So here's the situation guys, I have an 01' Accord LX and I want to lower the car around 2.25 in the rear and 2.5 in the front. Now I have considered two options, one being KONI Yellows with Neuspeed springs. This would probably be the most practical thing for me to do, since my funds are limited. I'll probably need to get a new camber kit with whatever I do anyways. The more pricey option that I have looked into is a set of TEIN Basic Coilovers, which I'm more enthusiastic about. I figured with the KONI's, springs, and camber kit I'll be looking at $750 or so when everything's installed and what not. The TEIN set-up would probably be closer to 1k, which I'm willing to spend if there's a considerable difference. So what would you guys recommend? Right now I have aboue $500 saved up for this and after the suspension's said and done I'm going to invest in some ADR GT Sports. I'm also contemplating on what size to get, since I know 17's would probably look the best, I do think I could pull off 15's without too much of a gap and not lose any acceleration. Any suggestions/recommendations are welcomed....

 

I'm also considering the Ground Control coilover and KONI yellow combo.

 

Well, it seems you're pretty close to being able to buy the Konis. Go ahead and purchase those (you won't regret their quality or thier customer satisfaction) and this way, you can still decide on what kind of springs to get. I went the Koni/GC route and my Civic and don't regret it one bit.

So, if you want to gather the parts, part by part, get the Konis and start saving again for some GC, Eibach, H&R, or other high quality spring.

Also, you need to specify what you're going to use the car for (daily drive, autocross, etc).

BTW, for an Accord, 17s would probably work best for looks and rubber options, but some 18s look pretty bad ***!

Latez,

Paul

 

Tein Basics are crap. They in no way compare to a Koni/spring set up. You're talking about the best dampers you can get without going over the top with Penske or Motons vs. a JDM Bling coilover that offers you nothing over half the crap available today. Get the Konis and be happy. As for springs, whatever floats your boat if it's a street car. Eibach & H&R would probably be who I looked at for springs. Ground Controls or Skunk2 (much stiffer) would be who i considered for coilover sleeves.

 

so you're saying that a koni combo when compared to TEIN basics are better? Do you think GC coilovers with KONI yellows be satisfying? I've tried looking for camber kits and I really don't know how much and what company I should go with. Also, how big of a gap would you guys expect with 15's if i lower the car 2.25 in the back and 2.5 in the front? thanks

 

Where would you guys recommend I look for prices? I usually look on ebay for a general idea of price, however I did see KONI yellows for around $550 or a bit less.

 

Koni/GC combo is probably the most popular suspension being run by amateur racers. I'd say it'd be more than satisfying. As for a camber kit, it's not necessary in my opinion. The whole camber = tire wear issue is a myth. Camber will cause 5-10% MAX tire wear. TOE is what wears your tires out. I run 2.5-3.5 negative camber on my cars for the past 3 years and never have issues with tire wear. I still get 20k miles or so on 712s, Azenis, or AVS ES100s which is very good for me (23k miles is the most I've ever gotten out of a set of tires whether the car was stock or modified). So, forget the camber kit for now. Just install the suspension & have it aligned. I'd also recommend calling Ground Control directly to order them if that's the way you want to go. They do custom spring rates for no extra charge and are very knowledgeable about Honda setups. They can recommend a good spring rate setup for you depending on how you drive and what you're going to use the car for.

 

I see that im a little late, but i was wondering how the ride quality is of the Koni/GC set up compared to stock, or even the TEIN Basic's? Since the Koni/GC is a good amateur race set up i would assume there must be some sacrifice on the street. How well does the KYB/GC combo fair up to the koni's in ride quality and performace? Are the Koni's adjustable?

I have heard the Basic's are a good street coil over and are fairly comfortable, but do not perform as well on the track due to the soft rates. I also feel they are overpriced.

I am leaning towards the GC's with koni's or KYB's for my set-up. I do not plan to get a camber kit because i am going to drop around 1.5 and i believe its not neccesary. I have a stock 96 GS-R and want an improvement in performance over stock but do not want to loosen any fillings with my new susp.. I know that tire's have more than anything to do with ride quality so ride quality isnt my #1 concern when buying a susp. I'm still undecided on what to do for rims/tires as well. I'm either goin 17/215/40 or 16/205/45, in either Rota subzs,grids or C8s.

As dave said, i'm pretty sure u won't need a camber kit. If u do get one and drop the car 2.5 and get those 17s then i think u will probaly have some rubbing issues.I have heard the negative camber helps tuck the larger wheels in the fender more. It also depends on what tire ur running. Try to keep the wheel diameter as close to stock as possible. Hope i've been some help.

