alrite, i'm 99.9% sure i will be buying some koni yellows and some ground control coilovers for my 97 civic coupe. i just have a few things i was unsure about, and couldn't find in any of the posts i searched for .. so here are some of the things i'd like to clear up before i spend $900 doll4Z

1. i read that some people talk about ordering "spring rates", aren't the spring rates of the shocks just adjusted by the **** at the top? if not, wtf are they talking about
2. i want to use my car as a daily driver, but i would also like to possbily autox this summer, what would be the best setting for me to put this setup on?
3. can i adjust the stiffness while the car is on the ground, or do i need to lift it up?
4. i don't want my car to be slammed, i just want to barely tuck my 16's(maybe 2-2.5"), do i need tophats?
5. do i need to cut the bumpstops in half?
6. to drive everyday on the koni/gc set up bearable? i dont want bounce, i just want a stiff ride, but nothing totally rediculous

i know i'm asking a lot, but i really need to clear these things up, i'd really appreciate it if you guys could answer what you can

thx in advance

 

1) Spring rates refer to how much weight it takes to compress the spring a certain distance ... completely different from the dampening of the shock ... basically the stiffness of the spring ... off the shelf rates are pre-selected for your vehicle, and are probably the best combination of comfort and performance

2) For this kind of use, off the shelf spring rates should be fine ... Don't worry about the dampening of the shock, that can be adjusted quite easily for auto x or daily driving.

3) You can adjust the dampening of the shocks with the car on the ground, in a matter of a few minutes ... you just need to open the hood/ plastic panels in the hatch area.

4) Depending on the spring rates you choose, you may want to look into extended top mounts for the front ( they are sold in pairs) ... a higher spring rate will allow you to go lower with less travel and not bottom out as frequently ... with stock rates and tucked front tires, you may want to invest in a set ... the rears should not be at all necessary.

5) Yes, the bumpstops need to be cut in half, but ground control provides clear instructions with pictures, and it takes about 10 seconds to cut through one with a hacksaw

6) Once again, it depends on the spring rates you choose, how low you are, and how you have the shocks adjusted. I can't tell you how they ride, because I'm waiting on a new set of lca's before I can get my car back on the ground ( I just installed my koni/gc this past weekend). However, from what I've heard you cannot go wrong with this set-up

As a word of advice, if your car is 10+ years old, strongly consider investing in a new set of rear lower control arms, and lca bolts ... the bolts are often quite frozen and literally impossible to remove

Best of luck

 

1. Spring rates are not the **** at the top to adjust stiffness. The damper setting is the **** that you are talking about and that does adjust your rides stiffness.
Basically spring rate is how much load the spring takes in lbs/in. The higher the number, the more force is required to compress the spring.

2. There really is no way to figure out what spring rates you want. Searching is your best bet to compare what people have and how they liked it.
I'm waiting right now to get my setup and based on my comparisons, questions, searching and more searching and feel pretty confident with my decision but I won't know until they are installed and configured

3. I'm pretty sure you can adjust the stiffness of the shock when on the ground but I honestly don't know for sure so maybe someone wants to add in on that.

4. Top hats allow you to lower the car more and they look hawt I found out from ground control that civics and integra's do not have any sort of extended top hat. The design is flatter to say the 92+ Preludes which is why ground control doesn't sell them for those cars

5. I asked this question to myself a lot and thought that not cutting them would be safer but I believe this to be wrong just from reading a lot about it here. If you are going to drop your car then cutting the bumpstops will allow the shock to travel that much further before it hits that bumpstop and bottoming out your shock.

6. I cannot answer this question because I have never experienced a ride in them. I also didn't buy GC/Koni thinking that I will have a shitty ride as I'm sure you know this is not weak equipment. It really all depends on how much research you can do finding out what good rates are for your car and what you think is most comfortable for yourself.

There is a ton of good info on this site and people willing to help. I've also had a lot of questions that were answered which is always great.

Now I don't pretend to know it all because I don't. If anything I am a true greenhorn as far as research in suspension goes. I am pretty sure though that my answers are accurate but if anyone wants to correct me, please do so.

Hope this helps....now go search away

damn you DHutch, beat me to it

 

thanks a lot for the advice guys, you really cleared up a lot for me

i figured all gc coilovers had the same spring rates, but i guess this is just one more pain in the *** to research in order to get the best performance out of it

and i dont know much about tophats, but im assuming they take about an inch off of the shock by letting it sit further up in the wheel well.. am i correct?


edit: also, what are some decent lca's that i can buy that wont cost me a fortune? and will they come with all the new bolts i need? .. thanks again

 

Good info, I was thinking of about the same questions as the OP just a few moments ago..subscribed

 

You could always call Ground Control and ask them what they think the best spring rates for your car and uses are.
The top hats will basically allow you to lower the car and not worry about bottoming out as much as if you were to use stock top hats. It's safer but not needed if your not dumping the car. There is more to it than that but I don't know a whole lot about top hats so maybe someone else can add to this.

 

i called them today .. the guy just recommended their ots ones i belive .. i think i am going to go with 450f/400r tho ..

i was also going to get them 7" all around so that i could switch the 450 to the rear if i want .. do you think it is smart to do that .. or should i get the 7" and 8" and just choose what i definately want for the spring rate

 

As far as the spring length goes, that's pretty much your call. Keep in mind, though, that if you do decide you want to upgrade only the springs, it is not that expensive to do so.

