Anubis44

Ok, basically I want to learn what the exact differences are between:

1. Shocks
2. Struts

3. Sleeves
4. Coilovers

And please only post CLEAR, ACCURATE answers. If you're not sure or don't know pls don't reply. I did a search and came up with nothing b/c nobody was in agreement on anything and everybody "thought" or "heard" something else. Thanks in advance for any help.

P.S. - Pics are an easy way to "show" what your talking about.

93civEJ1

shock-struts...do the same thing.....struts=car, shocks= truck

sleeves equal slip onto strut, coilover is the whole assembly.

976

Damper (UK term) = struts

Anubis44

ok, i understand the difference between shocks & struts and what their purpose is.
So, what is a sleeve exactly? any pics? Does it take the place of the spring or what?
And coilover = a strut with a sleeve on it?

Sorry if the questions are stupid but everyone I ask gives a different answer and I just want to be 100% positive that the information in my head is correct.

Jay-C

IMO true coilovers are made to work with shocks as a unit hence the cost difference between them and coilover sleeves (Ground Control, Skunk2, etc.) along with aftermarket shocks (Koni, KYB, Tokico, etc.) which are made as separate units and are therefore not a a true coilover.

sslude

shocks are the same thing as struts. sleeves is just a way of changing your ride height without the performance, coilovers give performance and the ability to change ride height

Anubis44

alrighty, I understand this so far. A "true coilover" is a system that was designed to work together versus a set-up that contains a strut from one company and coilover sleeves from another.

But I still do not understand what a sleeve is. In a "coilover (true or not) system" does it take the place of the spring? Is that what makes it different than just having a strut and spring set-up.

slammed_93_hatch

hey dude go to the auto-x/road race forum dude not trying to be smart or anything but they have the answers there. just go back into the pages youll find the answer

blu_si

Maybe not what you're looking for, but has some valuable info. Check this site out it tells all about how different components effect a fwd car.
http://www.se-r.net/car_info/suspension_tuning.html


[Modified by blu_si, 6:15 PM 1/29/2003]

Evs-One

shocks and struts are NOT the same thing. On our Civics, we have shocks. The new Civics are runnning struts I believe. They serve the same purpose, but are designed differently. My Dad's Chevy Lumina for example, uses a strut/torsion spring rear suspension. There is a difference, but not the same.

Edit- this shows the difference between double wishbone and McPherson strut suspensions


http://autozine.kyul.net/technical_s...uspension2.htm


[Modified by Emerica, 6:22 PM 1/29/2003]

Jay-C

This would be an example of sleeves:


Spring sits on a perch that is height adjustable and the shock goes through the sleeve in the middle.

And here is an example of coilovers:


The shock/sleeve/spring already setup as one unit. The sleeve is made to work with that shock (they are mated together) vs. the other setup above where a rubber O-ring is used on the shock the make it fit OK inside the sleeve.

Someone come along and correct me where I am wrong.

slvrcivic97

Anubis44

Thank you Jay-C, you are da man! You just answered all my questions with two simple pictures! And thanks to everyone else also, you all helped a lot.
And I must say that this is by far the best honda forum site out there. So many other sites are just filled w/ nonsense and bs, but I have gained a lot of USEFUL knowledge from here.

GsR HtCh

how much do those go for. they are puurty

Jay-C

You're welcome man. I like helping people out as long as it's not too technical cause I'm ignorant when it comes to a lot of that stuff to be honest which is why I'm on here. Plus in the process of replying I normally learn something myself.

Jay-C

On http://www.jdmhondaparts.com this model for a civic is $1800...that's right I said $1800 do you think they're worth it?

Daniel

ohhhh, bow down to me! View this link, please: http://hondalife.com/modules.php?nam...rtid=10&page=4

Very helpful. 5 pages of info, but i only posted the 4th page.

GsR HtCh

not at all. im just getting some tein ss's. There only 1000 and will do fine for me. i need something better than sleeves on stock shocks.