recommended lowering springs

ahunt01 · 09-16-03, 05:47

I currently have Ground Control coilovers over stock struts (still waiting for them to blow, been about a year and still going good) and I've had it with the low spring rates that the GC's have and the uneven settling. The company that ordered them and installed them was shady. Anyrate, I do not want any kind of coil-over anymore, and I am currently in the market for lowering springs since they'll all settle evenly and hopefully give a stiff ride. Can anyone recommend any really good springs? I want them to be pretty stiff since I haul around some heavy people sometimes.

Intermezzo · 09-16-03, 08:15

GC's with stock struts....that's gotta make for a pretty harsh ride. How much of a drop are you looking for? I have Eibach Prokits on my 7th Gen Civic and it doesn't "look" dropped but at the same time got rid of the excessive fender gap. Also, the ride feels pretty "stock" but at the same time got rid of a lot of understeer. If you're looking for stiff, look into Neuspeed. I would highly recommend getting aftermarket dampers though. As bad as the 7th Gen Civic's ride already is.......having aftermarket springs with stock shocks makes for a very poor ride.

putter · 09-16-03, 08:35

On my old 5th gen accord I had the EIbach Sportlines w/Bilstein struts. It wasn't super stiff, but it was stiff enough to provide a great ride and handle.

bet993 · 09-16-03, 11:56

To lower a car correctly you have to match the spring rates with the damper rates. A good after market coilover system that comes with matched dampers and springs will be the best solution. Just adding springs to stock dampers will usually result in mis-matched spring and damper rates and usually a bouncy jarring ride. At the extreme edge of problems this can be dangerous as it can really cause some handling (including braking and stopping) problems.

The suspension of a car is a system with different parts working together to provide the ride and handling characteristics. The dampers and springs work against each other to absorb undulations in the road surface, if they are not matched properly then one will over power the other and the ride and handling will suffer. I know lowering springs are tempting because they are an inexpensive alternative to aftermarket dampers and springs. However, springs that are not matched properly to the dampers used are not adviseable.

Progressive springs with properly matched dampers can offer a nice ride around town over bumps at low speed but offer better control at higher speeds and on the track.

Lowejackson · 09-16-03, 12:25

Very wise words from bet993: 100% agree

2000_EBP_civic · 09-16-03, 02:49

H&R sport springs and koni yellows.

K_Csaxo · 09-22-03, 01:18

agreed also with bet993, i know of people how simply go for the lowering spring option, not recommended. spring wise i have heard good things about Koni, Bilstein, Eibach. there are lots more but due to myself living in the UK i dont know if you have stores that supply them.

Dinzdale40 · 09-22-03, 01:57

I got Tein SS full coilovers on my Honda Accord 98 v6. They are awesome. They are fully height adjustable and dampening adjustable(16 different rates). http://www.tein.com/

George Wax · 09-22-03, 02:07

I run Eibach's Pro-kit with Billstein's dampner's, Best mod I could have ever done for my Cobra Mustang..beside's the supercharger of course..

ahunt01 · 09-22-03, 04:13

Sorry for not responding earlier, my power was knocked out from Isabel the last couple of days.
Intermezzo, actually the GCs with stock struts isn't harsh at all. Honestly, it nearly feels like stock. Even my parents are shocked how smooth it is. Truthfully the setup would probably be decent if it wasn't so low, it's kinda mushy for an aftermarket setup but the problems associated with that like leaning too much and rubbing tires wouldn't matter if it was higher. I don't know how many times I've snatched a turn and my tire rubs the wheel wells. And if your taking a fast turn and you hit a bump, well lets just say that really sucks.

Well I see that most everyone doesn't think the lowering springs are a good idea on a stock ride, your probably right. The only reason I don't want a height adjustable suspension set-up is because my GC coil-overs are nothing but a headache. I spent an entire week tweaking them until they were a good height. After the car was even all around I took it to get re-aligned. It was done great, but after about a week of driving I noticed that the height was all out of wack. One side settled a bunch, the others each settled at different heights. I know for a fact that the rings were tight as heck too, so it couldn't have came lose.

Another problem I have with my coilovers is that the front passenger ring won't move any higher up, it has maybe 4 or 5 revolutions to go but even when the car is on a lift and someone is hanging from the tire the spring is so tight and compressed that I can't rotate the ring up anymore. That's the side that the tire keeps rubbing on the wheel well. Basically I'm just so fed up with this setup.

Dinzdale40, I was thinking about going with Teins, a popular performance shop that I just recently found highly recommends those. I'm worried that if I get a height adjustable system that I'll have the same problem that I do currently with my Ground Controls... constant uneven settling/sagging.

Dinzdale40 · 09-22-03, 05:10

my Teins didn't settle that much, I fooled around with the height for a day or two and got it realigned. There was little to no sagging after I set them. The rest of the time, I played with the dampening force and threw it around a turn to see what felt best to me.

SickOfItAll · 09-22-03, 11:29

There are a couple problems with Teins:

#1 - Warranty coverage in the US is spotty. Up until several months ago, I know for a fact there was none, and I've heard it's changed now, but have not verified it.

#2 - Teins are designed for use on Japanese roads and highways, which are of considerably better quality than many American roads. Be prepared for a very rough ride.

#3 - On some cars, Teins can severely limit your wheel selection. On MR2s in particular, I know you're limited in your sizing quite dramatically.

If you're looking to go with some high quality coilovers, look into JIC Magic FLT-A2s - VERY nice stuff, it's probably what I'll end up with on my car.