I got a 95 civic hb dropped about 2.5"-3" right now w/ dropezone(cheap but actually don't ride bad at all) coilovers and stock struts. I'm looking towards spending from around $250-$350 on some shocks. I was looking towards getting the non adjustable tokico HP shocks but heard that they don't work well with cars lowered more than 1.5"-2". Tokico illumina's are still a possibility but didn't really want to have to spend the extra money. Any suggestion's on what shocks to use with a 2.5"-3" drop would be very helpful. Thanks

 

a lot of people like koni yellows..i have them and love them just a little pricey though.

any pics of the drop?

 

Yea i got some pics here at this website (scroll down, 1st car listed...the del sol is also dropped w/ dropezone coilovers)...http://j-k-tuning.com/videos.html

 

How much is your car lowered and what coilovers or springs are you running?

 

bump

 

Bump...I know there's got to be some more peeps out there that have there car lowered 3" w/ aftermarket shocks. What brand's ride good at this height and what brand's of shock's are you using and at how much of a drop?

 

My 94cx is lowered almost 3 inches. I roll on 205/40/16 tires that are slightly smaller diameter than stock 13" tires. I drove on stock shocks for 5 years & 50k miles without any problems. I use ground control coilovers and they have pretty stiff springs (400f/250r). I recently switched to koni sports (yellows), and the difference was amazing. For what you get, they are definently a value. No shocks in the sub $1k mark comes even close to the damping capabilites of the Koni sport. These shocks can handle spirngs up to around 550 lbs/in. Lifetime warranty to the original purchaser is always a plus!!!

$500 is a great deal...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 94eg! &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">These shocks can handle spirngs up to around 550 lbs/in. </TD></TR></TABLE>

umm, I heard 600 lbs ?

 

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

umm, I heard 600 lbs ? </TD></TR></TABLE>

there is no 100% certian answer. If you search around some people feel, 550 is the limit some people think 600 is ok. I don't think koni has ever giving a specific rate

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by slammed_93_hatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

there is no 100% certian answer. If you search around some people feel, 550 is the limit some people think 600 is ok. I don't think koni has ever giving a specific rate</TD></TR></TABLE>

ok.. cuz I'm running 550 lbs front & 650 lbs rear on my civic.

 

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

ok.. cuz I'm running 550 lbs front & 650 lbs rear on my civic. </TD></TR></TABLE>

your at the limit and the shocks are REALLy struggeling to handle those rates.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by slammed_93_hatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

your at the limit and the shocks are REALLy struggeling to handle those rates.</TD></TR></TABLE>

do you work for Koni ??

 

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

do you work for Koni ??</TD></TR></TABLE>

no, some freinds of mine ran rates like those on yellows, and they could tell that the shocks weren't really working.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by slammed_93_hatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

no, some freinds of mine ran rates like those on yellows, and they could tell that the shocks weren't really working.</TD></TR></TABLE>

how can you tell ?
my car is very light, does that matter ?

 

CRX Lee (Honda-Techs's Koni rep) once told me he knew somone that used 800lb springs with stock Koni sports, and loved it (for race use). There is no "limit", it's more of a personal preference thing. He described it like this: "It's like asking someone how much salt is too much on your own food". Only you can answer that.

That really puts in perspective. Basically there is no "right" answere. It's all about what works for you. They really don't recomend going over 600lbs though...

 

What exactly governs how much rate a shock can handle. I remember PMing a member on here about his suspension set up and he was running 800lbs or so on his tokico illuminas on the rear. If nothing within a reasonable limit governs the amount a shock can handle, then it would be personal preference. It would result in a bumpy ride. Such as running higher rates than stock springs on stock shocks. So basically I see it as go with whatever quality shock you want, tokico - koni, and use whatever rate you want, that is withen reasonable limit.

That is just what my theory states and it could be completely wrong.

 

CRXLee would know best about this subject.

 

That low, the only reasonable thing to do is get custom shortened shock bodies with an aftermarket insert. But you probably don't care about handling or ride comfort. When you're that low, it's all about the look. Right?

How could it be between 2.5 and 3 inches. That's a huge variance.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by suspendedHatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">How could it be between 2.5 and 3 inches. That's a huge variance.</TD></TR></TABLE>

With coil-over sleeves, you can change it whenever you want (and I have).