Sorry for jacking the thread

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Dave421 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Koni/GC combo is probably the most popular suspension being run by amateur racers. I'd say it'd be more than satisfying. As for a camber kit, it's not necessary in my opinion. The whole camber = tire wear issue is a myth. Camber will cause 5-10% MAX tire wear. TOE is what wears your tires out. I run 2.5-3.5 negative camber on my cars for the past 3 years and never have issues with tire wear. I still get 20k miles or so on 712s, Azenis, or AVS ES100s which is very good for me (23k miles is the most I've ever gotten out of a set of tires whether the car was stock or modified). So, forget the camber kit for now. Just install the suspension & have it aligned. I'd also recommend calling Ground Control directly to order them if that's the way you want to go. They do custom spring rates for no extra charge and are very knowledgeable about Honda setups. They can recommend a good spring rate setup for you depending on how you drive and what you're going to use the car for.</TD></TR></TABLE>

exactly. i agree with this post 10000000%.

definitely call ground control direct. they'll help you out with spring rates, and you can be sure to get the correct hardware for use with koni yellows (VERY IMPORTANT!!!).

as far as the konis go, they're pricey, but i believe robear racing had the best prices when i bought mine. check the sponsor section for deals on them.

also, the dampers on the tein basics are crap.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BETNCORT &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I see that im a little late, but i was wondering how the ride quality is of the Koni/GC set up compared to stock, or even the TEIN Basic's? Since the Koni/GC is a good amateur race set up i would assume there must be some sacrifice on the street. How well does the KYB/GC combo fair up to the koni's in ride quality and performace? Are the Koni's adjustable?

I have heard the Basic's are a good street coil over and are fairly comfortable, but do not perform as well on the track due to the soft rates. I also feel they are overpriced.

I am leaning towards the GC's with koni's or KYB's for my set-up. I do not plan to get a camber kit because i am going to drop around 1.5 and i believe its not neccesary. I have a stock 96 GS-R and want an improvement in performance over stock but do not want to loosen any fillings with my new susp.. I know that tire's have more than anything to do with ride quality so ride quality isnt my #1 concern when buying a susp. I'm still undecided on what to do for rims/tires as well. I'm either goin 17/215/40 or 16/205/45, in either Rota subzs,grids or C8s.

Sorry for jacking the thread </TD></TR></TABLE>

the beauty of GCKoni is that you don't have to make any sacrifices that you don't want to make. The custom spring rates at no extra charge makes it ideal for the club racer that needs 1000f/1400R, and for the daily driver/enthusiast that wants 250f/300r. Since you fall into the latter category, you'd probably get somethign well within the range of Koni Yellow's damping/ride ht. allowances, which means you wouldn't have to get them revalved and shortened (which is what amateur racers do to accomdate the high spring rates (600+) and low ride heights (more than 1.5" drop according to koni's OEM specs).

the KYB's could definitely handle mild spring rates in the neighborhood of 300#/in^2, and i hear good things from people who don't expect too much from their shock. however, my konis easily damp much more spring (450f/550r) and the ride is very comfortable even with low profile tires and some chewed up pavement. If you want any sort of performance above and beyond what's required from your daily commute, i think the koni's are the only choice. since you have indicated that you want an increase in performance, you could probably run something much stiffer than OEM springrates, get the konis, and not worry about vibrating your teeth right out of your gums.

good luck.

 

thxs. Ya i do want high performance but my car is by no means a weekend warrior or track car. I just want high perf. for the street. Koni's sound perfect for me with some softer spring rates on the GC's. I was concerned if i went with 17/215/40 and the GC/Koni's then the combo would really affect my daily driving for the worse. you have cleared things up for me tho.

What rim/tire combo are you using? is the 250f/300r spring rate the most comon with that combo? You think that spring rate would satisfy my needs?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Corruption &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Where would you guys recommend I look for prices? I usually look on ebay for a general idea of price, however I did see KONI yellows for around $550 or a bit less.</TD></TR></TABLE>

koni and GC for 809 shipped from No limit is where I got mine.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BETNCORT &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">thxs. Ya i do want high performance but my car is by no means a weekend warrior or track car. I just want high perf. for the street. Koni's sound perfect for me with some softer spring rates on the GC's. I was concerned if i went with 17/215/40 and the GC/Koni's then the combo would really affect my daily driving for the worse. you have cleared things up for me tho.

What rim/tire combo are you using? is the 250f/300r spring rate the most comon with that combo? You think that spring rate would satisfy my needs?</TD></TR></TABLE>

i'm on 215/40/17 kumho's and it's not bad at all. it depends on what car it's going on, but 250/300 sounds reasonable. give the guys at ground control a call and they can give some pretty good suggestions as far as spring rates go, but it's hard to say since it's very dependent on subjective preferences. still i think the 300 neighborhood would be pretty comfortable.

 

ya sounds good. Definitely the suspension im going with, im not purchasing it now but will be in the next couple months or so. Its going on my 96 GS-R and i know the proper size of tire to use with 17s is 205/40 but id prefer to use a 215/40 tire for just that little extra grip and tire. I see you have a lude. What size of rim/tire do they come with stock?

 

1k is a pretty penny to spend on suspension, however my car is in exceptional condition and I'm considering FI or an engine swap in the future. How long should I expect the KONI/GC combo to last if I take care of the car like I do now (I baby it)? 4-5 years?

 

Warning - watch out going too low with OTS Konis (or any other damper designed to run at stock height) You really start risking bottoming out frequently and blowing shocks if you do a big drop and stay with typical street comfortable spring rates. I think 2.5" is pushing it if you are going to have spring rates below 500 (and going above 500 can be hard too rough on the street for some).

Maybe some other people in this forum can make suggestions on how low you can go safely.

 

lol, my friend is dropped 3" on the front and rear and he doesn't bottom out too frequently, I have another friend who has a similar set-up and doesn't have any problems. We live on rural roads which are basically the worse roads you could imagine, so I don't think a range of 2.25-2.5 in the front and 2.00-2.25 in the back would be too much of a risk.