK, I want wheels,

1) Should I lower my car first or get the wheels first?

2) Whats the max I can lower without getting shocks? Such as getting a pro-kit or some H&R .75" springs.

3) Are Konig wheels a decent brand?

4) Is there any site showing off wheels? I want to know what a 7 or 8 spoke wheel looks like on a civic coupe.

Thank you for answering any of my questions.

OH yeah, 17's are a good size for versatility right?

As far as showing wheels on your vehicle check out http://www.1010tires.com and select your ride. I believe Konig wheels are good for the price, and weight.

:bandit:

Since the wheels Im using dont require tuner lugs, is there any lugs Im supposed to buy to deter theft?

If you don't get performance shocks, your ride will be bouncy.
My friend lowered his integra 2 inches on stock shocks for a year, and they didn't blow . but i think most likely your shock will blow sooner or later if you lower your car.

If you don't get performance shocks, your ride will be bouncy.
My friend lowered his integra 2 inches on stock shocks for a year, and they didn't blow . but i think most likely your shock will blow sooner or later if you lower your car.

I was planing on a .75" front and rear with the H&R stage one springs, how do you think that will be? Also, what about the lugs, is there any theft detering lugs I should buy?

theres a couple out there, i just got gorilla locks cause they were easy to get at a local shop. and i needed a small open acorn type nut.

Originally posted by NuEra
I was planing on a .75" front and rear with the H&R stage one springs, how do you think that will be? Also, what about the lugs, is there any theft detering lugs I should buy?

the ride should be a bit stiff, a little bouncy, i think u can live with it. maybe the shocks won't blow out at first, but they will eventually. so i suggest you save money to get aftermarket shocks and do it all at once. save you some labor money, save you some time.

remember, whenever u do stuff to your suspension, you will need to check your alignment...which may cause money too.

So do you think it'll look ok when I put on 17"s without a lowered suspension?

To clarify, what I mean is the wheel gap. Mine is stock and it doesnt look bad now, but will it be enhanced by the larger wheels?

hmm...

i have 95 civic sedan with stock springs and 17" and the wheel gap is a little big...

by lowering it and with larger wheels will make the gap smaller but your car will look weird without a body kit....know what i am saying?

not really, I've seen cars look very nice without body kits. Check some out on this site. Do you have a pic of your car, or an example?

here is my car

Damn! nice car, but that does look high. Did it look that high before you got the rims? I have a 6th gen as opposed to your 5th and the wheel gap with stock wheels doesnt look that bad, did it get worse with the new wheels?

is your car a 2 dr?

i think 2 dr is lower than 4 dr....i am not sure, just my opinion...

and my stock rims are 14"

yours are 15"?

i think coupe will look ok ...but you still need to drop it probably more than 1.5 inch to look good....sedan would just look like a 4 legged spider if you don't drop it~ like mine~:D

Wheel gap is not gonna make a difference if you get 17 inch wheels and the right tires.

Factory rims are small but have tires with huge side walls. If you get 17 inch rims with tires that have small side walls, then the overall size that the total wheel takes up doesn't change.

Also, a plus with going this way is that you don't have to get your spedometer re-calibrated!!!! because the total distance around the wheel is the same.

Konig is sweet but used by many people. If you want to have an original rim try Vault or something.

You can get a pro-kit (includes springs and shocks) that lowers your car 1.4" front and back. It will look sweet with that.

Eibach's pro-kit comes with shocks???

Yeah I do have a 2 door, and I do know it would be the same diameter overall but I'm just talking about how it looks. I thought that maybe the bigger wheels would change the appearance of the wheel gap.

Sorry, I don't know what I was thinking. I looked around and don't see that the kit comes with shocks or springs.

But I swear that on an episode of "Hi Rev Tuners" on Speedvision when they did their "In Focus" bit they showed how to install an Eibach Pro-Kit that came with springs a shocks.

The other day I thought I saw a set on sale at Ebay for around $500.

hmmmm.....

Sorry for the misleading info. Now i'm pissed cause i was gonna get that kit to lower my car.

By the way lowering the car will look sweet. Anything is better than stock. What year and model is your car anyways? What else have you done to your car?

The only way rims would look bad is if you go over 18 inch rims. It's idiots with 22's on a lowered civic that degrade cars. The rims just look too big for the vehicle.

Its a black 98' civic coupe. I dont have much done but little stuff under the engine and exhaust. What about getting those H&R springs, they lower .75" front and back. You might not need shocks for those.

It all depends on what you want. The great thing about honda's is that there are so many manufacturers for them.

