Paiige

So I have a 2000 Civic coupe with Eibach Sportlines. Stock struts, the rears blew within 2k of installing the springs...so now it's time for new struts.

I've been planning on going with the KYB AGXs, but recently stumbled on a bunch of reviews that have said they don't last very long with stock springs, let alone aftermarket. I do like that they're adjustable, but if they're not going to last and I'm going to be looking at replacing them in about a year, I'm all set.

I recently found the Koni Str.Ts and I know Konis are pretty much the best decision you can make for our cars. Koni says they're "entry level sport struts" and suitable for lowered vehicles as long as they're not totally slammed or being autocrossed- but I've also read in other places that they're pretty much OE replacements. The Sportlines brought my car down about 1.8" or so.

I know Koni yellows are the best bet but I'm replacing the struts and then putting the car away for winter (and buying a beater) so I just don't have the money for them, but can't really wait much longer riding on completely empty blown struts.

Anyone with experience with these strut/spring combos? She's my daily and I don't track her or anything but I do drive her decently hard.

Tachi

No experience but I've done alot of looking into it. The KYB AGX have an inconsistent reputation, sometimes they're decent other times they're not. The AGX is a full-length, OE dimensioned shock so it's going to suffer like the OE units, especially since the Sportlines are very low and very soft springs.

The STR.T, like the Sport, is an inch shorter than an OE shock, but has the same travel as the stock unit, so being lowered doesn't damage the strut, or at least as much as a normal one. The valving in them has been found to be slightly softer than a Sport on its softest setting, which is still stiffer than OE.

Paiige

Thanks for the info, it seems like they're probably a better option based on the research I've done. I'm not looking for anything super stiff, just not TOO soft so if it's stiffer than OE it sounds like a safe bet. I did like that the AGXs are adjustable, but it's not a MUST.
I just don't know if I want to take the risk of buying something that works well for some people but is complete junk according to others.

I've read that the Str,Ts are outsourced though and that's a little scary, I definitely do not want to end up with bad quality parts.

I guess the longevity of them is my biggest concern but it doesn't seem like there are too many reviews out there. The ones I've read are people pairing them with springs that have a 2"+ drop so that definitely makes a difference as well.

Tachi

I'm still willing to trust the Koni nameplate, they haven't pissed it away yet so they should still be a safe option. I have ground controls on my Accord with a 1.5" drop on springs the same rate as the Eiback Pro-Kit pieces, the str.t is the best option without going to the Sports. Given that you're dropped almost 2" and that the Sportlines are about the same as OE spring rates, you might still have longevity issues with the str.t.

Tyson

tokico illuminas.

B serious

iTrader: (1)

STR-T's or any stock length shocks (including Koni yellow) won't work well with eibach sportlines. Sportlines are ridiculously low and soft. There's a reason your shocks blew so quickly.

You may have better luck with extended hats, though.

Eibach prokit springs would have been a much better choice. Any lowering spring lower than 2" is likely going to be a bad choice.

Sportlines are supposed to be like a 2.25" drop. But...it ends up MUCH lower than that unless you have a hatch back which weighs a couple hundred pounds less.

Tachi

...I thought the Koni orange and yellow shocks had shortened strut bodies...

B serious

iTrader: (1)

Not that I know of (off the shelf). Neither have adjustable bump damping either. Yellows have adjustable rebound damping. They're just not meant to go very low. Especially with soft springs.

Tyson

there is nothing that indicates that Koni Street shocks are shortened.

and yellows are ABSOLUTELY not shortened.

they CAN be shortened but not without paying a large customization fee or totally different part number.

where did you even hear something like this?

Tachi

Hours spent researching shock choices for this and the Dsms I was considering before I found tmy Accord. I remember reading numerous times that that was one primary reason the yellow was superior to the other options.

Tyson

well your research is wrong.

you need to buy the "race" version, revalved and shortened. Koni SPSS3

otherwise koni sport is just regular. and "superior" is subjective... very subjective.

B serious

iTrader: (1)

Koni yellows for a 1G DSM may have been shorter than stock. Plus...they were inserts. So I believe you could sink them into the housing further.

For any double wishbone (non McStrut) honda I've heard of....off the shelf yellows/oranges are stock length. You can "shorten" the fronts by removing the lower shock fork locator. That gives you about .5" at the shock. So...like....75" at the wheel if we're talking a 1.5:1 MR.

