coilovers suck

well i was putting on my rear coilovers...and a bolt snapped...it was on the control arm i think...and my dads telling me its frozen to the bushing or something and ill have to replace the entire control arm to put on the coilovers haha pretty gay.i told him he was dumb and im gonna bang that thing out with a hammer ...he doesnt think its gonna happen this sucks...i got the front two on though ...nobody will care about this thread haha but i felt the need to share my experience oh and no more swap... i bought a new surfboard

Bolts break on old ass cars, your not the first or last person that will happen to. Next time before you begin a job like that soak all the bolts w/ penatrating oil for a day or two. Your dad is right, you won't be able to get it out with a hammer, the control arm will bend before it comes out. You have 2 option, replace the control arm and bolt or bushing & bolt. To change a bushing the correct way you will need a press, there are ways around it. Good advice get the bolt from honda or grade 8 or better from a hardware store, don't be cheap. Suspension bolts are strong for a reason.

If your installing coilovers sleeves(springs on to your current struts) you will be very sorry. At least your getting practice now to redo it after you realize how shitty you made the ride.

well i didint buy new struts haha...so im excited to hear that the ride is going to suck ass! but there is a plus side to this...my dad is a honda tech and he has the press and all that crap

well at least u got that much goin for ya...

It may not suck too bad. Just don't slam it down all the way... I know it's tempting. I haven't yet though on mine in 3 years I've been rolling cheap Arospeed Coilovers. After the body work is done on my crx, first thing is new suspension...

lol
i love how people say coilovers give a shit ride,
mines dropped 4 inchs on no name coilover sleeves, with kyb gr2 struts :D rides like a dream

lol
i love how people say coilovers give a shit ride,
mines dropped 4 inchs on no name coilover sleeves, with kyb gr2 struts :D rides like a dream


There is now way that car is lowered 4". I work on cars EVERY day doing lots of lowering, do you? Besides that good luck getting your struts to compress 4" from OEM ride height & still be able to function. :loser: In order for it to ride nice you need a lot more than 1" of compression.

not in those pics its not lowered 4 inches, but it is in my driveway

i work at a garage too, which specialises in suspension, brakes, etc etc, our alignment rack tells you how much lower then stock the vehicle is. we put my car on there and it showed it as being 4 inches lower then stock ride height.

ya know lower isnt always better, you start loosing handling when u go too low. But hey your car must look REAL COOL...sittin in your drive way. Besides its not like u can turn your wheels all the way with your wheel half covered by the wheelwell.

before you judge, i get full lock to lock without rubbing. and the car looks good and handles great
its all in the set-up,

Hey im not judging, im just sayin that having a car with a 4" drop doesnt sound like it would handle all that great, except maybe when your on the highway and dont have fast tight turning corners like u would on a track. What size rims and tires u got on?

my car handles great, running on 195/60r14 tires, on some 90 teg GS rims

well you do have a small rim and tire set up, do u take it to the track or is it just for street fun?

just for street fun, i was gonna take it to an autocross event but too much shit happened and i've pulled it off the road. my 4door is getting the same suspenstion set-up tho so if i get a chance, i'll auto-cross that.

i have taken it to the strip tho

Well u may change your mind on that set up after u hit the autocross track. the strip on the otherhand doesnt matter really about the hight just the stiffness Bound and rebound though thoughs do matter on the autocross track. i was told that lower isnt the best to have on the autocross track and that was by my mech. who races 3 crx's on the autocross circuit. But i would rather hit the track myself and figure it out. Plus i have been doin alot of tuning on my virtual car on Forza Motor Sport for the XBOX, which has actually helped me understand what adjustments affect the car under different conditions on the track. Problem is Forza doesnt have a crx that i can tune, at least i havent got one yet.

It may not suck too bad. Just don't slam it down all the way... I know it's tempting. I haven't yet though on mine in 3 years I've been rolling cheap Arospeed Coilovers. After the body work is done on my crx, first thing is new suspension...

im riding arospeeds too i got them on the front...its a little bouncy but nothing too bad i only dropped it like 1-1.25 though i dont wanna slam it all the way...thats what all the puerto ricans do in my area haha...(no offense to puerto ricans). theres this kid at my work that slammed his 92 lude and he broke his tranny going over a bump...id rather stear clear of that

Oh lord. . . . . some times I wonder why I bother giving correct advice when all these kids think they have clue giving inccorrect info.

If you work with suspension you should know what 4" of lowering on STOCK LENGTH STRUTS does, obviously you dont have clue. :loser: losing more & more respect for AF. People wonder why the mods dont post any more, some times I don't think they have a clue either, not all of them just some not to mention names.

