Springs and Shocks.

[QuintessentiaLs]

I'm planning to lower my car using springs but do they affect/damage my shocks??? I heard they can???

[SiReal]

You are correct. I've taken an extract from Zdsters fantastic writeup. should serve you good. Also, please do a search. this has been covered a trillion times :)


5. Suspension

Lowering your car is a popular modification. There are a range of ways to do this, but they all involve your suspension. The simplest way to lower your car is to change your springs. This involves removing your stock springs and replacing them with springs that have fewer coils/shorter springs.



The next area to address is to change the cars shock absorbers. They are essentially the part of the car that reduces the bumps you feel in the car. Like with the springs there are a number of companies that make good quality ‘shocks’ such as Konis. It is often advised that if you lower your car significantly you should look at upgrading your shocks. The stock shocks that come on the car are designed for a standard ride height and comfort. As soon as you change your springs to lower your car or improve handling you affect the way the shock handles how the car rides. You also limit the life of your shocks.



One of the best suspension choices you can make is to look at coilovers. This is a spring and shock combination that have been chosen to match each other. Depending on the brand and style of coilover, they may be height adjustable (to lower or raise the car), damper adjustable (how bumpy the car is) or both.



Honda’s are also known as awesome handlers, and you may also choose to add sway bars, strut bars and torsion bars to help ‘tighten’ the car and improve its handling. Information about these bars has been covered on numerous occasions, so try a search. Here are a few links to get you started though:

http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31014



Some areas that you should investigate when looking at lowering your car should include:

· Camber

· Toe

· Caster

Most of these are adjustable by getting a wheel balance and alignment. In some instances you also may require a camber kit (but I suggest searching the forums before you take this step).

edit:

http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25970 <- see this as well. its good stuff.