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Okay I want to lower my car, never worked with suspension before. What's the difference between coilovers, lowering springs, struts, and all that good stuff that people use to lower ride height and improve suspension/handling, and which route is the best to take for good performance and handling while still not being too stiff? Also, are they hard to install if you have the right tools, but haven't worked with them before? Thanks in advance.

 

Well, let me start I guess. basically springs are obviously just the coils and have to be paired up with some sort of shock of your choice separately, where as coilovers come in a complete package already paired with a shock absorber. Most coilover kits allow you to adjust the ride height by moving a collar or bottom shock mount.

The most popular set up on honda tech consists of a mixture of both. This consists of koni shock absorbers (which have adjustable stiffness) and ground control coilover sleeves, which are springs that come with a threaded sleeve and allow you to adjust the right height much like coilovers.

Here are some pics to clarify a little.

Regular Springs

Regular Shocks


And coilovers!!!


Oh yeah, and if you aren't too bad at wrenching I would definitely try to install these yourself. They are really not too difficult, especially if you have someone else to help. What are your goals? Do you want the car to be slammed really low or just maybe a 2" drop? Keep in mind the lower you go, the harsher the ride..