Civic suspension revamp

Let’s say the suspension on my civic is a bit weathered. (97 hx)

In the near future I would like to tear things apart and replace some components. At the same time, I would also like to throw in possibly some performance springs/struts as well as whatever else i would need.

My Q for you HONDA BOI’s is this: What else should I replace while down there. I am a complete suspension NOOB and could use some advice. I don’t want to replace unnecessary parts but I figured things like ball joints/etc would be smart to do…

A list would be fantastic… as I will most likely source out the parts on my own and take it to a reputable friend of mine to help install and align.

Thanks!

Good brands would be a +

what do you do with the car, and what do you want as far as a drop

do you daily it, plan on racing of any kind, answer these questions if you want a good answer

Good question, I neglected that.

As of right now it is a DD that gets abused.

I would still like a bit more in the realm of performance as I would love to turn this into a cheap project in the future. (auto-x and whatnot)

A 1" to 1.5" drop seems reasonable.

Ride quality doesn’t much matter to me but I want something that will last and be reliable.

cheap = agx and eibach sportlines

expensive= koni yellows and ground controls

of course the koni and gc combo is more expensive, but overall they are great quality and leave you room to modify/adjust in the future

if you want the car to be a little tail happy you could get the asr kit with itr rear sway bar

as far as ball joints i wouldn’t replace anything unless its needed, and replace with oem parts as aftermarket bushings tend to squeek over time and not last as long

If the suspension FEELS beat it’s probably ball joints and bushings.

Do you recommend a camber kit? What sort of drop am I looking at with each set-up. (i know i know I should look this shit up)

Any other components I should replace, or should I just confer with my friend when he is helping with the work, and replace as necessary?

Yes it feels fairly beat. Lots of city miles on these roads has done some damage. Damn plows turning my local driving into an obstacle course.

if your’re going to get koni yellows, they are like 500shipped on H-T thru a sponsor, (i cant remember his name but i have it in my pm’s if u were interested) + the cost of a sleeve system

i was recommended to get Buddy Club Spec… blah something or another, and they are only like 750 thru swerve, and they are 15way adjustable, and u can lower them raise them by a thread that actually lowers how they are mounted, instead of compressing/putting stress on the spring, like how some coilovers are set up

overall there are a bunch of good quality parts out there

i got 25mm thick itr front swaybar and a 24mm thick rear itr swaybar, gold line springs, as well as front and rear strut bars. i can give u a ride sometime if you’d like :mamoru:

if you’re not a member of hondatech i would suggest joining and lurking thru all of the suspension set ups,

I am not a member (or may be but have long forgotten my password/username) but i lurk from time to time.

Well, I know I have some options in terms of shocks/struts/sway and strut bars…

Should I invest in a camber kit? Anything else this suspension noob is forgetting?

sleeve system???

just throwing this out there, i paid 250$ shipped for my sway bars, anything aftermarket is like 500$+ new, and they are the same thickness lol

i dont have a camber kit, because i cannot afford one lol. but there are a bunch that range from 1degree all the way up to 4degrees like the skunk2 ones (is it nessesary to have fuckin 4 degrees of negative camber? no lol)

oh and i almost forgot, (i dont remember who makes it) , but there is a coilover system out there where u adjust the camber via the tophat, which is pretty sweet.

if you want your car to become a track whore there is so many silly reinforcements you can put on to make it stiff as fuck.

and sum polyurethane subframe bushings :tup: which are a pain in the dick, but they make yo shit hard :mamoru:

word… I don’t want to take it too far… but thanks for the advice… I plan on enjoying this while DD’ing it and picking up something nicer in the next year or so… (e36 m3/evo are on a short list of potentials)

I have a feeling I will own this civic for many many years as a fun daily/winter beater while I begin to modify whatever I pick up.

Anywho,

sleeve system? How necessary is a camber kit on a mild drop? I don’t feel like going through rubber…

Is a civic dual wishbone of mcpherson?

What kind of rear? Trailing arm or dual wish?

its not necessary, you can still tuck the wheels with the stock setup, but you will NEED an alignment, which seems pretty obvious but some people dont do it lol.

a coilover sleeve is everything except for the struts

.

yes I would never replace suspension without immediately aligning the car. Those who don’t are foolish…

dual wishbone front and trail arms rear

dual wishbone

stay away from camber kits, make sure your toe is good and you will be ok

it probably feels beat because the stock shocks are beat

if you want a full coilover system stay away from any of the base kits, i can GUARANTEE that koni yellows with ground controls will last longer and ride better than any suspension under 1,000

have someone inspect all your suspension bushings, tie rods, ball joints and replace if needed when you do your suspension

:tup:

so wait is the rear dual wishbone or trailing arm? :picard: