raverx3m

iTrader: (1)

im planning to upgrade my del sol suspension soon.

but im a bit confused about all these setups and which would work better.
few options but i dont know enough to decide which is better.

im a bit on a budget and cant really afford to ideally id like to spend no more than 300-400 dollars.
i was eyeballing those 50 dollar sleeve over kits but i know they are ****. i dont expect my shocks to last long either with those.

heres the questions i have.

1 are lowering springs better handling and ride quality when compared to coilover set when lowered same distance?

2 is there a way to tell by the spring design how it will handle and the ride softness?


3 is a lowering spring combined with same brand shocks same as buying them as a set?

what i mean is:
if i buy a set of skunk2 coilovers and buy a set of skunk2 struts is that same as buying a coilover set that comes with struts as a kit?

and lastly.

if you had an 2 options:
have a good set of lowering springs/ sleeve overs with stock shocks.

or have a good set of struts with cheap coilovers.

which one would you pick and why.


i just dont want to spend a fortune on this car because i did that with my integra and when you try to sell it you get bunch of douchebags that try to get **** for "hella cheap" or for free. im sure everyone knows how it is.

people forget about the labor hours that went into installing all that **** and only go by the ebay pricing.

raverx3m

iTrader: (1)

oh btw im not trying to go hellefluch or slammed.

maybe an inch or two.

heres how my integra sits and im very happy with it, same will be on del sol

racebum

what would i do with $400?

save a few bucks and buy koni sports and run stock springs on the lower perch


OR

buy koni str.t shocks and have $100 to spend on quality used lowering springs

raverx3m

iTrader: (1)

i know theres always this very tempting option of saving another few 100 bucks but, i can safely say that the chances of saving that extra are as slim as adding another 500 dollars and buying a full coilover set.

im just trying to stay within the limits, like i said 300-400 dollars is what i can afford on this specific part(shocks/springs...) i have many other parts that need to be purchased for that car as well but no rubber wallet


im just trying to learn more before buying something without fully understanding the options

raverx3m

iTrader: (1)

im not really worried about blown shocks just want the best control when on hard turns and quick stops,

i have skunk2 coilovers now with stock shocks but i have nothing to compare it to since the car came with them.( had it for 5 years before shocks blew up)

i do know the effects of the sway bars since mine broke off once and it was a big difference with or without it.

racebum

spend $299 shipped on koni str.t's best $300 shock period. lifetime warranty too

PatrickGSR94

iTrader: (1)

My Integra sits about like your white one, and I'm on OEM springs and Koni Sport shocks on the lower perch. However I did have to spend about $100 on used OEM ITR springs so that I could use the ITR rear springs and get a more even ride height. It was made raked with the OEM GS-R springs and the rear Konis on the lowest perch.

Great DD street setup IMHO, especially with the 22mm ITR rear sway bar. Maintains most of OEM ride quality, though just a bit more harsh due to the ITR rear springs.

Best part is that setup lasts damn near forever. I have 200K miles on my Koni shocks and they're still working fine. If you plan to keep your car awhile I would go this route (or save up for Koni/GC of course). If you go through cars like crazy, well then just put whatever on there since you won't be dealing with it for that long.

Any type of lowering, ANY type, is pretty much crap with stock shocks.

spAdam

iTrader: (1)

These two situations are mutually exlcusive. Blown shocks will do nothing for you, and honestly stock shocks with any kind of spring other than stock are never going to be right.

This is exactly what I was going to propose. Also you mentioned that you already have some Skunk2 coilover sleeves. Nothing wrong with those. Put them on some good quality shocks and call it a day

raverx3m

iTrader: (1)

skunk2 are on my integra.

this is for a del sol


another question is. if i upgrade to the integra suspension(front integra knuckles and rear ITR lca. i will have to use the struts made for integra.

are the struts adjusted for specific car weight distribution?

anyone can answer those questions in post 1 btw?

Libertariat

Koni Srt. and Tein H.Techs or some eibach springs.

spAdam

iTrader: (1)

Gotcha. Skunk2 sells 2 different rates on an otherwise identical kit for the civics and integras iirc. I belive that their off the shelf rates are 400f/300r(lb/in) for civics and 500f/400r for Integra kits. Someone feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

Struts are the same for both cars, they share the same platform. Only difference would be if you have a later model Del Sol with the "EK" style suspension. Those rear lca's have narrower bushings so that integra and 92-95 civic shocks must use a washer on either side of the bushing. I think there might be an issue with the shock forks in the front as well but don't quote me on that.

As far as your conversion, the knuckles don't even connect to the shocks and technically have nothing to do with them. You don't need to upgrade to the itr lca's for the rear, and unless you're just hell bent on running itr style shocks back there really there is no point to it. Also if you have the newer style rear suspension then the itr lca's won't even work. Are you planning on going 5 lug or something?

Sure.

