Im have a completely stock 91 civic SI w/ 130K miles and I want better handling. Its a commuter car but might also see autox occasionally. My budget is $500.

The car is not ragged out so the stock springs seem to be doing a good job still, probably better than the shocks at this point.

I was thinking about adding Koni Yellows and lowering the perches on the stock springs. Next I was thinking about putting wider low profile tires to improve cornering response.

or

Ground control coilovers with the stock shocks. From my understanding they make the basic ones to work with stock shocks. Shock performance at this point is unknown. I have the ability to lower the car even lower this way to improve handling. Plus the adding the lower profile tires to improve response.

or

I could just buy the skunk2 full coil over set up that just came out. Not too many reviews I have seen on them though so I would be kind of just taking a guess on this set up.

 

i'd say new/used sk2 coilovers (8k/6k rates) with illuminas.

 

Save a couple of more weeks and get the koni yellows/gc. I've had various set-ups, and imo this was my favorite. I had illuminas on gc as well, and they were good also.

 

x2 koni/gc

Its going on my next civic. I have already tried KSport(good performance bad damping).

 

The single most important factor in handling is the tires, PERIOD. I'd go for better tires (compound of the tire is much more important than profile or width, so make sure you pick the right tire first, upsizing in diameter or size is secondary) before I do anything else. If budget allows, get some new shocks, considering your criteria (budget and usage), I think some new shocks (not necessarily adjustable ones) will be fine.

 

imo there's a difference between handling and gripping. For example, a stock 1992 Honda Civic with Toyo RA1's might grip well, but still handle like crap. It will be rolling around every corner, the steering will be slow, and the car will still take long to react to inputs.

However, if you put an S2000 on all season trash like Falken Ziex's, it will still handle great, but won't grip as well.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by alexisthemovie &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">imo there's a difference between handling and gripping. For example, a stock 1992 Honda Civic with Toyo RA1's might grip well, but still handle like crap. It will be rolling around every corner, the steering will be slow, and the car will still take long to react to inputs.

However, if you put an S2000 on all season trash like Falken Ziex's, it will still handle great, but won't grip as well.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Interesting post. I didn't think of it that way, but I certainly see your point. Since the OP brought tires up, I still think he should at least get decent street tires (with the right tires resonse will also be better), followed up with newer/better shocks. In other words, I don't think he should forsake tires completely (since his budget is limited).

 

I'd go with option #1. You can run around with the Konis and stock springs (or even find some used Eibach pro-kit springs) and some good tires. Then when you have more cash you can upgrade to some GCs and you're all set.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by alexisthemovie &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">imo there's a difference between handling and gripping. For example, a stock 1992 Honda Civic with Toyo RA1's might grip well, but still handle like crap. It will be rolling around every corner, the steering will be slow, and the car will still take long to react to inputs.

However, if you put an S2000 on all season trash like Falken Ziex's, it will still handle great, but won't grip as well.</TD></TR></TABLE>

A stock Civic will handle poorly because it is a stock Civic. However, it will handle much better if you give it more grip, that is why tires are the most important part of the suspension.

Tires are the final point of interaction between the car/driver system and it's environment. No matter how rigid the chassis is, how well setup your alignment and spring rates and damping is, if your tires are bad, the car will not handle well.

See how well the S2000 does in the snow with summer tires. Sure, it won't grip, but it handles great right?

 

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

A stock Civic will handle poorly because it is a stock Civic. However, it will handle much better if you give it more grip, that is why tires are the most important part of the suspension.

Tires are the final point of interaction between the car/driver system and it's environment. No matter how rigid the chassis is, how well setup your alignment and spring rates and damping is, if your tires are bad, the car will not handle well.

See how well the S2000 does in the snow with summer tires. Sure, it won't grip, but it handles great right? </TD></TR></TABLE>

I vote tires too!