The age old suspension question

Ill fill you in on the circumstances and the options, and see what you guys think is the way to go.


Circumstances:

I want a nice looking drop, little to no wheel well gap with 16" rims.

I dont want any hassle getting around, over speed bumps, snow in the winter that can easily be a foot high or more,etc.

I want good handling, but not an incredibly harsh ride, something that doesnt jar my teeth or send me into the moonroof. I dont forsee any autocrossing in the near future either.

My options:

Full coilover setup, considering Apexi WS damper for the more economical option. Also considering Apexi N1, but is it worth it to spend over 400 dollars more?

Spring and strut combo, considering koni yellows with either H&R sport springs or Neuspeed sports. This is the cheapest option, and I hear the best as far as ride quality, but with a 2 inch drop Im a bit concerned?

Let me know what you guys think, Id like to fill all my needs and get the best quality of performance while spending the least possible amount of money doing it. Give me your opinions, thoughts, and ideas! ;)

DO you really need a 2 inch drop to fill the gap in the wheel wells?
Id personaly go with the lowered springs and shocks, it's an age old proven method, and if you buy quality your garunteed to retain most of the ride, while also inhancing looks, and performance. If you ask me Coil Overs are over rated, and only really use full if you want to a: get into rasing and lowering the car on a regular basis, or b: your a serious racer, and want to play around with corner weighting, and diffrent setups for each track.

All good points, and Ive started to rethink my coilover plans the longer Ive had to think about it. The only time I can think of that I would need to raise the hieght back up, is during snow...and at that time it would be a major hassle. I guess Im back to the drawing board, time to find a good spring/shock match.

Thanks for your thoughts Moppie

Coilovers are great if you can lower below the legal limit....for shows etc. They are generally better engineered than straight springs and shocks as they are designed as a complete unit. Sometimes it is hard to match the correct spring and shock because a lowered shock may be designed for a 2" lowered spring that has a rating of 300lbs/in. Put a spring that is 280lbs/in and 3" lowered and you won't be working within the specs of the shock.

This is only 'on the limit' stuff, as you will probably get great results just going for spings and shocks.

Well if you're driving in a foot of snow you may want to get a truck.
I've got Eibach Sportlines on my car and they look perfect. Not excessively low and the ride is good.

I'd just go for the springs, unless you have a lot of money to blow.

H&R sports and koni yellows is what I'd do. Coilovers are a bit overrated, and they aren't really worht it for a daily driver that never sees a track.

If you have the money though...by all means get the coilovers, they will be better, and the adjustability will be useful at times. But I'd get some of the cheaper street-oriented ones without dampening adjustability. The progress coilovers or the koni's are good examples, and are very low maintenence for a full coilover.

Either way will be good...just depends on how much you're willing to spend on lowering..

Hope that helps.

has anyone here ever adj'd coilovers? its a bit of a hassle... and it really takes a bit of time...
droppin that low isnt hard, you have to look out for speed bumps... alot... and snow isnt really an option...
go springs and struts... cheaper... more effective...

I have been using Skunk Works coil overs with Tokiko blue struts for the past two years. The only time I adjusted my ride height was when I purchased new wheels to increase the ride height. This was also a major pain since you need to take off all the wheels and use a large spanner wrench to turn the nuts.

Watch out for the cheaper brands of coil overs because they do not use the correct spring rate.

The most popular and from what I read best handling is Gound Control.

Rob

IMO - Id go with coilovers... You could get something like skunk2 or ground control.. With the koni yellows... I will never buy another set of non height adjustable spring in my life..

I have a set of skunk's with koni yellows.. Ride great.. Handles great.. It only takes about 20 - 30 mins to raise or lower them..you dont even have to take the wheels off.. I have nope problems with rubbing when I had 17's on my car, and it was sitting on the tires.. I paid about $800 for the set but that was 2 years ago.. you could probably get them cheaper then that now.

Good luck in deciding..:ylsuper

I've just lowered my 2000 sedan for the second time using the KYB AGX struts and Sprint Proactive coilovers and the ride is great with 17's. Living in H-town potholes are a prob but speedbumbs are't. When i first got the car i went the cheap way and used just some cheap lowerin springs and the ride sucked and eventually my struts blew out. Wit my new setup the ride is great and i like the struts cause you can change from a nice soft cruisin ride to a stiffer race setup in seconds. This is just what i know i think the coilover strut combo is the best for the buck.:smoka:

Originally posted by IntegraR0064
I'd just go for the springs, unless you have a lot of money to blow.

