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Best spring/shock performance pick!

18K views 62 replies 22 participants last post by  Gray 
#1 · (Edited)
Having done many builds and installs of drop springs and shock kits for the new Civic, I can say without a doubt that the best performing drop spring and shock package available now is the Neuspeed Sport Spring with Koni Sport Shocks. Why? Neuspeeds spring rates are 218 front and 448 rear and they are made in Germany on the best equipment and with the best spring materials available (very high quality). And that 448 rear rate is very important because the other poplular springs out there are in the 280-330 range. The 448 rear rate will really help the handling of the car.

And why Koni Sports... very simply they are the best shock for the money, without question. They have a limited lifetime warrantee and are adjustable from a very reasonable near-stock ride quality to a track-inspired performance level that the veteran enthusiast is well aware of.

This combo is priced reasonably at far under $1000 and cannot be beat by anything even close to the price. If you want the best performing setup with a killer look, then this is definitely the best.




Neuspeed says this car has 19x8, 45 offset wheels with 215/35-19 tires.

Please don't hesitate to reply if you have any questions.

Cheers,
Chris at RedShift
 
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#9 ·
If you are concerned that this is too low for you, then it's probably too low for you. These springs are for the person who wants the best performance rather than the best daily driver. The drop is similar to Eibach Sportlines, and many people think that's too low.

In my experience, roughtly 50% of people will think this is too low. But that leaves half that want this sort of drop and performance level. Which side of the fence are you on?

Chris at RedShift
 
#12 · (Edited)
The issue with the drop spring market on the new Civic is that the rear springs on most kits is extremely low for the car. So, the Neuspeed Sport springs do it right by upping the rear rate. Progress is better in this regard as well. But the Eibach springs and swift springs are quite lazy in this regard; although they are very comfortable (they just aren't as good for performance).

And like anything, increasing spring rates isn't always what you want because:
1) You may not want the stiffness (although the Neuspeed Sports are far from too stiff).
2) Your shocks may not support the spring rates. I would not run Neuspeed Sport springs on stock shocks, but the Koni Sport shocks are very well matched to them. Koni Sports are good to around 800 rear spring rates on the 8thGen Civic; so the Neuspeed Sports are not even a challenge for the Koni Sports.

Note: The rear spring location greatly affects how high the spring rate should be. On the 8thGen Civic, the spring location is so far inboard that the wheel rate is far below the spring rate (my calculation is 33%). The wheel rate on the front is 100% of the spring rate because it's a strut configuration, and the spring acts directly on the contact patch of the tire. So, even with the high rear rate of the Neuspeed Sport springs, the actual wheel rate at the front is still double what it is in the rear.

We run 550 rear rates standard on our coilover kits, and even that is very reasonable as a daily driver. The Neuspeed rates and drop really are the best drop spring out there for performance.

Chris at RedShift
 
#16 ·
Hey chris hope all is been well, i have always liked neuspeed products and wish they had more love for our platform like they do with older hondas and euros. But anyhow i love my konis but always felt the eibach was a bit lazy as you mentioned. So maybe swapping out to neuspeeds i will be happier in that regard to get sharper responses both on and off the track.
 
#21 · (Edited)
The Neuspeed Sports are progressive in *back* but not in *front* (Edit 5/3/11: wooops.... just caught my eye that I inadvertantly got this backwards originally; so I've editted it. See edit note below.). It is a very nice real world setup that doesn't beat you up and performs very well. The only completely linear setup would be coilovers with race springs.

Chris

(Edit Note 5/3/11: The Neuspeed Sports are progressive in *back* but not in *front*. From a suspension spring design point of view, the rear suspension definitely has more to do with cabin comfort than the front does. You would never see a spring kit that was progressive in front and linear in back. In Neuspeed's case, the front isn't progressive really at all, but the rear is somewhat progressive. Still the rear rates are significantly higher than the competition once you are past the progressive (softer) coils.)
 
#26 ·
I would go with the Prokit or Swift Sports if I were you. That's really the best drop spring that doesn't affect ride comfort and gives a nice look with a little better handling.

And Konis have a limited lifetime warrantee; so once you buy them, you should have them for the life of the car.

Chris at RedShift
 
#29 ·
Those are for an RSX and not the same for the Civic. But yes the Progress springs and Konis will work very nicely together. The Konis work really well with any drop spring... they were well with stock springs too. And they can also handle coilovers.

but yes they will work fantastically with progress springs.

Chris
 
#30 ·
Wooops.... just caught my eye that I inadvertantly got this backwards originally (post #21 above); so I've editted it. The Neuspeed Sports are progressive in *back* but not in *front*. From a suspension spring design point of view, the rear suspension definitely has more to do with cabin comfort than the front does. You would never see a spring kit that was progressive in front and linear in back. In Neuspeed's case, the front isn't progressive really at all, but the rear is somewhat progressive. Still the rear rates are significantly higher than the competition once you are past the progressive (softer) coils.

Just wanted to be accurate in case anyone is paying attention in the future.

Cheers,
Chris at RedShift
 
#31 ·
great to know, ive been waiting on my koni and i just purchased nuespeed sport springs cant wait to try them, also can you help me with my camber

idk is running 1 rear and .5 rear good for street and still handles are the corners better i want a set up more for street but occasionaly canyon and track days

my set up

koni yellow
neuspeed sport springs
buddy club rear camber are
ingalls front camber bolts

thanks

also when i get enought i wanna get the eibach custom springs and ASR plate you offer as well as the rear, its basically ride adjustment front and rear correct?
 
#36 ·
I would run 1.25 front and and stock specs for the rear, which is more like 1.8 negative. If you run only -.5 in the back, the car will exhibit some scary oversteer when you really don't want it (high speed off-throttle at the limit.... like an emergency maneuver.... or at the track). If you want the car to handle better, run 1.5-2.0 front, but you'll get an increase in tire wear. Run stock toe in back and 0 toe in front. If you want a really killer autocross setup, run 1/16"-1/8" toe out on each front wheel.

Chris
 
#34 · (Edited)
Chris: I understand that running these neuspeed springs will cause the stock shocks to blow eventually. But do you have a rough guess as to how long it would take. I want springs now (impatience ftl) and then I will upgrade to the koni's after about 4 months (<4k miles) and I'm assuming the stock shocks will hold on for that long if I don't drill every pothole on the street.
 
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