Up to date shocks and springs thread

[hammer3rd]

What I would like to do start a thread that has alot of good up to date info on springs and shocks. Alot of you guys have been doing this for a long time and being sort of a newb I just thought it would make a good thread. What I would like to know is ( and yes I have read ) what kind and type makes good choices on here. Like best ride,the lowest drop,best quality,best brand,best handling,best all around ride and handling and which is better for different people coilovers or just skocks and springs. Then mabye with alot of reading and the help of this thread we new guys can make a good choice to better suit our need for what ever kind of driving we might be doing. Thanks for any help you guys will give.

[hammer3rd]

Come on guys. A little help. This isn't about what works well,but about what works well for you. Personal choices and how they have worked out for you.

[ghettogeddy]

well seeing as we don't have very much available this should me short
ive ran tokickos and ebach 1" witch was nice but not worth the money for the size drop

then i went to tokicos and dropzone sport coilovers for an 00 civic
and they have been awesome
and at a lil over a 2.5 drop is sexy looking

[hammer3rd]

Thanks man for your your input. So how did the ride compair between the to. And how do they handle. Thanks again.

[Hauntd ca3]

i have aussie made king springs with a 1.5 inch drop and oem style kyb shocks and must say the ride was just a little firmer than stock but still nice and comfy.
am considering the 2 inch drop ones now that its not going to be a daily driver

[ghettogeddy]

Thanks man for your your input. So how did the ride compair between the to. And how do they handle. Thanks again.
all pics are click able thumbnails


there not to bad a lil rough but its to be expected when going lower then 1inch
the 1" was a lil stiff but just about stock but did not hide enough wheel well for me
so stock
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/ghettogeddy/th_DSCF0668.jpg (http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/ghettogeddy/?action=view&current=DSCF0668.jpg)
1"
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/ghettogeddy/th_101_0526.jpg (http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/ghettogeddy/?action=view&current=101_0526.jpg)
dropzone coilovers
before i lowered the coilovers
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/ghettogeddy/th_101_1302.jpg (http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/ghettogeddy/?action=view&current=101_1302.jpg)
after
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/ghettogeddy/th_101_1463.jpg (http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/ghettogeddy/?action=view&current=101_1463.jpg)

stock vs slammed
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/ghettogeddy/th_101_1471.jpg (http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/ghettogeddy/?action=view&current=101_1471.jpg)
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/ghettogeddy/th_101_1470.jpg (http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/ghettogeddy/?action=view&current=101_1470.jpg)

then the drop zones on my hatch with 15inch wheels
when installing the coilover i realized i had the perches on upside down i can actually go about an inch lower i may do it to the back to level it out
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/ghettogeddy/th_100_3988.jpg (http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/ghettogeddy/?action=view&current=100_3988.jpg)

witch 16" wheels
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/ghettogeddy/th_100_5002.jpg (http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/ghettogeddy/?action=view&current=100_5002.jpg)

[hammer3rd]

Looks good ghetto. Thanks guys. This real world experience with a product will help a lot of people make a good choice. Like if you want a little lower but not going to autocross then you want a good ride. This can help all the newbie and even some of the veterans wanting to make a change in there setup. Thanks and keep it comeing guys.

[w261w261]

Hammer, have you searched and read the many threads on this subject? There are also "sticky" threads that are particularly good reading, if someone is new. Try this one:

http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=48187

I have what I consider to be the perfect setup, which took me 3 tries in the front and too much $$ to get right: Eibach springs, 1" drop. Bilstein shocks revalved 340/110 front, unchanged rear.

[hammer3rd]

Hey w261 and thanks for the in put. Yes I have read for hours on this subject and can tell you a lot about it from reading. Like carotman used the tokico skocks and h&r springs (I think) but still had bounce in the front. Like you doing all that to get a good setup for you. You can read in a book or on here or have someone tell you something is good or that it works but till you pit it to use you never really know. So tell us how does you setup ride/handle and what it took to get there and if any what you would change.

[hammer3rd]

Oh w261 what is your rear setup

[w261w261]

Oh w261 what is your rear setup

I guess it was a little unclear from my post. First, my Bilsteins are the HD (heavy duty) models. Bilstein also makes an OEM replacement called Touring Class, which I don't believe anyone on here bothers with. My HD's cost around $110 each, plus $65 each + shipping to revalve the fronts. I use the rear Bilsteins as shipped (didn't revalve).

The Eibach rears are actually a little softer than stock, but I've had no problems with them. I debated whether to go with a 1" or 1.5" drop, finally settling on 1".

