Hey guys,
I am currently looking to do some suspension work to my 1997 Civic EX 2dr. I currently have 17"s. right now i am riding on the stock suspension, which im sure all of you know is unsatisfactory with not only handeling, but appearance as well.
Im looking to improve the stance of my car on the rims, without rubbing out getting a horrible ride. The problems/complications with this is that besides Miami, I am in Detroit for school half the year. Detroit has the worst roads i have ever seen. My worries is that if i lower the car, when I have to pack my car up to go back to school, i would get some serious dragging/rubbing.
What im really looking for here is a small drop, nothing extreme. This is my daily driver and need to be able to get places. The guys at the local shop have suggested to me Tein Springs and Struts (or was is Shocks?). However sometimes their advice can be questionable as to their intentions.

So what should i get springs or coil-overs ? What company/kit ?And what other parts (if neccesary) are needed to insure that I will not have suspension problems in the future after this upgrade ?

 

I'd look at a set of coil-overs... Tein, Skunk2, and Apex'i all make some decent, yet cheap, sets...

 

Why coil-overs? How does their ride quality compare to springs ? And would shocks still be neccesary with coil-overs ??

 

ride quality depends on the person who made them.....i would not skimp on this. get a good name brand.....otherwise your girl might leave ya for someone who has a better riding car. lol

coil-overs are cool because you can set in your height. you wnat the front slammed?....well ok you wnat the rear stock height....well ok. do you hit a certain speedbump and scrap the bottom of the car?....well ok...just raise it up. the perches do freeze over time (which adjusts height). hope this helps.

 

Coilovers are not for everyone though. You have to adjust them right. And everytime you change the height you have to get an alignment, which could get expensive unless you don't mind buying tires every month.

I'd say get some Neuspeed Sport Springs drops like 1.5" and some Tokico Illumina shocks. Good compromise between cost and comfort. Coilovers can be on the stiff side because the height of the springs are shorter so that needs to be made up by making the spring stiffer.

 

The advantage of full coilovers is that the dampening of the strut portion is matched to the spring stiffness. That's what makes your car handle well. If the springs are stiff, but the struts too weak, then the ride will be bouncy. If the springs are too soft, but the struts too stiff, the your kidneys will take a beating. A decent coilover setup for street comfort will cost between $600-$1000. Stay away from "add on" coilovers like Skunk2 or other no name brands. The spring rates are generally too stiff for the struts you are running, hence the bouncy ride. Full coilovers retain the spring tension throughout the entire suspension travel, whereas the "add on" coilvers suddenly come loose when the car is raised. As far as camber goes, buy a set of front and rear camber kits. The rears are very easy to install and adjust as they are the upper control arms with adjustments in the arms themselves. For front camber kits, the 1st choice is the kind that replace the front bushings that connect to the inside of the upper control arms to the chassis. They are the cheapest, but the hardest to adjust for any alignment shop. You need a special wrench that alignment shops sometimes don't have. The second choice is the style similar to Skunk2 where the upper control arms have the adjustment above the outside upper ball joint. All you need is an allen wrench to adjust 4 allen heads, much easier adjusting.

 

I have a set of Eibach sportlines on my 1996 CX with Eibach shocks and I'm running 17's. I haven't had any rub issues yet. I had the same springs in a 1999 Si with 17's and I ripped the fender skirts out in a few weeks. So, I think that the vehicle weight plays a huge part in the amount of damage. I had camber kits on both vehicles and good alignments. Your EX would probably weigh in close to the Si. I did notice that my Si sat lower than the quoted drop of 2" and my CX barely has an inch and a half.

 

If I lower my car with springs (for the better ride), will that affect how much I can pack in my car when I go back up to school in the fall ??? Because when i normaly pack my car, it obviously lowers the back a little bit. Will the new springs have more resistence to that ? or will that basicly push the wheels into the wheel wells for some serious rubbing/damage ?