Suspensio questions?

Ooops I mean "suspension." This is not a thread to discuss the life and times of fictional latin-speaking man of mystery Suspensio (Who I just made up)

I'm looking for a shock/spring setup to put in my 95 Civic. It needs to lower the car a bit, and improve the handling a bit too. But most important, it needs to be cheeeeeeap.

Any suggestions?

Edit: I was just looking at Tokico HPs, I really don't know if they're any good though.

How cheap is cheap? Open to used stuff?

For some reason, the guys in the Honda crowd like to sell their GC setups with some decent struts for real cheap after a year or so because they want to go with D2 or Ksport for the TYTE look.

My buddy was asking $200 for his Illumina/GC setup i think.

I'll ask him and see if he's still got it. It's off an EK, but i dont think it matters. You've got a 4dr EG, right?

3Door4G wrote: Edit: I was just looking at Tokico HPs, I really don't know if they're any good though.

Not a very good choice from what I've read before. Seems the Miata crowd despises these, especially when used with lowering springs. Personally I've never used them, just repeating info from when I was looking for new shocks.

I have the HPs on the Escort. They're alright. Marginally better than GR2s.

I wouldn't recommend them from a performance aspect. They do seem to be holding up in terms of not blowing out, though.

Not worth the money, though.

Totally open to used stuff. I'm looking around for new and used, but while I've seen more than my share of hype, I hadn't heard much in the way of real input on what's good and what's not before.

A couple recommendations helps me narrow down what to look for. I just don't want to make the mistake of jumping on what looks like a great deal only to find out it's not.

Oh yeah. My car is a 2-door, not a 4.

Stay away from the Taiwanese made coilovers like D2, Megan, and arguably BC. Their quality control leaves quite a bit to be desired. They all seem to run the same cycle of hitting the market - everybody thinks their awesome - then some time passes and a whole crop of issues pop up.

I'm also a fan of buying quality dampers used. Springs usually aren't expensive enough to warrant buying something that doesn't fit my needs, but that's just me. I would look for Koni yellows first, then Tokico Illuminas. The Tokico HP/Blues aren't bad imho, but is basically a bare minimum for controlling even mild aftermarket springs. They're meant to be a an OEM performance replacement, but people still seem to be surprised when they blow on a car lowered 2". I ran them with Eibach Prokit springs (which are amongst the mildest) on my EG Si and was pretty happy with the combo for a fun street car. Autocross left me wanting more though.

I would also consider Bilstein dampers as well, but they're a lot less common than Koni yellows.

If you end up going the GC/Koni route, just be aware that not all people order the same spring rates and lengths. So make sure to ask if they don't offer up the info. Also, even the OTS rates sold with the GC kits are going to be harsher on the street compared to most non-coilover sleeve springs (that work with the stock spring perches - like the Prokit or Sportline, whatever)

I would personally add KSport, and subtract Megan Racing from that list, but meh. Opinions are opinions.

I run Megan Racing coilovers on one of my cars, and their springs on the other two. I have not a single complaint with the company, and their customer service has been great.

I'm waiting to hear back on that Tokico/GC combo, though.

If it'll fit on my car, I'll totally take it. And I assume it would. Most spring/damper packages seem to be for any 92-00 Civic.

He doesn't have it anymore... and he's mad about it too, since he apparently bought an EG EX coupe this weekend and misses his suspension. Go figure.

93celicaGT2 wrote: I would personally add KSport, and subtract Megan Racing from that list, but meh. Opinions are opinions. I run Megan Racing coilovers on one of my cars, and their springs on the other two. I have not a single complaint with the company, and their customer service has been great.

You're right - add Ksport. Good to hear about the Megans. I have heard less complaints about them, so perhaps I've been unfair. I've learned to be suspicious of the "bargain" threaded body coilover crowd. Suspension just seems to be one of those things where you get what you pay for, sometimes less (occasional bargains notwithstanding). I'd take it all with a grain of salt of course. Nothing replaces doing your own research.

Definitely agree with you there.

Caveat: A big reason for me purchasing the MEgans: Try looking for camber plates and pillowball mounts for a 90-93 FWD celica sometime.

Well that's too bad.

I guess the search continues. Thanks for the advice.

I'll keep looking around locally man. I can't walk outside without tripping over a modified honda of some sort.

get the best shock/strut/whatever you can afford (new or used), buy the cheapest fleabay coilovers you can find, then order springs to taste from summit or a roundy round supplier. after that, tune with roll bars. that's my formula for building a budget suspension, regardless of make.

with used koni adjustables, for my miata that ran me $500 before sways with my spring rate of choice (between stiff street/soft autox compromise). like I said, you should be able to do that for whatever car with the biggest variable being the damper cost.

I also laugh every time I see your thread title and think of "Suspensio! International man of chassis setup mysteries!" maybe "Suspensio" could do a recurring suspension article in the mag