As I stated in my posts of a few years ago, what a shock should do is deflect nicely and then immediately settle back to even without overshooting (bounce) or overdamping (rattle your teeth). This is what mine do. It's particularly gratifying on a high-speed sweeper when you hit a bump. In a situation like that, having a bouncing front can be dangerous, or an over-damped front can toss you towards the side - either one can be .... pucker-inducing.

So, to answer your question, I wouldn't change a thing. My car is a DD, so it needs to perform well in a variety of situations. As it is, my wife doesn't like to go with me to NYC, as the many pot holes make things uncomfortable for her, and in any case the mad cab drivers and other crazy motorists dictate use of her car, a nice softly-sprung Passat, which if it got stolen or something wouldn't bother me a bit.

Dropping beyond 1.5" IMO, is making too much of a compromise in ride quality and suspension travel for the sake of style. You can start messing with coilovers or the mounting points of the suspension I guess.

[hammer3rd]

Thanks w261 for that. Now I myself or any one can look at this thread and see a good working setup and make a good decision on what they want. We know koni bilstein and so on make good products. And you guys tell on these pages what you have. But not all the time do you say how it works and how you got there. Like me I want koni reds with h&r springs LOL. But from reading and talking with you guys I am going to go bils(revalved fronts ) and h&r springs on my hatch. As for my sedan I am going monroe sensatrac with moog replacement springs and st sway bars on both with poly where I can and factory every where else. But I didn't really know what I was going to use before I started reading posts and this thread. Thanks again.

[nswst8]

I am running Tokico shocks with Tokico springs (1" drop) and the ride is much better than the HD Bilsteins with no drop.

No bounce and the ride is comfortable, then again I am 46. I'll slam a car. My son did and I never like riding in his car. Of course it was a Nissan.

[w261w261]

This thread probably should mention that if the car is being dropped, the camber will be affected. It's non-adjustable from the factory on our cars, and my sense is that if the car is lowered more than 1.5" a way to adjust the camber up front should be considered. Some have used Prelude UCA's, I bought a adjustable UCA mount that pushes the front wheels out at the top. I probably wouldn't have considered it because my drop was small, but I had a problem with the right side being another 1 degree out because of the PO's pot hole strike. There are some products that have a kind of bolt-sliding-in-a-slot arrangement on the UCA, but that made me too nervous.

And since I think this thread will primarily appeal to those that haven't been on the site for too long, let me stress that if you are going to mess with the suspension, and you have a limited budget, fix what what should be fixed first, then go with the lowering etc. First with a bullet is the ball joints. They break, you may crash. Next get the bushings in good order: control arms, sway bars, front radius rods. Look at the drive boots. Do that stuff and then use left-over money for the drop.

[hammer3rd]

Great post on getting everything on good working order first. I am hopeing that this will not be a newbie only thread. I am hopeing the older guys can use it to make a change or if they have 2 cars one might be different than the other. But the newbies will get the great knowlage of working products and not just an idle idea. Well you know what I mean. If you ask and some one gives an idea say on suspension parts, well it could be high in the hundred dollar range. And you live east and the idea came from the west then you might be a little leary about droping 3 4 5 or even 6 hundred dollars. But with this post every one hopefully will have tried and a good working knowlage of the product. Thanks and keep all the great knowlage comeing.

[hammer3rd]

Oh well, I tried.

[2drSE-i]

I think pretty much the only thing that was missed in this thread is the fact that it will take more than cheap parts to make a decent ride. The only shocks/struts still available are stock replacement (the bilstein HD's and Tokico's are supposedly 15% stiffer, which is negligible) and every one of the spring manufacturers (that are left) make springs way to stiff for these. My best recommendation is one of two things. Buy the bilsteins, get them revalved for whatever your spring choice is. According to w261, they cost 175+ shipping each, which comes out to 700 dollars. Then you also have to pay for springs.

What i find may be the better suggestion, is buy the Ksport or D2 full bodied coilovers. You get both, it is heigh and dampening adjustable, so you can get it as soft as you want. You can get them for 775 shipped i do believe.

[hammer3rd]

I talked to D2 yesterday and they are around 1200.00 dollars. Asl about the spring rates and they said f was 650 and r is 350. I know it is figured different with coilovers but I ask and they also do custom coils all the way down to 200. Any one here got any coments about there coilovers.

