1988-1990 Front Civic Struts Work

[Legend_master]

Let me start by saying that I had two threads merged together to make this thread, so it might get confusing until I have the post removed.

-What is required
1. 1988-1990 Civic Front Tokico Illumina Struts
2. Welded Rings that fit snugly around the strut (I found these at a local Hardware store)
*You dont have to use the welded rings, but you need something that fits around the strut and sets the lower perch in place.
3. factory Accord strut perches and top hats

You must remove the weld that holds the piece of metal that the lower fork rest on (I circled this piece in the picture below). Once you are able to move that piece of metal up and down then you can place welded rings on the shaft of the strut to allow the strut to sit lower in the fork. Just make sure whatever you use in between the fork and the movable piece of metal is strong enough to support the weight of a car.

This is the piece I removed the weld from and moved.


Here are the welded rings





Pic 3


The struts came with a bracket that allowed me to bolt the brake lines to it.

[NXRacer]

i've been saying for a while civic struts bolt in. . . . . .i've been running 98 civic struts in the rear and they're awesome.

[AccordEpicenter]

so nx... 96-00 civic struts work in the rear and 88-91 fronts work? What were the mods if any to get the rears to work?

[Legend_master]

i've been saying for a while civic struts bolt in. . . . . .i've been running 98 civic struts in the rear and they're awesome.

I thought the rears were much shorter, if they are they are only good if you have the suspention dumped, to my knowledge.

[AccordEpicenter]

very interesting guys

[carotman]

Well, if you call let's say tein and ask them to make a kit for our cars that will simply be a front set from an existing car and a rear set from another, they will gladly offer the kit. I mean, why not offer the kit if no research n developpement is required and you only have to supply existing parts as a new kit.

[Legend_master]

Well, if you call let's say tein and ask them to make a kit for our cars that will simply be a front set from an existing car and a rear set from another, they will gladly offer the kit. I mean, why not offer the kit if no research n developpement is required and you only have to supply existing parts as a new kit.

thats true, but we need to make sure the rear will not be to low for most everyday applications.

[NXRacer]

yes the civic struts are shorter which makes it good for lowering your car. If you want a minimal drop, i'm not sure how well the civic struts would work for ya.

as for mods, there are absolutely non. I just bolted them right in.

[Legend_master]

yes the civic struts are shorter which makes it good for lowering your car. If you want a minimal drop, i'm not sure how well the civic struts would work for ya.
as for mods, there are absolutely non. I just bolted them right in.

I think the 4g Accords have the same size rear struts as us. I am not sure, but I will check it out at the JK today.

[Zufer]

these are how low my struts sit in my car



and this is how low my car sits overall

[Deadhead]

ok, my question is, is if i go to the j/y and pull some rears off a 96-00 civic and the fronts off an 88-90 civic...


This is the WHOLE strut assembly that i'm talking about.

Will this lower or raise my car? if so, approximately how much of a difference from stock?

[Zufer]

i've never compared stock springs and overall height... but i'm gonna bet on it'll lower the rear quite a bit and raise the front some. i don't know exact measurements. just a guess i'd say an inch on either end

[Deadhead]

that's an intersting combo... lower in back, higher in front....


uh..... is there some other struts that work for the front that would lower it a bit?

[Zufer]

not that i know of

[b8er]

now im asuming if we had these other struts in our cars or went to buy them they should be cheaper then a set of blistenis or whatnot that are made for the 3rd gen because there are more redadly avaliable and more ppl would possibly buy them correct? could somebody make up a 'price list' of sorts with the cost for some re-valved blistenes and the 97 tokico illuminas and so on i think that might help ppl know what is possibly for our cars and what the cost of each possibiliys are, thanks

[Legend_master]

now im asuming if we had these other struts in our cars or went to buy them they should be cheaper then a set of blistenis or whatnot that are made for the 3rd gen because there are more redadly avaliable and more ppl would possibly buy them correct? could somebody make up a 'price list' of sorts with the cost for some re-valved blistenes and the 97 tokico illuminas and so on i think that might help ppl know what is possibly for our cars and what the cost of each possibiliys are, thanks

I dont know the price of the bilsteens, but I am sure they are more expensive then the civic struts plus they are not fully adjustable. I paid $93.00 a piece + shipping for my 1988 civic struts.

