Hi,

I'm new here and I live in Iceland. Been surfing through this forum for a couple of weeks and viewing some pics, mainly EF pics b'cuz I recently bought one. 3dr Hatch '90 EC9 1.4 dual carb manual, electric sunroof, electric windows.

I'm looking to find some nice 14"-15"-16" rims on it and i'm going to budged lower it for now b'cuz shipping coilovers to Iceland is 3 times more expensive then the coilovers :D

How low will the car go on the stock suspension? I have a set of coiloversleeves but I might just cut my stock springs for now. Anyone have a pic of an low EF with cut springs?

Found mine sitting in an old farm and I came to the rescue:



Reg. Kristjan

 

do not cut the springs. ive got the elcheapo (dont shoot me) BLUE coilovers the cheap ebay jobs in guessing. and let me tell you. ive popped 5 tires just because of camber wear and how much of a lil red wagon this thing rides like.

i originally had it dropped as low as it could go (3 inches off the ground at lowest point) and like i said it drove like a lil red wagon, 10mph over RR tracks at best.

ive since raised it to about 5 inches off the ground lowest point and i can do about 20 on a RR track. btu ive still blown 2 of the 5 tires with this setup.

these cars are almost not streetable with cheap/cut suspension.

although ive never used KONI's ive heard they are they best.(yellows)
you could make a start with some KYB shocks and new bushings.



NICE FIND BTW ide kill for a sunroof

 

This car is just a cheap project while i'm finishing my other projects, Mazda 626 '81 and Subaru Leone '86 so I don't have alot of money to throw around in the Honda. Just wanna make it look cool, can't stand to ride in a stock looking car :D

I don't mind the ride comfore, i've had cars with cut springs before and I've blown tires cuz they finish the rubber on the inner side...

I was used to this last summer, my Legacy GT 2,5 '97







And my Charade '95:



And my Leone '86



Just need to know, does the stock suspension handle to go LOW without bottoming out and do I have to do the suspension mod for Extended Shock Travel? I'm just looking for the right set of wheels and then I'll lower it to the right fitment.

 

The lower you go, the stiffer the springs to be, to prevent the shock from bottoming out.

Cutting the springs, is stupid, and can be dangerous.

Either way, you WILL blow your shocks. Stock shocks don't like beling low, nor the increased spring rates that come with that.

 

Cut springs will not seat correctly on either the lower or upper spring perches (whichever end you cut). I highly advise against it for that reason alone.

 

Thanks for the concerns but that's not a problem.

 

You have not been able to answer my Q yet. I know the risk and I know how I will destroy the shock, been there done that. HOW low will it go on stock suspension?

Drove in my Legacy all last summer with only 1/5 of a spring on each shock without problems.

 

If you have had cut springs you should be able to answer that.

Basicly, you can go as low as the UCA's will alow you to.

Don't be suprised if they contact the shock tower.

You could easily get the car very low. But, my guess is by that point it will bounch right of the road.

Why not save up some money and just buy coilovers? Shipping sucks, yes, but it is no reason to in danger yourself or others, with the nightmare your going to create.

 

ummm take the springs off, or take the springs and shocks off altogether, put the car back down on the ground, and that's how low it will go.

You said you've done this crap before, why are you asking us?

 

I said ON stock suspension, why in the world would I take the suspension out, I'm not retarded! How low before bottoming out is my Q, it doesn't have to be on cut springs, you seem to hate them so it might be very very short lowering springs... Do the shocks bottom out before the car hits the ground or not, that's really not that hard of a question.

 

I meant to take them off to SEE how low it will go. How low it will go is limited by the shock body height and bump stop. Beyond that the upper control arm will hit the shock tower. After that, the CV axles will hit the frame.

I didn't mean drive it with no springs or shocks