Reasonable Lowering

[Ru$kI]

Hi Guys :wave:

Im relatively new 2 the thread so first of all id like 2 say hi 2 every1. Secondly, i've already done a few mods 2 my 96 EK VTi sedan civic :D , and am now upto the stage where i want to lower it. Im thinking of lowering bout 1" or 1.5"...a relatively small drop since i dont want to sacrifice practicality and ride comfort much. My current clearance is like 23cm....got raised a bit after i put 17" rims on. Also i have a front CTR lip put on (pics of car were taken before it was put on...so that mite reduce the height i can lower by due 2 probs with parking lots and driveways. My question is....how low can i go b4 i start 2 have headaches with going over speedhumps, into driveways and parking lots, etc??

P.S the pics of my ride are in "My Car Specs"...tell me wat u think :)

[LVNIT]

I had my old civic lowered 3 1/2" front and 4" rear at one stage, wont ever do that again on a daily driver..

2" or 2 1/2" would be a nice drop for that car and shouldnt be too low for you to be able to drive it anywhere :)

[egSi]

prolly 2" max man, but itll look crap. imo go low as u can. :thumbsup:


but for practicallity, match a 2" spring with a decent shock. OEM shocks + lower springs is not the most comfortable setup

[Nuttz]

i got king spring lows on mine with standard shocks. ride is firmer but i wouldnt say bumpy. still 99% practical. I have scraped it on 1 or 2 speed humps... doesnt look as good as with super lows but i use my car as dailydriver so i have to compromise.

[simbadda54]

ive also got 17's on my civic and im waiting for my springs to come in. 2" front and 2.25" rear. I also have a mugen lip which i think lowers the front a lil bit more than a ctr lip. Would 2" front be too low for me as a daily driver?

[|N|]

get coils and adjust it whenever u like :D

[Ru$kI]

Personally coilovers are abit over my budget...i was looking to spend bout 1k all up.

Nuttz...what do u rkn of king springs?? My setup is going to be prolly king springs and Monroe shocks (stockies hav bout another 5k drivin left in em, so figured might as well get them changed while im at it).....has any1 heard anything bad about mornoe? also what shocks would u guys recommend??

[DomenEK]

Mate, go for something more decent like koni shocks, or bilstein if you can stretch your budget.

I have King spring super lows and koni adjustables on mine, the ride height is 2.5" lower than standard, yet is still somewhat practical as a daily driver. And ride comfort is a little bit rougher, but I find it's actually quieter than when itwas standard. All up it cost me about $1k to buy the springs and shocks, then I just had to pay for fitting. If you shop around you can get decent prices on the parts.

I've been running this setup for about 2 years now and there's been only 2 driveways that I couldn't get over or had trouble with, but they were ones where you need a 4x4 to get over....Besides, it looks way better when it's LOW, lol

[BLKek]

Also budget in things like guard rolling if it needs it etc..

[mrwillz]

17' on superlows is fine
i haf no troubles even wif a ctr lip on

[dek]

ive got king springs on my EM1

they feel a bit more stiff than you could say comfortable and they dont go as low I'd like.. my car looks quite high actually ..

but this is the first car I have lowered and my friends car is also on king springs, so I don't really have anything to compare with

[kerim]

ey guys mines dropped about the same (2" fornt, 2.5" back) and i got bad camber, hows ur cambers, like do u go thru rubber like no tommorrow or wat?

[vinnY]

i got koni yellows + stock springs on my ek4 and the drop is about 1" all around. they're quite good if you can find them under $1k

its quite good, minus the fact that my mud guards scrape everywhere (they're pretty much half broken, hangs about 6cm off the floor) so they're going soon
with 195/55/15 rubber my car sits on top of the rubber, with 195/50/15 there should be a finger space or so :)

will see how it goes with a front lip soon :)

[krogoth]

its a pretty crude method, (and i think u all already know about it), but have u heard of the coke can?

in terms of wats roadworthy and also wats practical for bein able to get into a drivewayz and over speed bumps, a coke can should be able to fit comfortably under any part of ur car,(and thats not a crushed coke can either :P), u should also be able to fit the coke can under any part, includin body kits, intercoolerz and mufflerz,

Far as i know, it is ilegal to drive round with a car that has clearance that is less than a coke can, (coke can is prob about 12cm in height)

as for gettin it that low, and wat parts to use, i really wouldnt have much of an idea, hopefully im still some help

[Ru$kI]

When it says 'adjustable shocks' like say koni's 4 example...does that mean i can adjust the ride height or the ride stiffness or something else??? coz i always thought that shocks = ride comfort and springs = ride height....putting it bluntly that is.

Also, i have a bit of a problem currently....my car is not lowered at all...if anything it got raised once i put on my 17" rims....however...whenever i take a bend at some speed and i have people in the back (+ 12" sub in the boot)....i hear this rubbery sound coming from the rear wheels...which in my mind is rubbing...but how can my wheels rub when my car is even HIGHER than stock height??? Only reasonable answer i have at present is that i may have some VERY soft springs in the rear.....anyone have any other ideas?

[kerim]

my cars the same man its still stock height, i also got 17s and when theres ppl in there it rubs, but thats only if i have a profile of 45 on the tyre. Profile of 40 is perfect, no rubs

[mrwillz]

ey guys mines dropped about the same (2" fornt, 2.5" back) and i got bad camber, hows ur cambers, like do u go thru rubber like no tommorrow or wat?

well i jus got a wheel alignment str8 away
and im on my fairly new set of tyres

um i saw my friends supra who had new tyres since july 05, and 2 days wen i saw em, they had REAL bad camber.

