ej8_dave

I have a 99 civic and it is a daily driver, i would like to know the pros and cons of the koni yellows and tokico illuminas and would also like to know any spring combo that would be a good match up with either one , im also thinking about taking the car to the track in the future

Libertariat

either shock is a fantastic upgrade. Can't go wrong with either.

Few drivers can out drive either, so don't worry about that.

The koni's have the advantage of progressive damping and being capable of re-valving for custom setup in the future.

The tried and true combo across this website is Koni Yellows and Ground control Coilovers. The ground controls are popular because you can order them with custom progressive spring rates.

If you plan on getting even semi-serious about tracking the car, I would go for the Koni's and Ground control coilovers. The setup new runs for about $750 in our marketplace.

SOHCejcivic

exactly. koni's/gc's are a damn good setup.

ej8_dave

thanks for the input, i am starting to lean toward the koni yellows with the ground control. I was wondering what aftermarket suspension you are using, if you have one.

Libertariat

Nah, I've got the stock suspension. But If/when I start modifying my car I'm definitely going with koni's. I might not go with ground controls, but I'll be getting some stiff progressive springs just at the height I want.

ej8_dave

what amount of drop would you recommend, because i have been told that one inch is a good drop

instrument

illuminas don't even compare to koni yellows, i've gone through a lot of cars and bought a lot of different suspension components, koni yellow's are my fave.

you can buy multiple sets of springs from gc for the same setup at different spring rates, it really is great.

there is no "good drop" thats why you buy adjustable, to determine the proper balance for your driving, or for most people the appearance.

ej8_dave

thanks for the input, i guess im going with the koni yellows and ground controls

HybridEKHatch

if your going to auto x you might want to have a full coil over. but if your going with the i would go with kyb agx and ground control. i have them and its comfortable and so does a buddy of mine and we enjoy them

danscompbiker90

go with the koni's with ground control. my friend had the same setup in his last car and the ride was mint i couldn't feel a difference from the stock height to 4 inches off the ground

B serious

iTrader: (1)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HybridEKHatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if your going to auto x you might want to have a full coil over. but if your going with the i would go with kyb agx and ground control. i have them and its comfortable and so does a buddy of mine and we enjoy them </TD></TR></TABLE>

Full coilovers in the koni/gc price range dont really have any advantage over the Koni yellows and GC setup. Full coilovers that cost $750-1200 usually suck really bad. Really really bad. Plus, you can get GCs in whatever rate you want pretty much. The konis are adjustable. It's like a full coilover, just cheaper.

The full coilovers that are actually nicer than the Koni/GC setup are EXPENSIVE!! For example, I just bought a set of KW V3s. They retail at $2300. I didn't pay anywhere near that...but that may not be the case for everyone. A lot of the time, people pay retail. Suckers

OP: A 1'' drop should be just fine. I would go lower, personally, since the 92-00 civics have a double wishbone suspension and EXCELLENT suspension travel. Just play around with ride heights and alignment specs till you get the combination of ride, looks, and performance you can be most happy about. You probably know that a lot of suspension tuning has to do with matching the car to your driving style.


Modified by B serious at 2:06 PM 1/14/2008

hades

+1 on the Konis recommendation, Koni and Bilstein are about the only shock in a reasonable price range that have any sort of consistent damping characteristics (from shock to shock and with in the low speed damping curve - i.e. the part you care about when it comes to handling).

also +1 on the full coil overs in the $750 - $1200 range suck. Just a fact of life... if you want full coil overs that outperform a Koni or Bilstein with sleeves you'll have to pay, pay, and pay some more.

The adjustable sleeves will let you adjust your ride height depending on what you want. For the track you need *linear* rate springs - If you're going to street drive start at the softer end (i.e. 500lb/in) and maybe get stiffer springs as you tune the suspension. Spring rates are discussion unto themselves... I chimed in on this thread with my opinion on spring rates once, so, I'm not going to retype all of it: https://honda-tech.com/zero...age=2

B serious

iTrader: (1)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hades &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">+1 on the Konis recommendation, Koni and Bilstein are about the only shock in a reasonable price range that have any sort of consistent damping characteristics (from shock to shock and with in the low speed damping curve - i.e. the part you care about when it comes to handling).

also +1 on the full coil overs in the $750 - $1200 range suck. Just a fact of life... if you want full coil overs that outperform a Koni or Bilstein with sleeves you'll have to pay, pay, and pay some more.

The adjustable sleeves will let you adjust your ride height depending on what you want. For the track you need *linear* rate springs - If you're going to street drive start at the softer end (i.e. 500lb/in) and maybe get stiffer springs as you tune the suspension. Spring rates are discussion unto themselves... I chimed in on this thread with my opinion on spring rates once, so, I'm not going to retype all of it: https://honda-tech.com/zero...age=2</TD></TR></TABLE>

Spring rates are a tricky beast. To say that you just need stiff springs for the track is an incorrect statement, though. There's plenty of bumpy tracks where a slightly softer spring would be faster. Gingerman im Michigan, for example. Bumpy bumpy bumpy. Not that it's bad...it adds character. But I think for someone who isn't driving a race car, a good, "middle ground" type of spring setup should work much better than just real soft or real stiff.

I think the 500lb range is pretty good. I used 350/450 on my EK and it worked amazingly well. Street driving as well as road race. I forgot what I used last season on my S2000..but this season, I'm trying 550/550.

If you have the luxury for fitting your car with soft springs and then hard springs depending on conditions, you can have the best of all worlds...but for real world ***** like myself, a happy medium is as good as it gets.

Plus, I'm guessing this guy's car is a street car first and a track car second. I had a lot of luck with 350/450 on my vehiculars. But driving style, types of terrain raced on, tires, alignment, will all be things to take into consideration.

There's really no generic answer...just reccomendations. The OP's gotta find out for himself.

Libertariat

^

Yes, for a REAL race car spring rates are often changed on a track by track basis.

hades

Not to jump on the "B serious is entirely correct" band wagon too much, but both posts after mine (B serious and ek forever guy) are *entirely* correct - spring rates are something that have to be evaluated on a case by case basis - car/driver/track, etc. there is no panacea.

When it comes to really high performance suspension setup (the kind that wins races) the best anyone in this thread can do is provide a rough opinion and the driver will have to decide/experiment for themselves...