Coilovers or Springs?

[Red_civic16]

I need help deciding whether to get coilovers or springs for my 90 hatch.

Thanks.

[civickiller]

i would say get coilovers so you can adjust the ride height if you ever want too. say maybe you got stock and you decide to get rims. your ride height is adjustable and with springs if teh springs are too low then you just gotta take the springs out.

[ci5ic]

I've been thinking of swapping out my Eibachs for some coil-overs, but I've got a few questions...

1.) What are coilovers? I thought they were just a matched set of springs/struts.

2.) How easy is it to adjust them? I know that usually, you just have to reach in there and turn something, but I want to know if you can easily adjust it so that you're sure that all 4 corners are evenly adjusted...

[slammedcivicsi]

Coilovers are basically a lowering spring with a sleeve that fits in the middle.....the sleeve is threaded and a perch threads up and down it acting like a nut and bolt....this will either compress the spring and lift the car up....or it will decrease the spring and lower the car....this is how a coilover works.

[ci5ic]

Cool, makes sense. So what about adjusting it evenly on all corners?

[slammedcivicsi]

its hard to get them perfect on all corners.....with mine I have the ground controls so there is only 1 perch...I lowered it all the way then counted the number of turns up I went.

[amy@af]

it is really hard to get all 4 corners equal on coilovers. i finally gave up trying to make them all exactly perfect.

i perfer a GREAT set of springs. they tend to have a little less bounce. just my opinion. the only reason i use coilovers is because we get snow
...the only thing i miss about CA

[QuickSilverEF9]

Springs.............. STRUTS!!!!! :flash: SHOCKS!!!!! :flash:. I am going
H & R OE springs with a .75 drop, and bilstein monotube shocks and struts. Expensive but it will be well worth it. Whatever you do do not go with tokico shocks and struts they are overpriced and shitty quality. Just my .02 cents. Why springs? Ride quality well be alot better. You don't have to worry about adjustments and being off.

[jc836]

Coilovers are very simple in that all you are really changing is where the "perch" is-the spring could care less. Some coilover setups use a sleeve and others use a threaded shock/strut body. I like my Skunk2's and other like the Ground Control-both use sleeves. Skunk uses 2 nuts (one to lock) and Ground Control uses a single nut/perch with an allen screw to lock it. BTW: Shocks should be aftermarket as the springs will be stiffer than stock and the stock shocks were not designed to be used on a lowered car.
Adjustment to even the ride heigth-take a tape measure and place it under the car where the jack would go for each wheel-measure the height and write that number down. Now install the coilovers and set them at the middle of the range. Measure as before and see if you are close to the stock ride height or below it-write this number down. Compare the numbers and go from there for the ride height you want-this is how the pros do it (sort of). I personally go further and can even out my ride within 1/4". Many people measure from the ground thru the centerline of the wheel to the highest point on the fender lip.
Final thought-to set all 4 sleeves the same you can use any number of adjustable tools and/or count turns-I use an adjustable square.

Have fun with the stiffer and better handling ride.