General Suspension Question

I have an 01 Civic that has many problems similar to ones I have found on this forum: rattling noise from the front, bumpy ride, etc. (My 92 Civic has none of these problems btw.)

I am looking to improve the "ride" of my car. Performance is important, but I this car is typically driven by my wife so I am not looking for a racing suspension. If I replce the shocks and struts, will the bumpy ride be improved? Any suggestions?

How many miles do you currently have on the car? Dependant on that you might need just new tires or maybe even just a rotate. With heavier millage shock, struts will need to be changed.

About 130K right now. I just replaced the tires about a month ago.

About 130K right now. I just replaced the tires about a month ago.

So your still running OEM suspension with that many miles?

Yes. From what I have read...it sounds like it's time to replace the suspension right? My 92 Civic has 205K on the origianl suspension without any problems. Any suggestions on brand? One suggestion was Tokico...thoughts?

Yes. From what I have read...it sounds like it's time to replace the suspension right? My 92 Civic has 205K on the origianl suspension without any problems. Any suggestions on brand? One suggestion was Tokico...thoughts?

92 civic I like, now late 80's models helllo cv boot and axels haha.
Yea thats a bit of milage you have there I would definitely recommend having you shocks/springs/struts at least looked at by either Honda or a local shop. Tokico A+ usually the brand to go with when not going for big aftermarket brands.

I was looking at a full set, shocks and springs, for about $500...and I would do the replacement myself. Does this sound like a reasonable price? I am pretty confident I can do the install myself...while I may sound like a newbie, I have replaced the engine in my 92.

What other brands should I look at? If I take it to the dealership, aren't I just going to get the same crappy suspension that is on there now? Will the Tokico set improve the ride quality as well as the handling?

Also, from the information I have, it looks like these springs lower the car 1". Do I need to install a camber kit for that small of a lowering? After the install, do I need to take the car to a shop to get an alignment if the car is not driven that hard?

As long as you have a spring compressor its no issue. Many people will vouch for the 01 as having the worst suspension set up. Alot of issues with this year it was just put together poorly by Honda, and they have addressed the issue. As far as price I am not going to be much help there I am not sure of the prices. I went full coil overs for about a grand but my ride quality suffered greatly. I'd advise checking the upper mount assembly in the front as it is the part that usually goes on the 01 because it is rubber. I put up some pics here that I found here with some usefull information LINK (http://www.civicforums.com/forums/44-suspension-performance/237336-new-shocks-struts-what-reuse-vs-replace-update.html?highlight=replace+struts)

Fronts -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v712/beastiek2/13s5p0_b28.gif

Rear -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v712/beastiek2/13s5p0_b30.gif

Thanks for all of the awesome information! Given my case, (wife driven, not raced) I am wondering if you think I am going to be happy if I replace the shocks and springs with a Tokico HPK307 Kit? From the link in the previous post, it looks like I need to order some other Honda parts as well.

Basically, I am wondering if I replace all of this, am I going to get the ride quality improvement I am looking for?...is there another alternative? Another option would be to buy replacement struts (like Gariels from a store like Autozone) and leave the factory springs. Could this be a better alternative considering my situation?

Thanks again!

DO I believe replacing your 5 year old suspension will improve your ride quality..Yes. But this comes down to you and how it feels..You can usually tell if the ride is to bumpy, stiff, loose, blown etc. I Dont know how your car rides so I cant say for sure YES this is your fix. You seem well knowledge with cars so it should be easy for you to diagnose the issue and solve. In my opinion I'd replace the shock and struts and see how this fairs and continue from there. That site has alot of useful information which might help you if no one else chimes in here.

In addition to the 'rattle' in the front-passenger location (which I believe is a failed strut), the ride is really bumpy. When you drive down a moderately bumpy highway, you feel like you are getting thrown all over the place. If you really start to focus on it, you almost get motion sickness.

Now I know that the 01 suspension gets bashed a lot on these forums, but most of the time people here are replacing the suspension systems for driving performace (racing, handling, etc.) Since I know very little about suspensions, I don't know what to replace mine with. I know that I am looking for a better ride quality and that handling is less important. I am not necessarily looking for a sport suspension that might be a rougher ride.

I can get struts from an auto parts store for $400 or I can get the full spring/strut kit from a performance strofe for $500. Is one going to be better or worse for what I am lookin for? Maybe I am asking an unanserable question...haha. I just don't want to drop $700 on a new suspension and then still have a bumpy ride.

Another consideration is that I found a TSB that talks about replacing the springs on the 01 Civic because they suck and tend to knock. That is the other reason I am considering the full overhaul instead of just struts.