Read the paper work that came with your KYB's!!!!!

actually nothing came with my kyb's since they were on my car when i bought it

no offense to you derek, but i think that if you ride in a car thats actually got a nice suspension set-up, you would refrain from putting that same set-up on your 4d and steer that car in a better direction (no pun intended)

i've been in lots of cars with more expensive set-ups (my brothers vw with konis) and his friends Audi S4 with tru coilovers (are 2 i can name) and theres been other people too, like other friends of my brothers and i still prefere the ride of my civic over those anyday

Here's a few:

This notice is for customers who intend to lower their vehicle or installing KYB's on a lowered vehicle. KYB's are designed for vehicles of STOCK HEIGHT. One may lower a vehicle a small amount without GREATLY AFFECTING THE PERFORMANCE, but the amount of variance from stock and how the lowering is done may ADVERSELY AFFECT THE PERFORMANCE AND LIFE OF THE SHOCK ABSORBER.

Do not lower the vehicle too much. Most cars can safely be lowered "to 1.5". Vehicles lowered too far EXPERIENCE A HARSH RIDE, DAMAGE THE SUSPENSION INCLUDING SHOCKS, AND CREATE ALIGNMENT PROBLEMS.

Short springs affect suspension travel.

WARRANTY VOID IF:
Lowered more than 1.5" from stock height.
Use of AFTERMARKET ADJUSTABLE SPRINGS
Short springs cause bottoming out of the shock absorbers.

There is a reason KYB states this & ANYONE who knows suspension will tell you a 4" drop on stock lenght struts is JUNK, especially with low grade products.

You remind of the kid with the CRX that came into my shop raving how good it handles. Same thing junk sleeves cranked all the way down. I took it for a test drive and noticed right away the car wasn't even riding on the springs, it was all bump stop :shakehead . We talked him into letting us do it right with a set of H&R springs and AGX's. He was shocked at the difference.

thats why, i have no bump stops on my struts, so that there gives me an extra inch of travel.

i think youre full of shit for saying you lowered your car 4 inches. my car is stock and its 5 inches to the ground.

if u dont wanna believe me then go ahead newbie

there are lots of kits out there that lower 4 inches. i'll be more the glad to dig up pics of my hatch and show you pictures of it when i get home, but like i said, i did the measurements... it was 4 inches from stock that it lowered

thats why, i have no bump stops on my struts, so that there gives me an extra inch of travel.
Another piece of information from KYB and anybody who knows suspension:

DO NOT remove bump stops altogether as damage will occur. As a rule you may shorten bumpstops 1/3 or 1/2 the original lenght.

I'm just trying to get the point across, your suspension is unsafe.

Let me guess you don't need camber kits either :lol:

actually, i do need a camber kit, but how have my kyb's lasted 3 years with no bumpstops? and being dropped "excessivly"

actually, i do need a camber kit, but how have my kyb's lasted 3 years with no bumpstops? and being dropped "excessivly"


dont know man but i think youre full of shit. like i said my car is 5 inches above the ground in stock configuration. i think still remember how to do arithmetic. lowering my car 4 inches means my car go down 1 inch above the ground. do you think you can drive a car with only 1 inch suspension play. no way..fool.. get your shit straight ..nigga.

wow... i like the language there buddy, ur not looking to stay long huh? who knows? i may be african american and take huge offence to that

and last time i checked, my car was 6 inches stock height from the ground... hang on a second, i have one sitting on a hoist right now at work, i'll go measure........


so yea, 6 and 5/8 of an inch stock, so with a 4 inch drop... that leaves me roughly 2 and 5/8 of an inch off the ground pal. now, get ur noobie ass outta here

yeah mine stock sits aroung 6 1/4 off the ground maybe its time for you to replace some stuff your sagging man :lol:

hey jackassi will i be alright without new shocks if im only lowered like an inch...? i got the coilovers for like 80 bucks and i just wanted to get them on my car...they were sitting there calling my name haha...your right though the rides diff. def. more bouncy but i can deal with that...my question is is it safe for daily driving? thanks

Hi,
I'm not a mechanic, but I also installed an APC coil over kit with a friend. I did not reinstalled the bump stop(stupid of me) and my ride was horrible. Anywhere you set the height on the car, it always "hit" when you go over a small bump or crack on the road!

Do coil overs work better with adjustable struts?

Thanx

hey jackassi will i be alright without new shocks if im only lowered like an inch...? i got the coilovers for like 80 bucks and i just wanted to get them on my car...they were sitting there calling my name haha...your right though the rides diff. def. more bouncy but i can deal with that...my question is is it safe for daily driving? thanks

An inch will be ok, but the ride will be much better with upgraded struts. It's when you lower more you can run into problems I already stated. Under the right conditions, you hit a bump, suspension bottoms out while changing lanes at highway speeds, you could end up going for a spin or flip. That's if you slam without bumpstops. Truely the only (non full race)strut designed for coilover sleeves is Koni yellows.

I always rec. adjustable struts with any type of lowering, lowering springs or coilover sleeves.

The main purpose of adjustable height is for balancing a car, not to make it look cool. IMO adjustable height is over kill for street use since you will NEVER use for what it was designed for. To setup properly you need to align and corner weight EVERY time the ride height is changed. I say stick with good lowering springs & the best adjustable struts you can afford. Be cheap with suspension and you will feel it.

Struts don't go bad right away they go over time, which an untrained person can not feel. If you think 4" of lowering on stock struts without bumpstops rides nice you obviously don't know what to feel for. If so much lowering is good why don't you see any race cars slammed? Because they require something called SUSPENSION TRAVEL.

Thanx Jackassi..

I could really "feel" every single bump in the road, and my friend with NO NAME lowering springs and original struts. Could bearly feel a "Bump" just nice bouncing :-)

....thanx

I like my set-up, tokico adjustable shocks with eibach springs, came to about 1.5" drop, have the setting set to 4, was set to 3 for awhile but felt that 4 was feelin alittle less bouncy. Heres a Q for ya Jackasssi...the front cross member that connects to the lower control arms, if i replaced that if aftermarket would that help reduce the engine play i feel when i go off the line or am dealing with traffic. I put in engine mount bushings hoping that would help and it did by the smallest of fractions, its just annoying to feel the engine shift forward and back as im on and off the gas peddle. WYO?

I would start by checking the other 2 mounts. I've only installed Darkstar front crossmembers and don't recall them having better mounts. If your feeling it through the shifter you may want to install poly shifter bushings.


1PhatCX like I said that car IS NOT lowered 4" :loser: :disappoin
As you can see here - http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/t438781.html

thats because i lifted the front end back up when i had to tow it home buddy... dont believe me

http://www.we-todd-did-racing.com/wetoddimage.wtdr/wOTIzNDE2NnM0MTNkZmQzMXk1NDE%3D.jpg thats a hell of a lot lower then stock, 4 inches to be correct

My crx will be that color soon... *primer... just the roof, A-pillars and mirrors for now... will take photos....

oh yeah, front that low doesn't look very safe...

lol, it was tho
i'd still be driving it if i had good tires too and it didnt get pulled off the road

thats because i lifted the front end back up when i had to tow it home buddy... dont believe me
thats a hell of a lot lower then stock, 4 inches to be correct

How did I guess you would say some thing along those lines :grinyes: The front maybe close to 4" but if your not driving dropped 4" all the way around your orginal comment is completely POINTLESS. We Todd Did is right.


lol
i love how people say coilovers give a shit ride,
mines dropped 4 inchs on no name coilover sleeves, with kyb gr2 struts rides like a dream

the car looks good and handles great
its all in the set-up

What setup? No name sleeves with GR2's is not a good handeling setup. :loser:

actually.. its 4 inches all the way around...
if you look at a stock hatch, the back usually sits a bit higher. man, ur such a dickhead, u know what, i'm not even gonna argue anymore, you dont think u can lower a 4th gen 4 inches on coilovers and have a good ride so w/e

i know my car rides good and thats that.
if you post any more comments i will not reply to them because ur such a dickhead

Dont make stupid comments and I wont be a dickhead. My 91 Si is riding on Eibach pro kit springs(roughly 1.5" drop, never measured because I lowered for the true purpose) and it sits lower in the rear. That's a good idea just give up.

Dont make stupid comments and I wont be a dickhead. My 91 Si is riding on Eibach pro kit springs(roughly 1.5" drop, never measured because I lowered for the true purpose) and it sits lower in the rear. That's a good idea just give up.

Why would you want it lower in the rear? It's not RWD. I've driven cars with the back lower than the front and it just fucks up the steering response IMO (rwd and fwd).

Well its obvious 1phatcx doesnt know how to set up a car, but everyone around him is dropping there car so he figured he would do them all better and drop his 4" cuz it looks cool. Well if he was to take matching cars his and one set up right and wiped them both through a course he would see that his great handling set up isnt that great. But hey he will learn some how, just figured he was on here to be a better civic/crx owner....guess not, but he also probably got the engine that eveyone says he should get. But i do like his hood.

