Lowering question!! PLEASE HELP!!

[kutepunkprincess]

I'm wanting to lower my car (97' honda accord) .. and I was wondering that if i need new struts or not? and if i do.. what do i get? I plan on getting some Skunk 2 coilovers too.. btw... any help is apprectiated! Thanks!

[mp5o]

Hi again... If money isnt an option... Take your pick from the KONI shocks line up and I'd recommend eibach ground control coilovers... Simply because you can choose custom springs rates to your likings and they come with a lifetime warrenty.

You can run coilovers with out buying shocks, but yours OEM shocks are gonna go quick... You might as well save your money and do it right the first time.

What are your plans for the car?(I probably shoulda asked that first)... Autocross? Daily driver? Show? Drag?

If your not exactly in it for the performance part and just wanna drop your car... I'd recommend buying springs. Anywhere from Tein, Eibach, H&R, to Neuspeed would be a decent choice.

[kutepunkprincess]

Well its just going to be a daily driver-- thats what it is now.. i just have been modifying it and what not and wanted to drop it some and get rid of my wheel gap and make it look better :) the whole reason ive decided to go with coilovers though is because you can adjust them.. where as if i was to buy springs then i cant adjust them and what i drop it at is what it is at and it cant be changed. i am not even sure how much i am g oing to drop it either. i have a set of Skunk 2 coilovers i am going to by however. i have heard that i need to replace my struts and ive heard that i wont have to.. and that if i mainly dropped it 2" or more that i would probably need to replace em..

as far as modifying go.. i have tons of plans :D and money is kinda tight here and there. ill get just enough to do a lil something here and there ..

[SwiftGTiRacer]

No, its not a must to get new struts but i'd reccomend it for a smoother ride.

Swifty

[YokotaS13]

ok, swifty is right mostly. But the reasoning for it is this

Your stock shocks are valved and setup to be riding at a certain height (ie stock). When you shorten the stroke, by adding springs, coilovers or whatnot, you change the geometry of what the shock was designed to do, creating stress and added ware as it trys to keep up.

Now with aftermarket shorter shocks (koni, kyb, tokico, blah blah) they are made for a shorter stroke, therefore greater response and compatability. Bsaically, its designed for a lowered vehicle, with different valving for stiffer spring rates as well.

-Grant

[kutepunkprincess]

okay.. well does any know where i can find some new struts for a real decent price? or atleast what brand i shud go with?? i know absolutely nothing bout that so i dont know what i need!! lol.

also is a brand new set of skunk 2 coilovers for $259 (plus shipping costs) a good price? just wondering bc thats how much ive paid for a set..

[mp5o]

Try Tokico Illumina 5 way adjustable shocks. Those may fit your needs. You can usually find a good deal on some used ones if you search around.

[Spyder]

if you lower a car more then 1 inch i strongly suggest new struts at the time of the coil install so you dont have to redo it in a few weeks or months. as was mentioned aftermarket quality struts are made to be used on cars with a lower stance. Basically that means your car wont ride like a pogo stick. as far as the above mentioned struts they are all good.. tein koni kyb tokico so on... if you arent planning to sport drive your car you are (in my opinion) wasting alot of cash on adjustable struts. just buy some non adjustables that will hold up and ride (notice i said ride not handle) as well as the adjustables at 1/2 the price.

also know this, when you adjust the amount your car is lifed or lowered it needs to be realigned. period. some people have found ways to mark the coils and get it "close enough" after a show of having it hammered or whatever but your car is a daily not a show car.

[YokotaS13]

let us know how much you are willing to spend and we can help a little better.

Stay with the name brands, koni, kyb, billstein stuff like that. Dont go ebay on us. lol. But like i said, if you can let us konw how much you can spend, we can point you to a few options.l Be ready to spend 500+ on a decent shock spring setup though

[kutepunkprincess]

where shud i go to try to get my car lowered.. and then my tires aligned? lol.. i was thinkin either.. Knowledge Performance or Batlground..

