4wd Suspenion... what's the deal?

System

it looks like whenever anyone is giving advice for the wagons here, it's always followed with "assuming you have a 2wd car"... why is there a difference? what is the difference? and what are the options for a nice ride for the 4wd waggon?
thanks
cody

senomar

whoops...i guess i wasn't signed in. anyway, i found the old board, but it looks like the information i'm looking for was lost in whatever "happened" to it...
-cody

akiraboy

the only reason its asked if you have 2wd or 4wd is because the ride heights are slightly different so it can be safe to assume the spring rates may be different.
The only obvious difference is 4wd. I guess Honda felt there was some need for the higher spring rates or higher ride height for additonal articulation maybe, or to give it the look of a 4wd vehicle

Basically it comes down to this. The wagon's rear struts have a lower spring perch than standard 88-91 civics so if you use a civic rear strut use a civic rear spring. simple


Welcome to the board, where in Chicago are you?

senomar

got it. thanks for the run down... i'm in lombard. and i appreciate you creating this board (it was you, right?). i just bought red 4wd as my DD so i don't have to drive my subie 40 miles every day to work. should be pretty sweet!
the suspension is the only thing i had interest in changing, and this pretty much confirms i will be doing that, one way or the other. any suggestions for 4wd shocks/springs or coils?
-cody

akiraboy

thank you for the compliment, this is like the 5th board...hopefully the last so we can all have a permanent home, ya know.

The guy I bought my 2nd wagon from had a nice subie wrx, jus couldn't keep both cars so I understrand about you wantin to use the rt as a daily driver.

As fas as the suspension goes, there are a boat load of different opinions goin round. I am personally using some tokico blues in the front of the wagon from a crx, they're alright..like a step up from stock.

If you could I would suggest investing in some kybs or tokico adjustables. Also some K sports with the adjustable springs perches incorporated onto the strut body. I am in the process of approaching some vendors for suspension components to supply our board.

90-90 DA struts look like a good option too...

Give me your exact year make model and what you want exactly from the ride & we'll discuss.

senomar

thanks for the suggestions. I just don't want something that'll be jacked in the back, and slammed in the front. I suppose the best way to avoid that is coilovers... Also, I may be able to help you out if you want to go the k-sport route. shoot me a pm if that's one of the options you were considering
thanks again
cody

System

Your springs,coilovers & shock options are the same for 4WD & 2WD.4WD's show a bigger drop 'cuz the OEM springs are 19mm(3/4") higher.A lot of spring companies make the rear slightly higher for those times you goto Costco & buy 8 cases of water.

System

i just completed my suspension this weekend. if what you're looking for is the same comfortable dd feel as the wagon rt4wd has, but you want the suspension to look more uniform front to rear? or are u looking for something more aggressive? if stock feel is what u want, mine has kyb agx all around, but they don't sell them for wagons, so just get them for a 4th gen civic hatch or sedan. then all u need are stock oem rear springs from a 4th gen civic and you're set. it lowers the back end to what a stock 4th gen civic would look like and the front and rear sit even. the only con of doing this trick is that now the back end is like 2" lower than stock, and the trailing arm bushings are pressed in at a certain angle and this may tear them prematurely...but then again this is the case with any lowering job. you'll prolly need an alignment for the rears also. i'm not sure but the spring rate is more than likely different between the wagon spring and a hatchback spring...but it seems that the adjustable shocks compensate well for the higher weight in the wagon (i kinda thought the rear-end would wallow or feel like i had a couple hundred pounds in the back but this was not the case at all). i also changed all of my bushings with new oem bushings cuz mine were beat, and it made a helluva difference too.

SiWagon

Guest

the only con of doing this trick is that now the back end is like 2" lower than stock, and the trailing arm bushings are pressed in at a certain angle and this may tear them prematurely...but then again this is the case with any lowering job.

Good point never thought of that.Maybe if you loosen the trailing arm bolts after the drop & retighten it.