PurpleStuff

Hey all.
I am looking to get some coilovers for my 97 EK. Looking for something not too expensive but do it's job too. This is my daily driver but will be tracking it about 3-5 times a year or so. I heard skunk2 is a good brand, but which local shops carry them? I can purchase the coilovers online, but i hate paying 200$ extra for customs and duties. Also, can someone explain to me which is better for spring rates: The higher the better or ...? And should the spring rate be higher in the back since it's FF car or should it be in the front?
And the coilovers must be adjustable, since I want to be lowered in the summer time but raised in the winter time.
I am looking to spend no more than $2K for them. Installation is not a problem for me.

Thanks


(If this is a repost, I do apologize)

Vinny

2 grand is a lot for coilovers. None the less, try pacific mall (there are two stores in there, be careful one of them offers idiot advice), Skunk 2 according to some or many is said to be top of the line for civic. Tein is another top line. A few shops carry good coil overs and offer advice. Try Option JDM, To Stylez. Don't buy over the internet, not worth the hassle if something goes wrong, and some websites sell fakes.

PurpleStuff

Do you know what the name of the good store and the bad one in p mall? Thanks for your input though.

Vinny

I forget the name honestly. I'm not sure if the other store is any better. But the store that is bad, let me describe it like this. I'm not trying to be racist or anything but I forgot the name so I will say it like this. The bad store (from personal experience) is the store with the asian guy with glasses sitting there all the time and another asian guy who does the translation for him. Sometimes there's a third chinese guy who walks around aswell. Inside the store you'll see a bunch of lips on the left side piling up near the counter.

I am saying this store isn't good because, when I had a civic, i bought a couple of parts from the store. Some turned out to be bootleg, others that they told me were of quality, degraded quickly over time. I went back to the store and complained, but they said it's not their faults. They seem to be helpful when buying, but once the money is handed over, the product you inherit come with the price of problems you inherit. Some people might of had good experience with them...I personally didn't. It's probably my fault, when you look for bargain, you pay in long run. If you're smart, go to stores like JDM option, they are a little bit more expensive, but in terms of satisfaction, I'd say are better. There are a few other stores, that are not coming to my head right now. Maybe other members can post them up.

seanv98

I wouldn't buy a pack of gum from that mall. Go to a real shop and get what your after. Talk with option Jdm, ********, or contact Chris_V2 and his buddy Alan can hook you up. I would stay away from skunk 2. Look into tein, ground control, PIC, or or buddy club.

Peter H

With regards to spring rate, higher is not always better. Springs are there to absorb the road imperfections, otherwise we would be running solid suspension with no deflection. For competition use you obviously want a higher spring rate then normal to help control body movement, but there is still a limit to how stiff you can go. On the street however you'll want to retain some compliance for comfort and safety. Because you want to do both, street and track, you are going to have to find a happy medium.

As for the front stiff vs rear stiff spring bias, I recommend front stiff. It doesn't nearly introduce as much understeer as people think, but it allows you to keep the rear softer which on a street car has a big impact on how comfortable the car will be. In addition, you can use a swaybar on the rear of the car to help introduce oversteer, and with softer rear springs the bar will have more impact.

The important thing to remember when buying suspension is that quality matters. You could buy something like Skunk2, a company that makes shift *****, and camshafts, and lug nuts along with their coilovers, or you can buy from brands like Koni, Bilstein, Tein, etc. that specialize in suspension equipment and are used successfully in many fields of motorsports.

The other element to remember is shock valving. This is a tricky one, because few companies release this info. So when you are buying a coilover, you are buying blindly, because you don't know how well the shock works with the spring it is paired with. This is why some coilovers feel bouncy, or overly harsh.

What would I recommend? You can get a Koni Yellow shock with custom Ground Control sleeves (550lb front spring rates/400lb rear spring rates, set the Koni Yellows to 4 in the front, 3 in the rear). That would be a fairly competitive track setup, and not too harsh on the street, and also not too heavy on the wallet.

You'll want to look into adding a rear swaybar, something in the area of 19-22mm, and of course buy some nice tires. That should cost you under $2000 I imagine.

PurpleStuff

Why stay away from skunk2? Is it cause its made in the states? lol.