You don't have to get "shortend" shocks either. If you get extended upper mounts (like ground-control), do the shock/fork mod (only works with coil-over sleeves) your shock travel problem is solved. Just make sure your spring rates will be up to the task of being that low. You will know when you hit the bump stops because it feels like the car suddenly "sits down" in a turn. It's like the suspension just stops compressing & stays put (even if you turn the wheel a little bit more). This is what your trying to avoid.

I'm currently at -3" and I think I'll be raising it back up a bit (since I scrape on speed bumps with extra people inside)...

 

Does anyone know by any chance what the spring rate for dropezone coilover's are? I never really looked into it b/c i bought them when my car was pretty much stock and just wanted my car lowered, but now i got some money wrapped up in a nice motor and would like a better suspension for ride comfort and handling.

 

As was mentioned earlier in this thread, you can't just apply a specific spring rate number and say that is the max for a valving. If you do pick a specific number and stick to it then you are fooling yourself or whomever is listening. There are way too many variables other than spring rate and valving alone when a car with a driver is going down a road or track. Driver preferences, ride quality, road quality, usage and other aspects of the car are all very important in the multi-faceted equation.

As a very general rule of thumb that I don't really like saying that much is that the 500-600+ range is within the realm for most people with Hondas on Sport dampers and much above that one might begin to consider revalving. I don't like saying it because I do know of people who are perfectly happy with their car on 800 lb springs and Sport valvings and I also know people on as low as stock springs who are very successful (especially in autocross) with a racing valving. Personally I think the 800 lb number is very high but who am I to say what someone likes on his own car is really bad (at least until I ride and chat with him)? The adjustment range of the Koni is extremely broad, generally twice as firm at max setting at they are at the min setting so there is a lot of room to work with a lot of variables based on the car and driver. All of the components and variables work together to give the effects of the suspension and handling and you just can't pick one or two numbers from this amalgam of parts and say "this is the very specific limit" unless it is simply way out of the ballpark.

I just got back from a test drive to finalize the Sport valving for the 2006 Civic Si. We developed the valving so at the minimum setting the car would have a baseline of very good balance of performance handling and ride quality on a stock spring set-up while also addressing any inherent issues we felt the car has including an initial turn-in understeer, a somewhat choppy ride over uneven surfaces and a lot of over-copying of road surface variations. Dont get me wrong, this car is lots of fun and has very sharp handling but there is certainly room for refinement especially when not limited by an OEM high volume production damper with its various design considerations. This then gives the driver the entire adjustment adjustment range up from our zero baseline to increase the firmness for their own preferred balance of handling and ride and provide a wide range of tuning for compensating for suspension upgrades like springs, wear over extended time, and handling and balance tweaks if used in competition. With the valving we selected for the car at the minimum setting, the car is very good and does what we want it to do and we found the edge where anymore begins the point of compromises. So now an individual can take them and use our baseline or tune it up from there to find where he likes it the best. I just drove it at one turn of adjustment all around (about half way into the range) and the car is very, very crisp and go-kart on smooth surfaces but can get very aggressive over bumpy surfaces. When we took it on a choppy concrete road common in local neightborhoods, at one turn it was what we felt was way too harsh and rough yet was quite livable at the min setting. Sorry to go on so long but maybe this gives a little insight into how we develop the shocks and what we target.

To the original poster, be very careful on going that low. Although the car may look very cool, you have taken away almost all of the suspension stroke as Hondas don't have an excess amount of stroke that can be taken away without affecting things. As I said above, everyone can pick his preferred set-up but this close to the mechanical limits and you need to be sure to at least make sure that you have enough bump rubber to keep from destroying the shocks or other parts. That low and you are in a very high compromise situation and risk situation so be very careful and aware of potential issues.

 

Alright...yea i understand that it is not good for the struts or shocks to be lowered as low as my car, but i'm all about the slammed look but most likely i will be raising it up a little in the near future. Thanks for the good info!

 

Yes that would help with your strut travel but it does nothing for wheel travel.

 

Once you install GC upper mounts, the limiting factor of your suspension will most likely be your upper control arm hitting the inside of the shock tower. This is why you must use a decent amount of bump stop with them. I recomend using the full lenght soft ones that come the GC upper mounts. They make bumps considerably less harsh...