Well here is my problem... I hit a deep pot hole and this is what happened... damn FL rds. (This is the front left rim that is damaged)





Damn attention ***** Bichon hi-jacked my thread ...

I have currently ordered a new wheel and hopefully I will be able to reuse that tire.

But, now I am starting to think their is more damage!!!
Look closely and tell me what kinda suspension was put on this car before I bought it... I think it is stock shocks with lowering springs but as of which brand I am clueless???




That pic above was taken before accident look at the drop and please tell me if there may be damage to the driver's side rear suspension from the pics below... I am thinking that the shock is blown or maybe their is something wrong with the spring... I dunno, just take a look and tell me if you see a difference in the drop or is it the same or could it just be that the spare tire is on that same side.




Well... if there is damage to the shock/spring my dad said that he might just replace the whole suspension since he knew I was going to do it anyways Yes, I will pay him back as soon as I get a job . Thing is, he doesn't wan't to pay $900 for Tein SS even though I will pay him back. So he says 'cheaper' and I say, "I will ask the boy's over at H-T on advice of what I should do.

Of course we wan't reliablitity if we upgrade the suspension... so... first thing I thought was Koni yellow shocks with umm... maybe tein springs??? which would be around $700??? unless I can get some deals here on H-T. I think if I take this route that I will get springs instead of adj.coilovers b/c I was told that springs are more reliable??? Anyways someone please help.... TIA

EDIT: It appears to be at the same height before but the problem is that the right side is sitting higher than the left in the back. When i jacked up the left and right side of the car after the accident it was harder to jack up that back left side... however it may be b/c of the spare on the front. When I get the new wheel back on and drive it around I will see if there is damage to the rear suspension. I may take it to a local shop but wanted to run this by you guys first.



Modified by SleepEMike at 5:19 AM 6/19/2003

 

Bump.

 

No help in 2 days... should I just delete this post?

 

Here's what little I can offer:

To me, it looks like you're definitely sitting lower now than pre-accident. (BTW, that pot hole must've been a man-eater! Sorry about your rim dude) The rear tire looks almost tucked, and in the "before" pic the gap looks to be like a finger or so. I can't offer any suggestion about why it's doing that, except perhaps the shock of the pot hole blew the shock and now it's just sagging. But I don't know a lot about suspension technicalities, so please don't quote me on that.

If you're looking for a setup that's cheaper than a set of full coils, your best bet (IMHO) is to use Koni yellows with your choice of springs. If you buy sleeves, you'll come close to paying what a full coilover setup would be. And, to clear something up, if you use reputable sleeves (Ground Control comes to mind), you shouldn't have any more problems with those than you would with springs. What happens on cheap sleeves is that sometimes the perches slip, or the springs sag (check out B18C5-EH2's thread on good suspension vs. APC ****). I like Tein's S-Tech springs (or whatever they're called, can't remember), but H&R makes nice ones too. I like their Race springs, which is more of an aggressive drop and stiffer spring rate.

When looking at springs, it all depends on how much you want to lower the car, and how stiff of a ride you want.

Oh and it also looks as if the Si was dropped when you bought it; that's definitely not stock ride height in the first pic. Can't offer any help on the brand of springs though...what color are they?

Finally, try the Best Buys forum for good prices on Konis. I've seen them sell there for ~$500 a set, which is pretty damn good. You'll also probably have luck finding cheap, good springs.

HTH!

 

Thanks for responding to my thread! I thought that I was in the dark... anyways, I was thinking the same thing about the shock being blown. But, I will try some things out to see if it is really damaged. I won't know for sure until I get the new wheel on (still waiting for it to be delivered).

The springs are silver in color. I had a guess of what they might be but I can't remember right now. Also, my car seems to be lower in the back even before this accident. I saw a pic of a nice drop on a coupe but I can't find the pic. I will find it tonite and post it.

Thanks for some input though
Mike

 

I believe I am going to go with my existing GC's and AGX's. Seems to be good for what i do with my car. I'd like some better spring rates, but thats money i dont have .

