88 suspension questions.

[Sparsky]

Ok.. I got up some money to redo the suspension. So far I'm looking at the KYB GR2. Seems to have a decent rating with out any major problems. But what I was wondering was if I get these new struts should I invest in some new springs? I know the 88 has it's own special thing going and that if you swap to a bigger sway bar it makes the car unstable in turns. Just wondering what the consequences might be if I change out springs w/ struts. I'm putting energy susupension bushings through out the car (upper lower control arms, front and rear). Can anyone recomend some springs? I'd like to keep the car stock height, but if I have to I'll drop it an inch or so. Please let me know.

Oh.. I'm riding on 205/40/17's if that matters. Also have the rear disc swap done (91 teg).

[Jos4DCivic]

I switched over spring/struts complete from 88 rex to 91 hatch with no problems. as for springs i had H&R on koni's and loved setup.i had it with 205/40/17 also for a while but to low of a profile. dented rim a couple times .

[BullShifter]

H&R OE sport .75" drop

[Sparsky]

Originally Posted by Jos4DCivic

I switched over spring/struts complete from 88 rex to 91 hatch with no problems. as for springs i had H&R on koni's and loved setup.i had it with 205/40/17 also for a while but to low of a profile. dented rim a couple times .

The only differance would be the rear suspension and how it mounts to the lower control arm. I've had pretty good luck so far with my rims even when i hit some railroad tracks pretty hard. I originally wanted 16's but couldn't find any as cheep as these (they were used). I just wonder now if I were to switch to 16's and a taller tire if I'd like the handleing due to sidewall flex. But thanks for the info.

Seem like a decent price?
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/yhst-140...esp51hcic.html

[BullShifter]

205 40 16-3.2" sidewall
215 40 16-3.4" sidewall
205 45 16-3.6" sidewall

205 40 17-3.2" sidewall

You can see how small the difference in sidewall would be. With the right tire there would be little flex with the benefit of improved ride qaulity. IMO any thing less than a 45 series tire is too short and creates a poor ride.

Poly bushings really make a difference but you will pay for it in ride quality. On cold days they turn to cement. They can & will dry out creating a noisy ride. Best advice make sure to lube the hell out of them during install. Speaking of install, be ready to spend LOTS of time installing them.

$150 is the average price of H&R's

Helpful links:
http://www.suspension.com/civic.htm
http://www.suspension.com/tips.htm
http://www.suspension.com/stam-bar.htm

[Sparsky]

Originally Posted by jackasssi

You can see how small the difference in sidewall would be. With the right tire there would be little flex with the benefit of improved ride qaulity. IMO any thing less than a 45 series tire is too short and creates a poor ride.

Poly bushings really make a difference but you will pay for it in ride quality. On cold days they turn to cement. They can & will dry out creating a noisy ride. Best advice make sure to lube the hell out of them during install. Speaking of install, be ready to spend LOTS of time installing them.

$150 is the average price of H&R's

If I got 16's I'd probably be looking in to 205/50/16's. My 40's don't ride too bad, just got to be careful of bumps to not dent the rims. I was looking into the black moly impregenated bushings, they say they don't squeek as much. Not like you can really see most of the bushings anyways. Thanks for the links, everywhere's i was looking was $199 and up. Except for that one link I posted earlier.

[TheSilentChamber]

As for springs... guess everyone else covered that. When you order struts make sure you get them for the 88- they use the same springs as later years though. As for the say bars, you can upgrade sway bars but it has to be done proportionately to the front, so you have to get rate matched from the same company (theres just a few of them that do this so research it before you buy some because there pretty).

[Sparsky]

Originally Posted by TheSilentChamber

As for springs... guess everyone else covered that. When you order struts make sure you get them for the 88- they use the same springs as later years though. As for the say bars, you can upgrade sway bars but it has to be done proportionately to the front, so you have to get rate matched from the same company (theres just a few of them that do this so research it before you buy some because there pretty).

I think I'm comfortable with the stock sway bars, least for now. I'll really make up my mind when I get all the new bushings in. But thank you for the good info.