Ok, after much thought and comments and suggestions from eveyone here I decided on a package for my 2000 EX Coupe suspension.

I wanted to lower my car but not bottom out, scrape, or bounce around. I did not want to buy stupid camber kits either. I also did not want that annoying metal to metal noise when I hit a bump. I wanted an moderately agressive, but streetable drive. I have driven with 2" + drops, not good on long drives.

I went with KYB GR-2 shocks all around to replace the factory shocks, bought on ebay for $158. I heard they were good shocks for the price, slightly stiffer than stock.

I replaced all of the factory mounting hardware, including pillow mounts, with OEM parts. That cost about $150. My car had 78,000 miles on it at the time, so why not?

I bought Tein H spec springs, 1.2" drop in front, 1" in the rear. They were about $175 or so on ebay.

So the hardware costs about $483 plus about $40 for shipping or so, about $523 so far.

Next, I wanted to have a professional installation done. My previous lowering jobs were limited to a 2.5" reverse spindle front end drop on my project 71 bug and a spring conversion on a 49 Ford truck. I had the tuner shop I bought my Neuspeed springs install them on my 90 teg and I always heard metal clacking sounds when I hit a bump at speed and squeeking plus the camber kit was a price shock! My RSX S type, same thing, clacking and some squeeking....now those were 2" Neuspeeds and 2.5" H&R spings, very hard and bouncy too and I scraped all sorts of stuff, very annoying.

So, the local Honda dealer in my area gave me a VERY competitive price to install and selected a tech that loved doing tuner upgrades when it was done right. He volunteered to do my car when he saw my setup. It cost $425 to remove the old stuff and install the new setup including tire rotation and inspection.

I took it to a local shop and got all four tires balanced and a four wheel alignment. That was $85.00

Costs:
Parts: 523
Installation: 425
Balance/alignment 85

Total: $1033

So, what did I get? A completely new suspension system. I have driven about 3,000 miles on it, mostly highway, top speed about 110mph. I had a very slight shimmy at first but the alignment took that away. No camber kit required, just a slight toe adjustment. I have Falken tires on MSR 17" rims (you can see read about my tire setup on my profile).

What a difference is an understatement. The ride is exactly what I was looking for, no noises, no bottoming out, a few scrapes (that's because I have a magnaflow catback system that hangs lower than stock). Handling is impressive, but I am considering changing the Falken tires to something with firmer sidewalls. No bounces at all, it sucks the road. When I hit a bump or dip in the road it just sucks it up. Tight cornering is fine, top speed was 85mph into a 35mph turn....some squeeling but it basically stuck, the tires broke a bit, slight hop but I think that is a sidewall issue. I am considering getting a sway bar upgrade later on.

The installation was almost as much as the parts but in this case, given my previous experience, it was WELL worth it. It sits low, like a stock BMW and rides a little better than the ex's 2004 530i in my opinion. I got the look I was after, refined but agressive. The installation was superior and the handling is excellent without the bounce, scrape, or noises. Tires have about 1/2 clearance or so, so I do not get any wheel rub except when I dive into a turn at high speed (a bit of body roll, I have a Neuspeed upper sway bar installed already but a swaybar upgrade might fix the rest).

If you don't want to bounce, don't need the slammed look, and don't want to spend the extra cash on a camber kit....then this combination IS for you! I will be putting pics up soon.

neonknight0311

 

You consider that "competetive"? This is a relatively easy DIY, and is actually very hard to mess up IMO.

You should have DIY, and got some Koni adjustables with the money you saved.

Nice write-up and glad you like the setup, but you got ripped on the install.

 

i'm glad you're happy. in your case, satisfaction came at a cost. different drops for different folks

 

Nice write up. Are GR-2's the adjustable ones?

 

negative...just stock replacements.

personally, 1k on suspension is a waste of money but i look at suspension at a diff. perspective. i wanted suspension to elimintae my wheel gap, i have H&R race and i am pretty low and kinda harsh but i dont care

idk, i dont even think i spent 1k on suspension.

but of course a 1990 accord is diff from a 2k accord.
so congrats on the ride

 

Oof. I considered getting those but some people have had them blow out in as little as 7-10k miles and didn't get their money refunded. That's why I went with CL-S.

 

As of today I have logged about 4500 miles on my setup and it is running sweet. As for installation costs, I charge between 75-150 an hour for my time as a consultant. It is cheaper for me to have a professional do some things, especially when I was married. Now I am not married, I have time to play with my car as a hobby on my off hours and I can buy a second car in case I have my toy up on the rack for a while. But I understand some people can't afford to have a professional do the work, some just don't have the time, others the money. That's how I learned about computers...I could not afford to have a tech work on mine when I was in college so I figured it out myself.

 

nice setup but jschmid is right u should have just bought some koni shocks and atleast try to DIY which could have save u alot of money and btw $1033 spent u could have just bought a set of tru coilovers like tein ss or something. hey still a good buy but the labor ate up ur $$$

 

For $1k you can get better Teins that the SS. When I installed my Teins on both my accords took me less than 2 hours. I wouldnt have spent that much for Tein springs and KYB struts. KYB sucks IMP and i have had several sets. I would have went with Factory Honda, Tokico or Koni.

 

That's not really my point...it's not a matter of paying someone vs DIY. It's matter of getting ripped off...$425 for install...I've never heard of anyone paying more than $200 personally.