nigmafrost

Hey guys,

I have an 06 Civic LX 4D. Thinking of lowering it with the Eibach pro kit 1.0" drop or the Eibach Sportline 1.5" drop with my stock struts.

First question - My stock struts should be able to handle the drop right? I read some other threads and it seems that it should be okay.

Second question - If I am dropping my car either 1.0" - 1.5", do you guys think I will need a camber kit? I am also putting on my 18" rims with 225/40R18 tyres.

pm em, thanks!

bseries_el

you should be fine with the 1.0" drop or 1.5". And NO, you will not need those camber kits because it will not affect the camber on your ride unless you go really low like a 2" drop or more.

subsonic-civic

iTrader: (2)

you'll need re-alignment.

not 100% sure what info they need to do that (for regular tireplaces, like Midas for example), but i would assume many mod shops should be able to do that for you.

bseries_el

NO!! YOU DON'T NEED A REALIGNMENT. I have lowered so many cars in my experienced and you don't need to re-align anything!!! There's not even gonna be a big difference in height if you ask me. I would at least go lower like 2" all around just to cover those ugly wheel wells and THEN you get those camber kits and get them aligned.

bseries_el

Oh yeah, a little camber on your ride won't really hurt the tires, it will actually give you better performance on the turns here and there. good luck with decision.

nigmafrost

Thanks guy. Yea, here's the problem. I had a pair of dunlops that I put in my car last summer. At that time, I had everything stock with my 18" rims on. But I didn't get my alignment done after I put my rims on. And drove my car during the summer up til about winter, and my dunlop tyres got WARPED. Like hell. And I just picked up 4 brand new kangkang NS II's and I am dropping the car 1.4" with the Eibach Sportlines soon. I'm just worried now because I don't want the same thing happening to my new tyres, I want to be able to use them next year also.

So the Eibach 1.4" Sportline should be good right? I think I will need a re-alignment after I get the springs installed along with the 18's? So no point investing into the camber kit then? That will save me 400$ which is amazing!

Thanks again.

subsonic-civic

iTrader: (2)

if ur getting camber, you need alignment. =p haha im pretty sure u'll get a bit of toe also. camber and toe will cause premature and uneven wear on tires. Camber can also reduce ur contact patch slightly (important when stopping).

Read.

=)

cr8tive_leo

< 06 Civic Owner Lowered on H-techs.

First off, check to see if your rear camber arms are the correct ones. There was a TSB for our rides a while back, and the proper Rear arms are stamped with a 'C' if not, you will have to get those upgraded first.

Rear Camber arms are good to get. Why? cause.. this could happen...


You'll have a noisier ride with a drop, and no camber arms. Replacing your shocks is a good idea, a heavier duty one would be good.

WHy? think about it. if your shock was designed to compress from 6 inches to 1 inch, it has no pressure in at regular ride height. Now if you drop it, say 1" you now have applied a constant pressure on the shock. If you go over a bump at normal speed and the bump is 4 inchs, you have completly compressed the shock at lowered specs, at normal spec, the shock operates perfectly.

You need to be very carful over bumps and such, if you compress the shock to quickly, you can blow it. And, the ride sucks with oem shocks , why do you think the HFPO kit comes with shocks , struts and springs? Why can't you just buy HFP springs, because the ride quality would be bad, and you'd blow the oem shocks.

You can use OEM, but be prepared to replace them after a few bad 'bumps' on the road.

You can get Rear camber arms for $165ish USD. Front camber bolts are around $25-30 cdn.

The drop rates on springs are just a suggested hieght. Depending on teh weight of your car, what you weigh, the stuff you have on your car 9amps, subs, etc.) will determine your over all drop.

This is my car dropped...



See how in the picture below the rear is tucked, same springs, but a big load in the car, if I hit a hole, my shocks are F'd. This is where I should have thought, hmmm.. better shocks would be nice.



This next one is just by itself, no subs, or amps, or people in the car.




You decide, I'd go for upgraded shocks and the rear camber arms, you can skip the rear arms if you have the 'c' stamped oem. Other than that, it's your ride, you do what you want with it.

17" Motegi Trak Lite 2's is what those shoes are.

07Ex

If I were you, I'd definitely listen to cr8tive_leo's advice above. He really knows what he's talking about.

DumbasSi

I have an Si, so I will give my opinion.

The new generation Civics, 06+ come from the factory with aggressive suspension settings, especially an Si like mine and they are already pretty low for a factory suspension. Owners were complaning about excessive tire wear from the negative camber the cars have. So much in fact that Honda released the above mentioned TSB and changed the rear suspension arms so that the tires woldnt wear out so fast.

