As stated in a previous post, i just got my 1991 honda civic DX hatchback a few days ago (my first import). It rides pretty rough and its not lowered, half my friends are saying it needs new struts, half are saying it needs new shocks. I've learned alot from here, but im really not sure about this one. Any advice helps!
(sorry again for the dumb question).

 

explain rough

 

Struts.

 

it is a 12 year old car it probably does need a new suspension.
hondas have struts, not shocks(short for shock absorbers). shocks and struts are similar.
you should be able to get a completely new suspension for around $800.
about $350 for some adjustable struts, and about $300 for a coilover spring kit.
and about $150 for camber kits.

 

Struts and shocks are basically the same thing, they serve the same function and a car will only have one or the other (sometimes struts in the front and shocks in the back) your car has struts, not shocks. the difference is, the coil spring is mounted to a strut, If it had shocks, the spring and the shock would be seperate. Some tire stores will just refer to them as shocks either way to avoid confusing the customer.

Anyway, an easy way to tell if your struts are worn is to bounce up and down on one corner of the car, if the car continues to bounce a couple of times after you stop, you've got a bad strut.

 

It does indeed bounce a few times after i push on it. So are coilovers the way to go then? I was told to just get lowering springs since they are cheaper and basically as effecient.

 

if you feel that you will be happy with a slightly lowered stance then go with springs. a lot of people are happy for like a week or two and then want it lower.
eibach pro kits are nice but will only give u about 1.5" to 1.75" drop. this usually doesnt need a camber alignment.
kyb agx's would work well with a pro kit.
they are 4 way adjustable shocks in the front and 8 way in the rear.