Hey guys, I picked up a 96 accord dirt cheap a few weeks ago & have been fixing a bunch of random stuff, well...the shocks & struts are toast.....what's the best shock, strut & spring combo? Only looking for a 1-1.5 inch drop, I have about 550 to spend, I just rebuilt the front end ( tie rod ends, ball joints, rack & pinion, control arms, etc etc) the car is on stock wheels & tire size...thanks in advance guys!

 

I love my Bilstein HD and Skunk2 Sport spring combo. FYI, the Skunk2 springs have the same rate as the H&R/Neuspeed Race,and are probably all the same spring. Progressive design front and rear makes them super comfy, especially at freeway speeds. No jouncing or excessive up and down play at all. The valving of the Bilstein HD is about where a Koni Sport("Yellow") would be about halfway through the stiffness range, with 'better' low speed(IE highway, less sudden bumps) than the Koni Sport's; high speed bump dampening is about the same, maybe a bit quicker so potholes and such can sometimes feel a little harsh. They're not super cheap though, but if you don't feel the need for a ****, they're the best, hands down for an off the shelf shock. I flipped my front perch upside down and set it on the higher of the two perch settings on the shock to level out the ride height, which measures out to about 13" from hub center to fender, otherwise I felt the front was too low. I've cleared 225/50/16's just fine with a wider than stock wheel; I currently run a 205/50/16 for a little bit better tire response. Zero issues with bump travel, bottoming out, and I've never had the upper control arm hit on the inner fender up front, which people seem to have lots of issues with being lower than me. See the link below for my build thread in my signature for pictures. The setup works great for my DD/Autocross car stuck in probably the worst roads outside of Detroit, northwest Ohio. Any coilover in your price range is cheap chinese crap with who knows what valving, no matter what anyone says. The only other setup I would suggest would be a Ground Control coilover with Koni Sport's, which probably is out of your price range unless you buy used. I think I was just about around $600 all invested in my setup, and I bought everything new. I have about 30K miles on the setup so far, and love it; even with fused vertebrae I'm very comfortable over long distances, which almost every other car gets me uncomfortable.

 

Thanks Chris, I've always wanted some bilsteins but they are pricey, are the skunk2 shocks & struts any good? I hate the bounce my buddys had ( just had lowering springs) & I definitely want it to handle better, a stiff ride is fine, I've been looking at tokico as well. You definitely get what you pay for though.

 

Read up, they're worth the money. I wouldn't spend the $ for anything less.

Read this first(hopefully you understand the verbiage):
Autocross to Win (DGs Autocross Secrets) - Shocks

Then this:
http://farnorthracing.com/autocross_secrets18.html