Originally Posted by
randomtask77
Old skool Skunkworks (not 2) sleeves with Tokico Blues.
It's pretty old. Probably had them installed since '01 or 02. I'm guessing the life of the shocks is way past it's prime so I was thinking of getting a new setup.
I've been looking around for a nice budget setup. Not doing anything with it, I'd just like a new setup that has a compromise between a firm enough ride for the turns, but smooth enough so that every bump on the road isn't felt. I'd like to be able to drop it and level the ride where my fenders sit right along the top of my tires, but be able to raise it back to near stock height when I get the car worked on or when I need to get the car smogged.
I've been looking at Buddy Club's, F&F's, PIC's, Tanabe S-OC's, Tein, both basic and SS, KSport, D2's, Megan's, Omni's, you name it.
I don't know if I want to go back to a sleeve/shock setup, though I've read that might be the best setup for what I'm looking for.
What would you recommend dooood? I was also thinking of getting a set of Skunk2's pro front camber kit as well. It's been a while since my civic got an alignment so I might as well get a set and get everything straightened out.
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Wow, your setup is old school!...but like the worst combination ever for street use :chuckles: I believe your problem now is the shocks and the high spring rates of the OG Skunkworks. The Tokico Blues were like the best shocks out there for our cars back in the day, but the shock travel and dampening of the shocks are way too conservative for the sleeve over coilovers. I ran into the same decision you are at now. I wanted a setup that can raise and lower the car when needed for maintenance or emergencies but have good performance for street/track use.
I don't have anything against Omni, D2, Megan or Dsport...but as what I've seen in shock dyno's and customer feedback, they are all the same. Either coming out of the same factory or have the same specs with different paint or brand labels. They are affordable full coilover setups, but for comfort and daily street use, they are probably not the ones I'd go with. Omni and Dsport have some very crazy high spring rates (10k, 8k). Some of their dampening setups are not adjustable are are just way too bouncy or harsh for street use. Although some people love that teeth chattering feel, it gets very impractical for everyday use. Still not bad if you only want to spend 600-800 for a coilover setup.
Buddy Club depends on what setup you are going with. Their entry level coilovers have been around for a while. Their N+ dampers are relatively new and I dont have much customer feedback on it yet. However, Buddy Club has known to be pretty stiff for street use. For 800-1400 range, it maybe kinda pricey for the higher end setup.
I haven't heard much about PIC setups on track or from customer feedback. I do not know where PIC comes from. I've only seen pictures of the coilovers. Never saw them in person or heard anything about them to give my opinion on them.
The Tanabe S-OC and the TEIN Basic are both non adjustable dampening. They are great entry level coilovers and you can never go wrong with a good Japanese brand. But when the car is going to be very low, the ride quality does sacrifice a little. I believe the pricing is around 800-1000 on these setups. Im sure these have better quality and track test proven results than some of the cheaper coilovers.
The TEIN SS is a nice setup as it has dampening adjustability. 950ish-1100 depending if you want upper pillow mounts. Again you cannot go wrong with Tein.
Function Form is a decent setup with a decent price. From customer feedback, these perform like TEIN SS and I haven't heard any complaints on ride quality. However, I haven't heard anything in terms of track use on them either. For street, I believe these will be pretty decent. Price range is from 750. However, they recently have changed their price structure and design. Im not sure if the prices will be the same for long.
I am currently running Ground Control sleeve overs with custom spring rates and Koni Sport SP3 shocks with extended upper mounts. My set up is 400lbs front spring rate to compensate the heavier motor and 275 rear spring rate. A lot of people do high rates in the rear to aid in understeer, but I wanted to keep mine as standard as possible. Standard Integra rates are around 380/250. Koni SP3 are the same as Koni Sport (dampening adjustable) except that it has 5 adjustable spring perches to allow for sleeves to sit lower. This aids in getting the car lower while you can raise the sleeves all the way up to get more shock travel. It also has 20mm shorter droop for lowered vehicles. I also run the extended mounts to allow for 20mm extra shock travel. Compared to my partner's Tein Flex setup, we ride the same height, but my setup feels almost like stock suspension.
TEIN FLEX ($1450'ish)
Ground Control / Koni Sport ($850-$1080'ish)
I highly recommend a Ground Control/Koni Sport setup. You probably wont need upper mounts if you use the SP3's. My setup is kinda overkill in terms of extra shock travel. Price range for GC/Koni is about 850 ...and 975-1080 for extended upper mounts. You also have a choice of custom spring rates for no extra cost. I've had this setup for almost a year, and to this day, I have no complaints.
Hopefully this helps. Of course this is all in my opinion and tried not to be biased.
