Originally Posted by l.d.forget (Post 1464966)

why not just buy a beater civic for daily use? lol. Keep us updates with pics.

Originally Posted by MPR (Post 1465014)

Have you been to one of our TCC meets? Getting in and out of there without scraping is always a challenge with even a moderately lowered car.

Originally Posted by MPR (Post 1464963)

I'm starting this thread, mainly for the new project for my car, but also for others considering lowering their cars. I also started it to help others see how they can have a good handling car but don't have to slam it to the ground to achieve that goal.

My car (00' SiR) is lowered 2-2.5" and I'm tired of it rubbing and scraping on everything. I'm tired of crawling over speed bumps and having to exit parking lots/driveways at ridiculous angles to avoid destroying the front lip! :rant:I'm tired of people saying "ooo that didn't sound good" when the front tires try to eat the fenders when I turn full-lock! :mad:

NO MORE! Time for something different. :sad:

I like the look of slammed/lowered cars. But in the real world, to me, it's just not practical...

One can use the argument that a lowered car handles better due to it's lowered center of gravity. That is only a partial truth. The center of gravity is only being lowered by a couple inches at best. The real main cause of the increase in handling is a result of the stiffer lowering springs, and the lower center of gravity merely compliments that.

I live in the country, there are lots of back roads with lots of bumps. My driveway is 500 feet of gravel and in the winter, it's a gauntlet of snow and ice which, with even an excellent set of snow tires, proves challenging and sometimes damaging to the car everytime there's a fresh dumping. I don't often get stuck, but the snow does actually fly up and over the hood & roof when it's deeper then 5" or so. With my current job, it is also required to do a lot of driving around all over york region. Many different road types/surfaces are encountered and not all are low-car friendly....

And so, to the point of this thread; I'm starting a new project with my civic. I call it "project Si-Rally". Sick and tired of the draw backs of a lowered car and inspired by rally car setups designed to swallow the biggest bumps while maintaining highspeed stability and cornering... I've decided to set my car up similarly to that of a rally car (if you hadn't guessed yet...lol).

I will be using ride height adjustable collars with eibach sportline springs. With this combination, and probably with some custom fabrication, I hope to actually pre-load the springs to give stiffer rates which will equal tighter handling all while raising the ride height equal to or higher than stock ride height. With the springs pre-loaded, it should handle the same, if not, better then it does now, despite the higher center of gravity.

I'm doing this partially to be different, but mainly to make it much more practical for everyday use and to avoid the tire rubbing/lip scraping/exhaust denting draw-backs of a slammed car. I'll be adding rally type custom urethane mud flaps (same as used in the WRC) to protect the sides of the car and the rear bumper. I'm hoping it will look pretty cool and not just stock.

Anyways, this is long enough. I'll shut up now, sorry. :lol:

Feel free to comment, give your own opinions, and discuss...

I'll update as I make progress with the setup.

Thanks for reading. :)

...and yes, I know I'm crazy. lol

Originally Posted by tr1p (Post 1465024)

Oh I'm with ya on this :)
ride comfortability has to come on effect with stiffer springs >.< ?

I always liked the evo rally street car that passes me by, I'm yet to see a civic !

Originally Posted by scrid3r (Post 1465152)

Mike, I have a great suggestion for you, what you need is crv manual transmission, ill just leave it at that ;)

Also, buying a beater never did and will never make sense. You buy and fix your car, why would you park it and get another headache for winter? To protect a Honda from salt while its a cheap import is silly. I mean get real...its a 10-20year old car...

Originally Posted by l.d.forget (Post 1464986)

i bought my sedan for 200 bucks and put maybe 150 bucks into it for cert, lol.

Originally Posted by scrid3r (Post 1465152)

Mike, I have a great suggestion for you, what you need is crv manual transmission, ill just leave it at that ;)

Also, buying a beater never did and will never make sense. You buy and fix your car, why would you park it and get another headache for winter? To protect a Honda from salt while its a cheap import is silly. I mean get real...its a 10-20year old car...