Thaik

As the title says, the ride is still way too rough and bouncy, especially on the bad roads, I can feel every bump, I sometime feel like the car is being punched from beneath.

I've replaced the strut/shock to with Tokico HPs, replaced the front lower ball joints, link ends on the front and LCA bushings with ES polyurethane ones.

The first days riding with the new shocks was still rough since the they hadn't settle yet, it was stiff and wasn't absorbing every bump very smoothly. Few weeks later, it got better, felt like the shock/struts were really working correctly, bumps were less harsh and was smoother, but after two month, it is still stiff but I feel that the car is bouncing way too much and I'm starting the feel the harshness from the bumps again.

I'm suspecting the tires and the OEM springs. The tires I have are seriously crap, but they're winter tires that I'm using in summer, but even in winter, they suck. The springs, people said it last the life of the vehicle but I'm not so sure about that, springs can wear out depending on the roads and driving habits of the former owners, doesn't it?

I have already been in many 7th gen civics and it doesn't ride like that, really smooth and composed. Mine's feels like it's falling apart. The ride feels really jerky on consecutive bumps and while turning on long bumpy turns, those that merge on the highway.

Is my Civic that bad? I know the car has been in two accidents (front and rear passenger side), but nothing, to my knowledge, major enough to damaged the chassis, car is still driving straight on highways with my hands of the steering wheel.

Can tires really affect ride quality and suspension behavior that bad? Or is it my springs that are done for even though they're supposed to last forever?

Rough ride really wears out the driver, in this case: me.

Thanks

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

tire have a huge impact on how the car absorbs bumps. as for the bouncing, could be from oem springs which let the car sit rather high. i have eibach prokit springs (1 inch lower) and tokicos and there is little to no bouce. ride is very firm, and with the cushy tires with soft compound i am very happy with the ride quality. its no luxury car, but it feels way better than stock. i could never go back to factory spring again. and i have all the ES bushings and mounts you can get, which doesnt affect ride quality, only cornering.

Thaik

About the Eibach Pro kit springs and soft compound, I was leaning toward that way but wasn't so sure if it was worth it. It's always like that, I'm very confident about the replacement or upgrade that I'm about to do, but when it's done, it's not what I was expecting, it's only leaving unsatisfied and sort of angry

By the way, if you lower your car, is it preferable to have bigger rims to compensate the lower ride height? I don't want to start worrying about speed bumps and scrapping the bumpers from to time to time.

I know it's only one inch, but is it one inch difference from the stock shock and spring? Because my car sits higher and I'm calculating from that.

And the ES bushings, you replaced all of them, including all of them in the rear? How does it feel, what about squeaks? I guess you replaced it by a shop right? If so, how much did it cost in labor? Because the rear end of my car is kind of jerky like I said when cornening and hitting bumpss at the same time. I can feel the car moving side ways (just the body, not the tires, not drifting here )

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

?
bouncy is the springs going boingo, boingo. meaning the shocks are not doing their job.
harshness could be shocks too strong to the springs, but then your car would start going lower than usual.
usually they would be mutually exclusive, unless the suspension is lower than it should and hitting the bumpstops.

is you car lower than it should on the stock springs? if so, they might not be in pristine condition. Check for cracked springs, if you are in winter tires, the salt could have done a job on the srpings (corrosion).

Thaik

On the contrary, the cats sit really high, much higher than other regular 7th civic. Perhaps when you drive it and sit inside the car, it can feel as if the car bounces way too much, but I have already seen it from the outside, it doesn't much that much. The bounciness really comes from the car since I know the springs in the back have a really low spring rate.

I replaced the shocks/strut myself and the springs were still in good condition, no rust, still had the black paint. Strangely, the strut mounts were all rusty, paint peeling off everywhere, but no crack in them.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

well being lowered does have its issues, and sometimes i do scrape up my aftermarket rsr exhaust and a few times my front lip (it sits 1/2 inch lower than the bumper). but overall its like a regular car except i cant pull over those parking spot stoppers or they will plow into the bumper. i have ES front and rear sway bushings, all front lca bushings, and engine mount. not much in the rear arms, just spc camber kit for alignment. when i had cheap tires, i couldnt believe how bad the ride was, like riding on plastic almost. i have about 2 finger gap front and rear between tire and fender, and the oem lip kit sits 1/2 inch lower than the car body normally does. i really dont worry much about scraping and speedbumps. if you dont want too extreme, you could always go with 0.75 inch tein H-tech springs which are designed more for luxury over performance. btw my eibach springs are 7 yrs old and tokicos are 5 yrs old. still doing great as the first day and no change in ride height yet. im hoping i can get a few more yrs out of the shocks. definately stick with stock size rims and tires, larger size will make the ride unbearable because there is less rubber to absorb impacts.

