Nations Sickest CRX

im looking to slam my ride civic EK coupe. i have ground control/tokico illuminas setup spring rate like 300/380, it ride OK but i get annoyed on the freeway, and on shitty roads... IMO GC sucks *****, coilovers suck, lowering springs are too stiff.... anyways i remember when i first bought my civic it had cut springs, ride quality was better then my new setup no kidding.

Old setup stock shocks not blown + cut springs + oem top hats.

Current setup tokicos + GC + 1.5 front and 2" rear extended top hats.

Tomorrow's setup will be tokicos + cut springs + 1.5 front and 2" rear extended top hats.

My theroy is shock life will last longer due to top hats, ride qualty improve due to oem cut springs and rates, and less bouncing due to tokico illuminas doin work!

anyone out there with this setup or similar? *im not looking for performance*

dth0ng69

I'm actually pretty interested in this post.. I have TEIN S-techs with stock shocks, and I want to go lower cuz the s-techs don't drop ****. But I don't want an unconfortable ride, So I'm thinking since s-tech spring rate are meant to be with oem shocks, i want to cut it a little bit to make it a little more slamed and keep the ride comfortable.

Arthas

Softer spring rate should yield a higher dampener life span.

jdmztrane

You have to sacrifice ride quality to have a performance suspension. A car that is meant to handle well is not supposed to be comfortable.

If you want a comfortable ride, go get a Buick or a Caddy.

Plus, cut springs are the cheap way out and most times people don't do the proper way of cutting them. This can be hazardous and god knows if I saw a car like this come into a shop, I wouldn't let it leave if it were unsafe to other drivers.

STOCK_SOHC_DX

It's not the springs that sucks, it's your rates. Try switching front and rear. 380 front and 300 rear, and raise your car up a little. Riding dumped = shitty ride.

B serious

iTrader: (1)

The stock shocks will last longer because of the extended top hats? WHY?

The piston can still bottom out the shock even if the bumpstop doesn't hit the top hat, you know.

Besides that, the shock being set at a lower ride height than stock will wear it out faster.

I have GCs on my EM1 and it rides almost like stock. I have stock shocks up front and Tokico Blues out back as my ghetto *** setup. It's been on Gingerman, it's been to autocross events...I drive it 100+ miles daily. It rides great.

Your issue is probably that you are too low. I have mine lowered about 1.75'' or so.

If you want to be super low and have the car ride well, buy coilovers that have a full body adjustment so that the shock travel isn't affected by ride height changes.

Your cut springs/stock shocks combo might be more comfortable because the springs are softer. But it will be much easier to bottom out the shock on big dips/bumps.

B serious

iTrader: (1)

A car that is meant to handle well can very well be comfortable. My stock S2000 was very comfy. So is my friend's stock Miata. Or a stock BMW M3. Or my friends stock 09 Si. Along with stock EVOs, stock STis, etc. etc. etc.

If you want more performance but want to maintain a very good level of comfort, you just have to do it right. My S2000 rides silky smooth with KW V3s...it's low, and it's pretty damn fast around a track. Reason being : $2300 (MSRP) coilovers coupled with sticky tires and sensible lowness to performance ratio.

My EM1 is also pretty quick around a track and it rides VERY close to stock. The suspension parts were very cheap, but I didn't SLAM the car. When I had eibach sportlines with softer rates, the car rode like dog **** because it was too damn low for the cheap *** shocks.

My friend's EX has skunk2 pro Cs...it's dumped and it handles well and rides super super smooth.

However, a lot of rice burglars figure you can spend $500, lower the car 5'', AND expect good handling and smooth ride quality.

It's like the hamburglar expecting a big mac to be made from filet mignon and topped with caviar and come with a side of escargot and still cost $2.

Nations Sickest CRX

ok, all i need now is a set of vouge tires for my caddy ride... haha l love the ride now!! anything can be achieve with a lil thinkin, some trial and error, and tests..

