omalika

Hiya. I have a 92 hatch.

At the junkyard today i found a set of GC coilovers wrapped around Integra OEM shocks for a pretty good price.

Eventually, i'm going to upgrade the shocks, but for now, i'm going to use the OEM ones. I have three questions:

1. One of the shocks is bent, so i was thinking of using one civic one, and three integra ones. will this be a problem?

2. Are the ground control coilovers for Koni's different than the ones for Stock and everything else? I've heard some things...

3. Koni's are too expensive for me. What are a good set of shocks hopefully in the <$300 price range?

Many thanks!

HondachrisEJ1

1. Yes this will be a problem. Never suggested to run mix and match suspensions, bad things will most likely result.

2. You will have to do some homework on this, I imagine they do have a set that are ment to be run with a set of koni's/bilstines/etc. I never recomend running a signifigantly higher spring rate/lower height on the stock struts anyway. They werent designed for it and only minimal suspension improvement will result.

3. None, you will not find a "good" set of shock for under $300. Expect to pay at least $500 for a set of decent/working-low quality performance strut.

95civic 4door lx

Nice find!!! ill buy them offve ya.

omalika

let's say my GC's don't fit koni yellows, because of what's stated in question 2. what are comparable to them, in the $500ish range? KYB AGX? Illuminas? or other? I don't think i know of any other in that price range....

also, what are the chances of the GC's i bought being bad? do coilover springs go bad often? they seem pretty new. minimal paint chipping except on the very tops and bottoms....

sorry for all the questions....
Many thanks!!

HondachrisEJ1

No although I don't like or suggest sleeve over springs. I haven't heard of any breaking withing normal limits of drivingI haven't heard horrible things about the illumina's or KYB. Although I have heard they don't have a long life span and don't hold up too well to extreme driving but for a general road going/slightly aggressive driving they will be far superior and last longer then the stock struts. Remember you get what you pay for. (for the most part.)I highly suggest saving and buying something you will like and will last a while. Even If they are $1500 in two years you may find that they have paid themselves off.

Black96Hatch

save about 1300 bucks and get a tein full coilover set ull be happy

BrothaSit

^im with him...but if you are still interested on those coilover i say get them it will fit youre car as long if the sleeve is fitted firmly with some o rings you can buy from a hardware store. i installed some groundcontrols off my uncles 99 honda accord on my 92 civic without any problems but the ride is pretty stiff cuz of the springs weight

B serious

iTrader: (1)

1.) It's not really a big deal. He seems like he's just using the car to tool around. Regular integra and civic damper settings are probably very similar anyway. Bad things will most likely result? Like what? The apocalypse? They're just shocks.

2.) Some GCs were designed for Konis..some weren't. You don't NEED konis. Since these were on stock shocks, I'll assume that these were the GCs meant for stock shocks anyway. OP..if you want to go low, get something like Tokico illuminas. They should be available on ebay for around $300-350 range, IIRC.

3.) Tokico illuminas will do the job.

Also, these aren't just regular cheapo sleeve overs. GCs have been known to be very very good. If these are in good shape, this is a hell of a find. The springs should carry a 1,000,000 mile warranty since they are made by eibach. If the paint is not chipped away and such..the springs should be perfectly good to use. Unless they have been bound up in the accident that resulted in that integra being at the junkyard. They'd have to be bound up pretty bad and the shock would have bumpstopped before this....so its' unlikely.

OP....enjoy your find. Why don't you just use all of your shocks? Who knows what condition the integra shocks are in?

B serious

iTrader: (1)

the GCs he has are probably going to ride and handle better than a $1300 set of Teins. The spring rates on the Tein flexes for Civics seems like someone wasn't able to make up their mind as to what to use the coilover for. Not everyone needs full coilovers. What's the point of buying them if you're never going to use them?

A GC and illumina combination will have damper adjustability and ride height adjustability. The only thing that they don't have that the Flexes do have is the full body adjustability. I'd say save $1300 and buy yourself an insane lap dance.

