Needs a lil help from you guys

[7002iSciviC]

i hope you guys can help me out here

well i dont know that much about cars im admitting it

the question is within a month i will lower my car aprox 1.5 inch. How am i gonna do that, just buy lowering spring? is that even safe to do. How can i do this without messing up my car? i want 1.5inch drop. i was thinking just get the HFP suppesion but thats only 1inch drop. need your help guys

[yippieguy]

it's pricey do it right. some might say the simplest solution is to get, for the sake of a brand-name, the "eibach pro kit" springs installed. Those will drop the car approximately that amount. Or couse, there are many spring kits out there. There's also the honda factory kit, of course. (though this might come with new shocks too) . Yes, as far as i know.. after-market suspensions are perfectly safe and legal to install. *(most state laws have minimums for road-clearance though, I think)

considering new wheels/rubber:
If you went with, say, 215/45/17 rims and rubber, then the wheel gap will be considerably reduced. That's what I did with my 06 lx coupe (actually 225/45/17.. nice and wide.. but noisy and prolly sucks up a little more gas) and didn't touch the springs, and people ask me often if i lowered the car when they see it. If you go with 18", say, 215/40/18 or so, the rubber will have a less rounded and a more square profile, so you will see more into the wheel well. It's all an illusion of course, since the overall wheel diameter should be been preserved in either of these sizes. So, plus-sizing by 2, you might find there's still a gap.. bringing you back to wondering why your 1.5 " drop still didn't get the wheels up close to the wheel wells. This is something to do with how 'bubbly' 17's are in 45 series rubber. (also protects the rim nicely).. it's a matter of choice/taste of course.

Ok.. keeping the factory wheels/rubber:
So, you install new springs... now you're sitting on lower springs, and the factory shocks can be expected to perform worse and worse over time since they are never allowed to extend to their intented 'resting position' ;/.. some people say you'll get maybe 2 years (of course according to use) out of factory shocks run in this manner before they start going "boat-ey' on you. (bouncy and not really 'absorbing' road shocks as they are intended to)

THEN..there is the argument about whether or not you need to mess with the camber... since now the car is sitting lower, your wheels will be running a little inward on the top, as if the car was loaded with people. This ultimately means uneven wear on the insides of your tires, especially if they're not rotated regularly. SOME people say you don't need a camber kit and don't need to correct this condition with a kit. Others insist that even a mild drop like 1.5 inches DOES require correction. Camber parts are quite costly for this car, in my opinion.

Based on my OWN experience with even a 1.5 drop on my last car, i DID smoke my 90 integra's stocks, and I DID smoke a new set of tires before deciding to fix the camber. the next set of tires did not exhibit the same inside wheel wear as the previous (un-camber-corrected) pair did. And that was just 1.4 inches.

Admittedly, handling was WAY more fun and tight around corners with the lowered car... but I was always hitting stuff. the 90 integra was pretty low-riding to begin with. I damaged a muffler once, and knocked my intermediate muffler (resonator) around pretty much too.
the car's since been replaced with my new civic.. so it's a wash.

Overall, lowering a car even 1.5 inches, in my opinion, is a costly project with long-term expenses if you wish to do it right.

J.

[7002iSciviC]

thnx for the good output bro, i might just get the HFP suspension

[yippieguy]

no prob.. question is.. what's your main reasoning/motivation for wanting to drop the car? Looks, or handling? both?

[Jay Kincannon]

Here's my car with HFP stuff (all under warranty for another 15,000 miles). I 'm very happy with the results. The only thing I plan to do in the future is to upgrade my tires to 235/45-17 Bridgestones, which by that time I will go to Tirerack for the most current tires.

[yippieguy]

Jay...here ISN'T your link that you promised! :)

[portabuddy]

thats a sweet picture, i like how the car blends into the background of the forums... well done and so discreet you cant even tell its there...

[Sirbelch]

How about just reading the stickies at the top of this section and make your own decision.