ababoolall

hey guys sorry to seem like the usual threads that u guys get, asking about suspension info.
But honestly im new to this car performance and looks thing, and im trying to learn as quickly as possible without making too much costly mistakes.
anyways here goes -
i have a 98 civic si on stock rims and so forth
im looking to throw on some 17" or 18" rims and lower the car between 1"-2"
the problem is
1) i dont want to give up that soft ride (everyone tells me that lowering causes a stiffer ride) i love my stock ride
2) I really dont want to go super slow and crossed way over speed bumps and here my entire car scrape as i go over.

Well guys my budget is under $1200, im looking for adjustable coilovers,
so does anyone have any suggestions, and im willing to give or take with my lowering issues.
thanks guys

iTaLiAn_vIrUs

honestly bud, u gotta know what you want to do with ur car

dont cheap out
it will cost you more in the long run
save your $$ and buy once and buy it right..

ide hold off on buying anything and wait till you have more $$ to buy something reliable and no some cheap made in china POS.

if u

D.T.P

Indeed it is another usual question. You have few choices, strut/spring setup which would give you the nice soft ride like the eibach sportline springs and oem struts. Downside is, its not height/damper adjustable.

For the price you could get used skunk2 pro-C or pics. Both are damper and height adjustable with adjustable spring preload if you decided you needed a stiffer ride for any reason. Also with your budget you could get function and form type2s brand new with all same options.

Its really up to you, but fyi coilovers will never feel as smooth as strut/spring combo that is properly matched. Read through stikies, there are loads and loads of good information in there.

ababoolall

ok so wich coilovers would give me the softest ride (adjustable) and roughly how much am i looking at for them

kaval

From the sounds of it, you are better off buying a strut/spring combo like Koni STR shocks and Eibach Prokit, which offers a lower ride height and very comfortable ride. The money you save on this setup will allow you to refresh the rest of your suspension which is probably in need of replacing. Those items include:
- rear trailing arm bushings - 100
- outer tie rod ends - 100
- inner tie rod ends - 75
- upper and lower ball joints (or front camber kit) - 100-300
- lower control arms - 150-200

Replacing the things above will make your car feel like it's brand new, and in combination with the new strut/spring combo, it will be a blast to drive and still be very comfortable. It will also cost you a lot less to do them now rather than later, and I'm sure many here can attest to that. Koni STR and lowering springs will run you about 650.

So in total you'll be looking at around 1175-1300ish plus labour which would be around $300-400 including alignment. If you're handy, you can save yourself the labour cost and put that towards a rear camber kit and toe kit (factory toe adjusters max out pretty quick but you MIGHT be able to get away with using Prokit springs, not 100% sure though).

D.T.P

Agreed with rear lcas but what's the point in replacing tie rods and ball joints? If its in order and working well, it will not make a difference in driving feel with these parts replaced.
Toe kit is also not needed. Hell I'm dropped well over 2"s and I have no camber nor toe kit. Granted, having tires 100% flat would help with traction sometimes, but toe...stock can adjust enough. Also lowering only changes vertical geometry of the wheel not the way its pointing.

Having a mechanic check out the front end for looseness in the front end will save you money and the hassle from spending money for no reason.

Going with koni yellow struts is a good choice depending on the springs you choose. Though eibach springs are designed to work well with oem struts without blowing them out. Mike (mpr) can vouch for that, and after being in his car for a ride, I can say its very comfortable and looks good.

MPR

Eibach prokit springs with koni orange dampers will put you right where you want to be. No adjustability or height adjustability, but the ride height won't be so low that you scrape everywhere, and with spring that aren't much stiffer then oem, you don't need to adjust the dampers. This setup should cost you about half your budget or a little more. ($600-$800 est.)

About 17-18" rims, if that is what you want and you like the look, then go for it. I'm only saying this to help save you money: Tires for 17"+ rims are massively more expensive then 15" tires. To be honest, a 17"+ rims on a civic WILL slow it down. They'll be heavier and because of that, they will hurt performance (acceleration/braking and even cornering). It is a myth that lower profile tires perform better. In racing you'll notice they use rims just big enough to clear the brakes. That's why you'll see usually no bigger then 15" rims being used on small cars like civic's in racing. Also the ride quality due to the ultra thin sidewalls will be crap. You'll feel every crack and pebble on he road.

Just a few things to think about.

kaval

Based on my experiences, and in the last month having changed outer tie rod ends and ball joints that seemingly had no play, I immediately noticed a difference upon having new ones installed. It's pro-active maintenance. What if he did all his suspension work, got the alignment done and 2 weeks later his tie rods and ball joints start making noise? Going to cost more in labour to have those changed. Since you're in there, get it done and out of the way. His car is a 1998 and if he hasn't done any of these things, it's a good idea to, at the very least, strongly consider it. If the car was 4-5 years old, I would understand holding off.

Lowering changes both camber and toe, not just camber alone.

Maybe EGs and EKs are different in that regard. I was dropped 2 inches and couldn't get toe set to exactly zero so the next season I bought a toe kit with my camber kit since I was planning to go lower. Unfortunately I don't have access to my alignment print-outs right now.


Koni Yellows are also a great choice. I'm running the SP3 shock myself, very happy .

scrid3r, don't get me wrong I totally see where you're coming from...if it ain't broke, don't fix it right. But this is a mix of proactive maintenance and 'might as well since you're in there.'
I would hate to see this guy drop coin on labour and then a couple of weeks later have to change a ball joint, then a month later have to change a tie rod. Every time it's labour for ball joint install, downtime, time out of your schedule, and another alignment...but alas, what do I know? lol

Completely agree with MPR about the rim size. Your car isn't geared for a 17" or 18" rim. It will handle like crap and slow you down. Go for something like a light weight 15x7 and you'll be giddy giddy, lol.

reasonable rock

i was told that in order to put larger rims on my 99 ek i was required to do the rear disc brake conversion in order to have the new, larger rims fit.

MPR

^Not true.

As long as the bolt pattern and offset allows, you can put on as big a rim as you like.