Pop & Son build question on suspension parts list
QVO'sWAGON
Band Wagon
First off we are new to this whole Honda scene so we have no clue what is needed except for what we have read and seen on pics here on the forum. this is the setup we plan on getting this coming weekend, and want to make sure we have everything needed for the drop.
EF Shocks stock = if we lower the car 4 of 3 inches will we need top hats or lower shocks?
DA Coil-overs since they are stiffer and also we want to be able to drop it 3 or 4 inches
Do we need aftermarket LCA's and if we do, any brand as long as is for EF would do right?.
In case it helps to know the rims we plan on using we believe is either 15 or 16X7 with 40offsets and we want the wheels to be pretty straight not toed in.
what else would we need to have a successful drop?
Thanks for the help.
EF Shocks stock = if we lower the car 4 of 3 inches will we need top hats or lower shocks?
DA Coil-overs since they are stiffer and also we want to be able to drop it 3 or 4 inches
Do we need aftermarket LCA's and if we do, any brand as long as is for EF would do right?.
In case it helps to know the rims we plan on using we believe is either 15 or 16X7 with 40offsets and we want the wheels to be pretty straight not toed in.
what else would we need to have a successful drop?
Thanks for the help.
Comments
You shouldn't need LCA's but you should get both front and rear camber kits. Skunk 2 makes great pieces for both the front and rear: http://www.skunk2.com/mm5/merchant.mvc? ... y_Code=SUS
I think we will have to forget getting the EF shocks and keep the stock for now and just get some coilovers from craigs and go with some camber kits.
would this work until we get a ground control setup?
I will do a quick update here about the suspension, since other people might learn from our mistakes being that is our first time lowering a civic. We will also do a full update under members rides.
First off we went out to buy the rims ended up with 16X8 xxr 002, tried getting 15's but they were sold out and you know how it is when you see rims and want something. Next thing we bought was the coilovers they look pretty well made nothing cheap 75 dollars.
We went to get the fenders rolled, while at the place we were told we might need them pulled but got warned that the fenders could end up with waves so we opted just for the roll. Well stopped by our parts store to borrow a spring compressor and came home to get down to business.
we were doing good trying to remember how we took things apart on the first front strut, everything was going good till the part we had to remove the strut removing some bolts. Well we didn't realize we had to also remove that bolt that holds the strut and that lil fork, so we wasted time trying to figure out how we could pull that whole piece with such lil space. We cheated looked on youtube realize that bolt had to come off so we could remove the strut and fork, after that was a piece of cake.
Well after all that running around and running into problems is now late and so were giving up until tomorrow morning. will try to figure out the correct way to install the coil overs with the stock struts and how to use all those O rings since no instructions came with the coils.
We will post pics tomorrow and Thanks again for the ideas about the home made camber system. By the way about the tires wearing out from inside cause of the camber, not sure how true this is but we got some tires that have extra rubber in the inside for these types of setups figured for additional 40 bucks was worth a shot.
First would like to see if we did this correct so if you notice something on the pictures of how the coil-overs were installed, please let us know.
Ok here is where we have questions on how the wheels sit, first let's start off with how much they sit outside the fender lip. Unfortunately we didn't get the right wheels for the look we were after, we wanted the tires to just barely fit on the fenders.
I think we can camber the rear and it would fit without pulling the fenders, the front definitely looks like we need to pull them. Is there drawbacks to pulling the front and later we decide to go with not so wide rims, does it look ugly or not bad??
So we have some problems with the suspension, in the front is at it's lowest point and the rear we can still go a bit lower. How can we obtain even a lower drop all around? did we not install the coils correct or is there something else we need to do?. If we install a setup like skunk would we get a super low setup?
On rolling the fenders, no it doesn't look bad afterwards unless you do an ABSURD amount of pulling or there's some waviness due to a poor job on the roll. Even if you get some higher offset wheels later and they don't stick out as much, you can always spoon a little more rubber onto them and it'll make the rolled fenders worthwhile and might fill them out a little better. I'm going to guess your wheels are 0 offset. A +15 might have made it so that you didn't have to camber in the rears and might've saved you a little work up front on the pull. Someone on here was talking about having 30mm wider fenders made for up front...that might be a good solution, but it will be a pricey one and isn't really anything other than talk at this point. Maybe some bolt on fender flares like on the old datsun Z's to add a little more clearance?
As far as lowering it any more in the back, I think you'd have to get some different springs or (gasp) cut a coil or two out depending on how much lower you're wanting to go. That's not the prettiest method, but it would very easily acomplish your goal of lowness. I do think that different EF models have differing spring lengths, but it sounds like your coilover sleeve deals are at their lowest in the back and I don't know that there's much to do with that.
There are also some discontinued rear lower control arms that Suspension Technique made that seem to lower the suspension geometry a bit and allow you to lower the wagon further with ease...you can try for that hilarious hunt if you want, but get your wallet out! (ragenasian has a set...stole this pic from him)
Some extended tophats for the suspension might come in handy at this point too. Since you're slamming the car so much a set of extended tophats would help you gain a little bit of that suspension travel back so you don't bottom out your suspension as much. Ground control makes some as well as some cheap ebay ones that i've heard bad about. A lot of people are having them custom made since they're fairly simple in design and can be made to extend further than the premade ones...in the end, it's your wallet.
hopefully that helps a little.
I would go to a shop that knows how to roll a fender. I have seen some nicely rolled and slightly pulled fenders and I have seen some horrible ones. I have a fender roller but it is useless now as my car's suspension is too low even on my lift to roll. You could get some bolt on fender flares from an S13 and mod them to fit but you will still have to cut or pull the metal to make your tires fit. I have gone a completely different route and welded on some fenders from another car all around but I am sure this is not something you are wanting to do at this point.
Honestly I think you can get away with having somebody roll and maybe even give your fenders a bit of a pull. Again somebody who knows what they are doing should do this as you can buckle the metal pretty easy if you go too far.
As for the drop just invest in some full blown coilovers. I know there are guys on here who run shocks and sleeves but if you go this far you might as well spend the extra money.
well we ordered a set of camber kits for both front and rear, our next step is to have the front pulled and see if we still need to camber the front. At this time we want to just camber the back and hope with the pull we clear the front fenders enuff to tuck the tires in. We didn't realize the rear still has like two more inches before it's at the lowest point, the front is all the way down.
Looking at those adjustable LCA's, I'm thinking I might just get a cheap pair of those aftermarket ones for measurements. I will ask my bro to machine me some with a lower shock mount, they won't be adjustable but would give me a lower option if needed.
I'm also thinking of lowering the front fork, cutting it and shortening it, or just getting something machined, we picked up a spare set of top hats from junk yard so we can have them extended.
Ragenasian,
Yes we are taking it to a real shop to get the front pulled.
As for the full blown suspension setup, I have reservations since it seems from reading. Almost all people with that setup still complain about a ruff ride, and some even go back to using the full setup in front but for rear they go back to original strut and cut springs for a smoother ride.
I'm gona try and keep the rear how it is now except have a custom lower LCA and top hat, if this doesn't do the job we will get a full setup later on.