RJames
Well-Known Member
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If anybody could help me that would be awsome. I do not feel like paying money for someone to do it for me...unless it is not worth the hassel. I would prefer a 9th gen civic to lead me by example. thanks
How do i install my lowering springs myself?
- Thread starter RJames
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- Staff
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do you have access to tools? Spring compressor? You can usually rent them from places like autozone if you don't have one. There are DIY's for coilovers on here, but I don't think anyone has done a full diy on springs.
- Staff
- #3
the coupe and sedan should be relatively similar, this link from college hills on installing the HFP suspension should give you a starting point.
http://www.collegehillshonda.com/instructions/civic/2012/2dr/hfpsuspension.pdf
from there what you could do is actually is pull your front struts, and take them to a nearby shop, they can use their spring compressor and change the springs for you. Far safer option than trying to work with a sketchy rental compressor.
http://www.collegehillshonda.com/instructions/civic/2012/2dr/hfpsuspension.pdf
from there what you could do is actually is pull your front struts, and take them to a nearby shop, they can use their spring compressor and change the springs for you. Far safer option than trying to work with a sketchy rental compressor.
Sleepingpanda
Kung-Fu Panda
the rear is easy, jack up the back of the car, you dont even have to remove the wheels. unbolt the bottom shock bolt its a 14mm. then unbolt both sway bar link nuts theyre 14mm as well. remove the links from the sway bar so the sway bar swings freely. now just yank the stock spring out. have someone pull down on the wheel if it helps.
then just install the lowering springs. have someone pick up on the wheel so you can line up the shock and bolt it back in. Then bolt the sway bar up again. done.
the front you need to take off the access panels on the wiper cowl. kinda hard to explain. but the 3 nuts for the strut are under there. remove 2 of them for now and leave one in, preferably the most forward nut. then jack up the car, take off the front wheels. remove the brake line bolt 12mm, remove the sway bar link nut 14mm. unclip the ABS wire from the strut. remove the steering knuckle nuts and bolts i believe the nuts are 21mm and the bolts are 19mm. then remove that last nut from the top while a friend holds the strut. now remove the strut without snagging your ABS wire. lol. Then take it to a shop that can swap the springs for you if you dont have access to a spring compressor.
install in reverse.
then just install the lowering springs. have someone pick up on the wheel so you can line up the shock and bolt it back in. Then bolt the sway bar up again. done.
the front you need to take off the access panels on the wiper cowl. kinda hard to explain. but the 3 nuts for the strut are under there. remove 2 of them for now and leave one in, preferably the most forward nut. then jack up the car, take off the front wheels. remove the brake line bolt 12mm, remove the sway bar link nut 14mm. unclip the ABS wire from the strut. remove the steering knuckle nuts and bolts i believe the nuts are 21mm and the bolts are 19mm. then remove that last nut from the top while a friend holds the strut. now remove the strut without snagging your ABS wire. lol. Then take it to a shop that can swap the springs for you if you dont have access to a spring compressor.
install in reverse.
- Staff
- #5
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http://9thcivic.com/forum/threads/d...n-9thgen-civic-si-warning-picture-heavy.4879/
http://9thcivic.com/forum/threads/redshift-koni-swift-8thgen-combo.4225/
2 diy's on coilovers ^ essentially the same steps, but as ethlar said you could have a shop compress the fronts if you didn't want to get the tool rental.
http://9thcivic.com/forum/threads/redshift-koni-swift-8thgen-combo.4225/
2 diy's on coilovers ^ essentially the same steps, but as ethlar said you could have a shop compress the fronts if you didn't want to get the tool rental.
- Thread starter
- #6
RJames
Well-Known Member
- 20
- 9
thanks guys. AHHH i cant wait to put them on. wish me luck!
phil136
Well-Known Member
For anyone still wanting to do this here is great DIY: http://www.jdmcity.com/showthread.php?t=23172
And use the college hills honda link from ethlar for torquing specs.
And use the college hills honda link from ethlar for torquing specs.
Last edited:
C 007
Well-Known Member
Ugh, I wish I did a write up! The spring install was pretty simple. You reall don't need directions for it if you have some sort of common knowledge of automobiles. The frons were simple: Lift car, unbolt, secure cables/hoses, repeat in reverse to reinstall. The rears were a little trickier. I didn't find it as simple as others have said with just pull out the spring. After unbolting the shock, I ended up having to unbolt the control arm from the center of the rear and still have my friend pretty much hang on the control arm to be able to get the spring out. All in all, the spring install was simpler than installing the front sway bar. The whole pulling down the front cross member was a B***H! The rsb was super easy though. All well worth the time and foul language during the install. 
the insider
Well-Known Member
Don't forget to have it aligned....but give it time to let the springs settle.
- Staff
- #10
both when i did the hfp install and again when i changed out the hfp springs for prokits, i let the car settle for a week of daily commuting and got an alignment. Both times the alignment was dead on and they didnt have to adjust anything
C 007
Well-Known Member
are the hfp struts/shocks different than the regular si struts/shocks?
- Staff
- #12
C 007
Well-Known Member
Okay, that would explain the cost of the kit a little better. Thanks.
bad fishy
Well-Known Member
I found this thread helpful with my install last weekend and thought I would contribute a few things I learned that were not mentioned. I installed the Eibach Pro-Kit on my 12 Civic Si Sedan.
