Honda Civic: Coilovers vs. Lowering Springs

This article applies to the Honda Civic/Del Sol (1992-2000).

When it comes to improving your Honda Civic's performance and handling for on the track, a great place to start is with the suspension. Aftermarket suspension systems provide a stiffer ride along with a lower center of gravity, which improve your car's balance and handling on those tight corners. Two options to choose from—when you're considering to upgrade your suspension—are lowering springs and coilover systems. Both systems will be covered in this article.

Front and Rear Lowering Springs

Aftermarket lowering springs are the less expensive option out of the two, but they still improve your car's handling and balance by creating a lower center of gravity. They are designed with various "spring rates," which is the amount of weight required to deflect a spring one inch. The lower the spring rate, the softer and smoother the ride will be. The higher the spring rate, the stiffer and harsher the ride will be. If you're looking for performance on the track, stiffer and lower springs are the likely choice to provide your car with optimal handling performance. As such, a lower spring set lowers the center of gravity, and reduces the weight shifted from one side of a car to the other. Plus, the stiffer spring prevents the full decompression of the spring itself, and, in turn, prevents a car from bottoming out as well as losing control on the road.

However, with stiffer springs, the less contact your wheels will have during those sharp turns. As the weight of your car along with other factors—such as tire width, shock damping, and rebound ability—affects the way your car handles, it is often necessary to find the optimal spring rate specific to your car. This may require testing out different lowering springs with your shock and suspension assemblies. And lastly, if you consider upgrading your suspension with lowering springs, plan on upgrading the struts and shocks as well. A car's stock struts and shocks operate at a specific range, so are unable to sync up with the springs stiffness or length.

(Related Article: How to Install Lowering Springs - Honda-Tech.com)

Coilovers

Coilovers come in several different configurations. Some are simply modified springs that can be used over your stock struts (known as coilover sleeve kits). Their style is very similar to that of aftermarket springs. "Full" coilover systems comprise of everything from springs to the shock, struts, as well as the related top hats and bushings (as seen in Figure 2). Installation of this type of suspension setup is straightforward, but still requires removal of the original components. The main difference is that there is no spring to compress with your strut. This step in itself saves time and money.

The coilover assembly is "one piece," and allows the user to "set" the height, damping, as well as rebound before installation. These features allow the driver to adjust the suspension system, and fine-tune it for the track. Damping and rebound refers to how much or how less the shocks as well as the struts conform back to their standard heights. Some coilover systems on the market allow "adjustable damping" to allow the user to set their configuration to "soft" or "stiff." The former is preferred if you're driving on the road, and the latter if you're heading to the track.

The Pros and Cons

Every upgrade to your vehicle has its pro and cons. The major downside with lowering springs is that if you are to leave the factory shocks and struts as is, you risk the premature wear as well as breakdown of those components. The factory shocks and struts are mainly designed by the manufacturer to be used with the factory springs. Therefore, higher rated springs can force the stock shocks and struts to "work harder" in balancing your car, which will eventually cause stock suspension components to blow.

The pro of coilover systems is that they are already setup as one assembly. Adjustments can be made directly, and the other suspension components will not have to be replaced, which allow for easy fine tuning and time saving. The only con to a complete coilover setup is the cost. Typical coilover systems cost as much as three to four times more than quality aftermarket springs. However, they do pay for themselves because these higher quality systems provide better adjustment capabilities, giving your car a more balanced and smooth handling performance.

Featured Video: Lowering Springs vs. Coilovers

Related Discussion

• Coilovers vs. Springs - Honda-Tech.com