STOCK_SOHC_DX

Huh? What did you do to fix your problem?

Nations Sickest CRX

tokicos illuminas + cut springs + 1.5 front and 2" rear extended top hats. = best ride slammed

forcefedferio

B serious brings the truth.

anything with cut springs =

jdmztrane

This is all I was getting at. Its stupid, cheap, and unsafe if not done properly.

As for a car that is supposed to handle well.... I meant as far as his Civic goes. You cant expect a car to handle like a track car, but ride stock. Just not going to happen. With upgraded spring rates/dampening you're ride will always be more rigid/rough than stock. Its not going to feel like a stock car with say: 10k and 12k springs with proper dampening as well as swaybars added into the mix. Show me a car that does that, and I'll retract my statement.

B serious

iTrader: (1)

My S2000 has 10k F/R springs and rides very close to stock.

I've ridden in other cars with 10-12k springs that ride very very well. The dampers play a huge role in this. 10-12k springs really aren't that hard, BTW.

Sway bars really don't add ride harshness either. I have never noticed a difference in ride when I did the ITR rear bar on my EM1.

jdmztrane

Then the dampening must be set all the way to its lowest setting. 10-12k springs are well over that of a the spring rates of a stock car. Standard US spring rates for Civic are as follows

For 96-00 Civics (EJ6-8 and EM1 chassis codes)
96-00 EX - 165F/80R (P/P)
99-00 Si (EM1) - 201F/99.8R (P/P)
97, 00-01 ITR - 250F/250R (L/P)
GS-R - 200F/95R (P/P)
CTR - 240/240 (L/P)

The conversion for kg/mm to lbs/in with 10k front 12k rears are roughly 560 lbs/in and 670 lbs/inch respectively. This is a lot more spring rate than factory. Proper dampening of these spring rates would make the dampening a lot stiffer and wouldn't allow for stock ride comfort. It may not feel like a track car with 16-20k springs, but there is no way any car with coilovers will ride exactly like stock.

Swaybars do add to suspension stiffness. If they didn't then body roll could not be reduced by adding them.

Not trying to argue. Just stating the facts.

Either way, to get back on topic..... its not safe to run cut springs unless you have them professionally done. Your dampeners should be tuned to fit your spring rates to make for the proper ride. When you cut your springs you'll have no idea what your spring rates are.

The OP should have gotten some better dampeners for his GC setup and he may have had a more satisfying ride. Illuminas aren't made to be "dumped".

B serious

iTrader: (1)

My damping is not set to the lowest setting with 10k rates. Everyone that's ridden in my car says how nice it rides. I bought the car stock. I can compare to how it rode when it was stock. Trust me. When you buy really really nice dampers, they handle higher spring rates with a lot of comfort.

I know what stock Civic spring rates are. I was talking about 10k rates on my S2000, but I digress.

I know that a civic with 10 and 12k rates won't ride just like stock. Stock older civics feel like they were built on jello. But with good damping, the ride quality will still be very very good.

**You don't have to have a car that rides like a skateboard to have good handling**.
That's my point.

Yes, the OP should have gotten a decent setup. But he's happy with the ghetto setup he has now. Pretty much any shock will have diminishing ride quality with diminished travel. Konis, Tokicos, Motons, name a brand. If you put a shock to work below it's intended travel height, it will ride like garbage.

stagen

Everything you said sounds good, except for that ^. While technically, yes, it stiffens it up, it only does so while cornering. Simply riding down the road with upgraded swaybars wont make for a stiffer ride. They're virtually 'invisible' when cruising. Hope that made sense? Haha, I try.

bastok

Sent you a PM

janz3n

havent been on this forum in a couple years, since when did cutting springs to lower your car become the new thing? i cant believe what im reading in this thread.

Eddie

It's not a new thing it's just what idiots and broke people do.

doctorake

Thread is old, way to pm someone over an old thread, lock Adkins.