Hey everyone,

How do I go regarding lowering my 05 ES1 Civic 5MT?

I've done a lot of research and I found out that most people recommended aftermarket springs if the car doesn't see the track much or if I don't care that much about performance.

I rarely ever track my car, may be something like once a year or so, but I always go for some spirited drives every now and then on my way back from work. I usually finish work around 11pm and the streets are clear at this time and I gun it around roundabouts and bends on my way home... etc.

At the moment the car only has 117,000km and the stock suspension are in perfect working order, both factory shocks and struts seem to have at least another 70,000km to go before they give up. Only problem is, car sits way too high on them and the handling is nothing to be proud of car leans way too much in corners and steering lacks good control and direction. (I used to drive my brother's R34 Skyline GTR a lot before it got stolen, crashed and written off, so I can easily distinguish a good handling car from garbage)

My concerns are:

1) I heard that coilovers have shorter life span, I heard my build will last less than just going with springs and aftermarket shocks, is that true? And if that's true, how short are we talking? 25,000km?

2) Everyone is talking about how painfully uncomfortable coilovers are, specially on long highway trips. I'll be at least driving up to Sydney once a year or so (I live in Melbourne). Someone on the civicforums.com was saying that he had the most painful trip of his life driving interstate in his EK Civic with coilovers.. He said he was extremely fatigued after 6 hours of driving and had to soldier on for another 4 hours till he reached his destination.

3) Cost, for my needs is it worth it to spend that kind of money on coilovers? Or should I just go with Tein or Eibach springs and may be KYB/Koni shocks?

4) I am afraid to go with aftermarket springs and not get the low I am after, I heard that aftermarket springs would give you a max of 1.5-2 inches drop and it seems that my car will be needing more than that (check photos below).

Here are some photos of the car



These are some massive wheel gaps




Can easily fit 5 fingers between the fender and wheels



About an 85mm wheel gap