H&R sports and koni yellows is what I'd do. Coilovers are a bit overrated, and they aren't really worht it for a daily driver that never sees a track.

If you have the money though...by all means get the coilovers, they will be better, and the adjustability will be useful at times. But I'd get some of the cheaper street-oriented ones without dampening adjustability. The progress coilovers or the koni's are good examples, and are very low maintenence for a full coilover.

Either way will be good...just depends on how much you're willing to spend on lowering..

Hope that helps.
whats up man you gonna be stopping by :)
That would be awesome to have you in the suspension forum!

Originally posted by Dezoris

whats up man you gonna be stopping by :)
That would be awesome to have you in the suspension forum!

Hey, what's up.

Yeah I stop by every now and then...mostly when sho is down. Not that that ever happens ;). Or when I feel like bsing about some nissans or something instead of hondas...

How'd you become a tech here...that's crazy.

Later

Ah, just my good looks. ;) Mainly because I think the site is a very inovative place, similar to SHO, but in the beginning so you can spend more time on posts. SHO is like the fast food service, especially in the Civic forum, 1 post every min.

Stick around dude, this place will be hopping for sure :)

Well, in case anyone is interested Ive opted for the coilovers (Apexi WS), mostly because I could get a good deal on them. Also, I like the idea of adjustability, even if I rarely use it, its nice to have. Finally, I think the ride would have to be good, because the springs/shocks are made to work with one another in a full coilover set like the Apexi WS. So, that being said, maybe Ill stop in with an update once I get the coilovers on! Thanks for all the input! :D

No problem man good luck!!
Don't go too low :)
buy some good padded gloves for raising and lowering the perches. (kills your palms)

The adjustable coil overs are not just useful on the street or just for the weather. They are great when you have a 100-200lb stereo system sitting in the back of your trunk. It lowered my car an extra 3/4". The ground controls allow me to correct the sagging rear end. I've noticed most springs for the integras and civics make the rear end look a little lower than the front. Adj. Coil-overs will allow you to get the perfect look. Not only that the Ground Control setup for the Integra feels just like stock, but makes handling much better.

Remember to get an alignment after any adjustment of height to the car. Also, don't forget to cut your bump stops when lowering your car. Most people make this mistake and end up riding on the bumpstops, rather then the springs. You can tell when someone is riding on their bumpstops. They are the ones bouncing all over the place.

:frog:

Well, I said Id come back with an update, and here it is. I got the APEXi WS dampers as planned (its funny how I go through two million options, only to go with my first one.), and so far I am pretty pleased with them. Adjusting is not as difficult as I expected, except for the front ones. I also like the ride, it isnt too rough at all and it handles like a champ now. Thanks for the input everyone, and Dezoris, good call on the gloves, Ive already adjusted the rears once and my hands definitely paid the price. (kept banging my hand on metal! :mad: )

Originally posted by 4drhondaboy
I've just lowered my 2000 sedan for the second time using the KYB AGX struts and Sprint Proactive coilovers and the ride is great with 17's.

Those AGX's are great struts. They just came out with them for the Maxima. I put them in about 2 months ago. WOW, what a ride, and so easy to adjust. The Maxima rides the best with H&R's in them, I'm not that familiar with lowering springs for Hondas, but definately would reccoment the KYB AGX struts.

Originally posted by piscorpio
Well, in case anyone is interested Ive opted for the coilovers (Apexi WS), mostly because I could get a good deal on them. Also, I like the idea of adjustability, even if I rarely use it, its nice to have. Finally, I think the ride would have to be good, because the springs/shocks are made to work with one another in a full coilover set like the Apexi WS. So, that being said, maybe Ill stop in with an update once I get the coilovers on! Thanks for all the input! :D

Hey Im goingto buy the Apexi WS suspension some time this week....I got a couple questions for ya ...

How much can u get the suspension for ? u said u can get a deal on them, the cheapest ive found them is $955 shipped if u can get me a site or phone # where I can get them cheaper that would be great..!

How long does it take to adj. it ? and do u have to take off the wheels to adj it ?

Is there any reason why I shouldnt get them ?

Thanks for your time