Suspension help...

[InvalidUserID]

Hello all.

I'd like some suggestions for my little 1999 Civic EX coupe. I just bought it with 107k and to my knowledge, original suspension parts. What I was thinking about was:

1) New tires
- Tires right now are 185/65/14 BFGoodrich Premiere Touring (620 A B rating). I'd like to maybe go up to 195/60/14s, maybe the Yokohama AVID H4S.

2) New shocks/struts (what does this car have anyways?)
- On my old car (1996 Camaro), I simply swapped out the stock shocks for some Bilsteins and they made the car feel/handle much better. Would swapping out the existing shocks for some Bilsteins/Koni shocks improve the handling? I asked around a honda forum but they all suggested some coilovers that would drop the car a bit, which I'm not really looking to do.

This is just for my daily driver so there is zero track use or racing. I would just like to firm up the ride a bit and improve handling a little.

Thanks guys!

 

[alreadygone]

Definitely has struts. Changing 107,000 mile struts will definitely make an improvmement. Not sure if these can be changed without spring compressors, or disruption of steering geometry (alignment). Just looking at struts you can tell if they are attached to spring assembly. If they are, you'll need to rent (or borrow from strut supplier) compressors. Either way a 4 wheel alignment,done by a competent shop would be a good idea with that many miles and in addition to new tires.

Unfortunately I'm too far away to do align!!!!

Bob

 

[Quest]

6th generation Civics are all struts (McPherson Struts) all around, and for that you will definitely have to get a pair of strut spring compressor before you can do service them.

Depends on what aftermarket brand you want, if it's Tokico or KYB (or sometimes Showa if you can get them here), all other aftermarket strut replacements definitely require all 4 wheel alignment (mainly camber and toe-in with strut plates or offset alignment strut mount bolts).

Last that I dealt with my local aftermarket supplier for civic struts, Tokico blue for 6th gen civics are pretty much made in China. Dunno their quality but I would assume that they would fair a bit better than non-Japanese made KYBs but still under-par than true OE units (which tends to last very long). I would personally stay away from Monroe or Gabriel (yuck!) for they never last more than 3 yrs in my cases.

My 2c's worth. Good luck and enjoy your 6th gen civic.

Q

 

[chas3]

after 107k just about any factory original suspension part is going to be near the end of its life. using a spring compressor to replace the struts is fairly dangerous due to the amount of energy in the spring. taking the struts off the car and having a shop do the work is a good idea if you are worried about a spring compressor letting go.

also consider replacing any of the rubber parts on your swaybars and end-links with poly. i assume a civic has a front sway but dont know about a rear sway.

 

[Merkava_4]

Quote:

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taking the struts off the car and having a shop do the work is a good idea if you are worried about a spring compressor letting go.

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That's what I was going to do until PepBoys quoted me $35 to change one strut spring; and that's with the strut OFF the car too.

I rented a spring compressor from Autozone for free and did the work myself. If you have a good compressor and you install it on the spring correctly, the risk is minimal.

 

[InvalidUserID]

Thanks for the replies all. After looking online, the sites were offering both struts and shocks so I was unsure of what I needed.

I would definitely get them changed out at a shop. I have no problem paying for a job that I'm not comfortable doing, especially if there is a risk of getting hurt.

I'm leaning towards getting Bilsteins since I've had good results with them on my other car and maybe some better tires in a few months since the current tires are practically new.

 

[PandaBear]

For a Civic that is not going to drop, I would recommend KYB GR2. I had a set of them on my corolla and it ride nice. Tokico Blue is about the same but cost more.

For spring compressor you can "borrow" for free in AutoZone if you are lucky, they are usually out. Kragen used to rent them for about $6-7 a day and you would definitely need them. However, be prepared that the ones you rent may not clear the strut/shock when compressing. I tried changing on my integra and it wouldn't clear one of them, I have to bring the set to a tire place to compress for me, and that cost me $40.

Definitely the hardest part is compress/uncompress the spring, and make sure you have a spare transport and a friend to help out. It took my dad and I a few try to get it right. A table mounted C-clamp helps a lot too.

 

[PandaBear]

195-60-14 will clear the fender for sure, many people runs 205 tires with alloy and that clears, so 195 should be fine. Your car may feel a bit heavier due to additional rotational mass and the upgrade tire compound, but that's about it.