No. Technically the only difference between a lowering spring and a "coilover" spring (probably 90% of all modern automotive springs are in fact coilovers) is that the lowering spring retains the shape and mounting style of the stock equipment while the spring for the adjustable coilover is a standard off the shelf universal configuration.

The rub is that a lot of the springs used in adjustable sleeve kits are linear and generally higher rates than the application-specific lowering springs. If you don't need the adjustability just go with a good quality lowering spring.


There is no hard and fast rule, but most lowering springs are (as I mentioned above) application specific and also have progressive rates. This means that they are going to be able to ride a little more reasonably while maintaining the stiffness to keep you off of the bumpstops. Linear springs are going to have the same hard rate regardless of whether you're throwing the car around a cone at an auto-x or hitting a reflector while changing lanes.

Generally though (for lowering springs), the lower a spring is designed to be the higher the rates will be. This is because there is less available travel and the ultimate goal is to keep the car of of the bumpstops.

For example, say your stock spring rate is 200lb/in (made up numbers!) and the shock experiences a force of 600lbs. The spring will compress 3", which is big deal since you have 4" of travel (still making up numbers). Install a 2" shorter spring with the same rate and you now only have 2" of available travel.... You've just dented the shock tower. Install a 2" shorter spring with a rate of 400lb/in and you'll only use up 1.5" of travel.


Most likely not. Most of the complete coilovers are threaded body shocks with their own springs. Its not uncommon for them to be basically the same springs as would be with sleeves. The whole point of a sleeve is to convert a standard shock into a threaded body shock. The Skunk2 pro series setups are different from a stock style strut.

One exception to this rule that I can think of is the Tokico setup though. They are basically Illuminas with sleeves already fitted to them.


I would never lower with stock shocks. The list of reasons is long, and there is no one of qualified opinion here that would disagree. Just don't even bother. And cheap coilovers have cheap, inconsistently rated, and all-around iffy springs on them. Save a few bucks and get a decent set of something used.

I think you've been given a couple of really solid and affordable options already here by some people who know what they are talking about too. The moral here is to do it right or do it twice. You can feel free to spend $100 on shitty springs, but then when you hate them (or they sag or the sleeves crack or whatever) and you have to replace them with a $200 set of springs... well then you've just spent $300 on springs, haven't you?

Kinda suprised that Tein made it to the top of your list but H&R didn't...

Libertariat

Tein isn't the "top" of my list. I just figured it was appropriate for the desired height. H&R or neuspeed sport would work also and have stiffer rates than the tein S.tech. The s. tech is extremely mild.

spAdam

iTrader: (1)

racebum

tein depends on the car. for the 94+ integra they are great, based on itr rates +

for the civic they are not much different than a pro kit or any other garden variety spring

raverx3m

iTrader: (1)

nice i was just trying to get a better understanding of how all different options work, that way i dont just buy whatever i was told to buy.

it seems that i have few options from the info given here.

buy a set of progressive lowering springs if i decide to just lower it.

2 buy a coilover kit like godspeed( thats the most i can afford )

or buy a set of struts and good lowering springs.(which would probably cost about same as godspeed overs and such...




i dont think i really need a coiover set since i have never in last 6 years adjusted my skunk2 on integra.

and not planning to slam/hellafluch/vip or throw some Ds on it either.



theres also that combination with ground control and koni? i belive. how much does that usually cost?

after checking ebay i found a few of my own list of coilovers besides the ones mentioned here.

godspeed coilovers
function and form1
k sport? how are they compared to other of same price range? bang for the buck i mean...

tein-overs would be cool as they will match the color of the car but for 700 lol cough its a stretch.

Libertariat

There aren't many options really when considering your budget.

Buddy club is decent at the ~$700 price range.
Progress CS-II is a good deal at the $580 price range.

I have progress CS-II's and I'm very happy with them. But I'll be the first to tell you, while I'm extremely pleased with the product, I wish I had just bought the Koni/GC especially since I had the money to buy that instead.

Lifetime Warranty is hard to beat.

raverx3m

iTrader: (1)

i dont understand enough about the suspension yet lol. (i tried)

so i should probably ask a different question.


the biggest reason for this is to get it lowered(1.5-2inch drop) and have an ok ride.i have skunk2 coilovers on my integra with stock shocks and dont have a problem with them ( dont have anything to compare to really)
what the best i can get for following price ranges.
100-200
200-400
400-700

Libertariat

1-200? Nothing.

200-400? Maybe some replacement oem shocks and a mild spring.

400-700? Save more and buy Koni and ground control.

If you HAVE to go cheap. I'd buy what I have. Progress CS-II. I'm a little low for 350F/350R rates but the car handles fantastic to me. 500lb rates in the front would help a lot.

racebum

299 is koni str.t shocks

really the only thing in that price bracket

Libertariat

Doh. Of course. That's in line with my one of my previous posts.