Black96Hatch

lmfao i agree on the lap dance but u never know someones intentions when they get suspension so teins would be good to buy if he was intending on street and track so thats why i suggested it

HondachrisEJ1

I like Teins I have run them. The type flex's Are a great street/track crossover and are comfortable. There are other companies out there who are cheaper that offer a sutable coilover for "tooling" around. Should he decide he wants some thing more then just tooling around he will already have them. If you want to put a turbo on in near futur but need an exaust now what do you buy, the one that will work best now or the on that will work with the turbo. Obviously the latter so you don't have to buy two. Or in ea different situation do you buy the name brand or the ebay special? Later on you may find you want more out of the part then the ebay special offers then you end up having to spend that much more.

No civic and integra shocks do not have same dampening. They are okay for a temporary fix.

Eibach/GC is a great company but yes I have seen problems from all types of sleeve overs including these and most especially worn out shocks(stock) due to the change in travel. Remember when you lower your vehilce it changes the suspension geometry.

Coilovers arent going to cost that much more for a sport set

omalika

thanks for all the replies, it really helps. i've decided to just use the stock suspension for now with the GC's over them. the problem is the current springs on there are some crap "ebay specials" and ride horrible, and ride far too low. the reason i really don't want to upgrade the suspension to something really nice is because of two separate reasons:
1. i'm going to deploy for 7 months in mid feb., and the car will just be sitting there, unused, and it seems to be quite a big waste to have a nice set of suspension just sit there for so long.
2. i'm not sure if i will keep the EG when i come back, but i really really like the car. but i might end up getting an S2000 or a TSX, and i'd rather keep my money to buy a really nice suspension setup for one of those, if that does happen.

thanks to everyone who helped me. and if you guys were wondering, i paid $100 for the set GC's and stock integra shocks(one bent, but will be replaced by junkyard.). i also made the guy put on top hats in really good condition i wanted to get my money's worth.

B serious

iTrader: (1)

I have had Tein flexes. They're not bad. Not great...but not bad.

If you look at the ratio of the amount of people that use GCs on the track vs. the amount of people using Flexes on the track.....you'd find out that GCs are better suited even if you're getting serious.

The flex is a very street biased coilover. It does, however, do the dual duty thing well. For civics, however, the spring rates seem really weird. They're really high up front and really soft out back. I know that Tein usually likes to tune for understeer for their street kits...but I find that it's not nessecary or beneficial do that sometimes.

If I wanted a full coilover for a civic, I'd go with something other than the flex. Sorry. There are some cars that the flex seems like it'd be great on....the civic isn't one of them.

As long as the OP isn't SLAMMING his car...it will also ride better with the soft rate GCs.

(non CTR) Civic and (non ITR) integra shocks may not have EXACTLY the same damping curve...but I'm sure it's VERY similar. Although, Notice that a lot of companies will sell shocks for 92-95 civics/94-01 integras all as one part number?


Why do you keep talking about EBAY specials like GCs are some cheap knockoff?

Also....if you think that GC springs will sag ...what makes you think that Tein's springs wont sag?

And the most important points that you seem to have over looked:

The OP got a quality sleeve over spring for $100 with shocks. It's not a race car. Tein flexes aren't race coilovers anyway. They are also $1300-1400 more than what the OP spent.

omalika

yeah, i'm definitely not slamming the car. it was slammed when i got it. hated it.

installed the ground controls tonight. they feel so much better.

the old crap springs and stock shocks felt like... way too loose, way too low. it was like steering a bronco.

the ground controls are very nice feeling. they are surprisingly ... uh... i don't want to say "bumpy", but they're pretty "springy". i can feel every bump in the road, but definitely not in a bad way.

the mix/match shocks are working just fine, for my purposes of lowering it just about 1.5 in front, 1.2 in rear, it should be alright.

i'm a happy camper! also changed the front brakes out to DC2 fronts while i was down there... i already had the MC and prop valve done when i swapped the rears out.

B serious

iTrader: (1)

Sounds like a decent setup. Make sure you get an alignment. And clock your bushings.

98civdx

its not so much the coilover that is makeing you bounce. gcs are great for a sleeve coil,
its the shock, once you get a good set of shocks i bet they wont be bumpy at all.
but i do reccomend saving up and getting a good set of shocks

flexs are great, but they are really pricy for a daily drive and there are tons of other coilovers for less that will give the same ride. even tein basics are good.

just make sure you do your homework before new shocks because they may not fit your gc's.