My civic is stock, I live in nyc, you can imagein the pot-holes all ova the city. question is below:

a. is it worth droppin the car 2 inches and add a full body kit

or

b. get a full lip kit and drop 2 inches.

Basically i wana be able to drive and not worry about my kit gettin toooo messed up, i know its unaviodable but I wana keep the car looking fresh as well.

let me know what anyone things, as I have tons of more questions to ask

 

i would go with choice B

 

If you can answer the question it would help alot. I have a white lx, lips kits i see on the internet come in black. would you happen to know how much the full lip kit would cost, droppin the car 2 inches and basically painting the lip kit white ...

im not sure about pricing with this ima NewBe this is the first car im modifyin

thanks again

 

price all depends on quality of products

 

Get a lip kit, it will look a lot cleaner and wouldn't be as extremely low as a body kit. Lips are ABS plastic or polyurethane which is a lot stronger than fiberglass body kit parts. If you're tight on money, I would paint it with Krylon Fusion white spray paint. It's supposed to bond well with plastics, and clear coat.

The 2" drop will more than likely need shocks as well, the stock shocks will blow over time. Check the for sale thread, I have a suspension setup for cheap (Tokico HP shocks and TEIN S-Tech springs).

If you shop around a little, you're looking at about $1,000 for all the stuff you would need: front lip, side skirts, rear lip (you can piece together a kit for like $300), shocks ($350-$500), springs ($150-$300), camber kit ($100-$200), alignment (like $75 bucks).

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by portaman03 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">get a lip kit, it will look a lot cleaner. If you're tight on money, I would paint it with Krylon Fusion white spray paint. It's supposed to bond well with plastics, and clear coat.

The 2" drop will more than likely need shocks as well, the stock shocks will blow over time.

Your looking at about $1,000 for all the stuff you would need: front lip, side skirts, rear lip, shocks, springs, camber kit, alignment.</TD></TR></TABLE>

He's looking at about $1,000 in just suspension goodies. The entire lip kit could run him another $500.

 

Edited*

If he shops around.

The only lips kits I know of that cost $500 are OEM, ABS kits can be had for about $300.

As for suspension, your options are true coilovers (if you wanna get serious suspension-wise), or a complimentary shock + spring combo, camber kit of course.

 

Thanks for the advice. I see it could cost a few dollars. I really don't mind, as this would have to be done slowly. Basically I understand I can paint the black lip kit white and add it on. The suspension I think can wait for now. Im also told there is suspension you can lower and raise yourself. I was looking into that. I know it must be way more expensive. Any ideas on that?

 

I been also lookin for M3 style rearview mirrors in white and the door panels in white .

( I have some pictures below of the stock car below, the mirrors and door panels some in black totally clash with the car)

Cant seem to find any anywhere at all. Whats done about that. Only thing i can think of is they paint them white. Is that correct. Any idea on how much a simple paint job for the mirrors and door handles would be.


Pictures of the car are in the link here
[http://civic2001.myphotoalbum.com/albums.php[/URL]

Any ideas?

 

M3 mirrors are the gay, and you can't see anything

 

Yeah, please DON'T do the M3 mirrors bud, they're a bit 1990's and more than a bit crap. And as Sujak said you can't see a great deal out of them.

The suspension you can raise and lower yourself is are called coilovers, like portaman03 said. These have a threaded section on the body of the shocker and they are adjusted (raised or lowered) by winding the adjustment "nuts" up and down the thread, giving you your differing ride height. Yes, they are more expensive.

If all you do is mostly town or city driving with the odd spirited run here and there, all you really need is a good spring and shock combo, with shocks that are designed to operate at the level that the lower spring allows thew car to sit at. OEM (your standard shockers) will blow very quickly if used with lowering springs. But if you want to ba able to lower or raise it at will and you like to give your car a good caning through the backroads you might want to consider full coilovers.

 

Thanks for the advice. I new way back lots a cars had the m3 mirror thing. i myself thought it wasnt too nice.. I seen them on some mod civics around here. and they look awful. good advice. I will not be using the M3 no thats a case close. Good lookin out

The suspension seems to be a pretty well rounded issue. I will keep asking around and see whats the best price. I'm not sure its something I want to keep maintaining if it costs that much for maintenance. Well see what happens with that.

For now I think I will buy the lip kit and paint it.. any thought on the price for painting the entire lip / the rear mirrors and the door handles? I would assume somewhere around 400. Can I do them myself? It doesn't seem to be that big of a paint job. any thoughts?

again this is the car in the link below might give u an idea of what im working with.

http://civic2001.myphotoalbum....bum01

 

No problem mate, it helps that you come in here and ask things in a decent manner, with a level of intelligence. Not a thing a lot of new members do.


As for the maintenance of the suspension, coilovers don't need to be continually maintained, the higher cost is the initial outlay for the suspension itself. I've had 3 different sets of coilovers on my last 3 cars and once they were on, all i ever did was/is generally check them over occaisionally and clean and lube the threads up to keep them fresh and make sure they can be adjusted easily if needed.

It'd be an idea to do some research of your own aswell bud, there's a lot of info to be found on HT, both here in reference to your EM2 and in the suspension forum in general. Use the SEARCH function (top right of your screen) and type in key words that relate to what you want to know. The search function on HT is pretty good. That way you can find the right set up for what you want. I would recommend you get some sort of suspension kit before doing a lot to your car though, the looks will be greatly improved and if this is your first modded car then you won't believe the handling improvement. Just be sure you go for a well known, good set up.

By all means though get the lip kit painted and put on first. If you've painted before you can have a go at it, but if you haven't it's perhaps not a good idea to try it on something that's cost you good money and is going on your car straight away - maybe buy something cheap and have a practice first. Perhaps get a body shop or a savvy friend to do it for you this time round.

I really have no idea on prices over there though bud, i'm across in England.

 

Stay away from any kind of really cheap suspension parts found on ebay. There are several ebay brands of lowering springs and sleeve coilovers that are utter garbage. Stick to the big name brands like Neuspeed and Tein and others. In this case, you get what you pay for, and suspension is definitely not something you want to cheap out on.

Oh, and when you buy big name parts, they include a decal in the box. Word to the wise, dont stick it on your car.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bioweapon &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Oh, and when you buy big name parts, they include a decal in the box. Word to the wise, dont stick it on your car. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I don't think mine looks too bad. It is the only decal i have on the car though, one on each side.

 

nice wheels

 

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

Thanks

Or is that a of disapproval...? Not that i give a crap, i'm just curious, G.

 

Lol yea that doesnt look too bad, but i mean the decal that came with my HKS exhaust is probably 30cm long and 15cm high. That would be insane to put on a car. The only sticker i really like is that little snail whose shell is a turbocharger. That is sweet.

 

nah i really mean theyre nice wheels. i dont know why i added that " " i just wanted to act cute

 

i forgot to add.... NO HOMO

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ONLYuk7thGen &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

That's cool dude, i thought that was what you meant by it. Just checking lolz </TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Curiouz_G &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i forgot to add.... NO HOMO </TD></TR></TABLE>

pmsl

 

thanksfor the help guys, il definitly use your advice

 

I had that same problem, I went with the lip kit and rims didn't drop it at all, just changed the springs and struts to performance types...