Anyways...there are alot of different ways to go. Depends on what you actually plan to do with your car. If you are SERIOUSLY going to track your car, then a more expensive coil over setup is the way to go. For street driving, my setup should be good or a good spring/strut combo. Its kinda a prefrence thing i guess.

 

GC and AGX are alright
H&R (sport or race) with AGX are also damn good

I would go for AGX (not too pricey). See tirerack.com for good prices.

 

this may not be what you're looking for, but have you driven it after the pot hole incident? You'd hear a really annoying squeak/grind noise if you had blown the shock and you'd probably see shock oil on everything. Did you look in the trunk and make sure the mounting towers weren't messed up, that might cause a different stance.

 

Yes, I checked the driver's side rear and the mounting towers appeared to be fine. However, I think I saw some oil on the underside of the hood after it happened. I will check that after this post. I am also going to see if jacking up the front left wheel (where the spare tire is currently on) and see if the back balances out any.

Update: After I jacked up the front left spare the back evened out. There may be no damage but I do plan on replacing the shocks/springs down the road... I will keep you guys updated thanks for taking interest.


Modified by SleepEMike at 12:37 AM 6/21/2003

 

just wait for the tein ss........you'll be very happy with that setup.

 

Rainbows..........Tight, I own about 3 pairs!!

BTW.....Just get some NeuSpeed Konis!


Eric

 

i got some tokico blues, skunk 2 coilovers and SPC camber kit all around for $750. I like the ride. it's better than stock.

oh yeah...you're lucky that those weren't real racing harts...

 

if u really want koni's they do make full coilovers. there cheeper the SS's too http://tirerack.com/suspension...s.jsp just one place to look at em

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mist Si &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if u really want koni's they do make full coilovers.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I have those. They're okay...pretty good for the price, but the springs are ridiculously soft. If you do get Koni coilovers, try and get them with Integra rates

 

Here is the example pic that I said I would post of a clean drop...


If you take a look at my coupe the back sits a bit too low and the front a bit too high. I have found a way to come up with the $ to get the Tein SS but I may just do something cheaper and put the extra $ towards something else, new exhaust .

However, I have a new q... If I get the Koni yellows and say Tein for the springs, do I have to do anything else (compress springs or something?) or can I just install them and go. Samething with Tein SS...

One last q... The Tein SS I have read will rust or something because of what they are made out of (something along those lines, can't remember exactly). Can I do something to prevent them from rusting (spray them with something) and same as the Koni+spring route.
TIA, Mike

 

Last questions ^^^ final bump, please help.

 

seems like u really want those TEIN SS, i say follow your heart and get those!! u will be more at peace. I was in your situation and thought bout every single shock/spring or sleeve coilover situation in a rush to get something..... and i just saved for an extra month and bought the TEINS, the piece of mind is beautiful, and the funny thing is they are sitting in my room waiting to be installed. The piece of mind is knowing i got what i really wanted and im set.....

so just get the TEINS, i think it will be worth it, i can tell u for sure in bout 2weeks, but either way im coming from stock shocks and spring springs, similar to ur set up, so im happy with the major jump

 

Finally got the wheel! I'm glad it's here and I am also glad it's the correct color because I thought I may have ordered the wrong one. Going to get it on tonight and be up and running again by the end of this weekend.

 

Bling bling

Looks g00t

 

BAD NEWS!
There is major damage to the front left suspension. I am not sure exactly as of right now but I was told that the tq/traction bars are bent, front lower sway bar is bent shock/s are shot, pinions are shot and probably some other stuff that I wouldn't know anything about. The shop said it would be about $2000 worth in damage. A claims adjustor is taking pics and trying to have the city pay for it. However this may not work since the suspension was 'moded'.

So now I need to gather information on what I can do to redo the suspension and at the same time upgrade it. What type of sway bars etc. to use? I think that I have heard of using Type R sway bars... I dunno I am really sad right now... I may make this a seperate post b/c it just keeps getting longer.

 

an R sway bar would be for the rear...isn't this on the front?

 

Well the lowering springs on stock shocks i guess started to give way which was part of the problem. But now the whole suspension was pretty much totaled... All new parts will be here by the end of this week... I'll post pics later.