6th Gen - Suspension: Konis, Ground Controls, and more

Products: Koni Sport (yellow) shocks, Ground Control coilovers, Suspension Techniques Speedtech Competition rear swaybar with subframe brace, Prothane polyurethane rear LCA and shock mount bushings

Distributor: RedShift Motorsports (http://www.redshiftmotorsports.com/) (Konis+GCs), Speed6Motorsports (http://www.hondacivicforum.com/forumid_249/tt.htm) (swaybar), Pro Street Online (bushings)
Vehicle: 1999 Civic EX Coupe
Cost: somewhere around 1300 shipped for everything
Installation: took about 14-16 hours, including cutting 4 LCA bolts and burning out the stock bushings. that's with air tools, a torch, and a former Honda mechanic who has done this install many times
Overall rating: *****

I wanted a suspension setup that would be great for autocross and still tolerable on the street. This is exactly what I needed. The ride quality is still fine, it handles AMAZINGLY now, and I highly recommend it. Even if you just get the Konis/GCs and leave it at that. The shocks are adjustable stiffness, the coilovers are abviously height adjustable, the subframe brace is adjustable too. And when you can carry more speed through the corners, then, yes, new suspension does make your car faster. It's true.

Some things you should know:
- You can buy the Konis and GCs with standard spring rates for 800 bucks.
- If you decide later to change spring rates, you can buy the springs individually.
- Only Prothane makes poly LCA bushings for 96-00 Civics. Energy Suspension doesn't have them. The old ones have to be burned/cut out, and the new ones pressed in
- Buy the Konis and GCs together. Or, make sure you buy the GCs that are specifically "for Konis"
- if you've never taken out your LCA bolts and you live somewhere that has winters, you might have to cut the bolts out. Not only will you need new bolts (~$8 from the Honda dealer) but you will need to replace any bushings in which the bolts seized. Or just buy new LCAs. Be prepared.
- the instructions aren't great for any of these products; I'd recommend getting a hand from someone who's done this before.

Here are some photos from the installation.

http://static.flickr.com/90/237721390_c3e1980e8e.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/115/252507263_4d08027290.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/119/252507274_16e2f2e4dc.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/119/252507286_cbc717baa2.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/94/252817982_35b4c97b66.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/92/252817751_3553182065.jpg

Excellent write up Marnie.

You're rear camber issue looks almost as bad as mine :D Are you going to use the washer trick or get a camber kit?

Car looks most excellent as always, nice work!

ORIGINAL: Forty04

Are you going to use the washer trick or get a camber kit?

Already did the washer trick, after I took the pictures but before I got an alignment (which you have to do after you take your suspension apart and put it back together), it fixed it.

Just thought I should add that I would recommend this setup for any Civic, although depending on the year you might have different options, i.e. Energy Suspension does make the LCA bushings for the 5th gen Civics, just not the 6th gen. Etc.

I can add that after taking a lap around a pretty dynamic autocross course this setup is awesome. It really fixed everything wrong with the Civic's stock suspension:

1) Body roll is GONE.
2) Monster truck ride height, gone.
3) Sloppy (slow) weight transfer, gone.
4) Horrable understeer, gone but still controlable.

Overall, if I still had my Civic I know what I would be running. Two thumbs up.

how does your low speed handling feel?

I almost bought a beautiful black EK coupe out of south carolina this summer with ground controls and konis.

the ride was pretty jiggly at slow speeds. It might have been from the guys car having 180,000 miles on it, though (as well as it being stolen the week before by a "prospective buyer").

it only took a couple days to get used to it. I wouldn't say it's fun on super bumpy pavement, but for the most part it's totally fine. potholes are now much easier to avoid at the last second :D

do you know what spring rates the guy had, and how he had the shocks set??

Nice write up. I think I'm going for the ground controls over the omni powers for sure now. Thanks for sharing...

ORIGINAL: mxs

it only took a couple days to get used to it. I wouldn't say it's fun on super bumpy pavement, but for the most part it's totally fine. potholes are now much easier to avoid at the last second :D

do you know what spring rates the guy had, and how he had the shocks set??


