I bought my prelude off of someone who had skunk 2 coilovers installed. He got them not too long before he sold me the car, since then i've driven the car about 50,000 miles .... so i 'd say somewhere between 50k and 70k miles they've been used. During last winter i slid my car into a curb messing up the front passenger shock so i plan on getting a brand new set... so my question is: can i get away with just buying new shocks and not worry about the springs or should i just get a whole new shock/spring set?

 

its actually struts not shocks and no you dont have to replace the springs, generally they do not go bad just your struts

 

Unless the spring is broken into pieces.

 

nah, they're still in one piece. Good to know since i'm already having to replace the whole passenger front suspension. something is bent making the wheel sit more toward the rear causing it to pull to the right.. I've had 2 alignments and each time the toe could not be adjusted on the right side. It caused some pretty crazy tire wear also.

 

It's your caster that's out of spec, fits both symptoms you listed. Check for a bent radius rod and/or knuckle. What are the caster readings from the alignment?

 

I think it might have been the caster i forget. I had a printout of the first alignment and noticed something was way off. I then took it back after i got new tires and i forgot to ask for the printout but it was something that couldn't be adjusted unless i replaced some parts. The guy at the shop told me i need a new LCA and knuckle on the right and a knuckle on the left. I don't see why i would need one on the left though since it's the right side i hit. To be safe im in the process of getting some used radius rods, knuckle and LCA for the right. He also said the skunk 2 coilovers were the worse thing i could put on my car for some reason....

 

yeah, caster on hondas suck as far as adjusting them. there isn't much you can do in most cases. ask for a print out, wtf. they are suppose to just give you one. you shouldn't have to ask. the knuckle on the left just sounds like he is trying to get extra money out of you. hit up a junkyard for parts. i am in the same boat as you. i hit a curb on my right side. specs are 2-4 degrees for caster. i am sitting at -.2. but you can't really tell with the naked eye. i got it fairly close by eye. but my toe was correctable. don't know why the toe can't be fixed. useless you need new tie rod ends.

 

Im getting a pretty good deal from someone who is parting out their lude so I'm replacing everything on the right side including the power steering rack cuz mine started leaking from the right side after the hit. I might just do a minor overhaul on the new rack... seals, boots... it wouldn't hurt, like i said im getting a deal on the whole set...

As for the printout, yeah, I shouldn't have to ask for one. On the first visit they gave me one without me asking but for some reason on the 2nd visit they didn't. I'm already sort of pissed off at them for other reasons and i probably won't be going back to them anymore.

Hopefully when i replace everything it should be ok. I'm also looking into getting a new set of bushings for the front and rear. The previous owner had polybushings installed at the same time as the coilovers so I think they might be due for a new set... and i wouldn't want to mix oem on the right and aftermarket on the left once i get the used parts in....