Advise about springs vs. coilovers vs leave OEM alone (haha)

[ToofHurts]

I'm on the fence about lowering the car "a tad". I'm running 255 / 40 / 18 on TE37s and I'm trying to convince myself to dabble with the suspension. A part of me is telling me to 'LEAVE SUSPENSION" alone and that Honda did an amazing job ... and the other part of me is convincing me to lower the car "a tad" to get a much better look.

And with lowering the car ... can't decide between springs vs coilovers. Been doing tons of research. I really don't want to "cheap'in" the car and make the suspension worse ... and not looking for a bouncy ride. I very much want a stock ride but an increase in performance if messing with the suspension.

I hear people regret messing with the suspension - especially with the spring upgrade ... so I'm open with spending more on a quality coilover (KW, Ohlins, etc) ...

I'm also almost 40 with a daughter ... so I'm not looking for that slammed, bouncy, or super stiff ride. I did that with my Integra GSR back in the day. No more.

Leave alone or take the plunge ?

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[Thusee]

What is the offset of your 18s? 255 will rub on springs depending on the offset. Majority of the time I would assume you are running 18x9.5+38.

Eibach pro kits or H&R will give you about a 1 inch drop.

Whiteline will give you 0.8 inch all around I believe.

Benefit of springs as I'm sure you're aware is its a cheaper alternative to coils. Eibachs are great and I have used it on mine with 245/40r18 on 18x9.5+38. However you do get much more shock travel when it rebounds so on a hard dip the car may tend to rub a bit. So on a 255 with the +38 offset it will rub for sure.

The maximum camber you can get out of the front shocks by removing the guide pins on the top hat is about negative 0.9 degrees. However you want to be around the neg. 1.5 degrees you can achieve that with adjustable lower balljoints to kick the bottom end out a bit..

Ofcourse with quality coil overs you get adjustable top mounts for added camber adjustment and a quality set will ride amazing.

I'm now running tein flex z coils on my Si sedan along with their edfc (electronic damper adjuster) so I can adjust the damping on the fly while I drive depending on road conditions. (I do adjust quite often)

If you do springs i highly recommend upgrading the sway bars which will help body roll in corners so it'll also help with rub.

Check out www.unity-performance.com for 10th gen chassis bracing/upgrades. @Unity Performance

 

[Thusee]

Just realized this was a R group post. But most of my info should help some what.

 

[ToofHurts]

What is the offset of your 18s? 255 will rub on springs depending on the offset. Majority of the time I would assume you are running 18x9.5+38.

Eibach pro kits or H&R will give you about a 1 inch drop.

Whiteline will give you 0.8 inch all around I believe.

Benefit of springs as I'm sure you're aware is its a cheaper alternative to coils. Eibachs are great and I have used it on mine with 245/40r18 on 18x9.5+38. However you do get much more shock travel when it rebounds so on a hard dip the car may tend to rub a bit. So on a 255 with the +38 offset it will rub for sure.

The maximum camber you can get out of the front shocks by removing the guide pins on the top hat is about negative 0.9 degrees. However you want to be around the neg. 1.5 degrees you can achieve that with adjustable lower balljoints to kick the bottom end out a bit..

Ofcourse with quality coil overs you get adjustable top mounts for added camber adjustment and a quality set will ride amazing.

I'm now running tein flex z coils on my Si sedan along with their edfc (electronic damper adjuster) so I can adjust the damping on the fly while I drive depending on road conditions. (I do adjust quite often)

If you do springs i highly recommend upgrading the sway bars which will help body roll in corners so it'll also help with rub.

Check out www.unity-performance.com for 10th gen chassis bracing/upgrades. @Unity Performance

The TE37s are +44 offset.

 

[TheGreekFreak]

Went that route with my GTI, proper springs, dampers, sways, etc. While the car handled amazing on good roads, the sacrifices it made to the daily driveability were significant.

Even if you go the top of the line Ohlins route, I believe those have a recommended service interval of like 20K miles to ensure their performance. That involves taking them off, sending them in, and reinstalling when they send back. You could say screw it and go until they feel like shit and need rebuilding, but I would guess even that is at some impractical early interval. Not a huge deal on some weekend toy that gets a few thousand miles of use a year....but on a daily, no thanks.

Engineers spent alot of time to create a balance between track performance and comfort on the street with the CTR....I would leave it alone imo. If its some car that was cushy from the factory and lacked excitement in the corners, sure, but I wouldn't touch this one with the tuned adjustable dampening and all the money already factored into the stock suspension.

 

[dellyjoughnut]

In short:
Springs: cheap to lower vehicle.
Coilovers: Go with Tein for comfort. Everyone else makes monotube.

 

[ToofHurts]

Went that route with my GTI, proper springs, dampers, sways, etc. While the car handled amazing on good roads, the sacrifices it made to the daily driveability were significant.

