new suspension....help!

[gbang007]

hey guys,
i recently got new tyres and they scrape......i took it back to the installer and he said i need stiffer springs if i want to stop it from scraping which will cost $350. pedders suspension said go for some new suspensions.....their sports ryder. it will cost $1200 roughly and it will the the same height whereas he said with new springs it will raise the car and it will look a bit funny. its for a honda civic sedan 96....im new to this suspension stuff........pedders said it would also improve the handling. i currently have koni suspension...not sure what type but its yellow:p i guess i sm leaning towards the pedders because it would provide me with more the just stop it from scraping. he said it would smoothen the ride etc.......my price range is about $1500 at the max......very max. what other good suspension retailers are there? what should i be looking for? can i get them online and just get someone to install them for me?

[gbang007]

im looking for something slightly stiffer....i think

[destrukshn]

they want you to get rid of your koni yellows? which is damper adjustable, and slightly height adjustable.

[gbang007]

ok..i just found out they are koni adjustable as i bought the car second hand with them already in.......are they worth much? can i just adjust it using them? they were bought for $880 in 2001.....let me know....im am a newbie to this stuff. in the instructions...it shows me how to adjust so i presume so....would this mean i dont need new suspension?

[Ru$kI]

dude i was in your shoes a few months back....got a 96 sedan as well:thumbsup:...and have done alot of research into this.

don't go with pedders...the amount of bad feedback I've heard sent chills down my spine. If you want to replace your whole setup then coilovers are the way to go...i bought a set of Tein SS from JDMYard a while back for $1400. They're a bit soft...but i wanted a comfortable ride to begin with.

However since you got koni yellows then why not just get springs with the right spring rate...or are your shocks on their way out?

Either way you go please for the love of god don't go with Pedders suspension

[gbang007]

dude i was in your shoes a few months back....got a 96 sedan as well:thumbsup:...and have done alot of research into this.

don't go with pedders...the amount of bad feedback I've heard sent chills down my spine. If you want to replace your whole setup then coilovers are the way to go...i bought a set of Tein SS from JDMYard a while back for $1400. They're a bit soft...but i wanted a comfortable ride to begin with.

However since you got koni yellows then why not just get springs with the right spring rate...or are your shocks on their way out?

Either way you go please for the love of god don't go with Pedders suspension

Im pretty sure that the yellows are not on the way out as they were installed in 2001 and only have done 100000 kms. if i got spings, would that raise my car still? coz i dont want to raise as it's sitting at an okheight right now so i want it as low as possible without the wheels scraping because they dont fit under the lip/guard. so would new springs that are stiffer be the way to go and just adjust my konis?

[Ru$kI]

100,000kms for shocks is a bit much...from my understanding shocks average life is round 80,000kms...but as long as they're not bottoming out on you then they're fine. Scrubbing on the guards is a common problem and this is the steps i've taken to rectify it:

1. Stiffened up my front suspension (adjust damper on the coilovers)
Since you have Koni Yellows...i'm pretty sure they're damper adjustable so what you can do is stiffen them up by adjusting the damper
2. Made the plastic lining lip around the inside of the fender
Kinda hard to describe this without showing you...but basically the plastic lining is connected to the outside perimiter of your fender...i disconnected it and forced it on the inner side of the perimiter...which basically added a bit more room for the wheels to move before they come in contact with the guard.

However...the most effective way to solve this is to get wheels with a larger offset (something like 42) so they sit more inside and hence not come in contact with the plastic lining at all while cornering or when you hit a bump. Now I'm not prepared to buy another whole set of rims just coz of the offset...but some people are...hency why im throwing the idea out there.

As far as getting new springs...if you get normal springs then yes your ride height will rise...however if you get lowered springs then assuming you have a set of lowered springs in there right now...it should be fine...just have to make sure you know how lowered the springs are. Furthermore I think Koni Yellows are height adjustable so that might help you out abit more too.

So have a go with damper settings and liping your plastic lining first...and if that doesnt help...then if your shocks are fine...go with lowered springs...otherwise id suggest a coilover setup

[EK4R]

i would suggest coilovers as its damper and height adjustable (some brands). and they are made to suit each other so you wont have much premature wear on the dampers.

try Tein , they have alot of positive feedback and trader sells them i believe.

Tein SS (superstreet) are soft for street use but they are not bad
or
Tein Flex/HA which gets alil harder (only alil :P) and are pretty good all rounder.

if your interested i have a mate whos selling 2nd hand tein HA that he used in a ek hatch . pm me if your interested. im not sure if hatch and the sedan are compitable tho, might want to ask someone.

