OK, so, I put up a different thread about some wheel vibration issues and I took it to Honda to diagnose the issue because the wheel didn't shake and I didn't see any problems, and I was stumped. I thought the wheel bearings might have been bad, but I guess this is why I am not an expert diagnostician when it comes to automotive repair.

I was told that the springs (that were on the car when I bought it) were placed over the factory shocks/struts and that they were leaking a little, which may be causing the "squeaky hatch" problem that has been driving me nuts and that I could never seem to fix.

The camber is also off (which I realized) from the after market springs, and somehow I missed the rust ring on the back rotors which might account for the metallic scraping/whirling sound coming from the wheels. The tech said the bearings, ball joints, and tie rod ends are all tight (whew) which is actually amazing to me seeing as as far as I know, they are original and the car has 200,000+ miles on it unless I misplaced those service records from the guy I bought the car from. Thank you Honda.

For brakes, I think I'm sticking with brembo blanks and not sure about pads.

Anyway, with that in mind, what is everyone's experience with various suspension setups?

I was thinking Koni adjustable or Tokicos. Ideas? Thoughts? This is a daily driver.

 

What are your goals other then driving daily? How much are you willing to spend?

 

ill spend as much as it takes to have a smooth ride that doesnt bounce at all and still maintains 1.5"-2" lowered from stock height

 

I guess I would spend whatever it costs to get a decent setup that's going to last a long time.

As for goals...not sure what you mean specifically. For the most part, I'd like minimum body roll and maximum ride comfort (doesn't everyone?). I realize there is a trade off though.

It's a daily driver. During the weekday, it gets me from "A" to "B", and on the weekend, I can be quite the spirited driver and appreciate some of the winding roads around here but a smooth ride might be nice for those long distance trips, which is why I was thinking about an adjustable setup.

what else can I say?

 

Well then do you have plans for lowering springs or coil overs if so what are their rates and "drop"

All Koni's are adjustable btw, the yellows are just external.

All the Koni's and the Tokiko "whites" would work I would like to get you the best bang for the buck though, but you can't go wrong with yellows like ever lol.

 

here's the tough part. I *think* the car has a 1" drop now, but I can't be sure because I bought the car like that (it was the least modified car of the bunch at the time). For the most part, I like that ride height. Kind of wished that it was a little smoother on long trips but it's not...anyway, not very knowledgeable about spring rates, etc. so maybe this is where I need an education.

 

That's ok we are here to help and tech as well as learn.

Do you know what kind of springs you have on now? Would you be willing to change them as well?

 

They are Neuspeed. They're green. Does that help at all? I've no idea? Since the springs have been on there since '02, it might be time for new ones though. Ideas? Suggestions? I mean I guess I could replace just the struts/.shocks, but then I'd be frustrated if I had to turn around next year and replace the springs.

 

spend time reading pages of threads here in the suspension section, you'll pick up a lot

also, koni has one non adjustable shock out now a days. it's the orange or str.t

 

well, I was actually hoping someone would be familiar with the neuspeed springs that I have on the car now, be able to tell me the drop or spring rate or something so that I can know what the diff between stock ride height and the ride height I have now is. I kind of like my ride height and would like to keep it, but I don't know what I'm looking at here...

 

Then either Koni Sports (Yellows) or Tokico Illuminas (as I would guess the original post was hinting at) would be good shocks for your needs. Both allow damping adjustment, to adjust the shocks to your spring rates, and neither one would have an issue with Neuspeed lowering springs (any of them). Now, which to buy is a personal preference, as each has different characteristics than the other, in terms of how they adjust.

 

the green springs are neuspeed sports. depending on the car. around 1.75-2.0 in the front and 1.5-1.8 in the rear.

 

I think I will go with the Konis. But do I need new springs? They seem to be in decent shape (from the looks). However, they are over 7 years old. Does that make any diff?

@ Slain, thanks for the ride height info.

 

Unless they were made with such subpar materials that would allow them to sag over time, they should be fine.

Check for rust and cracks. If none, they should be fine.

Neuspeed is supposedly a good brand. If the car doesn't seem overly low, I'd continue using them.

 

not sure if this would help, but i was riding on set of Neuspeeds(yellow) on my 96 civic ex. On them for over a year and ended up cutting them about 1.25" so the drop was about 2.5" or so. Had them for another 1.5 years and got the car stolen. Besides the fact that I was in AZ with decent road condition and all, the ride was fine(little bouncy) but def did not notice any sagging. As one mentioned on one of the earlier postings, unless the quality is below par, it should be fine. Or you could look into Eibach prokit(1" ish)/sportline(1.5" ish) for around $190 ish. Good luck.

 

thanks. I am buying a bunch of stuff from the tire rack and I think I'm going to verify that my existing springs look OK. If I can reuse them, that saves me basically $200 which would be nice.

 

ftw