[PIGEON1]

I was talking to my buddy about suspensions and her told me to buy the coil over lowering kit for my car. That I would like the look. I know that I will but I thought I would ask ya'll. He drives a civic and all :rolleyes:

I want to lower the car some time down the road.(by next summer) but I want to get something that I could put in and not cost me an arm and a leg. That will last more than one season and isn't to hard to install.

Does anyone have any ideas? I'm willing to hear the good and the bad ideas people got (even if their dirty....if you can come up with one meford4u...... :D )

[meford4u]

How low do you want to go?
I know you live out in the boondocks a little, so going too low will mean scraping. And if you have, or in the future want to put on rims and tires, that will also affect your decision on how low.
Find yourself a pic of AnthonyD's car. Is that how low you want to fo (about an inch and a quarter I believe). His kit is the SVT suspension.
We have on our car a coilover kit.
But it's a stiff ride and is not for the faint (or fat) at heart.

My suggestion would be to go with the lowering kit that was made for our cars and forgetabout it.

SVT is my suggestion for that cdean.

[PIGEON1]

LOL...just trying to have a little fun.

I was planning on going with 18" and goodyear low pro tires. I don't mind a rigged ride. I was expecting a little bit of a rougher ride with a lowered suspension (not as much travel in it). If you say the SVT kit is the best way to go I will go with that cause i'm not the most fluent person in kitting out cars ( always done it to trucks, and that was upward) I'm hoping to put the car away for the winter and get a beatter to do the mods.

Is the suspension kit easy to install, or should I get it done by someone?

[habmann]

I've got an FK coilover setup, which is a really nice setup. The main reason i got the coilovers was b/c of the price. I got a pretty good price on the kit otherwise i was gonna just go with the SVT kit.

As for the install, i had mine done by my mechanic just b/c i don't have access to air tools, which makes the install alot harder.

[meford4u]

you may want to rethink the 18's.

[residentdud]

I have the svt too, specs say only 3/4" drop, but on my ZTS its more like 1". The only diff is smaller springs for a tighter ride.

[torradan]

Here are some ideas how much of a drop you'll get. Looks like all the cars are on 17s too.


H&R Coilovers: (drop: no idea)


SVT Suspension: (drop: ~1inch)


Eibach Pro-Kit: (drop: ~1.5inches)

[PIGEON1]

meford4u,Aug 29 2006, 02:26 AM Wrote:you may want to rethink the 18's.
[right][snapback]204523[/snapback][/right]

Why do you say that :huh: :unsure:

[meford4u]

PIGEON1,Aug 29 2006, 07:35 AM Wrote:

meford4u,Aug 29 2006, 02:26 AM Wrote:you may want to rethink the 18's.
[right][snapback]204523[/snapback][/right]

Why do you say that :huh: :unsure:
[right][snapback]204528[/snapback][/right]

rubbing will be a major issue. A drop plus 18's will cause the tires to rub on the fenders.
I know.
We have no fenders and 18's. They are cut out from the car.

[PIGEON1]

meford4u,Aug 29 2006, 01:02 PM Wrote:

PIGEON1,Aug 29 2006, 07:35 AM Wrote:

meford4u,Aug 29 2006, 02:26 AM Wrote:you may want to rethink the 18's.
[right][snapback]204523[/snapback][/right]

Why do you say that :huh: :unsure:
[right][snapback]204528[/snapback][/right]

rubbing will be a major issue. A drop plus 18's will cause the tires to rub on the fenders.
I know.
We have no fenders and 18's. They are cut out from the car.
[right][snapback]204596[/snapback][/right]

Oh?... well I guess that I will be reconsidering the 18's then. I kindda like my inner fenders and will probably like the rubber on the new tires too.

Thanks Meford4u, I have got a starting point from all of you's now, I'll let you all know what I'm going to do it when I get to that point and post pics as the other Mods i'm doing become comeplete (there still ongoing)

[ZX3TUNING]

when it comes to picking suspension and rim/tire setup you need to consider more than what has already been posted.

first, what are your priorities? Look? Handling? ride quality? cost? and in what order?

you can run 18s on a 3" drop just like you can run 17s or 16s or 15s with the same drop, just like you can with a 1" drop. it a matter of wheel offset, wheel width and tire size. rim size has little to do with fitment inside the fenders as if you purchase the right aspect ratio of tire, it will be the same diameter as the stock 15s/16s and tires. the problem with 18s is more that there is less tire between the rim and the road and if you live in an area where big potholes and crappy roads are common place, you increase the chances of damaging the rims and/or tires.

for suspensions...

the SVT kit is nice for a mild improvement in handling and about a 3/4"-1" drop. not the best choice for a big drop look or great handling.

a sport kit of some sort will offer you a solid handling car right out of the box. different kits offer different ride quality and bigger or lesser drops.

coilovers offer you the advantage(or disadvantage if you do not know what you are doing) of adjustability in ride height. this allows you to tailor the drop to fit the look you are after.
more expensive coilovers may offer dampening adjustment which allows you to dial in firmer or softer handling.
cheap coilovers are garbage and not even something you want to look at.