Well its obvious 1phatcx doesnt know how to set up a car, but everyone around him is dropping there car so he figured he would do them all better and drop his 4" cuz it looks cool. Well if he was to take matching cars his and one set up right and wiped them both through a course he would see that his great handling set up isnt that great. But hey he will learn some how, just figured he was on here to be a better civic/crx owner....guess not, but he also probably got the engine that eveyone says he should get. But i do like his hood.

ok, first off. you dont know shit about me, or my car.
second, dont knock my set-up till u try it. i have taken many turns on the highway well over the speed limit and the car doesnt move, it rides like its on rails.

i raced my brothers friends jetta, he has a "good" set-up in that thing (koni yellows with some supposedly good name brand euro springs)
and i was killing him thru corners.
you also have to take into account that tires are a big factor in handeling as well. the more they grip, the better

But you said u never took your car on the track, so again if its just on highway roads then your car might handle better, but thats cuz there are no tight corners like on a track. Also i see your leaning down on the passenger side, might want to check that out. And yeah i dont know you, but i do know your set up.

why dont u read the whole thing first!
jesus fucking christ. your really starting to piss me off pal
THE REASON ONE SIDE IS HIGHER IS BECAUSE I RAISED IT UP A BIT SO I COULD GET THE CAR ON A TRAILER SO I DIDNT TRASH MY FRONT BUMPER! I DIDNT MEASURE IT OUT, I JUST RAISED IT UNTILL IT WAS GONNA CLEAR!

I HAVE raced around on city streets too! i can take tight turns going roughly 80 km/h depending on conditions, my old set-up i could only do 65 and the ass end would start to come around.

and if you had of read the whole thread.... THE HATCHBACK ISNT ON THE ROAD ANYMORE So i couldnt give 2 shits if it was laying floor in my fucking driveway!

i read it and that pic was from another thread so relax, i dont know why your gettin your panties all in a bunch. And whats the mph conversion from km/h?

And whats the mph conversion from km/h?

80kmh is approx. 55mph

"I HAVE raced around on city streets too! i can take tight turns going roughly 80 km/h depending on conditions, my old set-up i could only do 65 and the ass end would start to come around."

Is that 65mph or km/h ? cuz if u went fom 65mph with old set up to 55mph with new set up then....do the math. But! if you went from 65km/h to 80km/h then yeah its alittle better but still since the conversion was 80km/h = 55mph then 65km/h might be oh 40mph. So niether of thoughs speeds are worth braggin about. Now im not trying to be a dickhead, just askin... Oh and as for turns in my crx, well lets put it this way, there is this great medium left hand turn to a tight right by me, if any Long Island locals here they can voutch, Long Island Expressway westbound exit 42 (Route 135 south) in a stock car i could do this turn at 55mph feelin pretty sketchy, in my crx i have been able to pull this turn at 90mph and feel like i can go faster. So again im not tryin to be a dickhead, just lettin you know you dont have the best setup in the world, but niether do i, i just dont get mad when someone tells me that. And good luck with the new beast project.

Why would you want it lower in the rear? It's not RWD. I've driven cars with the back lower than the front and it just fucks up the steering response IMO (rwd and fwd).

I never said to lower more in the rear than the front, the rear should be about .25"-.50" higher than the front for street use. Adjustable height springs are mainly for balancing a car, although they have evolved just like every thing else in the tuner market to low quality "race car" look-a-like products. Instead of balancing all people use them for is lowering, if they don't corner weight they obviously don't care about handeling, they're more in it for the looks, especially with LOW GRADE parts. Basic physics would tell you a front wheel drive car much lower in the front than the rear would understeer worse then they do at stock height because there is a lot more weight transferred to the front. Understeer is a FWD cars worst enemy, the whole point to upgrading the suspension is to make it better by neutralizing or increasing oversteer.

I help out part time with a company that builds, supplies, maintains a fleet of SRF's(Spec Racer Ford) SCCA class. My suspension setup knocked of 3 seconds a lap compared to the drivers setup. I do know what I'm talking about.

With all that said it is time for a mod to lock this thread.

I never said to lower more in the rear than the front, the rear should be about .25"-.50" higher than the front for street use. Adjustable height springs are mainly for balancing a car, although they have evolved just like every thing else in the tuner market to low quality "race car" look-a-like products. Instead of balancing all people use them for is lowering, if they don't corner weight they obviously don't care about handeling, they're more in it for the looks, especially with LOW GRADE parts. Basic physics would tell you a front wheel drive car much lower in the front than the rear would understeer worse then they do at stock height because there is a lot more weight transferred to the front. Understeer is a FWD cars worst enemy, the whole point to upgrading the suspension is to make it better by neutralizing or increasing oversteer.

I help out part time with a company that builds, supplies, maintains a fleet of SRF's(Spec Racer Ford) SCCA class. My suspension setup knocked of 3 seconds a lap compared to the drivers setup. I do know what I'm talking about.

With all that said it is time for a mod to lock this thread.

Before the thread, gets locked... thanks! I must have digested what you've said already because it all makes sense... I read in another thread that you suggest H&R springs with Koni Yellows. How much would a set up like that run?

... I read in another thread that you suggest H&R springs with Koni Yellows. How much would a set up like that run?

you guys can pick up that conversation in either a new thread or in pm's. it seems time to put this on lock down :shakehead: