Rain Dance! - Introduction and Suspension

[DasBeast]

Hey Whats up fellas!

My name is Luis, and new to the forum world. Ive never been part of an online car community so if I'm doing anything wrong as far as posting etiquette help me out. I picked up a Polished Metal Metallic LX Coupe around Jan of 2013 and currently its stock, and right around 20k miles. Here is the only picture I have of her so far at Big Sur, Ca during a drive down Highway 1 on my way back to school.


Ive been lurking the forum for a couple days now just getting the hang of things. I recently got the itch to start moding the car and thats really the reason I'm here. There's a lot of you on here that have real nice rides! So heres the deal I have a vague idea of what I like but no real clue on specs and the like. Hoping some of you fellas can chime in, and drop some knowledge and maybe some good laughs.

*On to the suspension question*

Heres a list with what I have in mind so far:

Eibach SportLine Springs
XXR 522 17x9 or 17x8 but not too sure what OFFSET?
Sumimotto HZII but not sure what size wheels at all??
Or Falkens again not sure what size in regards to wheels size?

Do you guys have any input as to what fits best and what would look best? Any thing you see wrong with that list?
If you guys could help me fill in some of the blanks that would greatly appreciated!


For reference heres my inspiration and what I hope my car to look like in the coming days. Thanks for the Input in advanced and I hope to hear from you guys! Cheers!

-Luis

 

[Monk]

Welcome....... Adding how you like to drive thru the curves, and anything else to give us an idea what you want from a suspension mod, And also if you want to lower it, we'll need to know how many inches, so as to tell you if the wheels will fit..........
Sounds like fun, I'd like to hear what you ended up doing........

 

[webby]

welcome to the forum. That would be @sk8nava's car. The wheels were: Varrstoen ES220 17x9 in the front and 17x9.5 in the rear ...+30 offset.

his build thread if you haven't seen it -
http://9thcivic.com/forum/threads/sk8navas-build-thread-of-the-pearl.5596/

He's on coilovers, so it's going to look lower than what you'd get with sportline springs. Honestly, there aren't any springs that would even get you that low. Skunk2 would get you the lowest, but it still wouldn't be as low as the pic you like. I don't know what your budget is, but you'd be around ~$700+ to get into entry level coilovers. Sk8nava cold probably tell you more on his setup for tires etc.

 

[sk8nava]

Welcome to the forum, brother!
Well to start off, what I would suggest is if you are wanting to go low like that, I would FIRST invest into suspension and wait on wheels! I know you have springs right now, but you will be spending more money in the long run working your way up to that. If you don't mind doing that then here's the best way to accommodate your setup that will give you the least of problems; this is assuming you have never driven a lowered car before.

With your lowering springs, I would try to find a wheel that isn't too wide that it pokes out past the fender. I would say its ok for the tire to be flush with the fender, but do not over do it. It looks goofy and people, unfortunately, will say a lot of crap.
For your wheels setup, I would run a 17x8 with an offset no lower than +30. Ideally you want a +35. As far as tires, I recommend a 215/45 or 225/45
Now, I've been talking to a lot of people about their setups and you can get away with a x9 +45 BUT i've heard from a few that they had issues rubbing their struts/springs.
I would also invest in a rear camber kit if you are going the lowering springs route. I'm rocking the EMUSA rear camber kit that only costed me $118 shipped and they are fantastic. These just help adjust the camber in the rear for you for when you lower it, you can set your camber back to OEM specs.

If you go coilovers:
I'm running D2Racing Coilvers which go fairly low. My current setup at the moment - Wheels: 17x9 +30, Tires: 205/40. With this setup, I do have my camber kit on, but they are set at stock length. Basically I don't really need to have them on cuz I would sit the same on my OEM camber arms. This is how my wheels fit in the rear without rubbing. This is also where you need to know a little about adjusting front suspension/camber. I DO NOT run front camber bolts, never have, and I'm rolling around just find, with no rubbing issues what so ever, and none of my fenders are rolled or shaved!
And if this is the way you want to go, PLEASE invest in suspension first, wheels later!!!!

If you are a first timer in lowering a car and what not, then start off slow and work your way to your goal.
ALSO, Don't ever feel that you cant ask anyone on here any questions. We are always here to help. Compared to all the other online car forums, this one is by far the chillest and everyone is super nice. I'm a lurker on here also, but I'm only tagged when there is suspension and wheel questions like this lol
So I'm always here when tagged lol usually @webby or @Nix will be the ones to call me in but you are more than welcome to tag also!

Hope this info helps dude!!!

 

[DasBeast]

Welcome....... Adding how you like to drive thru the curves, and anything else to give us an idea what you want from a suspension mod, And also if you want to lower it, we'll need to know how many inches, so as to tell you if the wheels will fit..........
Sounds like fun, I'd like to hear what you ended up doing........

Monkk! Nice name Your my first Reply brother. Thanks, and for the most part Im new to the lowering thing so Im still not too sure what I want out of the set up. Im thinking more aesthetics to begin and maybe some performance later down the line.

welcome to the forum. That would be @sk8nava's car. The wheels were: Varrstoen ES220 17x9 in the front and 17x9.5 in the rear ...+30 offset.

his build thread if you haven't seen it -
http://9thcivic.com/forum/threads/sk8navas-build-thread-of-the-pearl.5596/

He's on coilovers, so it's going to look lower than what you'd get with sportline springs. Honestly, there aren't any springs that would even get you that low. Skunk2 would get you the lowest, but it still wouldn't be as low as the pic you like. I don't know what your budget is, but you'd be around ~$700+ to get into entry level coilovers. Sk8nava cold probably tell you more on his setup for tires etc.

