I have a 1999 Civic DX sedan, and Im thinking about throwing rims on it, tinting the windows, and lowering it this summer. At this point its mostly stock, and the suspension and rims are original. Im thinking 17x7.5 inch rims, and maybe dropping it 1.5 inches. Will that kind of setup work? Its my daily driver, so I dont want the tires rubbing, and more importantly I dont want it bottoming out on some of the massive speed bumps at my college. Also, what would be the best way to get the 1.5 inch drop, shocks or springs? Thanks for the help!

 

Just so you know, 98% of the shocks on the market will not affect the ride height in any way, shape or form (I believe KONI or some brand like that makes shocks with adjustable perches or something.. that's the only exception that I know of). So basically, the question you should be asking yourself is "do I want lowering springs or coilovers?".

Lowering springs are cheaper and lower your car just fine.. coilovers are slightly more expensive (Skunk2 and Ground Control coilover sleeves are both right around $300), but they allow you to adjust your ride height to get it right where you want it. Depending on the offset of the wheels you get, the tires might rub when you hit bumps.

(and just so you know, you can go a ton lower than 1.5" without bottoming out... my civic is lowered somewhere around 2.5" in front and 3.5"-ish in back and I have yet to bottom out on a speedbump.)

 

Thats helpful...I was looking on parts websites and saw springs and shocks and I wasnt sure if there was a performance/ride quality difference. Im not really going for a slammed look, i just want to tighten the gap between the tires and the body. I think the rims and tires Im going to get are a larger overall diameter than the stock 14s and I dont want it to look like its really high off the ground.

 

just so you know....

Any wheel larger than 16-inches will be quite a bit heavier than the stock steelies. My 16-inch Black Racing Pros with 45-series tires weighs about the same as the OEM wheel/tire combo. On my 97 CX, they look great. The other thing is that anytime you start going 40 or 35-series tires, your ride will suffer, big time.

As far as lowering, at 1.5-inches of drop, you can still essentially drive normally up driveways, over dips, etc. Once you get past 1.8" or so, you WILL be wacking parts under your car, daily. I know a guy who dropped his Prelude 2.5-3" and his exhaust system is severely damaged. That kind of drop is great for a track car, but is too much for the street. I have the 1.5/1.3" drop Eibachs and take dips far faster than the low-rider guys. THAT'S street driving!

 

How do you like your Eibachs polymer? Are they really stiff or comfortable?

 

Unless you know how to drive a slammed car without dragging things off the ground. My car sits 4.5" off the ground (meaning parts of my exhaust are around 3" above the ground)... it's sitting as low as I can get it without rubbing the tires on the fenders around every turn (meaning somewhere around 2.5-ish" front, 3.5"-ish in back). The only noise I ever hear from the car is the occasional front tire rubbing the fender when I go around slow, tight turns.

Oh, and my civic's a DD

 

Tein S-Techs, then 17" wheels with 205/40/17 tires. Works perfect on my 99 DX, hardly rub ever, no wheel gap, and i think the wheels look sick. Ride is a bit rougher, but thats the price you pay.

 

I think the biggest change in ride quality is from the much lower profile of the tires (205/45/60s). I can feel more of the irregularities of the road, but that (for me) is a good thing, esoecially when it comes with a MUCH faster steering response vs the squishy blandness of the old 185/65/14s.
I had the tires/wheels before I had the springs, so I can tell you that the springs did NOT make the ride any worse as far as I can tell.
By the way, the Mitsu EVO's ultimate handling upgrade (from the factory) includes Eibach springs - good choice!