tron_

Hello:

***Feel free to skip this part***

First off I just want to say hi everyone, Im here to repay my debt to honda-tech. I have been lurking on this forum for YEARS and finally decided to make an account. I am active on several other Honda forums but this one has obviously had the most helpful tutorials and walkthroughs.

Anyways, I am in the process of redoing the suspension on my 98 Civic sedan. Everything is being removed and replaced with reconditioned parts (powdercoated LCAS up front, refurbished spindles, refurbished trailing arms, ITR front calipers, Civis Si Rear calipers, Buddy Club camber kit, Buddy Club rear LCAs, etc)

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I am at the point where I would like to invest in a coilover system. I have been researching coilovers for my 98 Civic sedan for months carefully combing through my options. At this point I am down to the following three decisions:

1. PIC Select (10k front 8K rear)
2. Koni Yellow/Ground Control (430 Lbs-In front 380 Lbs-In rear)
3. Buddy Club N+ Spec (I believe the EK setup is 12k front and 8k rear)

When it comes to pricing, the Buddy Club N+ coilovers are the cheapest. The Koni/GC are approximately $60 more. The PIC Selects are $40 more than the Koni/GC (bringing the price differential between the PICs and Buddy Clubs to $100). My point is that the three options are very comparatively priced.

I will be most likely pairing these with 22mm Progress rear sway bar kit and a CTR front sway bar.

Basically I am asking you guys for the pros and cons of each setup and what you personally recommend. From what I have read, all three coilover systems are well built and perform well so I dont think there is a bad choice here.

Thoughts? Opinions? CRX?

STOCK_SOHC_DX

I can only speak on buddy club vs. Koni/gc. Nspec + made difference in adjustments (clicks) as where koni's actually made a difference in adjustments.

tron_

you mean that the konis made a difference you can feel whereas the buddy clubs didnt feel very different through the adjustment range?

abs0Lut

Koni and GC hands down, 60 bucks extra for lifetime warranty and custom rates is worth it IMO.

tron_

^Definitely an excellent point, something that really has me leaning Koni/GC. From what I heat PIC offers a 1 year warranty and I am not sure about the Buddy Club warranty but a friend of mine had a very positive experience when he needed service on his N+ Spec Coilovers.

TheShodan

iTrader: (14)

I'm partial to the PIC Select coilovers myself. I did not like the Koni /GC combination because the GC coilovers tended to not hold up over a couple of years, while the PIC are going 4 years strong.

Warranty doesn't make me feel good, really. It just means that I should expect something to break. But that's my warped sense of thinking.

tron_

^Haha that is an interesting way to look at things for sure. When you say the GC coilovers didnt hold up for a long time do you mean in terms of corrosion resistance, blown shocks, etc?

I think I forgot to mention I store my car in the winter

angryhillbilly

i have had my koni GC setup on my car for 5 years. i live in chicago so we do have winter and plenty of salt. it is my daily driver and i am very happy with how they are holding up. after 5 years there is "some" spoty rust/corrotion on the surface, but i dont see why they shouldnt last another 5 years as long as i dont blow one lol. only thing id change is the springrate. id deff go with somthing stiffer than the 380F 450R factory setup.

vtecvoodoo

We have a set of GC's here in our "museum" of sorts with a documented 800,000 miles on them. Pretty crazy.

tron_

Thanks for the replies guys, like I said it seems like there is no lose with these three options. The lifetime warranty is pretty enticing from the Koni/GC option.

STOCK_SOHC_DX

Yes, it felt as if the Nspec+ went from stupid stiff to worse so there was really no adjustments. As for Koni's lasting, I wouldn't worry as moderator Pat has had his set since around 05 and his last report still going strong.

vtecvoodoo

..and the GC pieces and Eibach Springs are made in america.

cdmef

I have been weighing PIC vs. Koni/GC for a while now and from everything I have read, I will most likely go the Koni route, So reliable and custom rates which will come in handy for my part time track build.

Havent heard any real negatives on PIC either though

Bwill

Koni and GC are awesome and all my friends that have them say they will stay with them.....I have KYB AGX and GC and i am happy with them also.

tron_

I ll most likely be going with the koni/gc. Im working with a representative from Ground Control to figure out what rates I want to go with.

Im thinking 430F and 380R, I think that should give me a good mix of streetability and track use.

JDMScoobySnacks

PIC Select. Or Function & Form

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

Once again. F&F is ****.

1tuffbb6

iTrader: (1)

Agreed, they do not belong in any comparison with any of the aforementioned set ups.

And to keep it on topic, I absolutely love my PIC Select R3's. I will admit I have 0 track time on them, but their customer service is second to none, and the product is top quality.

PIC Performance

I put a 1 year warranty on the installation manuals/brochures that we include in each shipment but we've issued replacement parts as recently as December of 2011 for folks that we sold to in our first year in business. Putting it on the brochure is more of a "marketing" thing if you can call it that - I couldn't put nothing at all of course, but I also couldn't afford (literally) to put "Lifetime" on it either. So we chose to write a year and then honor requests on a case by case basis though I can't recall the last time we turned anyone down. I don't suppose it'll sway the OP's decision and its not meant to, but I did want to clear that up.

tron_

Thanks for replying PIC, the 1 year warranty is what I heard. I actually already purchased the Koni/GC coilovers. It came down to the PIC Selects and the Koni/GC, it was a pretty tough decision because of how reputable both companies seem but ultimately I felt the Koni/GC were best for me.

Doesnt mean I wont try the PICs in the future though!

known

iTrader: (1)

For whats it worth, try some hyper coils in the same rates as your eibachs and see which feel better to take it a step further....

Im currently running progress/hyper coils myself, been there done that with the koni/gc. progress are lacking now too for what Im doing but as a dd part time track car I would take a serious look at progress.

STOCK_SOHC_DX

I applaud you on taking care of your customers albeit past due on their warranty dates, and I know your shocks are built in Taiwan. My question to you is does your US storefront have the capabilities to rebuild/revalve your shocks and have they done it before?

tron_

^IIRC they are based out of Chicago and perform rebuilds there

PIC Performance

Correct, based out of Chicago-land (Naperville, specifically) but instead of rebuilds we send out new cores. Because the shocks are assembled in Taiwan, that is where the necessary equipment is for a re-build. The cost to send shocks back there for refreshing and sending back (in a reasonable amount of time for each person) is prohibitive.

tron_

Good stuff I've heard nothing but good things about PICs