I want to drop my ride...

Joe DeGaetano

Joe DeGaetano

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Location
Jackson, New Jersey
Vehicle Model
Honda Civic
Body Style
Sedan
Hi guys, fairly new to the forum here, and more importantly, new to suspension mods. I have never had a lowered car before, and I have decided to lower my 2013 civic sedan in a few weeks. I've been doing a lot of research to gain some insight, but the more I read, the more questions I have, and some info I find a little confusing since I am a noob at suspension parts, lol. So any advice would be much appreciated.
So I am considering buying the H&R springs 1.6 front 1.4 rear. Currently I am running 18x7.5 wheels with +42 offset. The wheel gap is about 4 fingers all around, which is 4x4 status lol.
1) Will I have any issues rubbing/bottoming out on bumps? I've heard mixed things, but I would like someone with a similar wheel setup that could chime in.
2) Will I need camber bolts/arms? If I do, which camber kits are recommended?
Yes, I know, I'm sure there's an answer somewhere in a previous thread, but I'm starting to get a headache from all of this reading, lol.
Thanks!
 
I think the H&Rs will be perfect just by looking at those wheel gaps. :giggle: You won't rub with the wheels that you have on. BUT what size are your tires? 215/40/18? If so, there will be no rubbing. As for Camber arms, the Godspeed ones are the best bang for the buck. A bunch of us use them and we get zero issues. You just have to make sure you use silicone grease for the bushings to prevent squeaks and use anti-seize lubricant for the threads so they will not seize up. You may not need front camber bolts. And be sure to get an alignment about 1 week after installing the springs.
 
Thanks for the
Dar-Dar said:
I think the H&Rs will be perfect just by looking at those wheel gaps. :giggle: You won't rub with the wheels that you have on. BUT what size are your tires? 215/40/18? If so, there will be no rubbing. As for Camber arms, the Godspeed ones are the best bang for the buck. A bunch of us use them and we get zero issues. You just have to make sure you use silicone grease for the bushings to prevent squeaks and use anti-seize lubricant for the threads so they will not seize up. You may not need front camber bolts. And be sure to get an alignment about 1 week after installing the springs.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply! I am running 225/40s, you think I will still have good clearance? Ok cool, I will look into the godspeed camber arms and see if they are within my budget, and is very reassuring that everybody that uses them hasn't had any issues with them.
 
I think you'll be fine with the 225s since the wheels offset is only a 3mm difference compared to stock.
 
Hey Joe,

Welcome to the forum. Yes, there is a lot of information out there about lowering and suspension in general. I'll try to answer as best I can for ya.

First off the H&R springs are a great choice. A lot of people are running them and seem to be pretty happy with them. The spring rates are about 10% stiffer than stock.

As far as your concerns for rubbing: Your wheel size is pretty safe as is the offset with the +42. You should have no issues rubbing the tire or the wheel on any of the suspension components or on the fenders. Rubbing or scraping other parts of your car on stuff you might drive over is another story. I am on a similar drop and haven't had any issues yet. That said, be careful on speed bumps and very steep incline/declines you might run into. Like a very steep driveway for example.

If you are going to run the drop springs on your stock struts they will wear them out much quicker. I can't give an exact number because there are a lot of variables like road conditions, driving style, how much you drive, and so on. But do expect them to wear out sooner than they would if you didn't lower the car. Ex: My stock struts were done at 70k. Like horribly done. Should have been replaced sooner.

Also - from some other users on the same springs, you will be sitting on the stock bump stops. Do not trim them unless the spring manufacturer states to do so. You will probably want to look into upgraded struts in the future. Currently there are a couple options available from Koni. Redshift motorsports is a great place to start looking and getting information about what is involved with that. Eventually there will be more options for bolt in replacements. Probably the Tokico Blues will be the other option. Right now just custom fabrication for Koni Yellows. The Orange Koni STR I have not seen in a 2012+ fitment yet.
http://www.redshiftmotorsports.com/RedShift2012CivicSuspPackages.htm


Camber: A very subjective area. Your alignment should reflect your usage and intended goals for the car. You can get a very safe factory alignment or a performance alignment. Camber bolts and arms are not needed but are recommended if you want to have control and adjustability. With any drop I would suggest at least getting the rear camber arms. As you lower the car, this particular suspension design, you will not gain any negative camber in the front but the rear will increase the lower you go. Any drop over 1.5" will probably put you into a significant amount of negative camber. We're talking like -2.5 degrees. Certainly camber does not destroy tires as bad as toe, but it is something to keep in mind. Also camber will seriously effect the handling of your car.

Camber arms for the rear: Godspeeds seem to be the best deal right now. Price wise. Most are identical to each other. I have a set of Skunk2 which I am pretty happy with so far but the cost twice what the godspeed arms do.