[MessyHonda]

I talked to D2 yesterday and they are around 1200.00 dollars. Asl about the spring rates and they said f was 650 and r is 350. I know it is figured different with coilovers but I ask and they also do custom coils all the way down to 200. Any one here got any coments about there coilovers.

you can get the d2 for around 800 if you shop around and for the money they are the most adjustable coilover setup you can get over the counter that will just bolt in.

[AccordB20A]

i hear d2s last for a little while then leak, well the 1st gen ones did i dunno about the newer ones

[hammer3rd]

I only know one person that has run them. legend master can tell us what he thinks of them and there quality. I belive they are a little stiff out of the box unless you want to race them or just like thet much control in a daily driver but the guy at D2 said thet they could fix that with different spring rates.

[RobT5580]

Koni Reds
H&R Springs
Suspension Techniques Sway Bars

Overall great package and ride for a nice daily driven car. I am considering upgrading to D2's since i need to drop the front more with the B20A in it.

http://i637.photobucket.com/albums/uu98/RobT5580/DSCN0591.jpg

http://thumb4.webshots.net/t/66/766/9/47/56/2305947560084712684HcrWiQ_th.jpg (http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2305947560084712684HcrWiQ)

http://thumb4.webshots.net/t/74/74/7/12/54/2644712540084712684GUktnX_th.jpg (http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2644712540084712684GUktnX)

http://thumb4.webshots.net/t/73/173/7/7/91/2862707910084712684qbiFWv_th.jpg (http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2862707910084712684qbiFWv)

This was on 17" rims and the first few pictures were definitely when the A20A3 was still in the car.

[w261w261]

That's a very pretty red.

[2drSE-i]

Koni Reds
H&R Springs
Suspension Techniques Sway Bars

Overall great package and ride for a nice daily driven car. I am considering upgrading to D2's since i need to drop the front more with the B20A in it.

This was on 17" rims and the first few pictures were definitely when the A20A3 was still in the car.

I have nearly the same setup, tokico springs rather than H&R, and it rides awesome.

[RobT5580]

Yeah H&R's are great for the average person here its to bad that Koni's are no longer available.

The red is close to stock but more metallic in the paint so on sunny days its a lot lighter of a color. I use to have a twin and i have pictures of both cars side by side.

[stat1K]

http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=70441&highlight=ksport

so far lx-incredible has put quite a few miles on his ksports - 2000+ miles, they seem to be holding up well and he hasn't had a single problem as of yet. lucky for him ksport is local so if he needs something fixed they are only about an hour drive from his house.

[hammer3rd]

Come on guys. We can do better than this. This was going to be an indepth thread on current suspension setups good bad and the ugly to help people with there new setup or a change/upgrade. How you got there how you like it why you kept it and what you would/are going to change and what parts you used. I have done a lot of reading and there is a lot of susp info on here. But it is all over the place. Could take a new guy hours to find any thing he/she might want to try. So help me out guys.

[stat1K]

why don't you find it, and organize it? that's usually how this gets done, that's what other members have done in the other threads. just a thought?

[hammer3rd]

Well I actually started that but got to thinking. If I just arange a lot of posts it will not be the same. I am looking for personal input about the suspension as much as I am looking for the parts.

[2drSE-i]

Here is a good summary of user input:

DUDE MY 600lb spring rate springs ride great on my softer than stock struts! I NOW visit a chiropractor every day!!

Not really, but personal opinion will always favor personal setup, unless they have money to play with different setups.

[hammer3rd]

Not personal opinion but experiance. You can hear a lot about setups but if someone has done and used what you are thanking then you have a leg up on just someones opinion.

[epic1400cs]

1) Stock Spring + Stock Shock
This was how it was when I bought it. Looking back now, comfort is great and I still miss it. Cornering is not too bad for daily drive but def no-no on motorway, or fast cornering. Fender gap almost killed me every time I saw it so I needed to do something.

2) H&R + Koni Red(F), Bilstein(R)
Great set up if I lived in Germany or Tokyo or I have no family. Cornering is like on the rail till the last moment then I hear tyres with slight understeer. Like OEM motor sport spring. Drop is perfect, fender gap is nice but not too crazy. I live in the area with lots of pot hole and speed bump means I can't drive fast with this set up - front sus stroke is short and going through pot hole is like big explosion. So need to move on...

3) Eibach Pro Kit + Koni red (F+R)
Mixed review on the Pro Kit here and the spring rate is beyond my understanding. However, when I started driving this set up, I couldn't stop laughing - it handles the speed bump very nicely like rocking chair without rattling my bones. I guess the rear spring helping a lot. For me it is good compromise between OEM and H&R set up. Drop is also between OEM and H&R - I would say catalogue picture height, highest I can tollerate. My only gripe is that front seems to be a touch hard - going through pot hole is still pain.

