hey guys, im sorry for this noob post. but i just have no clue about suspension.
what is the importance of struts? what is the significance of a camber kit? coilovers and springs? shocks? i have read the FAQs but still do not quite fully understand suspension. The reason i am asking is because i am planning on lowering my car, and im wondering what i need to do in order to lower my car correctly and have good suspension.

 

Struts and/or shocks have near the same function as part of your suspension. Not only do they act as shock absorbers to reduce harshness, they help to maintain vehicle stability by keeping the tires in good contact with the road surface.

Camber kits are aftermarket parts to allow increased adjustment of the camber angle. Some vehicles come with camber adjustment already built into them. Unfortunately, there are only a few Honda cars that are provided this from the factory. Negative camber allows for better handling in turns.

Coilovers have springs included with them. Springs are designed to return to their original shape. Compress a spring, let it go, what does it do? Goes back to its original shape. They help to keep the vehicle at a specified height. Different (higher) spring rates make it so the spring has to receive more force to get it to compress. Coilovers have threads built into their collars or threaded sleeves to allow ride height adjustment.

Lowering correctly is relative to what you're doing with the car. I'm assuming that you aren't tracking this thing, so I'd just suggest something mild, like a set of shocks designed to work with lowered suspension, and a not so aggressive drop set of springs.

 

thank you very much! i really appreciate it.

what do you suggest i use?

im thinking about getting Tein H-Tech Springs and Tokico HP Series Shocks/Struts.


Modified by hC_858 at 8:54 AM 11/8/2008

 

Your car uses shock absorbers/shocks/dampers; the name differs depending on who you talk to but most people on the boards call them shocks. On a car with a Macpherson suspension, those would be called struts.

Your car already has coilovers - a coil (spring) over a shock, but they are not height adjustable. Height Adjustable coilovers allow you to adjust the ride height by adjusting the spring perch (what the bottom of the spring sits on) by moving it up or down along the length of the shock. Another way to change ride height is to change the length of the springs themselves, either by cutting existing springs or buying shorter springs called lowering springs. Or you can get a combination of both, which is what you see with most aftermarket coilovers.

I'm not sure what FAQ's you are reading, but to walk away from one and still be asking such basic questions means that you either
a. need to read it again (carefully) or
b. find a new FAQ to read.




Modified by PIC Performance at 10:14 AM 11/8/2008