I bought my 00 hatchback a few months ago and i really wanna start to work on my suspension.. i came down to a choice of either Ground controls with Koni yellows.. or just some basic Tein coilover setup but most likely the gc/koni setup.. money isnt really an issue, im willing to spend $600-800 and i wanna get my moneys worth.. and how would i know if i need a camber kit?

Im open to all thoughts and opinions.

 

Im fairly sure people are going to just tell you to search, which is probably a good idea, but Im also looking into this. Personally Ive done some looking arround and am pretty set on Omni full coilovers. My friend has experience with the teins, and they seem to be pretty good.

 

I've searched and asked around about brands and what not but LOTS of people have alot of different opinions..

 

Well part of that is just how people are. You could ask 10 different people to tell you what they see in a picture and easily get 10 different answers. Likewise, people are going to have differing opinions about the quality of certain suspenion products.

I think the main thing is to get a general idea about the quality of the products your looking into (seemingly easy enough to do by reading over what people have posted) and then go with what you feel will give you the intended results. If you are willing to put the money in then Im pretty sure you'll get what your after regardless (to a certain extent anyway) of where you go.

Edit: Also, ask friends who have certain suspension products for their opinion, or even to drive their car so you can form your own. No better way to get a good feel for certain shocks/springs than to ride in a car w/em on.

 

well the suspension is gonna be on a daily driven car.. i just want a nice drop with good handling not for like super hardcore AUTOX or hardcore racing..

 

Well to me if your willing to put the money in go for coilovers...search the archived content for threads like this

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1274151

I understand what you said about there not being much agreement, but I seem to find the general consensus to be go with coilovers if youve got the money to spend. Seeing as you do, Id say go for the teins. As I said, I rode on them on a 5th gen prelude (a little different than a hatchback id say ) and they get a from me.

 

I have the Koni/GC setup, worth every penny IMO.

Read this post I created when searching for a setup, it was the most informative post I had ever read on H-T:

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1068198

The people that frequent the Road Racing/Autocross forum are some of the most knowledgeable and kind out there.

 

how do you figure spring rates and what not? I really dont know what they are and they confuse me on the suspension installation and what not

 

You will have to do some good searching to find out what the spring rates are for any of the off the shelf springs (eibach pro kit, tein s-tech, etc). But generally they are far too soft for any kind of autocross or track event, but great for daily driving because they are close to stock rates. I ordered the GC race coilovers, and got to choose my rates, I went with 400lbs front and 450lbs rear. I went higher in the rear to counter the natural understeer that all front wheel drive cars have, and also added a type r rear sway bar too. Now the car handles about nuetral, which is what I was aiming for. Any of the off the shelf or stock springs have much lower rear rates than front. This is to increase understeer, because understeer is safer to the inexperienced (95%) drivers. I say inexperienced in the manner refering to pushing and controling a car at the limit, very few people have done that and have experience at it.

So I say if you don't plan to autocross/track the car, get pro kit, s-tech, etc. It will save you money and give you a comfy ride. And install it yourself, it is easier than you think and will save you a bunch of money. Otherwise just shoot some questions out there, I will be more than happy to help you find a setup to fit your needs.

 

yah im planning on just getting the ground control coilovers and koni sport yellows and installing it myself.. but i wasnt sure what else i would have to do after i get the suspension on the car besides get it aligned..

 

sounds good to me, you don't have to do a lot other than get it aligned. Just once they are on the car, get the ride the way you want it and then go to a shop for the alignment.

FYI the normal GC coilovers have lower spring rates in the rear, just like the other springs. Get the race springs, that way you can choose your spring rates and get higher or even spring rates in the rear. Also with the race coilovers you don't need a spring compressor to put them on the shock because they are shorter. I also got the upper mounts from ground control, they increase shock travel and allow you to not have to reuse the upper mounts from the stock suspension. Which allows you to just remove the whole stock shock/strut assembly in one piece and discard. Even though the GC upper mounts are $100 a pair, it was worth it to me.