I have had my 95 Accord for a while now and I'm looking to finally lower it! I've been looking around for coilovers online and have come across HUGE price gaps from $50 ebay coils to $2000 "JDM" coilovers. I'm a college kid with a mediocre job and want to know how cheap is TOO cheap?

 

Ask Mishako lol

 

Function form coilovers type 1 will run you in the $500-600 range.

 

Mishako??

 

It's a really bad inside joke.

Ground Control seems to be the 'socially acceptable' poor mans adjustable kit.

 

What is your budget? I don't know about applications but Racelands are the newest cheapest coilover you can buy. I wouldn't run them. Also your priorities don't seem to be in the right place if you're sweating how cheap you can go on suspension components without being ridiculed with a mediocre job while going to school.

 

 

it's not such an unreasonable thing to ask. worded another way, "what's an affordable set-up that has good value and won't leave me feeling like a brand-sucker or the subject of ridicule?"

maybe coilovers aren't a must, maybe a good set of springs and some new OE quality shocks would work. find some well known brands with good reviews and pick the one with the price you like. just my POV.

 

Unreasonable? No. Evidence of juvenile peer pressure and self-image issues? Yes.
Why are you worried about what other people are going to say? It's your car. If you want to be cheap that's your prerogative. Just be prepared that people WILL say something. All that matters is if it bothers you or not.

 

Shocks, rear sway bar, tires. >$1000 and will be MUCH more satisfying than some craptastic coilovers.

 

I thought this was a car forum not somewhere for people to question my inner morals and motivation...? I'm just wondering because I don't wanna spend TOO much on something that I can get for cheaper. And I don't wanna find some cheap **** thinking I've found a sweet deal and end up having to replace my entire suspension system.

 

Thank you to those of you that have actually shot me some brand names though. Much appreciated.

 

And if you must know, I'm taking the summer off so I won't have much to throw my money at and want to spruce up my car while I can. I'm not a POOR college kid like the stereotypes infer but I don't have 2k to throw at coils.

 

But what kind of drop will I be getting from said setup? I can easily get the parts and DIY... I can't seem to find pictures of say a Honda lowered on ^^ setup v.s. a Honda lowered on coils/springs..

 

If that was the case I'm wondering how you missed the Suspension & Brakes forum where people ask this same tired question at least twice a week? Where there is a sticky someone made up to help you make a decision?

How about list a real budget? I wonder how some people can even ATTEMPT to recommend something and not know this?

I can recommend you get some AMRs. But if that's out of your budget or you've never even heard of the company I'm just wasting my time. So please don't try and come off like you're really trying to learn something when all you're doing is starting an opinion poll.

And WTF does being socially acceptable fit in as criteria for suspension components? I thought this was a technical forum?

 

good answer right here. certain things are acceptable to go cheap on, and I can tell you this for sure: it's not your car's suspension lol.

i had a set of these on my 94 and as lowered cars go, they were pretty smooth riding. Obviously they rode a little bit rougher then the stock shocks/springs, but not to much. I have no clue about how well they perform though, i put them on my dd just for looks and saved the hard corning for my lude. They definitely get my vote as a solid dd/light track use setup.

another option would be to get some new OEM shocks (unless your car has low mileage, run what you have. i'm assuming since your a college kid you car has quite a few miles on it) and through some name brand (no ebay) springs on it. fixed ride height is your only con, and if you go with a large, roughly 2 inch drop, you'll be plowing snow in the winter lol. very smooth, almost OEM quality ride though, i loved it. had this for my first setup and only switched out because of snow and i wanted to go lower in the summer.

hope this helps!

 

I'm honestly trying to learn of some brands that I can purchase. I have a budget of 800 dollars and like I said before I don't wanna blow the entirety of it on something that I could get for cheaper elsewhere. I'm new to these forums and didn't expect such a cynical response right off the bat.

 

For $800, Koni's/GC's all day. I have run them on my personal EM2 for 50,000 miles, I beat the bag out of them and they perform the next day every time.

They're also an excellent handling setup, as long as you go custom rates outside of Eibach's stock wet noodle ERS offerings.

 

Man i remember full coilovers back in my 240 days my back was achy and my gf screaming evertime we hit a bump lol....I guess maybe Dallas roads suck and you can feel every bump and being the only guy on the road hopping out of his seat sucked lol But i remember having Ground control sleeve coilovers on my eg hatch was way more comfy than my D2 full coilovers i had on my 97 240sx,i hit a bump on the road and did a dukes of hazzard jump in front of a cop and not on purpose...I ended up selling them for 200 bucks quick and got some eibach sportlines for my 97 240 i liked it a lot better...real stiff coilovers actually felt dangerous and most people say they dont last as long. My d2 coilovers were leaking a little after a few hard bumps... Id find some good brand used drop springs Eibach sportlines and some koni yellows but thats just me im just not a fan of coilovers on the streets of Dallas lol

 

It's all about the spring rates. If you don't know what spring rates you'll want to ride on, that fit with the plans you have for your car, you'll either get too bouncy are too stiff. Read up. F&F are okay entry level and if you want to slam the car those are what you want. If they make them, Progress CS2 will give you a decent drop and ride and perform well because the shock and spring are matched.

