8th gen Civic vs 9th gen Civic - Suspension Differences
11-11-2011, 04:47 AM
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8th gen Civic vs 9th gen Civic - Suspension Differences
Hi All,
Thought I would share my findings so far with the 9th gen Civic Si suspension I have recently inspected.
1) Camber plates: The front upper strut mount is identical between the 8th and 9th gen cars; so the ASR plates will work on 9th gen too.
2) Front struts:
- are very similar other than the swaybar tab and brake line brackets at the bottom.
- shock max and min length is about 1/4" longer (very similar); so the Koni insert length will work well. Koni insert fits perfectly in 2012 housing and is 1/4" shorter than the stock 2012 shock, which is fine for anyone wanting to lower the car.
- pin thread and length are the same. (pin is threaded part at top of shock piston)
- lower spring perch is approx 1/8" higher on the body (not too much different but looks slightly higher). perch stamping looks same as 8th gen Si perch.
- strut bearing is different and uses separate upper spring seat part number (not integral like on 8th civic), but the 8thcivic bearing (and integral spring seat) fits perfectly on 9th gen top hat (because the top hats are identical); so retrofits will be easy if needed. Interestingly, there are no bearings is the 9th gen strut bearing... it's some sort of plastic flat bearing and lube that has no moving parts other than the top moving relative to the bottom (and it's very thin and weighs almost nothing).
- the swaybar mounting tab on the 9th gen strut is going to make machining off the lower spring perch more difficult where needed, but it is still doable with manual removing of the spring perch first with a cutoff wheel and then finishing on the lathe.
- strut to upright "knuckle" bolts are larger on 9th gen car (8th was 14mm and 9th is 16mm).
3) Rear shocks
- rear shock is basically identical, and the Koni part will fit perfectly.
4) Rear spring
- the rear spring is slightly different from the 8th gen cars. The ID at the bottom is the same as 8th gen, but the top is not the same. Where the top ID of the 8th gen is significantly bigger then the bottom ID, on the 9th gen, the top is only very slightly bigger; so the upper mounting method must be slightly different. I need to see an actual 9th gen Civic in person before knowing the specifics of how a coilover will fit the back of the 9th gen.
- spring length appears to be the same; so current rear spring specs for coilovers should work the same on the 9th gen car.
And what does this all mean? It means that a drop spring kit for the 8th Civic does not fit the 9th Civic. It also means that a Koni based coilover kit for the 9th Civic is just a few relatively small changes from 8thCivic parts away from working perfectly. But I need a car to know for sure.
Anyone interested in making a 9th Civic available to me to look at. I can make it worth your while. Contact me asap.
Cheers,
Chris
Thought I would share my findings so far with the 9th gen Civic Si suspension I have recently inspected.
1) Camber plates: The front upper strut mount is identical between the 8th and 9th gen cars; so the ASR plates will work on 9th gen too.
2) Front struts:
- are very similar other than the swaybar tab and brake line brackets at the bottom.
- shock max and min length is about 1/4" longer (very similar); so the Koni insert length will work well. Koni insert fits perfectly in 2012 housing and is 1/4" shorter than the stock 2012 shock, which is fine for anyone wanting to lower the car.
- pin thread and length are the same. (pin is threaded part at top of shock piston)
- lower spring perch is approx 1/8" higher on the body (not too much different but looks slightly higher). perch stamping looks same as 8th gen Si perch.
- strut bearing is different and uses separate upper spring seat part number (not integral like on 8th civic), but the 8thcivic bearing (and integral spring seat) fits perfectly on 9th gen top hat (because the top hats are identical); so retrofits will be easy if needed. Interestingly, there are no bearings is the 9th gen strut bearing... it's some sort of plastic flat bearing and lube that has no moving parts other than the top moving relative to the bottom (and it's very thin and weighs almost nothing).
- the swaybar mounting tab on the 9th gen strut is going to make machining off the lower spring perch more difficult where needed, but it is still doable with manual removing of the spring perch first with a cutoff wheel and then finishing on the lathe.
- strut to upright "knuckle" bolts are larger on 9th gen car (8th was 14mm and 9th is 16mm).
3) Rear shocks
- rear shock is basically identical, and the Koni part will fit perfectly.
4) Rear spring
- the rear spring is slightly different from the 8th gen cars. The ID at the bottom is the same as 8th gen, but the top is not the same. Where the top ID of the 8th gen is significantly bigger then the bottom ID, on the 9th gen, the top is only very slightly bigger; so the upper mounting method must be slightly different. I need to see an actual 9th gen Civic in person before knowing the specifics of how a coilover will fit the back of the 9th gen.