I don't know what spring rates the guy had, but wheel clearance was minimal it was so low.

the car was AWESOME. black head to toe with Type-R lip kit and a 600 watt DVD navigation sound system.

but it lacked emissions testing, so no luck.

Since you do quite a bit of auto-crossing, it would be interesting to see how much you can shave off your times compared to your previous setup.

since the course changes at every event, I can't really compare before and after...

Oh, ok. Since I haven't attended many to compare, I was wondering if autocross worked that way or not. Nonetheless, it would have been interesting to see the time differences though.

omg! msx! awesome! i need your help in doing my suspension for the next autox event. I stil have so many questions:
what are those red plastic gonna do?
are those for the rear only?
the ground control bar is the same things as sway bar?
do you have lower front and rear strut bars?

PM me.
I try to look for the stuff on ebay!

The "red plastic" is polyurethane bushings, they replace the stock rubber bushings. They are stiffer so they take out a lot of the slop in the suspension. I only have them in the back. I only put a sway bar in the back, I have a bigger strut bar in the back and stiffer springs in the back too. This makes the car rotate a LOT better, I can DESTROY slaloms now, but it also makes it very touchy and "high strung" on the street if you are not used to it. Now that I'm switching between two cars, every time I get in the Civic I have to remind myself how to drive it without ending up in oncoming traffic. :eek:

For you I would suggest getting the Konis and Ground Controls, but with the standard spring rates. You can always upgrade them later! The springs are available separately. So next year if you want to go stiffer you can just replace the springs. And I'd suggest getting a smaller rear swaybar to start with.

the ground control bar is the same things as sway bar?
I never said anything about a "ground control bar" -- mine is from Suspension Techniques

thanks mxs,
i have been reading this thread over and over and over and over so many times...
sighz...
i THINK i am getting the Koni threaded.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=016&sspagename=STRK%3AME WA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=260067471913&rd=1,1

22 or 23 mm sway bar, and lower control arms, and ASR subframce brace.
what do you think?

no, I still think you should get what I suggested above. The stuff you're looking at isn't any better. I'm not sure if you can use other springs with those coilovers, so you may not be able to switch to a stiffer spring later on. Plus those are progressive rate springs, comfortable for the street but the spring rate changes as they compress, which means the handling characteristics won't be consistent. And the ASR subframe brace is NOT legal in STS class.

yes ma'am,
i ll copy you
do you i need camber kit too? or i just "washer trick"
i ll find the stuff and pm you the link b4 i buy.
thanks alot mxs!
happy holidayzz.!

thats a sweet setup man, i will definately do the same for my SI.
P.S. i love how there are all these engines and transmissions lieing beside the wall.

ORIGINAL: 2KCIVICSIG

thats a sweet setup man, i will definately do the same for my SI.
P.S. i love how there are all these engines and transmissions lieing beside the wall.


Marnie is a girl just so you know

ORIGINAL: mxs
And the ASR subframe brace is NOT legal in STS class.


If you're looking to autocross the car, keep the swaybar thickness down. A 22-23mm ITR sway has a very good chance of tearing the subframe out of your car eventually without some form of reinforcement!

My hatch is on Koni's/Grounds. Nicest suspension I've ever had the chance to ride in, and I've ridden in my fair share of cars.

Yup, that's why I got this kit, it comes with the subframe reinforcement plates. :)

nice setup...generally how low can you go without worrying about camber problems?? or should I just buy a camber kit??

Beautiful white Honda? What model is it and how many inches did you lower it in the pic? Did you have to press in the polyurethanes?

holy blast from the mother f'n past.

yes bump from the past.
searching for info on the KONI yellows and cannt find much!
you got any problems with the strut perches? im curious if when i get mine if i should try some kinda custom perch so theres no posible coilover sleeve slipping..
i cannt find any pictures of them instaled closely.. :(


i cant wait to get my koni/GC combo pieced together!