think about getting lowering springs. Help please!

[Aye_Aron97]

Been a couple months since i got my 2018 civc si, so far loving the car, cant say the same for the payments but its worth it. Anyways i was looking into lowering springs since they are cheaper than coil overs and allow me to keep the ADS but being so new to the car modding scene i dont know the pros or cons to most of what i see or am thinking about doing. But in researching ive heard that lowering springs might require modifying struts especially if you drive a car full of people from time to time (something about bottoming out with shocks/struts if i hit a bump to hard...??). I just wanna do this right without breaking the bank and having issues later down the road. Any suggestions or advice on the what i should do would be great!

PS im really new to all of this so speak in the dumbest layman terms you can so i don't misunderstand anything, thanks

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[lurker_j]

If you're going to do it yourself, don't be intimidated by the process. I never changed suspension myself before this car, but it is not as complicated as it seems, and it'll give you a new found love for your car.

Anyway, the most aggressive drop will be D2 Racing and Skunk2 springs currently. The mildest drop will be the Eibach Pro-Kit. There are other spring sets that will sit you in-between those (Megan Racing, H&R, Tein, Etc.). If you're just going for a dumped look, go D2. They will settle and look even lower than when you first put em on. Just be aware that when you just change the springs, you lessen the lifespan of your dampers (shocks).

Since you noted that you drive a full car of people, don't go D2 unless you are willing to roll the inner fender liner, or get smaller wheels, as you will rub on the fender liner. Speaking of which, before you even drop your car, ask yourself if you are planning to get new wheels and what size, because that will affect how enjoyable your new suspension will be for you, both looks and driving-wise.

So maybe we should start at the beginning: are you looking to change your wheels at all from the original wheels, how low do you want to go, and are the roads around you really well kept, or full of cracks and pot holes?

 

[Aye_Aron97]

If you're going to do it yourself, don't be intimidated by the process. I never changed suspension myself before this car, but it is not as complicated as it seems, and it'll give you a new found love for your car.

Anyway, the most aggressive drop will be D2 Racing and Skunk2 springs currently. The mildest drop will be the Eibach Pro-Kit. There are other spring sets that will sit you in-between those (Megan Racing, H&R, Tein, Etc.). If you're just going for a dumped look, go D2. They will settle and look even lower than when you first put em on. Just be aware that when you just change the springs, you lessen the lifespan of your dampers (shocks).

Since you noted that you drive a full car of people, don't go D2 unless you are willing to roll the inner fender liner, or get smaller wheels, as you will rub on the fender liner. Speaking of which, before you even drop your car, ask yourself if you are planning to get new wheels and what size, because that will affect how enjoyable your new suspension will be for you, both looks and driving-wise.

So maybe we should start at the beginning: are you looking to change your wheels at all from the original wheels, how low do you want to go, and are the roads around you really well kept, or full of cracks and pot holes?

i would like to get wider and slightly bigger low profile tires, which would have been my next question, whats my limit for new tires with that drop? I was already leaning towards the eibach pro-kit since ive heard good things about that brand and wont put a big dent in my bank account. roads aren't perfect around my area but i know where the bumps and cracks are and how to avoid them. and of course like anyone else i want this set up to last as long as possible.

 

[lurker_j]

i would like to get wider and slightly bigger low profile tires, which would have been my next question, whats my limit for new tires with that drop? I was already leaning towards the eibach pro-kit since ive heard good things about that brand and wont put a big dent in my bank account. roads aren't perfect around my area but i know where the bumps and cracks are and how to avoid them. and of course like anyone else i want this set up to last as long as possible.

Our OEM tires are 235s so you can go even larger if you want to fill that wheel gap that the Eibach Pro kit doesn't get rid of. It'll help with some of the ride quality that will suffer with stiffer springs because of the larger side wall. Unfortunately, I don't know the max people have been fitting in their cars, but I've seen as high as 265, but you may get some rub on dips. With that, you'll have to do some experimenting. What I would do is check "fitment industries" website and look up a wheel with similar specs as the wheel youre using now, then see if people have been getting rub with bigger wheel sizes and the suspension set up you're looking at.

 

[Aye_Aron97]

Our OEM tires are 235s so you can go even larger if you want to fill that wheel gap that the Eibach Pro kit doesn't get rid of. It'll help with some of the ride quality that will suffer with stiffer springs because of the larger side wall. Unfortunately, I don't know the max people have been fitting in their cars, but I've seen as high as 265, but you may get some rub on dips. With that, you'll have to do some experimenting. What I would do is check "fitment industries" website and look up a wheel with similar specs as the wheel youre using now, then see if people have been getting rub with bigger wheel sizes and the suspension set up you're looking at.

Yea I've been watching a lot of their videos on YouTube and I can tell they know their stuff. Definitely gonna check out their website to see what others are doing, thanks for the help

 

[DinaNuctornal]

I was looking at lowering my car and bought the D2 lowering springs but I am going for a cross country drive with my hatch MT. And I was wondering would it be good to do it before the trip or after the trip? I won’t be replacing anything but the springs.

 

[lurker_j]

I was looking at lowering my car and bought the D2 lowering springs but I am going for a cross country drive with my hatch MT. And I was wondering would it be good to do it before the trip or after the trip? I won’t be replacing anything but the springs.

I'd honestly do it after the trip since the springs will make the trip more bumpy and having all the extra weight of stuff you carry on a cross country trip can make you rub when you hit bad roads.

 

[civicdabest-foo]

Will lowering increase MPG? I'll get some used springs if they do

 

[lurker_j]

Will lowering increase MPG? I'll get some used springs if they do

No. The only thing that will be changing your gas mileage is if you drive more aggressively due to your car now feeling more racer-like. Changing your tires and getting lighter wheels could help your MPGs theoretically, but it's mostly going to be your driving style that affects it the most.

 

[NoKz]

I went with D2 lowering springs and for the first week or so, they were squeaky AF. I thought something was wrong as every bump made a squeak. I drove the car a little harder through turns and whatnot and they finally settled. I did not modify a single thing when installing them and I did not see an improvement in MPG (wasn't expecting to).

 

[Im Yoink]

I’m on Eibach sportline springs on my ext. Eibach springs generally provide the lowest drop. Something like D2 will drop a little more. The only different thing about driving on lowering springs would be being careful going over aggressive bumps but it’s not really that bad sense you’re not slamming the car. And about modifying the struts, the only thing you’d have to do is trim the bump stops as you’d be more likely to bottom out lowered. I however did not do this and haven’t bottomed out even with five people in the backseat (don’t question it lol). Although if you are gonna be proper all you have to do is use a box knife or something to trim back the bump stops some. Good luck on your build!

 

[Aye_Aron97]

I’m on Eibach sportline springs on my ext. Eibach springs generally provide the lowest drop. Something like D2 will drop a little more. The only different thing about driving on lowering springs would be being careful going over aggressive bumps but it’s not really that bad sense you’re not slamming the car. And about modifying the struts, the only thing you’d have to do is trim the bump stops as you’d be more likely to bottom out lowered. I however did not do this and haven’t bottomed out even with five people in the backseat (don’t question it lol). Although if you are gonna be proper all you have to do is use a box knife or something to trim back the bump stops some. Good luck on your build!

thanks for the info, also really like the look of your car. what did you use to do the black out the chrome around the windows? been wanting to do that for a while now

 

[Im Yoink]

thanks for the info, also really like the look of your car. what did you use to do the black out the chrome around the windows? been wanting to do that for a while now

I just grabbed a roll of black vinyl off amazon and wrapped them.

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