lowering guide what will i need?

[kupras]

I have a 98 integra ls. Im looking to get coilovers and have a few questions. if i have a set lowering rate..such as 1.75 in the front and 1.5 in the back will i need a alignment kit or a camber kit i dont even know the difference? also once i have that set what if i decide to lower it even more or bring it back up will i have to adjust anything else again? i heard that once you lower your car you feel the bumbs on the road even more. is this true? if i get better shocks will that being it back to normal? and lastly im looking to increase my handling..will a drop increase it a lot or a little and what sway/strut bars should i invest in?

[Marc-OS]

I'll try and answer some of your questions. First off, when you lower your car you should really get an alignment, and if you have less than a 2" drop you can probably get away without needing a camber kit. When you lower your car your ride is always going to be stiffer no matter what, you can't really help that, and btw you'll need aftermarket shocks too. The strut bars are a good idea, if you get a set of strut bars along with the drop, you should be able to handle fairly well.

[strodda]

marc pretty much said it all. but eventhough most people say you dont NEED a camber it if its less that 2". if you gonna go all out with lowering, getting new struts, you may as well get the kit too. dropping it that much wont drastically affect your tires, but it will make them wear faster than normal. and even a cheap "good" set of tires would run at around $400, so why not protect your investment.

just in case you were wondering about the stiffer ride, there is no way around it. shorter springs have higher rates. basically, if you had a spring 2" shorter, but with the same low springrate, whenever you went over a bump you would bottom out and overwork the shocks... or at least thats my take on it.