- spring length appears to be the same; so current rear spring specs for coilovers should work the same on the 9th gen car.
And what does this all mean? It means that a drop spring kit for the 8th Civic does not fit the 9th Civic. It also means that a Koni based coilover kit for the 9th Civic is just a few relatively small changes from 8thCivic parts away from working perfectly. But I need a car to know for sure.
Anyone interested in making a 9th Civic available to me to look at. I can make it worth your while. Contact me asap.
Cheers,
Chris
11-16-2011, 05:35 PM
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Re: 8th gen Civic vs 9th gen Civic - Suspension Differences
Here is a quick update from additional inspections I was able to do today.
1) The front spring from a 2006 Civic will fit right onto a 2012 Civic with no modifications at all. You can use ALL the 2012 parts around the 2006 spring (bearing, dust boot, isolator, etc) and it all fits perfectly.
2) The rear spring from a 2006 Civic will fit right onto a 2012 Civic as long as you use the upper spring isolator from the 2006 car. And using the lower isolator is probably a good idea too but the 2012 lower isolator will work ok. The major difference between rear springs on the 2012 Civic as compared to the 2006 Civic is that the 2006 Civic rear spring has an inner diameter at the top that is much larger than the 2012, but the upper spring isolator from the 2006 car will fit right on the 2012 car; so the 2006 spring fits as well.
3) So, what this means is that you can run a full set of 2006 Civic springs on a 2012 Civic as long as you use 2006 spring isolators in back. And here is the kicker.... the 2006 springs are about 1/4" shorter in front and back, which means that any 2006 Civic springs will lower the car an additional 1/4" when installed on a 2012 car. This is significant because we may find that running HFP springs from a 2006 Civic on a 2012 Civic will lower it more than it does on the 2006 car. Might be a cheap (and really good) 1" drop for the new 2012 Civic. Only thing is someone is going to have to actually try it on their car and see how it really sits... what I know so far is that it looks like it will work perfectly, but only a real install will know for sure.
4) Coilover collars for the rear of the 2006 Civic will fit right on the 2012 Civic as well, which means the RedShift Koni-based coilover setup that works so well on the 2006 Civic will work on the 2012 Civic as well....from Koni Sport to double adjustable Koni Race setup!
So, who will try 2006 HFP springs on their 2012 Civic?
Chris
1) The front spring from a 2006 Civic will fit right onto a 2012 Civic with no modifications at all. You can use ALL the 2012 parts around the 2006 spring (bearing, dust boot, isolator, etc) and it all fits perfectly.
2) The rear spring from a 2006 Civic will fit right onto a 2012 Civic as long as you use the upper spring isolator from the 2006 car. And using the lower isolator is probably a good idea too but the 2012 lower isolator will work ok. The major difference between rear springs on the 2012 Civic as compared to the 2006 Civic is that the 2006 Civic rear spring has an inner diameter at the top that is much larger than the 2012, but the upper spring isolator from the 2006 car will fit right on the 2012 car; so the 2006 spring fits as well.
3) So, what this means is that you can run a full set of 2006 Civic springs on a 2012 Civic as long as you use 2006 spring isolators in back. And here is the kicker.... the 2006 springs are about 1/4" shorter in front and back, which means that any 2006 Civic springs will lower the car an additional 1/4" when installed on a 2012 car. This is significant because we may find that running HFP springs from a 2006 Civic on a 2012 Civic will lower it more than it does on the 2006 car. Might be a cheap (and really good) 1" drop for the new 2012 Civic. Only thing is someone is going to have to actually try it on their car and see how it really sits... what I know so far is that it looks like it will work perfectly, but only a real install will know for sure.
4) Coilover collars for the rear of the 2006 Civic will fit right on the 2012 Civic as well, which means the RedShift Koni-based coilover setup that works so well on the 2006 Civic will work on the 2012 Civic as well....from Koni Sport to double adjustable Koni Race setup!
So, who will try 2006 HFP springs on their 2012 Civic?
Chris
10-24-2015, 06:55 PM
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Re: 8th gen Civic vs 9th gen Civic - Suspension Differences
I ran into an issue just now. I have air lift performance air suspension that I had on my 8th gen Si and now I have a 9th gen Si the bags are in and installed great by why did my camber go so far in that my wheel touches the bags???
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