I keep seeing these kits on Ebay that are pretty cheap and I am not sure what to do. My 97 Civic Hatch has the stock suspension and it's butt ugly... I want to drop it about 2-3 inches and everyone I have talked to (at least at shows) says to go with a coilover kit. The ones on Ebay are relatively inexpensive and look like they will do the job. I don't want to spend an arm and a leg and I also want to do the install myself. Can anyone recommend a certain kind and also provide some tips on installation? I guess the first thing I need is a spring compressor and about a day's time. Thanks for any help! J

 

First off, coilovers will reduce the quality of the ride significantly, especially if they're cheap eBay coilover sleeves (which I would stay away from). I would look at getting a true suspension setup (springs and dampers) instead, as your ride quality won't decrease as much. Also, for that kind of drop, you'll want to invest in a camber kit.

 

What Kappa said, and if you do buy ebay couilovers, get skunk2 or dropzone...I have firsthand experience with dropzone and I liked them..but they were bouncy being coilovers...

 

Well, the other part of the equation is that I have a set of Neuspeed race springs that fit on my 97 Civic. The drop is about 3" and if I put them on I obviously wouldn't need coilovers (...duh, lol) -- the problem that my friend had was when he had the same springs on his 98 Civic, they dropped the car too low to use with his 17" Kosei wheels. I have 15" Rota Slipstreams that I was planning to use but only if I could get them to work with the Neuspeed race springs (provided there was no tire rub). Is it possible that with a smaller wheel I might not have a problem with rubbing? I have a 205/50-R15 tire on the Rotas. I guess what I really want is just a lower ride without that ugly gap. Maybe coilovers aren't the way to go but I thought I'd keep my options open. Any more thoughts? Thanks! ...Jeff