[twkg]

i have skunk2 coilovers w/ tokico blues. theyre ok but mp5o is right about lookn into the tokico illumina 5 way adjustables. i just wish i had a little extra cash to spend at the time.

also if you want to get rid of wheel gap youre talking about a pretty nice drop. maybe look into some camber kits for less wear n tear on the tires.

also not tryin to take away from any business but u might just wanna have someone help out puttin them on for you instead of goin somewhere to have them put on.

[kutepunkprincess]

actually when you look at my car.. there aint much room b/t my wheel and the car itself. my friends that look at it think it will not be needed to be lowed ne more than 2".. ive been told either 1 1/2" all the way around or 1" in the front and 1 1/2" in the back.. if im remembering correctly..

but im having my car looked at on Wed. morning.. and i think im gunna have one of the guys at the dealership look at my struts to make sure they arent bad already.. and then hold off on struts-- and if i do end up needing new ones ina few months then ill buy new ones and plus ill have money to buy them then lol.

is it not that hard to put them on?? i mean i have a good friend and hes lowered a few cars and trucks before.. so i might try to ask him and see if he can do it. i just dont know if its something that shud be done some place or if its easy enough it can be done by yourself..

[Spyder]

is it not that hard to put them on?? i mean i have a good friend and hes lowered a few cars and trucks before.. so i might try to ask him and see if he can do it. i just dont know if its something that shud be done some place or if its easy enough it can be done by yourself..

no it isnt hard at all, anyone that has done them before can do them on an accord. just be sure to take it to a good shop to have it aligned, depending on the drop you (as mentioned above) may need something to adjust your camber.

[kutepunkprincess]

yeah i think most shops can to tire alignments... as long as they dont charge me an arm and a leg :) lol.

what exactly do i get to adjust my... camber? lol. out of all the people ive talked to about lowering my car (who all have lowered cars themselves and what not).. no one has said anything about this ..

[twkg]

thats what i was saying...depending on the drop, you may need to adjust the cambers or just go w/ a new set. otherwise you'll be spending more $$ on tires than you want to.

[kutepunkprincess]

yea i think im droppin it around 1" to 1 1/2"

[Spyder]

how to explain camber on the internet... Hmm..

have you ever seen a car that the inside of the tires is completely trashed but the outside is perfect? or a car where the wheels sit like this /-\ that is not good for tire life. when the top of the wheel is in and the bottom out thats bad, it should make almost a 90 degree angle. the way suspension works is as a car goes lower then its origional stance tires do this /-\ as you lift it it does this \-/ btw the / and \ are tires incase you didnt notice lol... some suspension systems deal with lift and lowing differently but your car fits into the description i gave above. with only a 1-1.5 inch drop you should have enough factory adjustment to make it work with no problems.

[kutepunkprincess]

hrm i guess ill just.. lower the bitch and see what happens lol. im getting my car worked on today to see why my check engine light has been on fora few weeks and why it started to guzzle gas when it came on. and apparently my struts are still fine .. they were checked out a few months ago when i got new tires.. and they are still fine... so ill just have to lower it and see what happens. hopefully ill be fine and wont need new struts.. atleast not right away.. bc id love to get my exhaust (or muffler) soon and even try to tint my windows :D i just cant afford to fork out a lot of money at once.. i thought about selling my car and buying a car already fixed up... but idk how good of an idea that is.. and its kinda fun doing it all myself and what not-- plus i havent had my car for to long.. its only been about a year.. i want something faster but then i think mb i shudnt bc i might get myself in trouble :D lol. but id still like something faster and better looking right away.. i guess thats where me having no patience sucks lol. but wow.. im just babbling away. thanks for everyone's help :) i didnt know struts/shocks cost so much either! any more help or ideas on my car would be greatly appreciated though :goodjob:

[D3UC3S]

hrm i guess ill just.. lower the bitch and see what happens lol. im getting my car worked on today to see why my check engine light has been on fora few weeks and why it started to guzzle gas when it came on.:

Check the o2 sensor(s)

[yudalicious]

usually the killer of tires isn't out of wack camber, its toe, if you want to save your tires make sure to get an alignment after you lower your car,, which will take care of both.