[Justin86]

hum and I thought the 88-91 civic shocks were the same as the 92-95???
I bought a set of 92-95 a while back and the front body was 1/4" thicker and I had to use civic lower forks. If the 88-91 will fit in the accord forks then they are the easiest fit for us, cool cool. I might have to buy another set of shocks.

yea the revalved blistens are around $800, where you can get 5-way adjuatable AGX or Koni for under $500

[Legend_master]

hum and I thought the 88-91 civic shocks were the same as the 92-95???
I bought a set of 92-95 a while back and the front body was 1/4" thicker and I had to use civic lower forks. If the 88-91 will fit in the accord forks then they are the easiest fit for us, cool cool. I might have to buy another set of shocks.
yea the revalved blistens are around $800, where you can get 5-way adjuatable AGX or Koni for under $500

Nope the 92-95 are similar to the 96-00. The mods to make this work are very minimal, even if you want to lower the strut a little to make it ride at factory hight is easy.

[Justin86]

well something is differnet cause the 92-95 stock ones I have are thicker and 2" taller then the accords. When I went to the j/y for civic forks they were also 1/4" bigger. The 88-91 were were the same dia as the accord.
Now you tried 88-91 and 96-00 shocks and they are the same dia and about 1/2" or so taller. Then checking parts numbers they are the same for 88-00???

[Legend_master]

well something is differnet cause the 92-95 stock ones I have are thicker and 2" taller then the accords. When I went to the j/y for civic forks they were also 1/4" bigger. The 88-91 were were the same dia as the accord.
Now you tried 88-91 and 96-00 shocks and they are the same dia and about 1/2" or so taller. Then checking parts numbers they are the same for 88-00???

No the 88-91 diameter is the same as the accords and the struts are a little taller then the accords. The 96-00 diameter were much thicker and they were much taller. The 92-00 civic and 94-00 integra struts are all the same and I think the type R version of the civic and integra struts are a little shorter, but the diameter is the same.

[Justin86]

I'm just trying to get this cleared up for the other members that the 92-00 is not that easy of a swap. You mention they were taller but having to deal with the thicker bodies is a hassle, of getting the civic forks then grinding them to fit over the accord lower arm. You made it sound like all yrs were a bolt on process.

[bobafett]

from the limited amount of info i have gathered.

YES: you can use EF (88-91) civic shocks in the front, without modifying much. BUT, in order to lower the car back to the levels that you want, you will have to effectivley compress that civic shock more than normal (first, to make up for the amount of height that it is taller than the accord, and then to account for the lowering that you would want).

the solution to this, as zeph already pointed out, is to modify how low the strut sits in teh fork, by lowering THAT, we are lowering the car, and not compressing the shock. the advantage is that we could dump our cars 3+ inches, and the shock would be compressed in a way that is closer to stock. it wouldnt actually compress 3 inches further. this will allow the strut to function the way is was meant to, and will keep us from blowing the shit out of them.

YES: in the rear you can you EK (96-00) civic shocks, but you are forced to run close to a 3 inch dump... there is no way around it. the advantage again, is that the strut is efficient, in that, even though your car is 3" lower, the shock is happy cause it hasnt been compressed that much extra. so it will perform a lot better.

its simple guys...

NOW, there may be other shocks that work, but this is tried and true...

[Legend_master]

from the limited amount of info i have gathered.

YES: you can use EF (88-91) civic shocks in the front, without modifying much. BUT, in order to lower the car back to the levels that you want, you will have to effectivley compress that civic shock more than normal (first, to make up for the amount of height that it is taller than the accord, and then to account for the lowering that you would want).

the solution to this, as zeph already pointed out, is to modify how low the strut sits in teh fork, by lowering THAT, we are lowering the car, and not compressing the shock. the advantage is that we could dump our cars 3+ inches, and the shock would be compressed in a way that is closer to stock. it wouldnt actually compress 3 inches further. this will allow the strut to function the way is was meant to, and will keep us from blowing the shit out of them.

YES: in the rear you can you EK (96-00) civic shocks, but you are forced to run close to a 3 inch dump... there is no way around it. the advantage again, is that the strut is efficient, in that, even though your car is 3" lower, the shock is happy cause it hasnt been compressed that much extra. so it will perform a lot better.

its simple guys...

NOW, there may be other shocks that work, but this is tried and true...

this is all correct, but 88-00 civic and integra rear struts will work on our cars. THe same 3" drop is required for all years and and models of the civic and integra rear struts.

[Justin86]

well looks like I need to work on brackets to raise the rear shocks..............

[Busted_Blue]

well looks like I need to work on brackets to raise the rear shocks..............

This is exactly the reason while I failed to use the Tein Coilovers for a EF (89-91) civics. The rear was so low that the lower control arm was hitting the S/T Sway bar i had. Also Tein ones are definitely alot shorter as they are shorten struts so I might have been looking at at least a 3.5inch drop O_O..


I also remember..that our cars have NO ground clearance whatsoever when dumped =\