how low?

[honciv02]

wut up ladies and gents. im about to drop my 02 civic and i wasnt sure how low to go. right now im riding on stock 16's but plan to upgrade to some 17's...any suggestions on how much i should drop it? i commute daily with this car on a highway and through some hills..i was thinking 2" but is that too low?

[CivicSiRacer]

What are you using to lower the car. That's more of an issue. Dropping lower than 2" I feel you will need a camber kit, unless you don't mind buying tires every 6-9 months.

[higgimonster]

lowering your car more then about 1.5" will sacrifice handling. Your suspension geometry is not designed to work when that low. About 1" is a good way to go. You will get the looks you are after and you will have much better handleing then if you drop it 2".
If you are getting bigger wheels you should put those on before you lower the car so that you can be sure they fit

[CivicSiRacer]

Originally posted by higgimonster
lowering your car more then about 1.5" will sacrifice handling. Your suspension geometry is not designed to work when that low. About 1" is a good way to go. You will get the looks you are after and you will have much better handleing then if you drop it 2".
If you are getting bigger wheels you should put those on before you lower the car so that you can be sure they fit

Dropping more than 1.5" will sacrfice your handling? That all depends on the shocks. Drove someone's 89 Civic Si (National Champion in SCCA STS) and that car drove awesome!

1.5-2" is about the limit of most shocks before bottoming out on the bump stops. If you get shorten shocks you could drop more but not advisable.

[Duatone]

1.5-2" is about the limit of most shocks before bottoming out on the bump stops. If you get shorten shocks you could drop more but not advisable.

I second that quote, and yes, 2" is the very max you want to lower it if your still wanting descent handling. if you go any lower, yes you can get a shock/spring setup that works, but remember, its gonne be stiffer the lower you go since there is less travel on the strut. yes, stiff is good, but you dont want to drive a brick, where every pebble you hit in the road makes your car bounce around. Also, i would beleive most of what CivicSiRacer is saying, since he more than likely has the more hands on experience than your average joe.

[CivicSiRacer]

Originally posted by Duatone


I second that quote, and yes, 2" is the very max you want to lower it if your still wanting descent handling. if you go any lower, yes you can get a shock/spring setup that works, but remember, its gonne be stiffer the lower you go since there is less travel on the strut. yes, stiff is good, but you dont want to drive a brick, where every pebble you hit in the road makes your car bounce around. Also, i would beleive most of what CivicSiRacer is saying, since he more than likely has the more hands on experience than your average joe.

A car without suspension travel (slammed) will handle worse than a car with suspension travel. Everyone thinks if low is good, than more is better. A lowered car will handle better due to a lower center of gravity and more negative camber up front. But too low and the suspension will bottom out causing the suspension to go severe rebound, which the shock cannot control.

Even being at a 2" drop I can sometimes hit the bumpstops on hard bumpy corners while autocrossing. That is not good.

[MyFirst4G]

Get Neuspeed Springs, my boy has a 01 4door on Neuspeeds and 17's and they are good, here's a pic: