've not seen many positive reviews about RACTIVE Coil Overs from Gooogle searches on threads. A few people say they ride ok, but most people say don't get them. Well, I got a deal on ebay for a set for $120 shipped - that seems like a good price and I view them as way better than any other cheap ebay no name coilover. But when I bought them, there were no ebay listings for Skunk2 Coil Overs - but now they list them for $249 shipped and I'm so pissed because I would have gotten the Skunk2's instead at that price. I bought the RACTIVEs because one of my coworkers was an expert GM Engineer that worked in suspensions and I asked him his opinion of those ebay springs. He said all of them are made the same way and that he'd even buy those cheap ebay ones. So I bought those RACTIVEs because I thought at least they should be way better than those ebay noname coliovers in the $10 to $50 range.

So should I try to sell my RACTIVEs on craigslist for $120 and get the skunk2's off of ebay?

Has anyone here actually tried RACTIVES? How did you like the ride, cornering, and spring rate?

If I do use them I'll put in KYB AGX's with them. Maybe I might do an Eibach sway bar set too! But the RACTIVEs look so cool in Yellow!

I'm only gonna lower my car 1" front and rear so my alignment won't need a major tuneup of camber kits, etc...

 

ppl are supposed to ask these questions before throwing away a lot of money. chances are u just wasted $120 and wont be getting it back, maybe half if lucky. ur first problem on researching these ractive coilovers was talking to a GM(yeah their doin great) engineer. maybe GM makes all their suspensions the same, if so that explains a lot. these suspension componentsare not all made the same..

u can try ur luck with getting ur money back, but like i said, doubt it'll happen. i havnt tried their coilovers, but i would assume that no one knows their spring rates(hell ractive probably dosnt even know). research the swaybars and dont just buy stuff because their pretty lookin[&:]

 

Well, it seems most of RACTIVEs reputation is hearsay and not actual experience. I'm a Mechanical Engineer too and when I looked at the Toucan website I realized they make and sell a lot of stuff so I guessed their engineering wasn't bad.

Maybe I can be a RACTIVE guinea pig here but I wonder how much work it takes to setup coilover shock sets and change them.

I bought them before I joined any Honda forum.

The GM engineer said all spring lose their spring rates over time.
One person complianed that Skunk2's are soft. And Skunks2's have some same numbering as the RACTIVEs in their pics.

 

everyone knows its junk. theres a reason why names like Ground Control, Eibach, Skunk2, H&R, etc.. are time over time recommended and cost more. its called R&D. ur paying forwell designed products that have been made with the proper materials. as a mechanical engineer, im sure u know theres more to it than just molding metal.u'll never see a race car run Ractive junk, or any other stuffsold by no name companies on ebay or ur local auto store.i'm not saying u need a race setup, but if the product can withstand that kind of beating, it'll hold its own on the street with no problem. just because they make and sell a ton of stuff, dosnt mean its good. if i had access to certain machines, i could create my own products just like the stuff they make, and i have little knowledge compaired to engineers for the large compaines.

i'd love to hear a review on Ractives stuff, but a good comparison would be one done side-by-side with another company such as Ground Control.

spring rates will decrease over time due to steel fatigue, but its very minimal, not going to happen anytime soon or even be noticable. u'll notice the struts going out before u notice a change in rates. which Skunk2's are soft? they may or may not be, depends on whos saying it. i think Skunk2's rates as soft compared to the rates i have, but other may thinkthey're pretty high. its all perspective. as for the numbers on the springs, they could be random numbers stamped on there, who knows. different companies stamp different numbers on their springs. my old Tokicos had some random numbers stamped on em and i still havnt figured out what they mean. my Ground Controls have numbers stamped on em and i kno what each on represents(unsprung spring height, I.D., & spring rate).

im not trying to get into an argument or anything lol. just tryin to explain why certain products are preferred over others and why they cost as much as they do. but please, if u do try out the Ractives, write a review on them and post it in the product review section. somethings better than nothing.
https://www.hondacivicforum.com/forumid_235/tt.htm

 

First I might try inspecting my Ractives and taking good pics of them. If they don't sell on craigslist for $120 in 2 weeks I'll install them. If they sell I'll get ebay Skunk2s because everyones say so much good stuff about them.

Do I have to cut off any bolts on my shock /strut install on a 99 HX? It's real expensive to have a shop do this work! 2 Front shock /strut install - quoted me $195! I need to know if I can install stuff all by myself before I buy KYB AGX's...

I'm not gonna be a major autocrosser, I just want to hit corners without braking and leaning much.

 

dont count out tokico

 

I think I saw RACTIVE publish their spring rates on these springs, but their website has poor data on them. They don't specify what the lowering range is, they just say up to 4".

Stay tuned, I asked my former GM suspension engineer to email me a short info email about springs and what to know. I told him the RACTIVES and Skunk2s have same diameters so he said their constant rate springs. Variable rate springs have varying diameters.

I'm trying not to spend too much on my car because it has poor resale value - it's a salvage title that runs solid. And if the 2009 Fit and Prius get really good mpg I'll keep my HX for 3 to 4 years then sell it to get a used 09 Prius or Fit.

I mainly drive my car as a fuel efficient beater, and I get a good 42 to 43.6 mpg tank weekly, so that helps my budget!

 

u may or may not have to. the front should be easy to do, i havnt heard of anyone having a problem up front. its the rear LCA bolts that are the b*tch. usually atleast one bolt is frozen in the bushings and when over tq'd trying to get it out, it'll break. which one and if theres more than one u cant tell. just hope for the best really.

thats not true. Eibach sells 22 springs with the same height(6" unsprung)and diameter(2.5") but in a vast amount of spring rates, from 450 in/lbs up to 1450 in/lbs.
http://www.ground-control-store.com/...gory.php/CA=48

 

Well, if it's gonna cost $400 total to have an auto shop do the work for me then I'll just cut my losses and resell these springs. But first I'll test if I can remove the rear LCA bolt, then I'll get the KYB AGX's.

Modding your car is too expensive if you let a mechanic do it. My 6 sillicone hoses = 2.5 hour of work or about $180+ in labor. Own brake flush $65 labor. It adds up too much and you just gotta wrench up yourself to stay in budget. I just don't want to spend too much on a 9 year old rust free salvage title Texas car!

Well, since it's a Texas car I might not have rust or frozen bolt / corrosion problems. I was impressed with the condition of this car when I bought it in Nov 07. It's primary purpose is to be a 42+ mpg work beater, and then if the 09 car are not good enough maybe I'll keep this car forever and then mod it up with more good stuff!

 

I checked my strut and LCA bolts this morning and all were easy to get lose, < 100 ft-lbs of torque. So I bought and got a sweet deal on 4 KYB AGX's today on ebay for $291.48 shipped!

If it don't seem like to much work to put on a new coilover / strut set, I think I'll run the Ractives and give a review. I looked at them and it seems I can have stock height to 4" drop with these.