Springs are another opting for a cheap drop but most springs will eventually cause the shocks to fail. because of this i suggest doing the springs and shocks at the same time, something like a Sport kit takes care of this for you. while it may seem like more money up front, you save having to pay for the labour twice when the shocks and struts give out on you.

there is a lot more to is but that is a good starting point for you.
figure out what you want and then you can better figure out what you need. ;)


also remember to take the advice you get online with a grain of salt.
it's your car and your money, not theirs so do what you want.
also, the more research you do before you buy the better off you will be.

[ZX3TUNING]

Meford,
too low means scraping?
scraping what?
the underside of the car??

[PIGEON1]

Thanks Zx3tuning...I would like the cost to be as low as possible (but good quality) But my priority would be

RIDE, Handling then looks.

I will pm you if I got more questions.....if you don't mind

[ANTHONYD]

Mitch.

Please refrain from bashing someone elses advice.

Your views / knowledge on the matter could have easily been conveyed without slamming someone.

Thanks.

a.

[SVT ZX3]

ZX3TUNING,Aug 30 2006, 02:00 AM Wrote:remember to take the advice you get online with a grain of salt.
it's your car and your money, not theirs so do what you want.
also, the more research you do before you buy the better off you will be.
[right][snapback]204696[/snapback][/right]

Quoted for the truth.

[ZX3TUNING]

cheap is a very limiting factor.
if cost is an issue, then it will keep you out of the high end of the spectrum when it comes to a quality ride and good handling.

what is your budget?

And Bryan, no disrespect intended but i am curious to know what sort of scraping you were refering to... are the roads REALLY that bad out east where bottoming out a lowered focus becomes an issue?
Out West, even with a Focus pushing a 3" drop, i have yet to even come close to bottoming out a focus....

[meford4u]

The Focus tuning car is set up properly. We don't have an issue with rubbing.
But I have seen the issue with offset and rubbing before, and it's a real PITA and not something anyone should get involved with.

Where he lives, there is an abundance of snow. I know for a fact that this car is a 12 month car. So a 3" drop in the snow is not realistic.

And Vancouver doesn't have the weather we have. We have a lot of frost heaving on the roads come spring. pot holes abound. So you have to be careful with telling someone a 3" drop, or anything close to that will be fine for the set up for their car.

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and drop the issue from here.

But truth be known, if it were my car, I would stick to the SVT setup and be done with the drop. You won't have to go slow over speed bumps, you won't have to worry about scraping the front end on inclines, and you won't have to worry.

We have a 3" drop and we have to take these things into consideration daily.

But that's just my opinion and advice.

[ZX3TUNING]

ahhhh, fair enough.
I see where you are coming from now.


I wasn't suggesting a 3" drop, i was just using it as a example. you can run a 3" drop on 18s if the offset and tire size is correct.

with large amounts of snow, i wouldn't suggest much more than 1.5" of drop.
a couple of the guys from the interior of BC get into trouble when the snow falls and the 2" and 2"+ drops they have on their cars turn the little focus into the "little snow-plow that couldn't!"

your comment of "I know.
We have no fenders and 18's. They are cut out from the car. "
sorta made it sound like your car was running a really low offset and wide tire and the tires are rubbing so hard you were unhappy.

my mistake. :)

[Flofocus]

I lov eit when we all get along :wub:

[NOS2Go4Me]

Personally, I'd recommend a nice set of 16s with 50-series rubber or 17s with 40-series rubber and the SVT kit. The overall effect will be a massive upgrade from the stock sedan suspension. It's likely well-damped and you'll corner a hell of a lot flatter than stock thanks to the matched set of anti-sway bars. Plus, you'll reap the handling rewards without compromising your winter driveability. I'm glad I stayed around the same height with my S2 suspension upgrade as you well know what the weather's like in North Bay!

I'd also recommend a beefy front strut tower bar to sharpen your turn-in response when driving fairly aggressively. After having all the mods done to our car and then test-driving a couple of stock 06s... it's night and day.

Wider tires will tend to "railroad" or follow grooves and seams in the road, so you should be aware of that as well. I get that a lot more with the 205/50R16s than the stock 185/65R14s.