For the LCA's, your best bet is actually going to be OEM. That being said, if the going rate for a set of genuine honda rear lower control arms is too much to stomach, or you want the look of an aftermarket LCA if you're going to spend the money, Function 7 ($230) would probably be the best aftermarket replacement available. For a little less money, the new generation skunk2 and omnipower sets (about $180) appear to be pretty decent, and offer polyurethane bushings as well as the function 7. You probably want to stay away from aftermarket sets with rubber bushings, such as megan racing, blox, ksport etc... Although the $100 price tag is tempting, many people have complained about the bushings tearing in a matter of months, or even a few track days.

Basically, you get what you pay for. For a daily driver, a cheap set might do just fine. Personally, I ordered the new skunk2 with polyurethane bushings for my gsr. After spending all week trying to get the rear LCA bolts out, I don't want to have to be down there again for a while .

Any set of OEM or aftermarket LCA's your going to find will have new bushings alread pressed in place, however, they do not come with bolts. I would recommend getting the two bolts that go through the rear shock/LCA from the dealer (mine were $8 a peice from acura ). These are very likely to shear off and make you cut them out. The other bolts should come out fine with some PB blaster, heat, and persuasion from a BFH or impact.

Good luck

 

You may also want to check out this thread for more LCA info/opinions:

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1924491

 

I don't believe the spring rates are too big of a deal, as the koni yellow have height adjustability, and you GC will give have adjustablility also... But if you get custom, 7 inch springs would be optimum if you want to do the front rear switch.

 

the guy at gc said the ride height might get f'ed up with having 7" in the front and the back, and he said it just might be better to get 8" because the engine is in the front and everything .. i dunno i might just go w/ the 8" and 7" just to be safe


but back to the lca's .. my lca's are fine .. why would i need to buy new ones? if anything can't i just buy new bushings and bolts??

 

Well I'm not saying it's a must, and I'm sure they're fine now but ...

Since your car is as old as it is, and since it has probably seen some winters in PA, the bolts are more than likely going to be frozen in the bushing, and will require cutting both the bolts and the bushing to get the shocks off.

You can buy new bolts, but it is very impractical to buy new bushings.

If your skeptical, go ahead and do the install first ... if you need them ... then order some

 

yea .. on my 95 civic i didnt have a problem w/ the bolts, they came out, but the second time i took them off.. one snapped .. so i might buy 2 bolts just incase i get f'ed during the install

 

what i want to know about the koni yellows is the warranty. I hear things here and there but whats the real deal on there warranty? I'm running GC's with kyb agx on my ej8, which rides great. The agx's warranty is only good if your car is lowered 1.5inches or higher. (correct me if i'm wrong on the ride height) As for the koni's is it basically once they go out you just get them replaced? i'm just confused about it? I'm planning on getting the konis in the near future so just trying to get some info straight before i buy them...sorry for stealing your post pjr710...haha...i'm sure your ride will be bad *** forsure...


Modified by bmoua at 12:09 AM 4/12/2007

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bmoua &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">what i want to know about the koni yellows is the warranty. I hear things here and there but whats the real deal on there warranty? I'm running GC's with kyb agx on my ej8, which rides great. The agx's warranty only is good if your car is lowered 1.5inches or higher. (correct me if i'm wrong on the ride height) As for the koni's is it basically once they go out you just get them replaced? i'm just confused about it? I'm planning on getting the konis in the near future so just trying to get some info straight before i buy them...sorry for stealing your post pjr710...haha...i'm sure your ride will be bad *** forsure...</TD></TR></TABLE>

that is interesting, i have no idea what their warranty is like, i would also like to know

i mean .. can i slam my car, and put to stiff of springs on it and blow my shocks and have them replaced like that?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by pjr710 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

that is interesting, i have no idea what their warranty is like, i would also like to know

i mean .. can i slam my car, and put to stiff of springs on it and blow my shocks and have them replaced like that?</TD></TR></TABLE>

exactly bro haha...cuz if thats the case koni FTW....

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by pjr710 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
i mean .. can i slam my car, and put to stiff of springs on it and blow my shocks and have them replaced like that?</TD></TR></TABLE>


Here are some FAQs http://www.koni-na.com/faq.cfm and here is the actual warranty statement and process http://www.koni-na.com/warranty.cfm

In a nutshell, if the failure is the fault of the shock itself (defect in materials or workmanship, a problem cause by its own reason and not an outside reason) then it is covered under warranty to the original purchaser for a street car that they were designed for. If the failure is caused by an outside force (installation problem, road impact, too low causing bottoming, etc), then it is not covered under warranty. We guarantee that the shock was made right and would last for what it was designed to do. We can't guarantee that you can't break it. Pretty simple. Unlike many other shock companies, there is no amount of lowering that automatically voids the warranty. Ride height does not void the warranty, we will look at the root cause of the problem and see if it was caused by an internal issue (warranty) or an external issue (no warranty).

 

Hadn't really read through the Koni warranty, this is interesting, under reason warranty will become void

• On any vehicle that has been used off-road, for racing or for
any other driving competition.