I have a 95 ej1 and its black pearl, so pretty...jk neways i do have that car and I want to reduce the body roll more and create a quicker turn in. I have koni ots shocks with gc 500# front and 400# rear. Alignment is factory ,and im on shitty tires 195/60 14. I want to go stiffer without having to revalve the shocks. With that wheel/tire setup, the fender gap is about 2 fingers up front and 2.25 fingers in the back. How much higher can I increase the springs without having to revalve?

Could my ride height be too high?

Also does keeping the shocks on full stiff wear them out quicker? I have the front set to full stiff, rear 1/2 turn from stiff.

 

Soften your shocks and go buy some real tires. The car is only as strong as the weakest link in the chain and those tires are without questiohn a very weak link. Do not even consider revalving the shocks, you don't need it and you also don't need to change your spring rates until you solve your real problems. You are doing neither the car's handling nor ride quality much any favors by having them set up so high especially with gushy tires.

Soften the fronts down at least half a turn if not a bit more. You can adjust the rears a bit based on your handling balance preference but I would expect one turn up from soft should be plenty for primarly street use. If you are thinking about reducing body roll on the street then sway bars might be a consideration but first fix that tire problem. Micheal Jordon would not play basketball wearing Kmart $5 hard plasticy kids tennis shoes but you are asking your car to do well without performance shoes that can help it grip properly to the ground. Throwing more spring rate at the car, especially if it is primarily a street car, it the wrong thing to do if the tires are poor and there is minimal sway bar (especially in the rear).

 

Crx Lee, thank you for your answers. Currently I have the shocks that stiff to see what it would feel like. I will turn them down. Here is going to be the setup for my wheels and tires even though I know it wont be optimal. 2000 civic si alloys (15x6) and I was thinking about falken ziex 512 since thats what I had before I wrecked, popped tires, bent rims etc... Do you think those could suffice or should I aim for something with a stiffer sidewall than that, or a different tire/brand altogether. I wanted to try 205/50.

 

Those are all-season tires. If you're aiming for performance go with a summer tire like the Yokohama Es100 or Kumho SPT. You live in Florida right? Does it ever go below zero there?

 

i am aiming for performance without sacrificing safety tho ..coldest it can get is about 28. i need a tire that can handle rain tho cuz it rains too much here so 205 50 ziex wont perform enough? the sidewalls are too soft?

 

Just get some Azenis, mine are about 1mm from the wear bars and they won't hydroplane unless you are doing 70+ and there is some standing water on the road. They were just fine in the rain when they had more tread, and they are still useable now. The dry grip is very very good, I'll probably never run anything else on the street.

 

You really need the azenis rt 615 or hankook ventus rs2. And make the front dampers softer. Both are pretty similar and will perform alot better than the all season tires.

 

okay thanks guys for the answers...one last question...i did turn the dampers down some, but why would u recommend having the front softer than the back...i dont want it to be bouncy at all...the fronts are 500# and the back is 400#

 

I would swap the front and rear springs. 400#f 500#r. What kind of sway bars do you run? At the very least would run yoks es100's. They are great in the rain. I plan to go back to them on my daily as soon as the rt615's finish wearing. I will keep the 615's on thre other honda though. Nothing beats a good tire.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 4potnick &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I would swap the front and rear springs. 400#f 500#r. What kind of sway bars do you run? At the very least would run yoks es100's. They are great in the rain. I plan to go back to them on my daily as soon as the rt615's finish wearing. I will keep the 615's on thre other honda though. Nothing beats a good tire.</TD></TR></TABLE>

how long do the yoks last? also i dont think i can just swap my springs bc i think they may be different lengths...but i need to double check...the reason i had the fronts stiffer is bc i was told that that would aid in body roll better since most of the weight is up front...unfortunately the sway bar setup is stock...meaning the stock ex bar and nothing in the back...i was thinking about upgrading to maybe a gsr up front and a jdm type r in the back (with reinforcement).

 

yoks can be good for bout 30k. Your problem is lack of rear sway bar. Do not do anything without a 20ishmm rear sway bar. Best upgrade you can do. I have a beaks kit for $40 shipped. brand new?

 

really i was under the impresssion that they were way more than that....if u give me a week (im broke now) ill take that..if its made for an ej1

 

do NOT go for Azenis if your roads see a lot of rain and standing water. I was nearly owned by Azenis 215 running over a huge pond at 60mph. Cadence braking saved the day ( Some reason or another ABS doesnt work, altho the front is clearly locked up even in medium braking)

Go for Kumho ecsta SPT or Yoko ES100.

 

im prolly not going the azenis route bc of the tread rating and the fact that it rains ever day almost....my car comes with a stock front sway..im def leaving that...do u think adding a slightly bigger one up front will increase turn-in?

 

I run azenis everyday in orlando. 205/50/15's and 19/60/14 on my other car. I will change back to the yok es 100 on my daily. They last double and are better in the 10x better in the rain. I have never had a problem hydroplanning azenis, but I drive like a scared schoolgirl when the roads are wet. rt615's are much better than the old rt215's in the rain.

 

now i know that the es wont hook up as good as the azenis will but will they still grip really good...and since u run both do the es have the stiff sidewall that everyone is informing me that i need

 

the yoks are ok for performance. Theya are no rt615 but they are good.