lowering / low profile tyres questions

hey guys,

i have the following thoughts for a 1998 - 2000 civic.
i want the car lowered.

i have two options on lowering a civic.
cause i don't own a civic yet, i was wondering if the stock suspension is adjustable to lower the car?

so here are my options:
1. with the standard suspension on the civic, is it possible to have it lowered? or would i need to replace them?

2. i would just buy 17" mags, and low profile tyres and that would lower my car enough :)

going by cost, which option is better?

thanks

The stock suspension on the civic is not adjustable to lower the car. And buying new rims and shoes isn't gonna lower the car any either. If you want a lowered look you need to get a set of lowering springs. Eibachs are pretty good and not too expensive. If you want to check them out go to www.bavauto.com. Its a bmw site I know, but it will give you an idea on how much they cost, what they look like, etc.
Also, when getting new rims, like your 17", you need to pay attention to what series tire you get so that you maintain the same overall diameter to your wheel. This is what people mean when they refer to 'plus-sizing'. Your local tire dealer, I use Belle Tire or www.tirerack.com, will help you with this. Its hard to explain in writing, but they do a good job at www.tirerack.com. But changing your rims will not lower your car, it only has the visual effect of filling out the wheel well.

thanks but i'm in australia. so those sites are a bit hard to understand the price of.

with 17" mags and low profile tyres the car does look as if it were lowered a bit, although its just the mags filling the wheel out.
thats what i want because looking at spending the least amount of money possible, while being able to change the tyres back to stock when selling the car
thanks

The tire diameter only changes slightly. Check whalentire.com for tire specs. Tire sidewall is what really changes. The slightly larger tire will fill the wheel up more than the smaller stock tire/rim but not lower the car.

If you want to lower it get a good set of springs/shocks or a true coilover set.

You can lower the stock suspension by heating or cutting the coil springs. This way is NOT recommended & dangerous if not done correctly.

lowering your car and putting 17s on are 2 different things. getting 17 in. wheels of any brand with low profiles tires alone will not make the car look lower. in fact, it will give the car a lifted look because the wheel gap will increase in size.
in order to make the car lower you need to replace the stock springs with performance springs. it would be a good idea to change the shocks too. for $700 you can get some quality stuff (shocks and springs).
the combination of lowering a car and putting 17s or 18s will give the car a sleek, sporty look.