[CTR Coupe]

Get quotes on having your shocks rebuilt (restored to brand new condition) and invest in some Ground Control Sleeves designed for Koni yellows (with the spring rate you desire).
Find a good suspension place in your area and see what they recommend (maybe make a post in where/what to buy) rebuilding the shocks and new GC coil over sleeves should be under the 1k mark.
Giving you all the advantages of coil overs and using what you already have.

**DON'T BOTHER WITH OTHER SLEVE KITS THEY ARE RUBBISH ONLY GET GROUND CONTROL ONES I REPEAT GROUND CONTROL ONLY**

[czy_sol87]

i would just try to adjust the damper first, make the ride stiffer, and if possible adjust the height on the koni yellows, and definatly do not trade ur koni yellows for pedders suspension

[gbang007]

Get quotes on having your shocks rebuilt (restored to brand new condition) and invest in some Ground Control Sleeves designed for Koni yellows (with the spring rate you desire).
Find a good suspension place in your area and see what they recommend (maybe make a post in where/what to buy) rebuilding the shocks and new GC coil over sleeves should be under the 1k mark.
Giving you all the advantages of coil overs and using what you already have.

**DON'T BOTHER WITH OTHER SLEVE KITS THEY ARE RUBBISH ONLY GET GROUND CONTROL ONES I REPEAT GROUND CONTROL ONLY**

i adjusted my damper....it helped.....only changed it a touch....not scrapping anymore i dont think....from what i have tested. ruski will show me how to modify the guard under the fender so that hopefully i will be able to lower the car to something like his height.....what would getting the sleeves on my konis do? as i know they are already height and damper adjustable.....will it make the ride anymore smoother?

[TEGNO1]

Hi i did some research when doing my suspension, one thing i know for sure koni shocks are unmatched in quaility and should last like forever, and they come with pretty stiff valving standard,the main purpose of adjusting those is to stiffen up the rebound(on the way up) so as they get worn you adjust abit and its brand knew again, another thing i found out was that pedders springs are 312pounds on the front, and king springs are 375pounds on the front, pedders are also softer in spring rates on the rear than any other manufacterer, you can buy a sleeve kit that bolts straight onto the koni shock, you'll also find that koni's have about 3 different adjustments via circlips on the body, i dont know what springs you have but i dont think changing to pedders will solve the problem, when it comes to just replacement shocks koni is always my first choice, did you lip your guards, anyway hope you solve your problem but thats cars for ya, later.....Dont forget koni's are $1000+ brand knew. Sorry those spring rates are for DA integra.

[gbang007]

Hi i did some research when doing my suspension, one thing i know for sure koni shocks are unmatched in quaility and should last like forever, and they come with pretty stiff valving standard,the main purpose of adjusting those is to stiffen up the rebound(on the way up) so as they get worn you adjust abit and its brand knew again, another thing i found out was that pedders springs are 312pounds on the front, and king springs are 375pounds on the front, pedders are also softer in spring rates on the rear than any other manufacterer, you can buy a sleeve kit that bolts straight onto the koni shock, you'll also find that koni's have about 3 different adjustments via circlips on the body, i dont know what springs you have but i dont think changing to pedders will solve the problem, when it comes to just replacement shocks koni is always my first choice, did you lip your guards, anyway hope you solve your problem but thats cars for ya, later.....Dont forget koni's are $1000+ brand knew. Sorry those spring rates are for DA integra.

yeh......i think i am going to lower it using my konis first and see how it is....then if i want it lower get springs.....but first i need to push the guard up further into the fender to give it more clearance. what are good springs to match koni? anyone? can someone fill me in on more info to do with the spring rates etc as i dont know what i am looking for. cheers

[TEGNO1]

Hi when it comes to spring rates you have to decide what your going to use the car for and how much your willing to compromise, i chose 8kg front 6.5kg rear, which is stiffer than most aftermarket springs but not as stiff as some of the japanese stuff, here is a conversion so you can convert from pounds to kg, ( lb/in to kg/mm you multiply by 0.0179 and to convert kg/mm to lb/in you divide by 0.0179 ). later. Try and find what springs are in you car then you have a starting point softer or harder, but try your springs first might not need to change.

[bloodsword27]

ive got a paif of Zeal rear coilovers for EK...intersted? in top cond.

[Muzz]

from what ive read, koni yellows with ground control coilovers are a very popular well performing combo, as ctr coupe sugested. They come with eibach springs, which are a very well knowen and trusted suspension brand, and if need be, u can order different spring rates. The coilover sleevs effectivly turn ur koni yellows into coilovers, which allow u to adjust the height any which way up to a 4 inch drop i believe. Only prob;em is you need to order from USA @ http://www.ground-control-store.com/products/description.php/II=548/CA=55