i have a 1999 si with a completely stock suspension at 117000 miles. It is my only car so it is daily driven. i have almost no knowledge on suspension so i am at mercy of your suggestions. The car's suspension is starting to go, i have a budget of about 1000 bucks, what should i do?; full coilovers? idk shoot me some ideas.
thanks in advance

 

gc/koni can be had for less then that w/o top hats. They will last longer and ride better then almost any other suspension in that price range. Try searching, nothing but good things to say about them. If you want to slam your car, its recomended to get the extended top hats, atleast in the front for improved shock travel. Im biased though since i got them with no complaints lol.

 

what is gc? oh, and i don't plan on "slamming" my car, maybe a 1" drop, but nothing more than that.

 

gc is ground controls, u can get springs then, h&r, eibach,

 

Lowering springs, performance shocks, subframe brace & 19-23mm rear sway bar. That should run you around 1000 dollars, give or take maybe 1 or 200 (you can always buy here and there and save along the way).

Then save up for wheels, more bars, etc. But I think for 1000, that will do you the best.

 

Pick up some PIC ( power in control ) suspension

 

Bilstein HD shocks, Ground Control Sleeves, Hardrace Bushings Should run you under $1000 for all that.

 

pic apex are like 750

koni gc are similar.

one great thing about koni is if a shock fails you get a free replacement if you're who bought them new

 

PIC only got a one year warranty but im sure they last longer than one year, whereas koni has lifetime warranty

 

I'd rather have lowering springs and shocks along with a 22-23mm sway bar rather than just shocks / springs / coilovers.

 

what is the significance of an upgraded sway bar? also koni yellows with top hats, w/ gc is a winner set up right? any recommendations or experience w/ who to buy from?
thanks again for answering my monotonous questions.

 

sway bar increases suspension's roll stiffness, which reduces roll, which in turn improves handleing. I bought my setup direct from ground control, but it can be had for less else where. Look in the marketplace.

 

Sway bars help eliminate understeer. It stiffens up the rear end, underneath the car. If you're looking for significant handling improvement, don't bother with a 13/14mm sway bar. Go with a 19+ (but again, you'll need a subframe brace).

I just got my 23mm ITR sway bar in today. This thing is beefy as ****. I remember being able to flex the 13mm one with my bare hands. I can't get this thing to budge. It's no wonder oversteer increases with these bigger sway bars.

 

Why do you always talk about rear swaybars as being the ONLY swaybar on a car?

Since your making a generalization about sway bars this is very false. Any front swaybar will increase understeer not eliminate it. And unless you are an experienced driver, i do not recommend increasing the tendency to oversteer due to emergency situations

 

I'm only talking about the rear one. And since you seem to like calling people out on every ****ing technical word they type, I'll just stop.

I'm only suggesting lowering springs / performance (adjustable perhaps) shocks / 19+mm rear sway bar / subframe brace. So why would I talk about a front sway bar?

 

LOL, well im just trying to make your posts clearer so other people can know exactly what you are referring to.

And for the OP, what I would do with $1000 on a high mileage stock car is get the most recommended setup here on HT, which is the Koni/GC combo. Then i would get a bushing kit and replace all those bushings with 100k+ miles.

This setup will be good for any driver and whichever driving preference

 

staggered wheels

 

buy a new DD and start building the ****ing motor.

 

I love straight to the point comments with no sarcasm. Thank you, where would be the best place to get those.

 

In the process of building a gsr block with a b16 head and a you know, an sc61, full race ramhorn, 3" exhaust, 1000cc bosch injectors, blah blah blah. fast car!, hopefully

 

Not sure about the 'best' place but here are 3 i found in the sponsor marketplace:
https://honda-tech.com/forums/wheels-tires-brakes-suspension-48/___-ground-control-koni-yellow-shocks-combos-___-1689953/
https://honda-tech.com/forums/wheels-tires-brakes-suspension-48/koni-shock-ground-control-coilover-combo-2028746/
https://honda-tech.com/forums/wheels-tires-brakes-suspension-48/ground-control-koni-suspension-combo-lowest-prices-gauranteed-fast-shipping-2356113/

And for the bushings, you can get hardrace here:
http://www.buyhardrace.com/
and PIC/Suja1 here:
http://picperformance.com/store/scri...?idproduct=233

 

You guys are the greatest! links for the lazy, which includes me

 

I may have missed it, but I didn't see anyone ask what you plan to do with the car. So, what type of ride do you want? You stated maybe a 1" drop, so it sounds like you want a sportier ride, but not really thinking about competition.

You also said this is the only car, so I assume you care a lot about ride quality since its the daily driver.

I would have to recommend *AGAINST* the koni/gc combo and against a coilover. I've owned konis and pics and they are both fine setups. However they don't sound like the right solution for you.

For a daily driven car with a *VERY* mild drop, take a good look at a simple shock/spring setup like the H&R *OE* Sport and a kyb gr2 or kyb agx shock. It will drop you just over an inch, offer sportier handling/ride, but still be daily driver ride friendly. Not harsh at all. Use the remaining money to buy a full set of hardrace hard rubber bushings. It will drive like a new car again.

Can you tell us how important these things are to you :

1 - Ride Quality (do you care if the ride is harsh? Does it need to stay smooth? etc.)
2 - Performance (spirited driving? auto-x? roadcourse? daily driven by grandma?)
3 - Cost

 

The plans for the car include a gsr block and turbo set up, shooting for around 450 on high boost. As I said earlier it is going to be daily driven, my driving style would defienitly be classified as "spirited" and autocross may be in my future depending on one thing or another.
BTW anyone have any seats they are happy with, the stock si seats really suck, i was thinking about some recaro SPD's

 

If I were you I would get eibach springs and shocks, Hardrace bushings, and call it a day. thats about $750 right there... and blow the rest elsewhere on motor or bling and such. unless you want something stiffer get PIC Apex's with a stiffer rate and the same hardrace bushings... thats like your 1k right there. I mean you currently only drive in a straight line when you race anyway... right?

what I did was bought parts to where my suspension is a nice daily/for bling... and when I get ready to autox (when and if I ever get a newer car for a Daily) all I have to do is get stiffer coilovers and nice tires.