Tachi

My apologies, I thought it was a product line feature, not a trait of an individual application.

Atomic1

I had Koni Str.T's on my 2000 civic and they sucked big time. After about 1000 miles, the rears started squeaking really bad, then 1000 mi later the fronts started squeaking. Greasing the shock shafts would make the sound go away for 10 miles or so, but it would come back. Luckily they were just a temporary solution to blown oem's until I upgraded the system to koni yellows.

B serious

iTrader: (1)

I'm not sure those were your shocks that were squeaking. Likely bushings or lower ball joints.

chrisnick

Spend the money on good shocks. It's WELL worth it.

Not sure about the Civic application, but for my Accord, I went with Bilstein HD's(B6). They're a little pricier, but they're about 1.5" shorter overall when extended than the OE shock. Excellent paired valving with the Skunk2 Sport springs I had on it before, and the front feels PERFECT with the 550lb springs on it now; the rear feels a little under-damped at times and I plan on sticking a 'softer' spring back there. The Bilstein Sports(B8's) are supposed to be a little shorter than the HD/B8's, with "firmer" valving. If you don't see use for a ****, the Bilstein's are an awesome option. B6's and B8's both have provisions on the shock body for two heights of the lower spring perch, and on most applications I've come across, the perch can be "flipped" to dial in ride height some more. I ran my fronts with the perch flipped on the higher of two settings, the rear normal on the lower of the two perch settings to get an even 13" hub center to fender measurement on both the front and rear with the Skunk2 springs. No "settling" ever occured. I run my coilover sleeves adjusted to the same ride height. I've ran Koni Sports on my other cars before, and was impressed, but found myself "dialing" in the valving via the **** and leaving it at that setting; IMO, the **** was pretty much useless for the daily driving and 4-5 times a year autocrossing I did with those vehicles. I really wish the Honda community would get behind the Bilsteins, they're hands down the best 'affordable' non-adjustable shock you can buy, and VERY easy to convert to a 'coilover' style setup, with HUGE options on valving if you can take one apart.

Once again, that was for my '97 Accord, but the shock designs between the two chassis are similar enough that it's pretty transferable.

Atomic1

Yea, I know there's a lot of parts can make noise back there, but I took the shocks off the car and removed them from the springs. Just pushing the piston in by hand made a ton of noise at the top shaft seal....so yea, it was the shocks...... Koni says this was not all that uncommon

Plus, no noise with the koni yellows....

B serious

iTrader: (1)

Strange. Thanks for the heads up.

Paiige

They're actually listed between 1.5-1.8" depending on vehicle.

I still have wheel gap, so saying my car is lowered 1.8" is being generous. There's no way it's 2.25"

Paiige

This is kind of what I'm going for. Do you have a hatch or a coupe? And what were you running for springs?

B serious

iTrader: (1)

Civics come with like 2.5 or 3" of gap from the factory. I haven't seen a set of sportlines that didn't lower the car more than advertised. I also haven't seen a set of sportlines that didn't mutilate the bumpstops over time.

If they work for you, that's great. Koni doesn't recommend STRT's to be used with sportlines.

You'll likely be using the bumpstops quite often.

They lowered my EM1 so that there was *maybe* 1/4"of gap with 195/55/15's. I hated the way they rode, and I could feel the bumpstops all the time.

A shorter-than-stock shock with a higher amount of bump damping (but still fairly low rebound damping) is what you really need to work well with sportlines. Since you were asking about shocks. I think Bilstein B6's would work better than Koni STRT. I *think* B6's may be shorter case length than stock.

Paiige

I have about a .5" gap and am riding on 195/50/15s, fortunately I don't really feel the bump stops and haven't had any problems. Before my struts blew the car handled awesome but my rears are done and the fronts are well on their way at this point.

I haven't really looked into the Bilstein's but I definitely will now, thanks

chrisnick

Remember, the Bilstein B6 is the HD in the US, and the B8 is the Sport. Sport's are 100% for certain shorter, some HD's are shorter, depending on the application.

Paiige

Yeah and it looks like they've changed the part numbers a couple times...some websites have the updated part number and some don't, I'm seeing a big fluctuation in prices and wanna make sure I'm getting the right ones. They're ranging from $120 a corner to $180

chrisnick

Tirerack usually had the best prices on the Bilsteins from what I saw. If you want Koni's, wait until they go on sale again in the spring.