ok back to the grind today. another day at the office.
going to have my son pull up the GK factory wheels to the garage tonight.

have a great thursday everyone!

 

woot, got my tracking numbers for my detailing supplies.

i also noticed my clocked died in the garage. maybe from the cold temps, not sure. i put in a new AA battery and in no time the voltage drops to 1.4v and it cant keep time. usually clocks can run 1v and still keep time, no?

anyway, ordered a new clock for the garage..

 

So only coilovers or nothing for you guys huh?

Happy Thursday, should be raining tomorrow and saturday...going to hit up the local mountains for some snow =).

Dont think I'll get any outside house projects done due to the rain but maybe I'll start working on the patio furniture I've been wanting to make. Building it isnt the hard part...its the waiting for stain to dry so I can put another coat on.

 

For me the choice between coilovers and just springs depends on vehicle age and use.

For a new car that's a daily driver, I've always just done springs. The struts/shocks are new and I want a good ride, so just a set of good springs is enough for me.

For a car that's a toy or is older and has worn out struts/shocks, coilovers make more sense to me. Our Fit isn't likely to get driven more than 50 miles from home and still has the old original struts/shocks. It will get coilovers here soon.

I've had one car that I first went with springs (Eibach Pro-Kit) and then switched to JIC coilovers. That car was the one that made me hate Eibach's. That was back in 2002, so things have likely changed, but they were absolutely horrible. They drastically reduced the cars handling ability and hurt my autocross times.

That being said, back in 1996 I put a set of Eibach's on my 1993 Taurus SHO and they were fantastic!

 

At this point, probably? If I keep the Fit longer term, I'll probably source the J's Racing spring/damper package, non-adjustable but matched.

 

Here is my current stance now...OEM, took this pic this morning at work. Wheel gap is a uniform 2 finger (1.5") gap all around the wheel. It's not 'bad' looking. Maybe I just have the 'itch' to mod the car. When in fact it drive extremely well and looks good too.





I have 0 issues with driveways, potholes etc. I guess a suspension drop/wheel change would simply be for aesthetics at this point.

This is a 2" drop on coils (too much for me...I'm past the driving a slammed car). But he has the 18x9 +35 i'm considering. Which is pretty darn flush.


This seems perfect for me. 1" all around and 18x8 +30 (aka OEMs with 20mm spacer).



Bah...not only do I have this 'itch' but I think i caught a cold yesterday. throat has been bothering me and got a minor cough.

 

shinjari depends on the car but if you buy the sports trim car chances are you won’t need to swap anything. in your case if i was to buy a civic it would be the TypeR. and id just drive it with stock suspension.

but i made the mistake of buying a GTI so i’m running VWR springs. it’s not bad but not ideal when i have a full load. for driving around by myself it’s fine. would i buy a GTI again? no. will be only the Golf-R and drive on stock suspension.

 

i’ve seen plenty of civic HB’s in my area and i think the stock suspension and wheels look fine. i think it flows well with the car.

 

Oh definitely if I had the CTR I'd leave it as is. MAYBE go -1 on wheel size. Not sure how I like 19s.

Either way, you know how it is....get the 'itch' to mod....then it goes away...then it comes back...clearly it's currently 'back'. Been spending so much time/money on house stuff i feel like I need to reward myself with a car project.

Woot, more than half way thru the day.

 

I like that one lowered one inch with spacers! The factory wheels aren't bad at all. With the slight lowering and slight poke, I'd be happy.

If I get a CTR, I'll -2 it. The factory 20's with rubber bands for tires isn't my look and I think 18's are enough for a small car doing the grind.

 

Ah you're right GAFIT, they are 20's. I'd agree with a -2.

Yeah the black one is a drop on Eibachs with 20mm spacers...super clean right? Dont even 'need' new wheels.

 

I have to say that, when I had Eibachs that were proper for the car, they were excellent. Gave the SHO some rake and the rears were stiffer than factory. They greatly helped that car.

The major miss was on a Sentra Spec-V. Maybe because it was a specialty model, but the Eibach's were softer than stock and horrible.

Can you remind me what your factory rates are and what the Eibach's are? As long as the rear is same or stiffer than stock, I'd go with them. I like the -1/-.8 numbers.

I'm not normally a spacer guy, but I'm also not super into spending $2,000 on wheels for a daily unless it fits your fun/blow money budget like kenchan can do. Personally, I'd rather have stock wheels with spacers than cheap aftermarket wheels. The factory wheels are at least quality made and, in your case, look pretty good.

 

Front Specs
OEM 141 lbs/in
Eibach 157 lbs/in

Rear Specs
OEM 162 lbs/in
Eibach progressive 120-183 lbs/in.

I got a $25 coupon for a forum vendor...so $210-25...$185 shipped. Very enticing.

 

Man...I wish that first number on the rears didn't start at 120. That's how the one's were on my Spec-V and it ruined my 60' times at the drag strip.

Problem with a front wheel drive car is, if the rear starts to squat on take off, it unloads the front suspension and transfers weight to the rear. Then it spins which takes reduces weight transfer and allows the front to regain traction. Result is axle hop.

I know you're not racing the car, but that seesaw motion caused from the progressive rate rear springs that started off soft also killed my autocross times. Made the car unpredictable because it would go from soft to stiff when turning as well.

Any reports from autocrosser's with the Gen 10 Civics with the Eibachs? Maybe the cars aren't as prone to weight transfer issues and it's not as bad as with Sentra's.

 

I have never cared for progressive spring rate springs. Car flops over until the springs compress & do their job. Are there springs one can get for your Honda that are not progressive?

 

Ditto. They have ride quality advantages, but those are outweighed by the handling disadvantages for me with a sporty car.

 

yah, completely agree on progressive rate springs. i hate them. they are just too soft initial bump and makes it impossible to tell when the main spring rate kicks in cause each time you hit a little bump or any imperfection the rates just progressively and uncontrollably change on all corners. its like a wtf moment.

it's bad enough you got stupid drivers out there making all sorts of variables for your driving, you want your car to be solid and consistent each time.

id just leave the car alone especially if it's just an itch.

 

alright my kid got the GK wheels in the garage adapting to the cooler air so that it will make it easier to tell how much psi i need to pump when i put them on the car tomorrow.

also purged my hydraulic jack, got the tools out, etc. i am ready to go..well, my kid is going to do all the heavy work. i just watch and do the final checks.

afterwards my kid was interested in detailing so taught him da dos and donts.. the lesson about direct drives and RO's, etc.

 

ordered 5w30 for my STI. got it at the same price as walmart.. woot. i hate going to walmart.

GAFIT did you get your free shopdap beer glass? i got mine in the mail a couple of days ago.
looks like im going to be buying 2 liqui-moly oil change kits this yr.

 

Beer glass? I didn't see that.