xmr. robotox

I'm fairly new to cars, just to let you all know before you slam me. I need advice on what type of suspension setup i should look for, for my driving condisions and desires. I have a 98 Civic coupe, with 17' rims. I will never be taking it to the track, it will only be used for daily driving. I live in Phoenix, so i dont have to worry about plowing snow. My plans for the engine will not be much more than SC. So, i will have some speed, but not "going to the track" type of speed. the body of the car is going to stay with the factory bumpers and skirts. So basically i am just looking for looks, instead of performance. but i also want my car to be able to handle the supercharher. I don't care that much how the ride feels, stiff wise. So i was wondering...would springs on stock shocks be fine? or coilovers? or springs on aftermarket shocks? what about camber kits? strut bars? Also, would it be better to go to any certain type of machanic to get them installed? because i went to a goodyear tire and they told me they would install springs on my car for around $630. I thought that was very accessive considering the springs they would put on were only $130 on stock shocks...leaving $500 for installation. sounds rediculous to me, but is that reasonable? anyways, if anyone could give me advice, that would be appreciated. Also, i was wanting about a 2 inch drop, that sounds ideal. I hope this is the right thread to post this in. i read the rules first, and it sounded like it was ok. so sorry if its not! thanks.

allmotorEG-SI

Get a good coilover, like skunk 2's, and then some Knoi Yellows. That should do you prefect.

bushfreakz

well if you just looking for looks id say drop it like 2 inches .. you can get cheapo stuff on ebay.. but it wont last forever.. or you can go with more expensive brands. me personally id get the more expensive because .. suspension is an important part of staying on the road during an emergency..
if you are getting springs.. get some that will not overpower the stock shocks..
strut bars and sway bars are good for handling.. and some look rather attractive..
they are more like extras to fine tune your suspension and you also do not want over power with these as well .. cause all these parts work in unison... there is much thought you have to put into this... and much studying to do.. do some searches..

i sport agx kyb shocks and ground control springs.. they are great for spirited driving and added good looks + performance..

allmotorEG-SI

Yeah, i'm runnign the KYB's too on some of the Skunk2's I mentioned. Works better then I would ever need it for.

xmr. robotox

Thank you for the advice. I definitely don't want anything cheap from ebay that wont last long. So it sounds like coil-over sleeves and aftermarket shocks are the best way to go? so what happens when your springs over power the shocks, just out of curiousity? Also, what kind of installation prices should i expect? or is it easy to just do it yourself?

xmr. robotox

I thought i might add that im not on a small budget, but i don't want anything unnecessary.

Schmidt

There's always megan coilovers, work very well with stock struts

plusONE jboy

ground controls or skunks would be good for your setup.. be sure to go with good shocks like koni.

DexterThEG

Installation is easy, except for decompressing the stock springs, which can be dangerous if you're shooting em into a bucket. I woudn't let them charge you more than $150-200 for just struts/springs... rather, it shouldn't take more than 1.5-2 hours for any shop to do, so 150-200 is giving them a very expensive rate or some extra room for a paid bathroom break. It depends on your experience, but this is a rather easy DIY. When it comes to spring decompression (gotta have that upper pillow mount), once you have the assy's off, take them up to a shop and have them disassemble them.. like $20 procedure there.

Coilovers + AGX would be the most economical way to get what you want w/o sacrificing anything or underbuying. I have had experience with lowering springs on stock struts. That works ok but it's nice to be adjustable and that handles like ****. Also there's always the likelihood of blowing the stock struts and having to replace them later. Whatever you do, don't put any coilovers on stock struts!

xmr. robotox

Ok, excellent advice! thank you so much! I have decided from all your advice, that i am going to go with some aftermarket shocks and coil overs (for adjustability). Now, for installing..im sure i could do it on my own. I'll have to decide on that though. maybe i'll just wait and see if i make some friends that are into cars, and have experiance with this. thanks again!

mwieczorek43

For joyride-only purposes Id say, get Ground Control CO's, and Tokico Blues.
Great for daly driving, and also has enough for the occasional high-speed pursuit.
good luck

allmotorEG-SI

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Civiapt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Ok, excellent advice! thank you so much! I have decided from all your advice, that i am going to go with some aftermarket shocks and coil overs (for adjustability). Now, for installing..im sure i could do it on my own. I'll have to decide on that though. maybe i'll just wait and see if i make some friends that are into cars, and have experiance with this. thanks again! </TD></TR></TABLE>

If your even just slightly mechanicaly minded then it won't be a problem. Its a very simple thing to do. On my 94 hatch it was just 2 bolts up top and one at the bottom for evey side. The hardest part is just opening up the suspension in the front to remove the strut assembly and getting the bolt out of the LCA in the rear. But otherwise its a peice of cake.

xmr. robotox

I definitely slightly mechanicaly minded. So i'll take your word that it is fairly easy to do. Does anyone know of a good step by step write up on this? i'll do some searching either way. thanks!

DexterThEG

any haynes manual should have ample info on what to do. Once you do so little as see it being done, you'll know how to do it. I'd like to reiterate the difficulty of that rear lower strut mount bolt: they can be a bitch and many times break! be prepared to handle cutting the old strut away from the LCA (lower control arm)