I am now planning to try a magic spring from far east that will give H&R height with OEM comfort.

[hammer3rd]

Thanks epic nice read. Helped me to what I might run on my hatch and mabey help more newbies. Keep us up tp date on the magic springs some more of might like to have a set.

[epic1400cs]

Thanks epic nice read. Helped me to what I might run on my hatch and mabey help more newbies. Keep us up tp date on the magic springs some more of might like to have a set.
No problem. My new spring may be next year or so but when that's happens, I will let you know how it goes.

[mykwikcoupe]

Im a fan of the sprint springs. My wifeys car had tokico sturts and eibach prokit and it rode good for a daily driver but the rear was a bit soft and tended to bounce once more then it should but a good ride. Its a minimalistic drop at best and for the price unless you want stock look id go more drop.

Ive tried the tokico and spints and I didnt like that. I ran sprints with konis and when you get the koni dialed in just right they do ride great. My current setup is the koni and ground controls and although the spring rates are the same from sprint to my ground controls something is way to stiff and the ride is harsh and nasty. Its just fine tuning though.

My hatch will eventually see revalved bilsteins that just happen to match the rates on the sprints near perfect so Im excited to see how that rides.

All of my cars have prelude UCA in front when the drop was done, the alignment done the same day and I keep everything up to good working order. My coupe has ingalls camber kit as well and if I dropped it all the way to the ground I wouldnt use more then the prelude arms could supply. I do have a ton of adjustment facto though. Its nice.

The sprints make the car look level maybe the front needs to drop just a bit more as the fender gap seems larger with the design of the well. Otherwise I like the feel.

[hammer3rd]

I would like to thank you guys for your posts so far. It is really starting to take off with what I was after. the personal side of suspensions. Now if I can call on a lot of the older guys to do the same it will really help complete this thread. Well it may never be complete but thorough. And it will be awsome to sticky Jims and Azmikes wonderfull threads to this to help a new 3rd gen owner or even a vet make a good informed choice on whay to put under thier car. Because as we all know a complete and balanced suspension will set you back 500.00 to a 1000.00 or more. And if you through in all new bushings balljoints and bearings it only gets higher. So if the older guys here could help the new guys not make a very costly mistake buy typing a few words wouldnt it be worth it. Thanks again for all your help guys Mike C.

[frantik]

Come on guys. We can do better than this. This was going to be an indepth thread.

dude, there are barely any options.. definitely not enough to get 'in depth'

there are no performance shocks made for our cars any more except ksport/d2

tokico/kyb/bilstien make shocks but they are basically stock.

there are lots of springs, none that work well with the available shocks.

only other suspension that is even still made for our cars is ST sway bars and maybe addco. sway bars are definitely recommended to kill body roll



i have koni red in front, tokico in back, eibach sportline springs. drop looks great, ride is a big rough. i would adjust my konis to be softer except it's a pain to pull them off the car to do it.

[markmdz89hatch]

I kinda agree with Frantik. Definitely that there's not many options at all. ...but yeah still something that we need to/should go in depth with.

IMO, 2DrSE-i hit the nail on the head with his last post. There are a lot of people that have used what I would consider poorly matched setups.

I wish I had the energy to go into it again right this second, but my kids are hounding me for some breakfast. I promise I'll come back and say something (sorry to those that are tired of hearing me rant about this).

The same thing I say over and over and over is that there's a bunch of spring options for us, but the shocks selection is just about non-existent. With that, it's inevitable there's going to be some setups that are done for the aesthetic appeal with a disregard for the actual facts behind if it's a proper setup or not.

Be back in a bit...

[stat1K]

uh oh, i bet there's a diagram or two when i check back later.

[hammer3rd]

Thanks guys. I know we only have a couple choices when it comes to shocks but that is the beauty of haveing a 3g accord. Making the best of what we have to keep them running and on the road. This way us new guys has a complete thread with all the info and the personal side of it as well. You can see an ad on a product and it might even be from a manufacture you have delt with in the past that makes a real good item. But you go and get it end it is junk or not what you were looing for. The personal side is not going to be the be all end all of suspension for the 3g accord but I or any one can read this thread and make a good informed choice based off of product availability and personal experience. Thanks for your posts and looking for you additions in the future.

[hammer3rd]

Come on guys. 431 views and only 39 replies. Surely there are more modified suspensions out there. So tell me about them, what you have how you like it what it took to get there and would you change anything if you could.