Camber bolts: Ingalls/SPC/Whoever - they are all the same just make sure they fit your car. There are two bolts in the lower strut to attach it to the car. One set of bolts will replace either the upper or lower. One should give you plenty of adjustment if you want a performance alignment.

Hopefully that answers everything for you. Let us know if you have more questions.
 
Nix said:
Hey Joe,

Welcome to the forum. Yes, there is a lot of information out there about lowering and suspension in general. I'll try to answer as best I can for ya.

First off the H&R springs are a great choice. A lot of people are running them and seem to be pretty happy with them. The spring rates are about 10% stiffer than stock.

As far as your concerns for rubbing: Your wheel size is pretty safe as is the offset with the +42. You should have no issues rubbing the tire or the wheel on any of the suspension components or on the fenders. Rubbing or scraping other parts of your car on stuff you might drive over is another story. I am on a similar drop and haven't had any issues yet. That said, be careful on speed bumps and very steep incline/declines you might run into. Like a very steep driveway for example.

If you are going to run the drop springs on your stock struts they will wear them out much quicker. I can't give an exact number because there are a lot of variables like road conditions, driving style, how much you drive, and so on. But do expect them to wear out sooner than they would if you didn't lower the car. Ex: My stock struts were done at 70k. Like horribly done. Should have been replaced sooner.

Also - from some other users on the same springs, you will be sitting on the stock bump stops. Do not trim them unless the spring manufacturer states to do so. You will probably want to look into upgraded struts in the future. Currently there are a couple options available from Koni. Redshift motorsports is a great place to start looking and getting information about what is involved with that. Eventually there will be more options for bolt in replacements. Probably the Tokico Blues will be the other option. Right now just custom fabrication for Koni Yellows. The Orange Koni STR I have not seen in a 2012+ fitment yet.
http://www.redshiftmotorsports.com/RedShift2012CivicSuspPackages.htm


Camber: A very subjective area. Your alignment should reflect your usage and intended goals for the car. You can get a very safe factory alignment or a performance alignment. Camber bolts and arms are not needed but are recommended if you want to have control and adjustability. With any drop I would suggest at least getting the rear camber arms. As you lower the car, this particular suspension design, you will not gain any negative camber in the front but the rear will increase the lower you go. Any drop over 1.5" will probably put you into a significant amount of negative camber. We're talking like -2.5 degrees. Certainly camber does not destroy tires as bad as toe, but it is something to keep in mind. Also camber will seriously effect the handling of your car.

Camber arms for the rear: Godspeeds seem to be the best deal right now. Price wise. Most are identical to each other. I have a set of Skunk2 which I am pretty happy with so far but the cost twice what the godspeed arms do.

Camber bolts: Ingalls/SPC/Whoever - they are all the same just make sure they fit your car. There are two bolts in the lower strut to attach it to the car. One set of bolts will replace either the upper or lower. One should give you plenty of adjustment if you want a performance alignment.

Hopefully that answers everything for you. Let us know if you have more questions.
Click to expand...

Wow thanks for the great info! You answered everything I wanted to know. I am aware I will need new shocks sooner when installing springs, either way I will either shell out the money in the future when stock struts/shocks blow, or if I decide to go with aftermarket struts/springs combo. I think I might go with Eibach pro kit to stay on the safer side, maybe if the drop is less, it won't put as much stress on stock struts. Plus I do not want any issues with speed bumps, too much negative camber, etc.. My funds are limited.
 
If you go with prokit, you may not need camber kits due to the shorter drop (~1").
 
Last edited:
Dar-Dar said:
If you go with prokit, you may not need camber kits due to the shorter drop (~1").
Click to expand...
Yup, that's exactly what I figured, so most likely eibach pro kit to save me the headache of having to worry about camber, lol. Can't thank you guys enough for solid information :)
 
BTW Dar-Dar, I see you live up north in NJ. I wish I lived a little close to East Rutherford, I would love to go to a meet. Sadly, there aren't any civic meets in the ocean county area...At least that I know of, lol.
 
I ran prokits for a long time. Nice spring. The H&R is a little more drop. I did the prokit to avoid doing camber arms and to try and stretch the stock struts as long as possible. I had a set of Koni yellows with them for about a year. It was a great setup. Then I put the car back to stock, and now im back on a Koni/spring setup.
 
hey joe can you post a pic of what it looks like after? I have the same car and I also want to drop it but im not sure if I should
 
I would go with the 8th gen civic H&R OE Sport springs (I have them). Lowers about the same (".75 inches" - my experience was more like 1") as the pro kit (1"), but it's H&R. For your purposes, those are the two sets of springs I would be looking at.

You won't scrape, you won't rub, and you'll close the wheel gap. The H&R OE Sport springs are more geared towards performance than the eibach pro kit and you'll like the handling. Paired with the progress rear sway bar I am really happy with this suspension setup for a more aggressive ride and look than stock without slamming it to the floor.
 
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