Hey guys i just got my boner stock civic about a month ago, and it sits way too high for me. I have done nothing to suspension yet, but i was planning on ordering some skunk2 sport shocks with some skunk2 lowering springs. The springs will lower 2.5/2.25 inches and i heard the struts will lower .25 inches because it is shorter and used for lowering springs, something like that, but not sure if it will really lower any. My question is if i am lowering 2.5 inches, would i need to buy a camber kit or roll my fenders? I saw the thread on here that camber kits are not needed, and i didnt use one on my nissan that i lowered before.I was expecting to take out my wheel well fender liners but that was about it. I have 195/55/16 tires in the front and 205/55/16 tires in the back, I know they are big but it came with the rims and cant afford new tires right now. I was wondering if this would be a good setup without changing anything else. I have a lifetime alignment so i will get that done after i lower it, should i expect any other problems other than rubbing?

Here is a link to the springs i am getting
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...75475442203744

And here are some pics of my car right now






Also, can anyone identify what kind of rims those are? The previous owner didnt know, and there are no center caps. Thank you all

 

What's your budget? What are your plans for the car? Can you deal with a stiff ride?

I wouldn't reccomend skunk2 suspension products. They suck.

And lol at boner stock

 

The skunk2 sport shocks aren't any shorter than the stock shocks. They do have shorter shafts so that they aren't getting overcompressed with lowering springs on them. That being said, I've had mine with H&R race on them for 2 years and put almost 40k on them with no problems. They're no Konis, but are a great affordable alternative if you're doing a budget setup for a daily driver.

And fix that front lip, I don't understand why 3/4 of the ones that I see are screwed on all wonky like that

 

Well the reason im getting skunk2 struts is because i know someone selling for cheap, and i want the lowest drop with name brand lowering springs and this is the lowest ones i can find, unless there are coilovers for around 450-500. I dont mind a stiff ride, im used to it with my other cars.

@spadam- Thanks for clearing up the shorter shafts on struts, i didnt believe struts could lower my car lol. And I got my lip from ebay, thats why it doesnt fit right, you should see my rear lip, it doesnt even reach both sides, so i ended up taking it off

 

You could do progress coilovers for about $500. or you could spring the $799 for koni/gc.

 

 

Progress coilovers are really that cheap? where? And skunk2 is really that bad? why is that? What if i got the skunk2 struts and some other lowering springs

 

Normally cheap and quality don't go togther, but with progress they do!!

Personaly, I would lean towards Koni/gc. Not only becuase of the shock, but because you have much more adjustbility when it comes to springs rates, compared to progress.
Either setup is a great choice, I just perfer to have a little more flex when it comes to spring rates.

Also, if you buy them new Koni shocks carry a lifetime warranty, as do the Ground control coilovers.

Progress only offers a 1 year warranty, however their shocks are quite cheap at about $70 each if you should ever need one.

 

koni/gc is pretty much like a full coilover system because you can adjust the gc springs right? That is a little too expensive for me right now. Are progress coilovers good for going pretty low and still being reliable?

 

Yes. And if they do wear out or blow or whatever they are domestically rebuildable. Progress is a good established company.

 

Koni/GC is still considered a slip on, or sleeve coilover. But, a full coilover system is no better. All this talk about 1 peices, and full coilovers is bull ****. They're no better then a good coilover sleeve, and a solid shock such as the Koni sport.

I beilve the progess coilover will only give you about a 3 inch drop, and I don't now how reliable they will be for how long at that height. However, progress is a great company, who makes great products.

How low do you really want to be? Tucking tires?

 

Been autocrossing my car on the progress 350/350 for 5 events now and daily driving them for 9,000 miles. No complaints!!! All the instructors who drove it at the novice school liked the cars neutral setup:





I wouldn't recommend going any lower than I am, nor would Progress. I'm 0 finger gap in the front and 1 finger gap in the rear.

 

I dont really know much about spring rates, but the higher you go, the stiffer the ride is right? and 350 is average? I mainly just want no wheel gap, plus a little lower, and i think a 2.5 inch drop will do that with my 16 inch tires. Is a camber kit recommended? or anything else?

 

350lb in rear is pretty general number. It's a good trade off between daily driving, and performance. You will deffinetly feel the difference, however, it will far from back breaking. I run 350's in rear, and it's stiff, but not too stiff.

450/500F and 350R is a good number to start with.

The rear why I said that high in front is becuase the lower you go, the more spring rate you need, to keep from bottoming out the shock, and or slamming your control arms into your shock towers.

No, you do not need a camber kit. As long as you don't go too low, and you have the car aligned after you lower it, you should be just fine.

With that said, sometimes 96-00's can benifit from having a rear camber kit, due to the steep camber curve we have. I am about 2-2.5 and was my camber was -1.8*F and -2.8*R
I did the washer trick, and removed -1*, and don't regret doing it at all. I get PERFECT tire wear.

The washer trick is take washers and placing them on the bolts for the rear upper control arms, between the arm, and the body.

 

Yeah, I agree that 450-500F and 350-400R would be a good start. With 350/350 i certainly feel like the front is a bit too soft. Adding a front sway-bar helped a lot with the cars control-ability in turns. Grip is a lot easier to manage now.

Next year I'm going to get either Koni/GC or AMR and I'll run something like ~550F and 450R. With the rears set of soft I should manage to keep a smooth'ish ride. My 350's are very tolerable for daily driving.

Rear spring rates tend to have the most effect on ride comfort.

 

Ok, ill start off with 350lb in the rears. And do you have any pics of the washer trick on your car civdx? I forgot to add that i have a ebay front and rear strut bar if that makes any difference

 

Unless your came is over 3* in the rear I wouldn't bother with the washer trick. I've got a finger gap in the rear and my camber is 1.6