I have a 97 civic ex, the first thing I did to it was install new front brakes and cross drilled rotors and installed some 17" ray wheels, the ride has gotten a little harder but tolerible, my next mod will be to lower it some. I am real close to buying the koni ground control package. Will this improve my ride or make it harder? Im only going to lower it about 1.5" or maybe 2" no more than that due to chicago roads and I drive 100 miles a day, so any advice is appreciated!!

 

hey man welcome to the site, nice to see a fellow Chicagoan. first thing not to knock your ride but 17's are the reason your ride sucks, and if you lower the car even if you spend thousands on it is only going to get worse. As for the koni's, they are your best bet for keeping the ride quality as close to stock as possible. If you really want to make a difference I would trade down a size to 16's or even 15's (I think 16's look the best) then drop the car down on koni yellows and a good set of springs. best of luck man!

just watch those pot holes if you lower it haha

 

well I dont think it rides that bad, im on the highway most of the time, its the city streets that suck, I just want to be sure my ride isnt worse with the gc koni combo

 

17's are to big for a honda man loose them for some 15-16s with some good tires and your car will ride pretty damn good.
koni and gc is great!!

 

Why do you think they are to big? they dont rub or anything, on the hw they are fine, just with the rough roads of chicago the ride can get a little choppy, plus I love my wheels they look great, just the grab between the fender and tire looks a little dumb

 

You don't have much tires, that's why. Max I'd go with are 16's. Ride quality will depend on what spring rates you get

 

well i got some 16's on my car. what are the best springs for me to get but affordable? skunk2? i want springs were i can keep my stock height.

 

^ H&R OE sports would be best. You can run your stock shocks with those, they barely lower your car. Skunk2 will drop your car like 2" +

 

awesome. how much do they run? and were can i get some?

 

im not saying the look bad, most look great.
there just isnt a lot of tire there.
hell most shops will sell h&r springs and i willl add they ride very good.
i saw them for around 150-200
this is just ebay....http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/H-R-O...Q5fAccessories

 

How thick are your tires? are they low pros? if so that might be your problem, 215/35/17, 215/40/17 they don't have enough rubber on them so you gonna feel alot of the road. Your best bet is to get thicker tires but its not going to look as nice with thicker rubber. You could down size to 16 and use 205/50/16 (my opinion best tire size on 15" and 16") and it'll look sweats.

 

well the 17s are staying, I guess I will be installing the gc and konis next weekend and I will let everyone know how the ride feels...

 

well its your decision if you want the 17s but i think they look way too big on civics and youll realize that when you lower your car.the low profile tires will ride like a bitch when after a "drop".imo 15s are perfect.

 

u wasted your money if you just want a small drop with the gc koni setup...tein s tech are really nice and smooth and itll give you a 1.7" drop front and 1.9" in the back....they are helluh cheap too..ebay it...try to use 15" or 16" rims

 

I dont think I wasted my money, I spent $750 for them , the tein are $200 plus struts are another $$400-500, plus in the future I have the option of lowering my car more if I want with the setup I chose

 

koni's and GC are a great combo! welcome to HT btw. I'm also a fellow chitownian! :D

 

he didnt waste his money at all.
koni and gc will ride better the tein springs anyday.
with springs your locked in on the ride height coilovers are adjustable,
that way if he gets 15-16s down the road he can lower more without buying more stuff,

 

at what point will I need to install a camber kit?

 

most people will tell you now.
but others will say only past 1.7 inch drop.
but if your only going to drp about 1.5 inch you dont, just find a shop that isnt afaid to align a lowerd car without one, also the truth is you DONT need one so if a shop say other ways go find a new one, they just wanna sell you extra crap.

 

Thanks for all your help!!

 

you can't tell if you need a camber kit until you lower your car and put it up on the alignment rack. when you get your suspension give me a holla and i'll help you out on the alignment if i can

if your camber is too negative a camber kit will allow you to adjust your camber. there are other ways of adjusting your camber... such as spaces and such.

btw teins are junk!

 

yes, you can tell. when you lower your car the wheels will go in positve camber.
negative is where the wheels point out.
i dont think lowering a car can cause your tries to have negative camber...
what you really have to worry about is TOE, it will eat your tires alot quicker then camber.
also teins are not junk.

 

I think teins are ok too, but for a little more money I like that I have the option to lower more in the future...

 

teins are not junk.

you dont need a camber kit, camber will not affect tire wear enough to be noticeable. toe is the tire killer

 

he has never used teins if he thinks they are junk....
if you want it get it, but you dont need it, just get an alignment. my cars has had postive camber for almost a year on my new tires and i cant tell.