[kutepunkprincess]

ahhh i got my car fixed yesterday... and it was BOTH my O2 sensors--- i thought it was atleast my front one, but turns out both had gone bad. so i ended up getting both replaced now so my baby is back to normal :) yay.

and when i lower it, i am getting my tires aligned.. duh! lol but thank yas for letting me know i shud :)

[D3UC3S]

+1 for me callin the o2 sensors.... :D

[kutepunkprincess]

hah congrats :goodjob:

[Spyder]

usually the killer of tires isn't out of wack camber, its toe, if you want to save your tires make sure to get an alignment after you lower your car,, which will take care of both.


That is correct, camber doesnt mess up tires nearly as much as Toe, however both are corrected with a proper alignment.

[kutepunkprincess]

well ive bought my coilovers recently.. i cant wait to get em :)

[eViLMunkey]

I put RS*R springs on my civic and my stock struts are holding up fine.. but it is recommended to get struts along w/ your springs or sleeved springs of choice... coilover = strut and spring together in package....

[kutepunkprincess]

yea i got the skunk 2 coilovers.. which i had lots of ppl recommend so i was like.. well shit ill just go for it .. bc i really wanted to lower my car bc i think it will look so much better.. i just gotta find a place to get em put on at probably.

[YokotaS13]

how to explain camber on the internet... Hmm..

have you ever seen a car that the inside of the tires is completely trashed but the outside is perfect? or a car where the wheels sit like this /-\ that is not good for tire life. when the top of the wheel is in and the bottom out thats bad, it should make almost a 90 degree angle. the way suspension works is as a car goes lower then its origional stance tires do this /-\ as you lift it it does this \-/ btw the / and \ are tires incase you didnt notice lol... some suspension systems deal with lift and lowing differently but your car fits into the description i gave above. with only a 1-1.5 inch drop you should have enough factory adjustment to make it work with no problems.
80% of hte time, its improper toe alingment

[kutepunkprincess]

what kinda alignment is that?

[eViLMunkey]

a normal alignment.. so just go to anywhere that can do an alignment on your car...

[kutepunkprincess]

ah gotchas.. i can get it done fairly reasonable at a honda dealership by my house since they fixed my car :D

[eViLMunkey]

I work at a Honda Dealer w/ an annoying ass commercial...

[kutepunkprincess]

haha doin what?

[eViLMunkey]

being a Valet/shuttle driver...

[kutepunkprincess]

ahh fun! i wanna work at a honda dealership :D

[Elroy2002]

i have been told to go with a higher end coilover but apperantly coilover's are a bitch to adjust and once i get them on i'm probably not going to want to change them. i have a mazda protege 5 and i'm looking at buying some tien coilovers at a retail of 990. I've heard that when you put some cheap coilovers your shocks will tend to blow. but i've heard for some reason or the other that when you go higher dollar coilovers your shocks don't blow as easy. is there any truth in that? also does anybody recommend a shop to put these coilovers in and i have new brake rotors i'm need to have installed also.

[eViLMunkey]

well come fill out an application.... dur... :crazy: ;)


ahh fun! i wanna work at a honda dealership :D

[Spyder]

i have been told to go with a higher end coilover but apperantly coilover's are a bitch to adjust and once i get them on i'm probably not going to want to change them. i have a mazda protege 5 and i'm looking at buying some tien coilovers at a retail of 990. I've heard that when you put some cheap coilovers your shocks will tend to blow. but i've heard for some reason or the other that when you go higher dollar coilovers your shocks don't blow as easy. is there any truth in that? also does anybody recommend a shop to put these coilovers in and i have new brake rotors i'm need to have installed also.

not really sure where to start here. yes cheap coil overs tend to ride like hell handle poorly and destroy struts. complete coil over kits are better because they are designed to work the way they come. if you are driving a show car buy cheap ones it doesnt matter. if you plan to drive then you need to do some research on what is out there. the problem with coil overs is that every time you adjust the height of them you also have to redo the alignment.

