Want to lower 1" with a soft ride....suggestions?

[Creator]

I just got my 88 sedan LXi. The shocks are pretty worn out so I was thinkin about replacing them. I wanted to lower it an inch or so without making the ride any stiffer. I'm not sure what struts to go with, but I was thinkin some top hats from ground control might help keep it nice and smooth.

[EX-ileAccord]

If your only gong an inch, I don't think your ride quality is going to suffer much. get a decent set of struts, and lowering springs (not adj coilovers) and you should be rollin

[shepherd79]

as you can see http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=48185 you only have two choices. tokico springs and suspention tech springs that can lower 1". make sure you get a camber kit for the front and rear.
I know people will tell you that you don't need it but trust me it will save your tires in the future.
you can probably run tokico springs with tokico struts and get some what soft ride. it won't be as soft as stock springs. lowering springs are always stiffer than stock ones.

[EX-ileAccord]

100% agreed with the cambt kit. I ate up a set of $700 tires in a couple of months. not cool :thumbdn:

[MessyHonda]

as you can see http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=48185 you only have two choices. tokico springs and suspention tech springs that can lower 1". make sure you get a camber kit for the front and rear.
I know people will tell you that you don't need it but trust me it will save your tires in the future.
you can probably run tokico springs with tokico struts and get some what soft ride. it won't be as soft as stock springs. lowering springs are always stiffer than stock ones.


well you have 3 choices...

Suspension Tech....they are kinda rare...ebay would be your best bet.

tokico springs...these are also kinda rare only a few sets were made.

Eibach also made 1 inch lowering springs....not really popular beacause they are kinda rare..


i had cheap gabriel shocks installed on my dx and i want to lower it 1 inch also because our cars have lots of wheel gap. i lowerd mine 1.5 inches and the ride is a bit stiffer but it feels so nice. and yeah on the rear i have some camber....i heard camber does not kill your tires like toe....if you are just lowring it 1 inch i would not get them since its so minimal it would not affect it a whole lot.

[w261w261]

Check out my post in this thread:

http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18586

There's nothing rare about Eibach springs. They cost a little over $200 shipped at multiple places. Google "Eibach Pro-kits." They are a "progressive" spring, meaning that the more they deflect, the more resistance they have. You kind of need this because when dropping the car 1 inch you have 1" less suspension travel. Your ride will be stiffer as a result, but you can't have somethin for nuthin, so to speak. My ride, although more firm, is still very pleasant, and the control is so much better (like on high-speed sweepers) that I am happy every day I did it, even though it cost a lot.

With a 1" drop you don't have to mess with the camber. It will change a little, but not enough to hurt you. I've put probably 30,000 miles on my modded suspension, and the tire wear is even and unchanged. Of course, if you don't take care of your alignment or inflation, the tires will wear badly, but that's not the fault of the camber. More than 1" on the drop, however, then it's time to make the camber adjustment.

Note well my experience with the new shocks (I bought Bilstein). You can't go with stiffer springs and not stiffer shocks.

[Creator]

Thanks for the advice guys I guess I will be calling the three manufactures to figure out the spring rate.....let me know if anyone is intrested in that info and I'll post my findings

[BITESIZE]

I have a 1.5" drop with Eibach springs and tokicos. Ride is awesome!

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/7/web/379000-379999/379742_514_full.jpg

[Creator]

Yea I'm probably going to go with Eibach springs....depends on the spring rates though, and obviously progressive wound will be a big factor as well

[BITESIZE]

I paid around $200 for the eibachs and about $280 for the tokicos. Best $500 I've spent on my car!

[86AccordLxi]

Eibach springs have pretty jacked up rates, iirc. The softest springs are the h&r's and neuspeeds.

As for camber kits, I had a 1.5 inch drop on my 3g and ended up with ~-1.5 degrees of negative camber all the way around, which is perfectly fine.

I mentioned this in another thread recently, but camber really doesn't kill tires (unless you have like more than like -5 degrees). Toe is the real killer. As long as your negative camber isn't super excessive, and your toe is zeroed, you should be fine.

Whatever you do, make sure you get the car aligned after messing with the suspension.

Alex

[w261w261]

Thanks for the advice guys I guess I will be calling the three manufactures to figure out the spring rate.....let me know if anyone is intrested in that info and I'll post my findings

It's more efficient to get good at using the search function on this site.

Check this:

http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=48185