i know what you're all thinking.. not this again

but i have some good points to make here and i think we can finally get a good archive of solid information regarding this

i have searched and read all over the WWW about the differences between struts and coilovers. i'm yet to find a concrete source of facts that doesn't get off topic

define "strut" as a noun:

• google "a rod or bar forming part of a framework and designed to resist compression"
• dictionary.reference.com "any of various structural members, as in trusses, primarily intended to resist longitudinal compression"
• merriam-webster.com "a structural piece designed to resist pressure in the direction of its length"

define "coilover" as a noun:

• wikipedia "coilover is short for coil spring over shock"

the term "coilover" is pretty self explanatory. it simply refers to a design where there's a spring/coil over something. in this case, the shock absorber (or dampener). technically, any strut with a spring around it could be considered a coilover

now lets get back to what a strut really is. it's an essential integral member of the suspension. meaning it absolutely needs to be there or else the vehicle will just fall to the ground with the wheels only being held on by the lower control arm (and possibly the axles). this is because the strut is what holds the upper half of the wheel spindle to the chassis. vehicles with struts do not have upper control arms!

this article from 1aauto.com has the right idea:our old hondas are great for racing and spirited driving because of this double control arm suspension design. that's why this huge aftermarket and modding community evolved over the years

i know that at least from 1988 to 2000 civics had double control arm suspension. but then in 2001 they switched it to macpherson strut (i don't know if any civics 2001 and newer went back to double control arm). one of the things you can contribute to this thread is facts regarding what hondas use a double control arm type suspension. i will update the OP and make a comprehensive list (and give you credit of course)

there's lots of different names for this type of suspension. i like to call it double control arm. but it's also called double wishbone, double a arm, and short long arm. wishbone and a arm refers to the shape of the front control arms. because it's in the shape of an a or a wishbone. but on the rear it's usually just a single straight bar. so i suppose short long arm is a good name to refer to both the front and rear





wishbone

 

Damper

 

Technically your def of strut is correct. That means there is no one word for the spring-and-damper unit on eg. double-wishbone designs.

Indeed technically a coilover only refers to the (adjustable) spring part, not the combo (adjustable) spring + damper. But again there is the rpoblem there is no one word to refer to this combo.

Technically only F1's have true DW. Continued technically 88-00 Civics have front DW and rear 'multi-link'. Later Civics have front Mc.Pherson and more later Vics have rear torsion beam or something simular, some retain the rear DW/multi-link, like the US SI (but I'm no expert on USDM models).

 

https://youtu.be/HAJdqzRM6Dw

 

Technically, coilover refers to any suspension having a coil spring over a shock.

Its just easier to refer to aftermarket adjustable coil over systems as "coilovers".

After 01...all civics had McPherson strut fronts. Accords, TL's, and TSX's held on to Double Wishbones until 2013/2014. The newest acccords and the TLX chassis are McPherson struts

I think that maybe the RLX has double wishbones up front. But...unsure....

The S2000 was the last small Honda to hold on to double wishbones.