I followed the jdmcity link as it seemed the most thorough and had pictures.
I started with the rear, just as the tutorial did. I'm not sure about the ex/lx, but the picture on the tutorial showed easy access to the bolt holding the lower control arm to the subframe. On my Si, there was a huge, plastic skid plate that had to be removed to access that bolt. Between the clips and bolts to remove the skid plate, it added an additional 20 minutes to my install time.
Second thing I ran into on the rear was reinstalling the spring. The tutorial makes it sound pretty easy, but it is not. This is defiantly a two-man job. I had to get my buddy to stand on the rotor to bring the control arm low enough to get the new spring in place. I also added lithium grease to the rubber mounts that hold the spring in place so it would slide in easier and to prevent any squeaking.
The last big problem I had was reinserting the bolt that holds the shock to the control arm. The bolt has to go through the mount and the shock perfectly to screw back in. It took nearly an hour to figure out what was going on here. I finally took a pneumatic wrench to it to keep the bolt spinning while I wiggled the shock in hopes of it eventually aligning correctly. This was the only solution that worked and I used it seamlessly on the second side. It took about 2 hours to do the first side and only 30 minutes to do the second. The joys of learning!
The install on the front was much easier. The first worry I had was accessing the top 3 nuts holding the strut to the frame. I was easily able to remove the access ports from both sides to gain access to the nuts without removing the entire windshield wiper housing. The access points just pop right off. There is one facing the front bumper and another on the side facing the fender. You can then see the 3 14mm nuts that need to be removed. I was able to access them all with a small socket/ratchet and just a 14mm wrench.
The last thing I learned that wasn't mentioned in the above tutorial was to jack up the control arm to release the pressure from the sway bar to remove the 12mm nut holding the strut to the sway bar. With the wheel removed and the control arm hanging freely, there is too much torsion on the sway bar and it doesn't allow for the easy removal of the bolt from the strut. Simply jack up the control arm to straighten the sway bar bolt to the strut and remove it without and torsion applied. Then, let the control arm back dow to remove the large bolts holding the strut to the control arm. This step would've saved me some time and frustration on the first side.
Other than those tips, the jdmcity tutorial was great and very helpful. I just feel these little things would've made my install much easier and smoother. BTW, I took my front struts to a shop and had them swap the springs out for me. I attempted to use the spring compressor bars and they just didn't feel safe. I decided to err on the side of caution with this one! I suggest anybody with some basic mechanical knowledge to do the spring install for themselves. Be sure you don't need your car for at least 2 days though, just in case you run into problems. It is very satisfying and I'm glad I know how all of my suspension works and that it was installed properly.
I followed the jdmcity link as it seemed the most thorough and had pictures.
I started with the rear, just as the tutorial did. I'm not sure about the ex/lx, but the picture on the tutorial showed easy access to the bolt holding the lower control arm to the subframe. On my Si, there was a huge, plastic skid plate that had to be removed to access that bolt. Between the clips and bolts to remove the skid plate, it added an additional 20 minutes to my install time.
Second thing I ran into on the rear was reinstalling the spring. The tutorial makes it sound pretty easy, but it is not. This is defiantly a two-man job. I had to get my buddy to stand on the rotor to bring the control arm low enough to get the new spring in place. I also added lithium grease to the rubber mounts that hold the spring in place so it would slide in easier and to prevent any squeaking.
The last big problem I had was reinserting the bolt that holds the shock to the control arm. The bolt has to go through the mount and the shock perfectly to screw back in. It took nearly an hour to figure out what was going on here. I finally took a pneumatic wrench to it to keep the bolt spinning while I wiggled the shock in hopes of it eventually aligning correctly. This was the only solution that worked and I used it seamlessly on the second side. It took about 2 hours to do the first side and only 30 minutes to do the second. The joys of learning!
The install on the front was much easier. The first worry I had was accessing the top 3 nuts holding the strut to the frame. I was easily able to remove the access ports from both sides to gain access to the nuts without removing the entire windshield wiper housing. The access points just pop right off. There is one facing the front bumper and another on the side facing the fender. You can then see the 3 14mm nuts that need to be removed. I was able to access them all with a small socket/ratchet and just a 14mm wrench.
The last thing I learned that wasn't mentioned in the above tutorial was to jack up the control arm to release the pressure from the sway bar to remove the 12mm nut holding the strut to the sway bar. With the wheel removed and the control arm hanging freely, there is too much torsion on the sway bar and it doesn't allow for the easy removal of the bolt from the strut. Simply jack up the control arm to straighten the sway bar bolt to the strut and remove it without and torsion applied. Then, let the control arm back dow to remove the large bolts holding the strut to the control arm. This step would've saved me some time and frustration on the first side.
Other than those tips, the jdmcity tutorial was great and very helpful. I just feel these little things would've made my install much easier and smoother. BTW, I took my front struts to a shop and had them swap the springs out for me. I attempted to use the spring compressor bars and they just didn't feel safe. I decided to err on the side of caution with this one! I suggest anybody with some basic mechanical knowledge to do the spring install for themselves. Be sure you don't need your car for at least 2 days though, just in case you run into problems. It is very satisfying and I'm glad I know how all of my suspension works and that it was installed properly.