Hey there Webby , Thanks for the welcome and very useful link. Its nice to put the picture I found on google with the actual build thread! From what you and Sk8nava are telling me I might just go with the coil overs. I have a budget of about $ 1500 I'm working with and the Eibachs were nice for the price but coils might be worth the investment.

Welcome to the forum, brother!
Well to start off, what I would suggest is if you are wanting to go low like that, I would FIRST invest into suspension and wait on wheels! I know you have springs right now, but you will be spending more money in the long run working your way up to that. If you don't mind doing that then here's the best way to accommodate your setup that will give you the least of problems; this is assuming you have never driven a lowered car before.

With your lowering springs, I would try to find a wheel that isn't too wide that it pokes out past the fender. I would say its ok for the tire to be flush with the fender, but do not over do it. It looks goofy and people, unfortunately, will say a lot of crap.
For your wheels setup, I would run a 17x8 with an offset no lower than +30. Ideally you want a +35. As far as tires, I recommend a 215/45 or 225/45
Now, I've been talking to a lot of people about their setups and you can get away with a x9 +45 BUT i've heard from a few that they had issues rubbing their struts/springs.
I would also invest in a rear camber kit if you are going the lowering springs route. I'm rocking the EMUSA rear camber kit that only costed me $118 shipped and they are fantastic. These just help adjust the camber in the rear for you for when you lower it, you can set your camber back to OEM specs.

If you go coilovers:
I'm running D2Racing Coilvers which go fairly low. My current setup at the moment - Wheels: 17x9 +30, Tires: 205/40. With this setup, I do have my camber kit on, but they are set at stock length. Basically I don't really need to have them on cuz I would sit the same on my OEM camber arms. This is how my wheels fit in the rear without rubbing. This is also where you need to know a little about adjusting front suspension/camber. I DO NOT run front camber bolts, never have, and I'm rolling around just find, with no rubbing issues what so ever, and none of my fenders are rolled or shaved!
And if this is the way you want to go, PLEASE invest in suspension first, wheels later!!!!

If you are a first timer in lowering a car and what not, then start off slow and work your way to your goal.
ALSO, Don't ever feel that you cant ask anyone on here any questions. We are always here to help. Compared to all the other online car forums, this one is by far the chillest and everyone is super nice. I'm a lurker on here also, but I'm only tagged when there is suspension and wheel questions like this lol
So I'm always here when tagged lol usually @webby or @Nix will be the ones to call me in but you are more than welcome to tag also!

Hope this info helps dude!!!

Yo @sk8nava !! Thanks brother very warm welcome! I took at peek at your build thread and you def got some real nice looking wheel combos going on. Nice work man! So I was about to pull the trigger on the Eibachs this friday but real glad I didn't after hearing from you and @webby. Now I'm thinking I'm going to wait on the wheels and tire and go the coilover route! That being said any reason you went with the d2 coils? I know there is a bunch I'm wondering if you recommend any. Would you go with D2 if you were in the market again? Also Webby mentioned you have Varstoen ES220 wheels. I found some XXR 522 Wheels on Ebay and they look identical but about half the price? Are they lesser quality knock offs of the ES220? One last question my dude, Im knida confused as to why go wider in whee size? Like whats the difference between 17x8 or 17x9 in say your ES220's? If you get the right offset would they fit exactly the same?
Thanks again brother! Im glad I joined and stoked about starting the build process!

-Luis

 

[Nix]

Welcome to the forum. I see I 've been tagged by the guy I usually tag already! Hahaha. But yes, let us know your goals for the car and we will try and help as much as we can. Looks like you're off to a good start already.


The main reason to run wider wheels is that the appearance changes dramatically. The concave look that everyone likes the look of usually requires a wheel in the 9" range. Offset is important to where the wheel sits in the wheelwell. The higher the number the closer the wheel moves towards the car. +45 is stock. The lower the number the further out towards the fender the wheel goes. Ex: +35 looks much more flush.

My wife has some xxr wheels on her car. While they are affordable they are also heavy. The only real downside I have found so far is that the fit and finish are a little lacking. After only 8-ish months they are already showing signs of wear in the finish. They were also coated with a pretty strong sealant before mounting. So I am a little dissapointed there. The wheels also had some rough spots inside the barrels where the paint was either too thin, didn't cure properly, or wasn't coated with the clearcoat enough or properly.

Minor things that you don't notice right away but are issues simply reflected by the price. Overall for price paid I think they are a fine wheel. They also have some great looking designs and unique sizing. I would not discourage you from gettinga set

 

[webby]

the wider the wheel = more lip/concave you can go. Some like the look of a wider wheel/tire combo

 

[sk8nava]

No problem @DasBeast
As far as the wheels go on manufacturer, to me, wheels are wheels. I don't intend to use them for any other purposes than driving low and slow. But there are so many debates in "real vs. fake." I recommend to buy what you like and not what other people tell you to buy! The difference in the real and fakes is just the manufacturing process they go though and what not. There are so many companies that make the same style wheel, but it's all preference.
For coilovers, I chose D2 because at that time they were the only company producing coilovers, but overall I love them. The ride comfort is amazing and the adjustability is easy.
And webby and nix explained the wide wheels pretty much. For me, i go wide to sit flush. Being "stanced" is not everyone's forte, but I like it and that's what I work my setups around.
Like I said in my other post, you can get away with a wide wheel and higher oddest but you can run into issues with tires rubbing on fenders and struts. If you plan to go low like me and a few others on here, you will want to stretch the tires to achieve that look.