lowered suspension help

[CvcResponse]

I have a stock ek civic, planning to get 16" wheels and then get it lowered. I also have considered getting a new exhaust and front/rear lips. Would either of these two mods affect the lowered height? Like do lips reduce the lowest ground clearance point by a couple of inches or something? Would a new exhaust system reduce it or actually increase it as the stock exhaust looks like it hangs kinda low...

If they have no/little affect then i can go ahead and get it lowered and then add those other mods later without worry, correct? Otherwise i'd have to get exhaust and lips first, then lower accordingly.

[[[d a n n y]]]

yes they will all affect it especially the exhast if u get a bigger size than your stock piping.
ie. stock 1 will be 1.7-2" if u get 2.25 " to 2.5" it'll increase deiamete by 0.5" so it'll hang lower

[tRipitaka]

you should do your lips/exhaust first..
save you the hassle of lowering, then finding out it's too low..
then having to pay for labour again to raise it up

[CvcResponse]

Thanks for the advice. Which one would affect the ground clearance more - exhaust or lips? If i could only get one done, which one would have the greater effect

[tRipitaka]

depends on what exhaust and what lips..

[CvcResponse]

Lol fast reply. I knew it would be too general a question.. how i see it is that i'd probably be able to get the exhaust first, lips may take longer. So with a big exhaust in place, not sure what sizes they come in or anything, would that allow sufficient room for small to moderate sized lips (not massive ones) without reducing the space? I don't want to have to wait too long to get lowered, would be willing to give the lips a miss if they are a factor there.

[tRipitaka]

really depends on your exhaust.. how they mount it.. how they hang it..

logically, lips make your car lower without lowering it at all..


my advice is to get the lips first, then lower it..
just be patient.. do things right the first time.. it'll save you money in the long run

[BiLL|z0r]

If I were you I'd do the lips first so you know how much front and rear ground clearence you have (for driveways/speeds humps etc). I would imagine an exhaust wouldn't make a huge difference + there's less chance of hitting it since it under the car between the wheels whilst the lips are the first and last things to hit something.

[muhhan]

Depending on the style headers often fall victim to driveways and speed bumps so keep that in mind. It may be possible to get shorter hangers rewelded onto certain parts of the exhaust system to raise it a little, but it wouldn't be by much and it would be quite labour intensive for the difference it will make if you are having to pay someone to do it.

If you think that there may be a chance sometime of the lips scraping you may want to give a little thought to the material it is made out of. Fibreglass tends to be quite brittle where as ABS plastic and urethane have a little more give so they will just get scuffed rather than cracking.