Koni reds and skunk2's bottoming out!!!!!

[Nackattack]

Alright, I am getting a little frustrated here. I had bottoming issues in the past few weeks and decided to upgrade to some better shocks. I got the beautiful koni reds and even raised my car slightly to try and prevent the bottoming out issues. I can fit my hand between the fenders and tires. I was told that the skunk2's have a a stiff spring rate and the ride may be a bit bouncy (but that's what I live for!). I have been in lowered tegs and civics and my car doesn't drive even close to one. No "race" bounce at all.

1.How long do the springs generally last? I am thinking that my springs have been too compressed from exsessive lowering and blown shocks(previous owner).

2.Is there anyway to fix them or do I just to buy a new pair?

3.Since it is only the front that is having issues can I get away with just buying new springs for the front and upgrading the rears later? I know it takes time for suspension to settle in but shouldn't the ride be less prone to bottoming out after the spring has been uncompressed for some time?

4.Lastly, can I just keep the threaded body and buy replacement springs, or should I not bother with skunk2?

Please HElp!!!

[BullShifter]

Springs should last a long time unless they are defective. If you choose to go with new springs Skunk2's would be one of my LAST choices.

Are the factory bump stops in place? If so are they cust in half? You may be riding on them which is a terrible ride.

[Nackattack]

Originally Posted by jackasssi

Springs should last a long time unless they are defective. If you choose to go with new springs Skunk2's would be one of my LAST choices.

Are the factory bump stops in place? If so are they cust in half? You may be riding on them which is a terrible ride.

Whoever changed dropped the car did not keep the bumpstops at all. I ordered some that should arive at the dealership by tommorow. These will keep the car from bottoming out however it shouldn't change the ride quality should it. When I put these bump stops on I am also going to adjust the reds to the full stiffness. I dont know what settings they are on from the factory. Although this will make the ride a litter stiffer it only affects the rebound. Will this help with bottoming out at all?

[goatnipples2002]

You should get the poly urethane strut rod bump stops from prothane. They will last and perform a hell of a lot longer than the factroy units.

[Nackattack]

well that sucks cause I already ordered them and I had to pay before I even could order them.....DAMN

[CivicSiRacer]

Are you sure you have the correct springs? Do you have the fronts on the rears and vice versa? You cannot really damage springs (take a very long time I mean there are cars with 300,000+ miles with stock springs).

[Nackattack]

Originally Posted by CivicSiRacer

Are you sure you have the correct springs? Do you have the fronts on the rears and vice versa? You cannot really damage springs (take a very long time I mean there are cars with 300,000+ miles with stock springs).

Well that is a very good point seeing as how the bumpstops weren't even on the car after he dropped it. He put the wrong size tires on the car 215's, didn't change the shocks when he dropped the car, and had every single bolt over torqued. How can I tell....The only problem is I normally do two wheels at a time. I guess next time I will pull them all off and put the whole car up on jacks. How can I make sure the fronts are on the fronts and vice versa. Do the numbers mean anything on the springs themselves?

Thanx for all your help guys...I just want to fix all this and not have to worry about supsension anymore. Would be nice to move on the engine, you know

[CivicSiRacer]

Originally Posted by Nackattack

Well that is a very good point seeing as how the bumpstops weren't even on the car after he dropped it. He put the wrong size tires on the car 215's, didn't change the shocks when he dropped the car, and had every single bolt over torqued. How can I tell....The only problem is I normally do two wheels at a time. I guess next time I will pull them all off and put the whole car up on jacks. How can I make sure the fronts are on the fronts and vice versa. Do the numbers mean anything on the springs themselves?

Thanx for all your help guys...I just want to fix all this and not have to worry about supsension anymore. Would be nice to move on the engine, you know

If I remember right from owning Skunk2 coilovers is the last set of numbers is the spring rate in lbs. You want the higher number in the front. AND if I remember right the front springs are shorter BUT STIFFER than the rear springs.

Call Skunk2 to make sure.

When I had my coilovers installed by some no-name shop they put the front springs on the passenger side and the rear springs on the driver's side. I couldn't figure out why I couldn't get my car at a perfect height all around

[Nackattack]

Ok, sweet. I will take a look when I get my bump stops. I have a sneaking suspiscion that he put the stiffer springs in the rear. Kinda bummed though, cause I thought koni would supply the bumpstops...Guess that is only for the yellows. Do you know if the reds click at all when you adjust them or do I just have to pay attention to the amount of rotation when turning them? Do you know if the shock stays compressed while in adjusting. Heard I have to turn counter clockwise untill they lock in the adjusting "mode"(for lack of a better word).

Thnx for you help man! Wish me luck.

Is that your car under your name? It looks sweet.

[CivicSiRacer]

Originally Posted by Nackattack

Ok, sweet. I will take a look when I get my bump stops. I have a sneaking suspiscion that he put the stiffer springs in the rear. Kinda bummed though, cause I thought koni would supply the bumpstops...Guess that is only for the yellows. Do you know if the reds click at all when you adjust them or do I just have to pay attention to the amount of rotation when turning them? Do you know if the shock stays compressed while in adjusting. Heard I have to turn counter clockwise untill they lock in the adjusting "mode"(for lack of a better word).

Thnx for you help man! Wish me luck.

Is that your car under your name? It looks sweet.

Don't know much about the reds - I have the Yellows. Just go to Honda and get some bumpstops.

And the car under my name isn't my daughter's Civic she's only 2 1/2 years old

[Nackattack]

haha...she's old enough to drive!!! I just put the bumpstops in and now NO more bottoming out, plus I blew one of my tires yesterday and just decided to replace both tires with 205's instead of the huge 215's that were installed. NO MORE RUBBING!!!!! I'm going to wait a another day or so but I want to go lower. Going to install the rears today. Think the springs are on the right side and everything though, just checked last night.

Do people use the upper half of the bumpstop or the lower half. I put the lower half in but I seem to recall people using the upper half!

[BullShifter]

I usually use the top half, I don't think it really matters just as long as something is there.

Dont forget to get the car aligned.

[eckoman_pdx]

Just like jackasssi said he does, most people/places/manufacturers say to cut the bumpstops in half and use the upper half. I'd imagine that using the bottom half won't hurt any (though I'm not sure on that). At least it is better than having none or not cutting them at all. driving around with no bumpstops in a bad idea...much like driving around riding ON the bumpstops (which results from not cutting them in-half) is a bad idea.