i'm looking for a set of shocks/struts for my del sol that i will work well with H&R race springs. i've heard the wrong combination of springs/shocks can damage your shocks. i don't care to much about ride quality. i don't want anything to crazy ... just average. something that will last. thanks... appreciate it.

 

any thoughts at all?

 

What are you going to be doing with the car, and how low is it going to. Tockico, KYB AGX and Koni all make great shocks, the best being koni and tockico and agx being pretty close togther.

 

the springs drop 2.5F 2.25R ... i forgot the spring rates. just daily driving. and some spirited driving once in a while. nothing major.

 

The key is going to be running a sufficient amount of bump stop to reduce the intrernal bottoming chances of doing damage when you drop the car that far.

Regardless of the shock brand you pick, they could all suffer internal bottoming and damage with that deep a drop and hitting the right /wrong situation on the road. Unless you are changing a number of other parts regarding the geometry, you are be very much in the realm of bottoming any good shocks. Make sure that you have plenty of bump rubber there, even if it means using more that the company suggests.

 

somebody on here said i could use stock shocks even... my knowledge of suspension work is not to great. what exactly are bump rubbers?

 

they are bumpstops, they basically prevent the piston inside the shock from damaging itself when in reaches the its max

 

doesn't stiffer spring rates mean that it would be more bouncy? but the spring wouldn't give way (like sink lower)

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by idriveadelsol7 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">doesn't stiffer spring rates mean that it would be more bouncy? but the spring wouldn't give way (like sink lower)</TD></TR></TABLE>

It depends, bouncy as I see it is a result of the shock not being able to control the motion of the spring, if your shoucks can handel higher rates then you can go super stiff on springs, however then it will be super stiff on the street, With most lower spring they are progressive rates springs which mean as they compress they get sitffer, however the generally ride better when not compressed. They are deftinaly a good comprimise between having a good ride and good performance, They will work on stock shocks as long as the drop is not too low, however better shocks will control them better giving you a smoother ride.

 

i guess i'm going to run my h&r race on stocks. @ 2.5F 2.25R... if they blow, more the reason to purchased new shocks/struts.

 

i hope you like doing suspension work, cuz you'll be doing double when the stock shocks blow and you have to replace them.

 

no man get quality shocks from the start, im telling you from experience, it will jus save you headaches and labor, stock shocks suck, and they wont last

 

how long do stocks last for? i have 100k on mine right now...

 

I have about 70k on mine when I put in some Eibach pro-kits (not too much lowering and pretty soft). They blew in about 1 week. Just like bad-monkey said, I did double the work.

Now I have the same springs and Koni shocks. I'll be upgrading to ground controls soon, and since I already have the koni's I'm good.

 

i was thinking tokico illumina... koni are too expensive.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by idriveadelsol7 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i was thinking tokico illumina... koni are too expensive. </TD></TR></TABLE>

you get what you pay for when it comes to OTS shocks, but for daily driving the tokico's aren't a bad choice.

like lee said above, i'm not sure if the tokicos (or any non-shortened shock) will get long in the tooth on a 2.5" drop--all it takes is one pot hole and you might have a blown shock on your hand, or you might not. to do your best to cover your ***, take lee's advice on the bumpstops, since 2.5" is well below every shock's advertised lowering range.

 

so i'm guessing i would need stiff *** shocks... i'm new to this suspension thing.


Modified by idriveadelsol7 at 10:28 PM 5/16/2005

 

the yellows can handle more spring, have a wider adjustment range, and can give you soft like OEM or hard as a rock all in the same shock. good for daily driven race car types and for dedicated cars. good for daily drivers. just good, bottom line.

but, the illuminas are a decent shock. esp if you're just gonna be using the car on the street. they're not bad on an a/x course, but the konis are better.

the AGX are also a decent shock, similar to the tokicos in performance and quality.

 

well... what do you recommend i should get so my stuff doesn't bottom out? i just got me a pair of h&r race springs today. 2.5F 2.25R it was off a 97 civic though... i drive a del sol... so the height might be a little higher.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by idriveadelsol7 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">well... what do you recommend i should get so my stuff doesn't bottom out? i just got me a pair of h&r race springs today. 2.5F 2.25R it was off a 97 civic though... i drive a del sol... so the height might be a little higher.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Honestly I would have recommended you just get H&R Sport Springs instead.

You need to use aftermarket dampers, you might as well do nothing if you're not going to go with good dampers. Number one, you're going to blow the stock ones if they aren't blown already, and you're going ot have a poorly performing car and potentially dangerous situation if you do.

Many people don't understand what a bump rubber (bump stop) does, which is unfortunate because it is pretty critical component, especially on a lowered car where you've actually decreased the usable range fo the damper. It isn't a bad idea to do the upper shock mount extension hack, where you essentially move the mounting point of the damper's rod up to compensate for the lower ride height--which both increases your shock travel but also decreases the likelyhood of bottoming out the shock/damper.

-k

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> It isn't a bad idea to do the upper shock mount extension hack, where you essentially move the mounting point of the damper's rod up to compensate for the lower ride height--which both increases your shock travel but also decreases the likelyhood of bottoming out the shock/damper.

-k</TD></TR></TABLE>

please tell me more about this... i think i might need to do this just to be on the safe side. and i probably am going to get me a set of koni yellows... i just need to know exactly how to adjust them and where i should place the spring when i install it. like i said before... i just want them to last (not bottoming out, blow, rub...etc) i can care less about how they ride. thanks in advance... appreciate it


Modified by idriveadelsol7 at 6:24 PM 5/17/2005

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by idriveadelsol7 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">please tell me more about this... i think i might need to do this just to be on the safe side. and i probably am going to get me a set of koni yellows... i just need to know exactly how to adjust them and where i should place the spring when i install it. like i said before... i just want them to last (not bottoming out, blow, rub...etc) i can care less about how they ride. thanks in advance... appreciate it
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Well if you're getting koni yellows, they are height adjustable (not a threaded sleeve--uses a clip). Probably one if the good things to do is use one of the higher perch settings so you're not futher dropping the usable range of the damper.

But the upper shock mount hack basically is a cheap solution to help increase the usable shock travel, is pretty cheap and easy to do.

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=469485

Additionally Ground Control sells a fairly pimp set that basically does the same thing and it is relativly inexpensive.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by rotten &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Well if you're getting koni yellows, they are height adjustable (not a threaded sleeve--uses a clip). Probably one if the good things to do is use one of the higher perch settings so you're not futher dropping the usable range of the damper.

But the upper shock mount hack basically is a cheap solution to help increase the usable shock travel, is pretty cheap and easy to do.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

even if i put the spring on the highest perch on the koni yellows, should i still hack the top? or, are ALL of my problems solved buy purchasing them? (i just want them to last (not bottoming out, blow, rub...etc

 

yo email me and i got a # to get you some kyb agx for 300 new

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by idriveadelsol7 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">even if i put the spring on the highest perch on the koni yellows, should i still hack the top? or, are ALL of my problems solved buy purchasing them? (i just want them to last (not bottoming out, blow, rub...etc</TD></TR></TABLE>

If you get Koni Yellows, you should be fine on any perch height really. On the lower ones would be worth doing the top mounts for performance most so than anything.