hey i drive a 97 civic coupe. and i got 205/40/16's with +40 offset and i am going to be trading in my springs for coil-overs. and i was wondering if i roll the fenders, can i get away with having the car almost sitting on the ground with at least a 3inch to 3.25inch drop and "survive" but preferably i would like the car at an even 3inch drop all around. without any problems like no u-turns etc..is this possiable? right now im riding on 205/40/17 with H&R race springs(2.5front and 2.25rear drop) with little issue's but will it be the same with a 3-3.25 drop on 16's? plz lmk what ya think thank's.

also anyone know anything about megan race coilover's? vs. Skunk2?

 

205/40-16's will be an inch smaller in diameter, which will give you 1/2" more clearance above the tire, but also will put the body 1/2" closer to the ground. That's if you changed the wheels and tires only and didn't touch the suspension. So you should have close to a 3" drop in front and nearly that in the back without even touching the suspension.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PatrickGSR94 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">205/40-16's will be an inch smaller in diameter, which will give you 1/2" more clearance above the tire, but also will put the body 1/2" closer to the ground. That's if you changed the wheels and tires only and didn't touch the suspension. So you should have close to a 3" drop in front and nearly that in the back without even touching the suspension.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Not to mention, an incorrect speedometer and odometer...

A 3" suspension drop, will require seriously stiff front rates, to avoid bottoming out, which will require appropriately valved shocks, if anything close to a reasonable ride quality is to be kept. I'd recommend Koni Yellows, and at least a 500 lbs/in front spring.

Again, thats only for a 3" suspension drop.

 

well the thing is i dont want any gap in the fender's. but wont a 195/45/15 look to small on the car? and if i run the 205/40/16's and use the skunk2 coilovers can i take it down to 3.25? and pretty much be dumped with little issues "clearance"? i just need to know how far the front bumper will be off the ground. what do ya think. cause im pretty new to the suspension "tech"..lol

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TunerN00b &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Not to mention, an incorrect speedometer and odometer...

A 3" suspension drop, will require seriously stiff front rates, to avoid bottoming out, which will require appropriately valved shocks, if anything close to a reasonable ride quality is to be kept. I'd recommend Koni Yellows, and at least a 500 lbs/in front spring.

Again, thats only for a 3" suspension drop.</TD></TR></TABLE>

well what if i run a 195/50/15? and go with 3.25? do you guys know of any good coilover's with a good rate for this drop? im looking at megan racing and skunk2 and DZ coilovers...im kinda on a budget. but how much do the yellows run?

 

in the intro of the post "i got 205/40/16's" dont actually have them yet sorry..forgot to read over my own post..lol my bad

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SOHCcivic97 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

well what if i run a 195/50/15? and go with 3.25? do you guys know of any good coilover's with a good rate for this drop? im looking at megan racing and skunk2 and DZ coilovers...im kinda on a budget. but how much do the yellows run? </TD></TR></TABLE>

195/50-15 is about the same size as the 205/40-16. You want a 195/55-15 or 205/45-16, to keep your speedometer accurate.

And since you're worried about fender gap for some reason, a smaller tire will give you a larger fender gap with the same suspension drop.

I say, get the correct sized tires, buy the stiffest suspension you think you can live with, and through a little trial and error, lower the car to the point where you start bottoming, then raise it up 1/2", get an alignment, and call it done. You're obviously worried about cosmetics more than functionality, and I think that would be the most appropriate way to get a reasonable ride while keeping your cosmetic priorities.

 

i dont see how it would create a larger gap with a smaller tire if it is dumped. but i think i'll just go with a 195/50/15 and dump it with the koni's etc.. but im not just worried about the "looks" it has to perform well to. i dont feel like having a pains in the lower half of my body all the time eaither it also has to go with my pefromance aswell. but thanks for the help bro.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SOHCcivic97 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">im not just worried about the "looks" it has to perform well to.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Then you're barking up the wrong tree.

 

it is not going to be "dumped 24/7" on a regular day yes but most of the time there will be a finger gap so i have good function out of it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SOHCcivic97 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">it is not going to be "dumped 24/7" on a regular day yes but most of the time there will be a finger gap so i have good function out of it.</TD></TR></TABLE>

It's not a good idea to go around changing your suspension height all the time. Any time the ride height changes, the car needs to be re-aligned, which is $$$

And if you change to a smaller diameter tire, think about it. If you don't change the suspension height, the smaller tire will have the tire edge closer to the center of the wheel, and farther from the fender edge. It will also put the bottom of the tire closer to the center of the wheel, but it can't be farther away from the pavement, so the body most sit closer to the ground.

As for tire size, it's not THAT big of a deal to run 195/50-15 or 205/40-16 tires. Actually 205/40-16 is even smaller than 195/50-15. But I ran with 195/50-15 on my stock wheels for several years, and the speedometer read about 5 mph fast at highway speeds, more like 2-3 mph fast at normal city speeds. So it registered a few more miles on my car than what I've actually driven. Big deal, I have nearly 260K on the odometer anyway so I'm not worried about it.

 

unless you dont care about alignment then you can drop and raise the car as you please....just make sure you get stiff suspesion

 

well im looking into k-sport's right now. 580$ shipped to the door. but eaither way 15's or 16's the car will be low. it's also good if you know someone who does alignments..lol but i see what you guys are saying tho.. but i kinda got lost with what patrick was saying about the tire's..if you dont mind re-explaining it for me so i can understand it better..im not wearing my helmet tonight..lol also pat how low was ur car when you had the 15's? any problem's? besides the speedo etc..

 

weee K-sport

 

I was probably almost 3" lowered on GC's at one point w/ 195/50-15 tires, never had a problem.

As for the tire size, take an exaggerated example.

Think of a car sitting normally on the ground on 4 tires. Now remove the tires but leave the rims bolted to the car. The wheels are much smaller diameter than the tires. So suddenly, the car is going to drop to the ground, but at the same time, there is ALOT more space between the rim edge and the fender, than there was between the tire edge and the fender.

So more fender gap, but car sits lower. Get it?

If you put larger tires than stock, you'll have less fender gap (and more likely to rub) and the car will also sit higher off the ground.

 

yea i got it.

when i lived in Panama City,FL i had a buddy who had lowing springs at a 3-3.25 drop something like that. but he first had 16's on there and then he put 15's on and he never had any fender gap with any of the 16's or 15's but even with 16's he didnt run alot..