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Gone are the days of my massive write-ups because I just don't have the time, but I did install Eibach's Pro Kit lowering springs on my wife's 2017 Sport Hatch yesterday using basic hand tools in my garage. I did not stop to take pics because I was on a time crunch to get the front damper assemblies out so I could run them to a local dealership to have a buddy use a proper spring compressor on them to swap the springs out.
Cliff notes for the process:
Rears are stupid easy. I'm talking after the wheels are off it's one 17mm bolt, and one 14mm bolt for the rear swaybar end link, then the LCA drops down and the spring falls out.
Fronts are more complicated because of how the knuckle assembly bolts to the LCA, and how deeply the damper sits inside the knuckle. Getting the knuckle to drop low enough to allow the damper to come out seems dicey as hell because of how precariously close the inner CV axle joint is to popping out of the cup if you go too far.
Overall the job is easy, but not quite as easy as any of the 1988-2000 double wishbone stuff I've done a million plus times.
Overall driving impressions? Amazing. Rides only slightly firmer than stock on stock dampers, no bounce, firms up in corners the harder to get into one, no noises, etc. I could not be more pleased with how it turned out.
Appearance wise it's exactly what we wanted - bring down that unsightly stock wheel-to-fender arch gap. Sits about one finger's gap now instead of THREE like it did before. I'm getting it aligned in a few days, and i'll report my camber findings. From the research I gathered on Civic X forums no camber kit is needed. I have a critical eye for camber, and to me it appears that the rear camber is affected more than the front when lowering these 10th gens.
How long would you say it took? Wanting to do springs on my ctr as well
Keep in mind I'm working with one big floor jack, two jack stands, and no air tools. I'd say it took about three hours total, but would have been way quicker with extra jack stands and air tools. I'm not counting the time it took me to drive the front assemblies to the dealership to have my buddy compress the dampers, and swap the front springs. None is needed for the rears.
You absolutely need a floor jack handy to put under the suspension to jack the LCAs/knuckles to get things lined up, especially the swaybar end link bolts. If you do that it's much easier. If you do not do that you won't be able to do the job, so make sure your jack isn't tied up. The biggest pain in the ******* is the damn front knuckle/LCA configuration. The knuckle has its lower balljoint with a flat mounting piece with three studs, triangulated. You must remove three 17mm nuts, then pry/pop the knuckle free from the LCA, but getting the knuckle to drop low enough to extract the damper assembly is tricky as hell, especially since the axle is still bolted into the knuckle. Dropping the knuckle TOO low or pulling outward too hard will separate the inner CV joint - that would be a nightmare.
Once you do get the front knuckle/balljoint free from the LCA then you have to get the LCA below the balljoint mount (the LCA actually starts off on top) just to get the knuckle low enough to get the damper out, so when it's time to reassemble it takes some real finesse to not only get the balljoint back on top, but also to line up those damn three balljoint studs to even get the knuckle seated back into the LCA. It probably took me a solid ten minutes on the first side I did to figure out HOW to do it, but after that the other side was quicker.
I watched this YT video to help me decide I'd even tackle the job:
Looks good. I hate how honda designed the knuckle on the new cars, same goes for the Accord, PITA to get the struts out. Dont know if the new civics have a 3 bolt lower ball joint which would make it easier to move the knuckle out the of the way.
Looks good. I hate how honda designed the knuckle on the new cars, same goes for the Accord, PITA to get the struts out. Dont know if the new civics have a 3 bolt lower ball joint which would make it easier to move the knuckle out the of the way.
Yeah I removed the three nuts on the the three studs for the lower balljoint...and it's still a major pain in the *******. Better pic after springs settled to their final height:
12-29-2017, 11:30 AM
Installed Eibach Pro Kit on 2017 Sport Hatch