PurpleStuff

2JoinPerformance, is there somewhere I can buy the Koni Yellow and Ground Control sleeves as a package from? Store or Online.

starboy869

me too I'm looking at this combo. However right from the horses mouth for ground control

Ground Control Suspension Systems

imo calling would be best and yes they make custom spring rates. I'm going to be ordering up a coilover kit for my eg with a J series.

Koni yellows are uber nice. However $$$, ebay new are around $540US+++

There's also KYB AGX series which is about $400US for a set. I don't know too much about these and they are temping.

R1020

iTrader: (1)

amen, to everything you said. why aren't we tuning suspensions together?

as someone else mentioned, $2K is a nice figure to be working with - suspension is not something you want to cheap out on.

my recommendations? ground controls (GCs), with koni yellows or bilstein sports. i have used both and i personally prefer the konis for the adjustability (i'm very particular when it comes to damping), but the bilsteins are serious units and will take the abuse. they retain their original damping characteristics much longer than the konis, due to the monotube design (i'm fairly certain i heard this from a bilstein usa tech). select spring rates based on how much street and track you do - my last EG was setup with 400F/350R and i ran the 22MM ITR rear swaybar, and it rotated very nicely, and was very streetable.

on my current EG, i'm not tracking it (i've got two car seats in the back now ), so i'm running something much more mild. i did move up to the JDM ITR 23MM rear swaybar though.

if you go with the GC's, get their top mounts, for all 4 corners - they work as advertised and are well worth the money. also - replace your bushings! go to torontojdm.com and pickup some low-mileage JDM ITR control arms, they are a bargain and have stiffer durometer rubber bushings than vanilla civic bushings. if you get the ITR rear LCAs then you'll need to get ITR-spec rear shocks, of course.

also - how are your tires? tires are probably more important than everything i've already written. i am a fan of the falken azenis RT-615's.

so, to paraphrase:

- koni yellows / bilstein sports
- GCs w/ custom rates
- GC top mounts
- fresh control arms (replace them all)
- 22MM/23MM ITR rear swaybar
- good tires
- good alignment - this is key!

you might as well get some ITR strut bars while you're at it.

peter

PurpleStuff

When you said fresh contol arms, did you mean oem new ones or aftermarket? If aftermarket, I hear blox is good? And also who in the GTA carries the koni yellows and the ground controls (for now) ?

PurpleStuff

Sorry, didn't fully read your last post. Please ignore my reply above.

PurpleStuff

Tires are probably gonna be something for the end of the summer. But right now I am running falken ziex something. They're supposed to be ultra high performance all seasons. The only reason I have those is that when I bought my car, I got a good price on them.

R1020

iTrader: (1)

if i were you, i'd ditch them as soon as you upgrade your suspension to something stiffer.


no one that i know in the GTA carries koni or GC. buy direct from GC, and for the konis, i bought my last set through Bilstein Shocks | Bilstein PSS10 | Bilstein PSS9 | Eibach Springs | Koni Shocks | Tokico Shocks (i've bought from them before and they're service is great). i paid $30 for shipping and had them the next day (from california!!).

i have heard a lot of bad things about blox - mainly that they're cheap (quality). i don't know about you, but i don't want cheap crap on my car.

peter

PurpleStuff

Thanks for the advice. Can you post up (or send me a pm) a direct link on where to purchase the GCs and the Koni from?

thanx

PurpleStuff

Also, i was just reading on TCC Vendor Sales, and saw that torontojdm has Yonaka Coilovers for $850. Can i get my hands on that or are they not that great?

R1020

iTrader: (1)

i've never had any experience with them, they are fairly new... but, i would personally not use them - just purely based on previous experience i had with a yonaka intermediate shaft on my old civic...it was garbage.

the koni/GC setup is a known quantity - it may take longer to get, but it will be worth the wait (i can appreciate your anxiousness, i hate waiting for parts).

GC: Ground Control Suspension Systems - Your source for the best in suspension parts and accessories.

koni's: Bilstein Shocks | Bilstein PSS10 | Bilstein PSS9 | Eibach Springs | Koni Shocks | Tokico Shocks

peter

PurpleStuff

kind of a n00b question but are the ground controls the springs and the koni's the shocks or ...?

R1020

iTrader: (1)

GCs = eibach ERS springs and GC coilover sleeves

konis = shocks

PurpleStuff

thanks all for the advice.

If i get the ITR sway bar, will it fit directly on my ek? or do i have to get the ITR suspension setup?