 

Won't affect ride height unless you go with, say, a Koni Sport/Yellow that has a 3-position adjustable spring perch.

I HIGHLY suggest getting with a local SCCA/NASA group and autocrossing the car; it's cheap, fun, you meet lots of great people, and you'll learn more about your car than ever.

Since you're on a budget(shocks/sway bar/tires):
-Progress rear 22mm rear sway bar(Really not a hard install at all, I did mine in about an hour TOTAL, people that say it's hard must never have mastered this toy). Can be picked up used for $100 or so, new it's only $145. Skip getting a larger front sway bar, it's really not that beneficial unless you want more understeer.
-Koni Str.T shocks(valving similar to the 'soft' position on the Yellows/Sports), very budget friendly at $65 per shock from tirerack.com. You really don't need an adjuster **** for DD duties.
-Tires: depending on what wheels are on your car now, you have a ton of options to choose. Give me some details. You're looking at upwards of $300(total), easy, for a 'good' tire, depending on what you want to do with the car and what wheels you have.


IF you must have 'dat lolo stanz'
-Whatever springs you want. There's really no point in going with a coilover if you have no intentions of competition with the car, the off the shelf rates and drops of various springs will get you where you want to be; I recommend H&R stuff, I've had them previously and really liked the way they rode. H&R makes a couple different styles of springs with various rates/drops. New, they're all priced about the same. If you MUST have coilovers, the ONLY 'entry level' option you should be considering are Ground Controls and Koni Yellows. Everything else SUCKS at that price point. They're proven and not made with some china junk dampening that's all over the board. The secret to a comfortable ride and good handling is in the valving of the shocks/dampers. Springs are beneficial, but shocks are MUCH more important and where you don't want to skimp. Look at the target audience of various 'coilovers' and you'll see my point.


Personally, I DD my car 80 miles a day through crappy roads in SE Michigan and autocross it about 1-2 times a month, so I'm not willing sacrifice a ton of ride quality for 'better performance.' Currently, I 'only' have a rear Progress sway on it, and it's improvement over stock(I have an LX so no rear sway from the factory) is IMMENSE. My shocks are pretty trashed, so I'm going the Koni STR.T route since I'm cheap, have had Sports/Yellows in the past(never really adjusted them, didn't need to), and don't have delusions of grandeur. I may cut 1/2 a coil out of the stock coils to get my car a hair lower, but I'm an adult and am not trying to impress anyone with 'dat lolo stanz.' As for wheels and tires, I'm still undecided which direction to take, but more than likely I'll step up to a 17" wheel and tire combo as the selection is MUCH better than a 15" or 16" tire, at around the same cost. I autocross in the stock/RTF class, so I have to pick my mods according to the rules so I don't **** people off in my class and keep it fair. I can get away with little things, but as long as I don't go crazy, people regionally don't really care too much as long as they don't see it as giving me an edge. I suck anyway, so they don't complain.

I'm kinda going off here, but it's ultimately up to you to do to your car what you're happy with and what you like.

 

The set up i love is SPRINT springs with Tokico Illuminas it got down low and nice and Firm but not uncomfy it was very nice to bad it got totaled

This was my 1999 Accord Sprint springs and Illuminas man i miss that i will never get over this car even without coilovers with the right springs you can achieve a low drop.

Before the drop








Sprint springs with Tokico Illuminas only got as far as putting the front Tokico Illuminas on but it had Stagg shocks in the back still not bad at all by far my favorite car and suspension set up i was going to put Tokico Illuminas in the back but it got totaled a week before i was going to order

 

that's h-t for ya. most ppl will be helpful and point ya in the right direction. others have been around for a long time and have read countless threads like yours, dgaf, and will snap at you for it. try not to let em get to ya. the search bar in the top right corner is your best friend, i can almost guarantee you will not ever have to post an actual problem you're having with you car that someone has not already covered/documented.

 

I'll post a pic of my car when I get back from work. I don't want "Dat low stanz" But I do want to lower it seeing as it looks raised. I'm just going for looks don't really want to race it. Sounds pretty shallow but it's mine and I'll do as I please

 

I'm personally running Megan sleeve coilovers. They are horrible, but they were also ~100$.

Ground control/Koni's is the way to go. If you can't spend money on it, don't ask.

Cheap-Reliable-Fast, Choose two.