If you want something that is not gonna stick out .75" springs are fine. But I think that you would like the look at 1.5" much better. Think about how small of a difference .75" will make. Not that much. If you want a custom look get the 1.5"

The big hang up is whether or not you will need new shocks. This is a 98 civic we are talking about. Those shocks have been driven on for 4 years. Their grooves have already been engraved. If we were talking about a new 2002 or 2003 then you could probably get away with it.

I just don't want you to go out and buy these .75" springs just because you hope you won't have to get new shocks. And then end up needing them.

Either way H&R springs kick ass!!!

Save your money and do it right or don't do it at all. This is how people get hurt. They cheap out and try to cut their springs or something stupid like that. Then when the accident comes because their ride is too bouncy its their own fault.

Cars are like women. You have to be totally into them and put a lot of time and effort into them to make it work. I think you truly care about your car so give her the loving she needs and you will be rewarded.

LOL nice metaphor. Can you explain exacly how shocks work, like why they would break if the car's lower, it's still the same weight? Also, how much am I looking at, 1.5 dropping springs and quality shocks?

If you get the H&R springs the run about $300.

Then to get shocks depending on brand and all sorts of styles the range from $350 - $600. For a set of 4.

I suggest getting Bilstein shocks. They run $110 a piece for you car.

Here is a link to get them.

http://www.neuspeed.com/order/index.php?action=1

All in all you are looking at about $700 + installation.

If you get the H&R springs the run about $300.

Then to get shocks depending on brand and all sorts of styles the range from $350 - $600. For a set of 4.

I suggest getting Bilstein shocks. They run $110 a piece for you car.

Here is a link to get them.

http://www.neuspeed.com/order/index.php?action=1

All in all you are looking at about $700 + installation.

Wait, heres some things that I took off the FAQ's page at Eibachs;

What shocks or struts should I use with an Eibach Pro-Kit?

Eibach Pro-Kits are designed to work with original equipment shocks and struts provided they are in good working condition.

Aftermarket performance shocks and struts will increase the overall performance of your suspension and are also recommended for use with Eibach Pro-Kits. Pro-Damper - valved by Eibach, is the newly established line of Eibach performance dampers. The Eibach Pro-Damper is the ultimate match for the Pro-Kit as it is the only damper line which is valved to work in unison with the Pro-Kit characteristic.

Does the Eibach Pro-Kit work with the OEM shock?

All Eibach Pro-Kits are engineered to perform in harmony with the original damper of the special vehicle - take for granted a good working condition. All TÜV approvals in Germany certify the combination of the Pro-Kit with an OEM shock.

What happens to the warranty of the OEM shock when combined with Eibach Pro-Kit?

There is no change of the warranty. Actually, the weight of the car and the required basic dynamic work remain the same. Though with special progressive characteristic of the Pro-Kit, the damper is challenged more and usually makes it wear out faster.


Looks like I'm goin for the Pro-Kit, what do you think?

Did you read Fly Rice Racer ? what do you think?

I'm not an expert so don't take my word for it. But it looks like a good call to me. Eibach is an excellent brand. I can't decide what I want on my car yet so i'm still torn on the whole subjuct.

But everything looks good to me from reading what you wrote. It is always good to get a product that doesn't void the warranty.

Let me know how it turns out.

Ok, I'm plannin on getin the pro-kit when I get my wheels, which is another subject I'm sketchy on. Right now I have a post open on here about them and when everything pans out I'll let you know. Check out my (wheel=performance, looks??) thread on here if you want.

You don't need new shocks if you lower your car just .75", atleast not at first. I lowered my car a little less then 1.8" and drove like that for more then a year without problems. I even passed the anual technical control (and they do a shock test) here in belgium with them. Now I have put Koni Yellows under the car and it's dropped 2.5" now and you really feel a difference when taking turns.

But like the others said, I would consider buying springs with just a 0.75" drop. My car has been lowered 3 times by now, and now I'm finally happy with it (atleast for now). Most people buy lowering springs at first that don't really give a big drop, and buy coil overs or different springs after a little while cause the car isn't low enough.

Really think it trough before you buy something. Is .75" going to be low enough? I would advice you to try and find as much pics as possible with different drops so you can have a better idea how low the drop is gona be...

Here are pics of my car with the 1.8" drop

http://www.goosse.streetracing.org/photo.html

The pics were taken immediately after the springs where placed, so they weren't settled in completely. Now with the 2.5" drop I have almost no wheel gap anymore...

Think things trough before you do them, this way you won't have to make futere expenses that could be prevented.

Looks like I'm a little bit late with this post:D