However, that was only for the "normal" Civcs. Us Si owners still have the old arms and the negative camber. It does help the car handle better and being a sporty, excelent handling car, I think most owners dont mind. My rear tires started to show signs of wear after only a few months of driving.

Now, to the lowering question. I had Eibach Prokit springs (lowered the car about 1") on my wifes 06 Si. The car looked great and rode and drove excellent and the struts didnt show any signs of excessive wear over the almost 1 year the car was lowered for. The rear camber was at the limit that Honda recommend and yes, the tires did start to show wear. The car was aligned after the springs were installed just to make sure the toe was ok. You should always align a car after the suspension has been modified, not becuase the lowering might casue more camber, but taking everything apart can mess the settings up.

Now, if I was to lower my 07 Si, I wouldn't bother with just springs alone. I would use the Honda HFP kit, that comes with matched springs and struts that lower the car about 1". A camber kit isnt really necessary, but I would use one anyway just so I could set the car up the way I wanted to. You would have a great handling and riding car, all using Honda parts. Another nice upgrade might be an Si rear swaybar to lessen understeer.

There are very few companies selling struts for the new Civics, so the choices are slim anyway unless you went to a full coilover. There are plenty of those out.

nigmafrost

thank you very much for your detailed reply. I am currently getting quotes on the Skunk2 PRO S full coilover kit also. Along with the Eibach Sportline and Pro-Kit along with the rear camber kit. My tires last summer that I had on my car got warped, the middle of the rear tires were curved inwards and the sides were bulging outwards. When I put the tire flat and rolled it, it wabbeled. Why did this happen? It was on stock everything, just put the rims and tires and within 4 - 6 months the tires were garbage. I did not get the alignment done nor did I get the camber arms. So im afraid If i lower my car now with new tires to about 1 - 1.4" drop without the camber arms that I might get the same results with my tires.

This is what happened to my tires....

This is the rear left or right, not sure.

This is the same tire as above...

This is the same tire as above... rear left or right...

This is also the rear left or right...

This is the front...left or right, not sure.

This is also the front...left or right, not sure...

This is my car... I took these shots... I'm a professional photographer so if anyone needs any pictures done, let me know

subsonic-civic

iTrader: (2)

sounds like it might be under inflation.

over inflation it'll bald in the middle.
under inflation will wear the outside of the tire, and the sidewall. it is VERY dangerous as under inflation causes tread seperation, which will cause a very dramatic blowout.

awesome pics btw. its hard to meter off black cars. haha lovin that wide in the 2nd shot =) im an amateur/semi-pro myself =)

DumbasSi

Pics look great. Where in Hamilton do you live? I dont see many modded 06+ Civics around.

The Skunk2 I have read good and bad about. There are many sets for sale on 8thcivic.com, so Im wondering if maybe people dont like them. The HFP, though unadjustable, get great reviews.

Tires sound pretty messed up. Ive never heard of anything that bad on a stock supension. Maybe a problem with the tires themselves.

nigmafrost

Thanks guys! I live down in stoney creek, hamilton. Near fruitland road and qew, right on the lake there. Heres a picture of the house
lol.
Yea, im not too sure if they were under inflated. I had my tech friend that works at image Honda and he said that the air was fine. I do remember the rear tires were in negative camber / \... Not a lot of degree, but a noticeable. Ahm, The HFP unadjustable spring and struts, does any one see them on sale on 8thcivic.com? or even on this site?

DumbasSi

I dont think Ive ever seen a set for sale used. Maybe thats becuase everyone wo has them, really likes them. You can get them from collegehillshonda, whcih is in Ohio. THey are about 500-600USD, but they sometimes go on sale.

cr8tive_leo

Nice pics, some lightroom work on those.



mmmmmmmmmm NHBP is awesome.. only when it's clean.

subsonic-civic

iTrader: (2)

looks like an alignment issue, could be some under inflation going on there as well.
im assuming the worn side is the inside of the tire facing the centre of the car?

sigh.. i wish it was spring so my car would be clean and id have my summer rims on so i could finally do a shoot of my car... but then, i still need to lower her first =(


That's all i got. haha

nigmafrost

Your car still looks nice, get it lowered and pm me :P Ill take some sick shots!
By the way, cr8tive_leo your car looks sick my friend! Nice wax job, i cant wait to wax mine and get it tinted and lowered

subsonic-civic

iTrader: (2)

haha. last year i was planning this huge private car shoot with my cousin and some friends. i had some exotics, imports, muscles cars and hot rods lined up, but i couldnt finalize a date and had to cancel it =(

if i can get it finalized this yr i'll pm ya for sure =)

nigmafrost

sick! that will be fun! check out my website with my work.

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