[Elroy2002]

not really sure where to start here. yes cheap coil overs tend to ride like hell handle poorly and destroy struts. complete coil over kits are better because they are designed to work the way they come. if you are driving a show car buy cheap ones it doesnt matter. if you plan to drive then you need to do some research on what is out there. the problem with coil overs is that every time you adjust the height of them you also have to redo the alignment.

i'm glad you said something about the alignment because nobody has ever said anything about adjusting the alignment. if i got a camber kit would that fix the problem of not having to adjust the alignment? I am currently driving this car as my daily but i eventually plan within the next year or so to make this my show car but i'm not a trailer queen. There were only like 4 company's that made coilovers for my car anyway and tein fit my price range so i just figured that would be best. everyone i know who has them hasn't complained about them. thanks for the info.

[Kermit]

A camber kit will help with tire wear, but you'll still want to get an alignment done when changes are made. A camber kit adjust just that, the camber, and does little for the "toe".

[kutepunkprincess]

well im sure the one u work at is a lil far away from my house :D right?!

[eViLMunkey]

sure.. but there is hennesy in woodstock off of 92...

[kutepunkprincess]

yeah thats where i wanna work actually :)

[eViLMunkey]

haha... I was out by Trickum last night..

[Spyder]

i'm glad you said something about the alignment because nobody has ever said anything about adjusting the alignment. if i got a camber kit would that fix the problem of not having to adjust the alignment? I am currently driving this car as my daily but i eventually plan within the next year or so to make this my show car but i'm not a trailer queen. There were only like 4 company's that made coilovers for my car anyway and tein fit my price range so i just figured that would be best. everyone i know who has them hasn't complained about them. thanks for the info.

Tein makes awesome coilovers. again i want to point out it isnt as simple as setting and alignment and its fixed, you could hit a pot hole as you pull out and its messed up or adjust the ride height even the slightest bit. i know some people make a mark on the coils where the adjustment rings set so they can drive the car with it aligned and not so slammed that it is hard to drive, then when at a show they just dump it on the ground and adjust it back to the marked point for the ride home.

can you do this to? i would assume so. but when adjusting things you can never get them exactly back to where they were when the car was aligned. each time you adjust a car up or down you dont just mess with the camber as most people think, it has been pointed out a few times that toe also comes into play and that is true. camber adjustments do to a degree adjust toe but not completely.. its hard to explain. just know that everything in a suspension system is codependent. and when you move one thing it affects everything else in that same system.

[ruah_23]

http://www.accordinglydone.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4550

Gd luck!

[kutepunkprincess]

really? im not up there much.. but i live 10 mins or so from there

[eViLMunkey]

or you could bring it here on a sat. and i could do it for $20 and some food...

[kutepunkprincess]

... bring what where? and where to? lol

[eViLMunkey]

you car.. dur and here... Honda Carland....

[kutepunkprincess]

which honda carland again though?

[eViLMunkey]

the on e in roswell dur... and there is only one of them...

[kutepunkprincess]

lol well shit... im never in roswell but if u cud do it for me.. *ponders*.. i have no f'n clue where it even is, lol.. i was just gunna take mine up to the honda dealership off 92. but wud u really do it for me or what? lol. :D

[ash7]

just know that everything in a suspension system is codependent. and when you move one thing it affects everything else in that same system.
worth saying again!

[eViLMunkey]

yeah... it's not that hard to do..

[kutepunkprincess]

*sigh* its 2.. and my coilovers are supposed to be delivered today and they arent here yet :( im getting impatient.. damn UPS ... lol.

[eViLMunkey]

you mean adjustable srpings....

[kutepunkprincess]

coilovers:)

[eViLMunkey]

adjustable springs...

[Kermit]

the on e in roswell dur... and there is only one of them...
Hey, does Faris still work there?

[eViLMunkey]

Yeah Faris is still here...