Rear Suspension Setup

I recently changed out the rear suspension on the back of the wife’s 1990 dx wagon.
Before this she was riding tokico blues with skunk2 coil-overs and the rear was always a little higher due to bottoming out the struts if you lowered them any more.

So used 1988 civic lca’s and 03-05 stock civic struts "to act as drop struts" with the skunk2 coil-overs.
It rides much better and is lower as well probably like half an inch or so than it was.

I plan on using 88 accord struts in the front to achieve the same effect.

Comments

  • First time I've heard of this being done. Pretty cool, if it fits well. Is the spring perch the same diameter as the 88-91 Civic?
  • Did you have to shave the bottom of the strut to fit in the fork?
  • 90civich90civich Band Wagon
    using the 88 style lca i didn't have to make any modification i reused the 90 civic top hat and i used coil overs so no issues with the spring perch but i wanna say that is close to the same size but the strut is so short you would have to use coil overs or lowering springs for an 03-05 civic/rsx/si. One good thing is that the skunk2 sleeves fit perfectly on the 03-05 civic struts
    not all sloppy like on the 88-91 tokicos i had before. I will try to post up pics as soon as i can
  • Good to know. Thanks man!
  • hey 90civich, how much drop is that from stock height? And thanks for the precise parts details.
  • Good solution glad to hear the SI struts work for us.
  • franks91wagfranks91wag Band Wagon
    Now can i ask why did you go with the 88 LCA'S, don't the 90 stock wagons work with the 03-05 SI shocks? The reason why is because I have a 91 RT and wanna see if it will work with the stock lca's from the originals.
  • franks91wagfranks91wag Band Wagon
    Oh yeah can you post a pick of your setup and how it looks?
  • toothytoothy Band Wagon
    the reason hes using the 88 style is cuz its like the type r lca the shock goes in it not over it, i thought of this a few months ago at work and also have a thick sway bar in the works in gonna try to see if it will work tomorrow any thing is trying to mate it to the 88 lca
  • Chaucer87Chaucer87 Band Wagon
    Thanks for the infos.

    A guy is selling rear struts for a rsx on Craigslist, they are buddy club n+. Was wondering if they will work with my stock top hats???

    I've done some research, em2 and ep3 suspension are compatible with the rsx depending on the years.

    To use dc5 rear struts on em2 ep3, the mod will only have to shave both sides of the bottom mount that mates to the lower control arm. With that said, both top hats on em2 ep3 should be the same.

    I'm just putting out the info as reference to give us all an idea to help us out. Maybe some might had thought of this.

    I'm aware that the rsx struts might be a tad longer. But more aggressive.
  • JDMWago666JDMWago666 Senior Wagonist
    Any pics to show just how low this will go?
  • 90civich90civich Band Wagon
    i wish i would have used the rsx ones lol
  • Chaucer87Chaucer87 Band Wagon
    The dude already the n+. So I couldnt experiment the set.

    But today I came up with some really clean 1st gen. Crx, 3rd gen. Civic, 1st gen. Integra rear struts for 120. Tein Medieval Pro full coils, w/ damper. The 3 models I listed use the same struts. (I believe*) the kid said, it was for a 3rd gen. And same bottom mounts as the dc type r em2 ep3 and rsx. Luckily I already bought a pair of 88 lca last week.

    The installation was easy. No mods.

    The ride is smooth. Dampers, 1/4 away from full stiff. And the stance is super low. Most might wanna consider. Im at highest on the coils.

    And yes these struts are short. Maybe shorter than ep3.

    Ill try to put up pics.
  • Chaucer87Chaucer87 Band Wagon
    Here's a legit link, info's on Tein Medieval.

    http://www.redpepperracing.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=33220
  • Chaucer87Chaucer87 Band Wagon
    Tein Medieval Pro
    393.jpg

    Right is the sh-3 shock
    394.jpg

    88 lca at the bottom. just wanna show those who are not sure.
    395.jpg

    It's all the way up and still is very low. sitting on 195-14-60 bmw bottle caps
    396.jpg

    A before picture.
    397.jpg

    Installed
    398.jpg
    399.jpg

    I apologize to the author, wasn't trying to jack your thread.. just adding something similar to what you've done.
  • Chaucer87Chaucer87 Band Wagon
    This is with the Accord front shocks. and skunk2 coils, set at the lowest.

    541.jpg
    542.jpg
  • 90civich90civich Band Wagon
    hows the ride on the accord stuff that was my next move on the wife"s wagon
  • hollywood1hollywood1 Wagonist
    oh man im thinking of trying the rear rsx suspension since my buddy has 3 sets laying around his house. ill try and post my what happens
  • Chaucer87Chaucer87 Band Wagon
    That'll be cool.. let us know..
  • Chaucer87Chaucer87 Band Wagon
    The accord front shock performed really smooth. I should had put custom top hats. After two weeks they died out.. btw the coils were set at its lowest, was probably why. And also they were junk yard shocks. Ill have to try brand new ones with top hats..
  • Chauser! So what car is the tein suspension from? I really wanna try this out.
  • Chaucer87Chaucer87 Band Wagon
    @Chrispy_shuttle I have the details listed above. Haha. Its from 1st gen. Integra.
  • JVracerJVracer New Wagonist
    I was thinking about changing my set-up to make mine more smooth and daily freindly and now you guys have me thinking about this setup. Hope to see more on it and maybe a sticky with more info on it too...
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