[Zdster]

My camber in the front is not great, but my toe is perfectly in spec. Hardly any abnormal wear at all.

[Ru$kI]

my cars the same man its still stock height, i also got 17s and when theres ppl in there it rubs, but thats only if i have a profile of 45 on the tyre. Profile of 40 is perfect, no rubs

My wheels are 205/40/17....yet i still hear the rubbing....i was told by a mate that maybe my shocks need to be regassed or something....could that be the solution?

Also...if i get my car dropped 1.5" or 2" all round with king springs and monroe shocks.....would the rubbing increase?? or would it stop since even though the car sits lower...the springs would be firmer and the shocks would be new and 'gassed'...hence meaning the car wouldnt 'lean' so much on the bends and cause the rubbing

[vinnY]

its not so much the car leaning thats causing the rubbing, its the wheels turning left and right which rub against the insides

[Ru$kI]

its not so much the car leaning thats causing the rubbing, its the wheels turning left and right which rub against the insides

vinnY....i think its only the rear wheels which are rubbing...not the front...since when i drive by myself or with 1 person in the car (passanger seat)...all is fine...but as soon as a big bloke gets in the back....and i take a turn....then i hear the rubbing...so i think its the rear wheels...since the extra weight is at the rear

[kerim]

just get the guards rolled, it will solve it

[Ru$kI]

hmm....i thought that was only needed if you did an extreme drop...like say more than 3"....in any case...how much would that set me back??

[mrwillz]

When it says 'adjustable shocks' like say koni's 4 example...does that mean i can adjust the ride height

?

can they adjust height?

[SiReal]

yes they can via an adjustable spring perch. usually three settings. i dont remember the exact measurements but an extra 25mm i think.

[mrwillz]

thx for the info
id luv an xtra dump
25mm sounds good on top of superlows

[SiReal]

mind you, these shocks are around $1000 retail for all four. also have damper adjustable as well. expensive but apparently bang for your buck as well. I'm plannin to get these in the not too distant future.

EDIT: trav: "a lil bit, and depends on car, ek can be: 30mm front, 20mm rear."

btw, i've seen ur car in glen waverly. looks good after the dump :)

[mrwillz]

yea price is a real killer :(
is a damper kit similar to camber? do they act the same way?

not really a 'dump' kud b lower but yeah
say hi nxt time if u kud :)

[SiReal]

damper determines how stiff or soft the ride is. Camber is a completely different thing. Camber is how much the wheel will "lean" in or out due to lowering/raising, causing the wheel to "ride" more on one part of the tyre, as opposed to the whole surface evenly. if you've ever seen some VIP japanese cars, their rear wheels are super cambered. like extreme angles. Thats what you call camber. hehe Camber kits try to reduce this effect of lowering hence saving your tyres.

yeah will do. no one was in the car ... and i didnt wanna pull up ur wiper.

[mrwillz]

lolol
i look like a retard wen i come back to my car wif my wipers up
its happened!

[ek4-guy]

lol i got king super lows with 17s an my front wheels have repetedly scrubed out in over 6 spots

[Ru$kI]

I've read around a few other threads and from what I gather, I should be fine if I lower 1.5" all round. How much would Koni shocks set me back??? and are they really worth it?? as in would I really feel the difference (in stiffness, comfort, or other) between Koni's and Monroe's if I just do daily driving??
(By the way, i've settled on King Lows for my springs)

As far as the wheel rubbing...I have attributed it to near-dead shocks and saggy springs since as I watched my 55kg mate get in the rear seat...the whole rear just went down bout an inch!

However...I still have 1 headache....my front lip. At the most 'acute' point in my driveway(ie when i drive-out front first...the dip in the driveway is rather sharp...resulting in the whole car angled down as the wheels enter the road)...the front lip is just 1.5 cm off the ground! Is there anyway I could not get so close 2 the ground while driving out? maybe drive out on an angle or even rear first?!? coz if i lower 1.5" there is no way im getting out of that driveway. I really don't wanna take the lip off since it looks hot, but as it s now, the prospect of lowering seems almost insane if my lip gets to 1.5cm off the ground as is.

[mrwillz]

go in the traders section, do a search on 'koni'
some traders haf it
from memory about 600-700? but chcek to make sure

[Zdster]

For all of you guys that are unsure of exactly where you want your car to sit, there is one product for you to check out - coilovers :thumbsup:. They tend to be more expensive, but are perfect for that application.

[Ru$kI]

my view on coilovers is that you get them if you are going for performance n propper racing n stuff...im just going for the look, ride comfort, and practicality, i never really 'race' my car, more like cruise in it :) . I rkn coilovers are simply way too much for what i need....i would rather spend some time n research about what setup is best for me (ie how much to lower by n what equipment to get) n get it right first time round...instead of paying an extra grand

[Stoosh]

hows ur cambers, like do u go thru rubber like no tommorrow or wat?

yea i do kerim, just got new front tyres around amonth and ahalf ago and they are almost not even roadworthy anymore! not happy :(

[mrwillz]

ey guys mines dropped about the same (2" fornt, 2.5" back) and i got bad camber, hows ur cambers, like do u go thru rubber like no tommorrow or wat?

well i've jus run myn in , its travlled about 2000km since my new springs in + stil relatively new tyres
cant tell if its got bad camber yet, hope i dont

i got a wheel alignment done tho.. so that helps in some way