Even if you go the top of the line Ohlins route, I believe those have a recommended service interval of like 20K miles to ensure their performance. That involves taking them off, sending them in, and reinstalling when they send back. You could say screw it and go until they feel like shit and need rebuilding, but I would guess even that is at some impractical early interval. Not a huge deal on some weekend toy that gets a few thousand miles of use a year....but on a daily, no thanks.

Engineers spent alot of time to create a balance between track performance and comfort on the street with the CTR....I would leave it alone imo. If its some car that was cushy from the factory and lacked excitement in the corners, sure, but I wouldn't touch this one with the tuned adjustable dampening and all the money already factored into the stock suspension.

My exact thoughts. The car is so dialed in I just feel horrible screwing it up.

 

[FK8CW2019]

Can't beat stock suspension. I think with 18X9.5 +38 with 255/40/18 perfect setup! The suspension is just way too good.

 

[ez12a]

imo, the car set a record with the stock suspension. I can only dream to get to that level. To each their own but i'm sticking with OEM.

 

[boosted180sx]

everything can be improved upon from factory when there are budgets set and have to cater to a wide variety of people.

but there are sacrifices you may have to take i.e. ride comfort, clearance, etc.

 

[ToofHurts]

everything can be improved upon from factory when there are budgets set and have to cater to a wide variety of people.

but there are sacrifices you may have to take i.e. ride comfort, clearance, etc.

I haven't been to a track - but would love to experience it at least once in my lifetime (haha). Just can't tell the wifey. I totally understood that changing suspension component can improve the car (coilovers, sway bars, camber plates ... etc). But there's a cost and a high level of knowledge and tuning to dial it all in to work as a total package. The CTR comes from the factory already tuned in. I def. don't have the knowledge, skill, and track time to tune a complete suspension overhaul (and feel most people don't either).

I do wish the car was like 15mm lower to look more aggressive and fill in the wheel space. I just don't know a solution to help with the looks but not sacrifices the cars handling / ride quality / etc.

I hear lots of mix feelings with spring upgrades. Some love it ... some not so much. If anything I was eyeing espelir springs due to the lowest drop and the closest to OEM spring rates of anything offered on the market. I just haven't read a review of them on the CTR and - honestly - never really heard of them until recently. The next spring would likely be the Spoon ones.

The fun thing about all of this is the research it provides and getting my mind off from work. haha.

 

[NapalmEnema]

I haven't been to a track - but would love to experience it at least once in my lifetime (haha). Just can't tell the wifey. I totally understood that changing suspension component can improve the car (coilovers, sway bars, camber plates ... etc). But there's a cost and a high level of knowledge and tuning to dial it all in to work as a total package. The CTR comes from the factory already tuned in. I def. don't have the knowledge, skill, and track time to tune a complete suspension overhaul (and feel most people don't either).

I do wish the car was like 15mm lower to look more aggressive and fill in the wheel space. I just don't know a solution to help with the looks but not sacrifices the cars handling / ride quality / etc.

I hear lots of mix feelings with spring upgrades. Some love it ... some not so much. If anything I was eyeing espelir springs due to the lowest drop and the closest to OEM spring rates of anything offered on the market. I just haven't read a review of them on the CTR and - honestly - never really heard of them until recently. The next spring would likely be the Spoon ones.

The fun thing about all of this is the research it provides and getting my mind off from work. haha.

Bud - you live in Jersey - why would you want to lower your car at all and make your life pain? Spend money elsewhere imo - car is great as it sits...

 

[Kane666]

i wish i would have never touched it

 

[ToofHurts]

i wish i would have never touched it

and there you go.

 

[boosted180sx]

I haven't been to a track - but would love to experience it at least once in my lifetime (haha). Just can't tell the wifey. I totally understood that changing suspension component can improve the car (coilovers, sway bars, camber plates ... etc). But there's a cost and a high level of knowledge and tuning to dial it all in to work as a total package. The CTR comes from the factory already tuned in. I def. don't have the knowledge, skill, and track time to tune a complete suspension overhaul (and feel most people don't either).

I do wish the car was like 15mm lower to look more aggressive and fill in the wheel space. I just don't know a solution to help with the looks but not sacrifices the cars handling / ride quality / etc.

I hear lots of mix feelings with spring upgrades. Some love it ... some not so much. If anything I was eyeing espelir springs due to the lowest drop and the closest to OEM spring rates of anything offered on the market. I just haven't read a review of them on the CTR and - honestly - never really heard of them until recently. The next spring would likely be the Spoon ones.

The fun thing about all of this is the research it provides and getting my mind off from work. haha.

thats the thing. noone can really answer the question for you as everybody has different views of the car.
i am glad to be on swifts and i dont regret it one bit. Car feels better than stock and looks better than stock. Springs and sway bars will definitely make the car feel different compared to stock. You don't need to spend thousands on coilovers if you don't plan on tuning the suspension imo.
Whether the upgrade is "good" depends on your meaning of good.

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