Thaik

Would you say it is because of the front lip that makes the bumper scrap over certain speed bumps?

By soft compound tires, were you referring to the tires you recommended me some time ago? The General Altimax HP or something better? For tires, I'm not looking for the top of the top, just good tires that will soften the ride, if I'm satisfied, I might wanna go higher.

Is one inch that big of a drop? One inch is 2.5 centimeters, doesn't seem low enough to scrap the bumpers if bumper is all stock.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

well ive only had the lip scrape a few times and only when going over really steep driveways that dip down suddenly and then straighten out. a few scrapes over a few yrs time isnt a big deal to me. its mostly the exhaust and i havent scraped that in quite some time either. it sits way lower than anything else.

soft tires yes the generals, and i have mine at 35psi. you could run them at 30 for even softer ride, but i want a bit better mpg instead. they are still very soft at the higher pressure. just gotta be careful not to hit a curb or you could blow out a sidewall of the tire. yeah they are that soft. altimax hp is pretty fairly priced around $70 a tire, not cheap and not expensive, but the reviews put it as good or better than michelin and i tend to agree. at 3k miles, these things hold the road very well. in the rain, it feels even more sticky than dry road. very nice grip with these. hard cornering is an issue due to the softness, but i mostly do town driving so for me its the best tire for my purpose.

one inch drop, with tokicos (other shocks not rated for a lowered car can cause the rear to sag lower) is not that much. you will still have a good amount of wheel gap and even with lip kit i dont have issues. ive even been fine packing the car up when moving and never scraped the tire to fender.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

well, when i was using the winter (blizzak's), they were really squirelly and sometimes bounced more than the normal tires (they made light and soft sidewall, so it conforms better to the ground (traction in snow).

i think i agree, you should try tires first.

Thaik

I've just replaced the rear sway bar by a 19mm sway bar from an 02 RSX Base model.
The result is wow!
Car is not as bouncy as before!
I guess it's because I'm running those shocks on OEM springs which is quite bouncy and the reason why it become much bouncier after the Tokicop HP replacement shocks was because the shock/stuts were too strong for the sway bar.

I've also replaced the front one with one(25.1mm) from a Civic Coupe 01 EX (Si-Canadian). The results isn't as amazing as the rear but now it's much stable on the highway and it stays flatter. Even braking has improved.

Next time, Eibach Pro-kit springs!

I've taking some pictures during my installations.
I might do a DIY later on.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

glad to hear your issues are dimming down

Thaik

I hope my input was useful for some people.
I think dalaw (not sure about his name here) had a similar issue,
he even changed his rear tokico for bilstein I think.
Because I also heard people saying that the rear Tokico are too stiff.
It was before I upgraded the rear sway bar because the rear wasn't balanced.
The way I felt it was as if the each shock was sending the bump the other side, making the rear wiggling back and forth.

But still, sway bars don't do all the job, if one wants to really reduce bouncing, he should upgrade his springs too, that's what I'm going to do.
Sorry for my not so good English.

Biscuit

You must know that when suspension components are replaced the fasteners must be torqued with the load of the car on the suspension/tires after the parts are replaced. That is after the car has been rolled around a few feet and the steering wheel cranked a few times.
If not the suspension bushings will be in a bind after setting the car on the ground resulting in weird noises.
Suspension 101.

Thaik

Indeed, I do have a clunking noise in the back after replacing the shock/strut. The spring has been seated properly, so I guess that's not it.
Should unbolt the bolts and re-torque them with the load of the car on them?
Or is it too late?

Biscuit

Yes you need to do that. But loosen the bolts with the suspension unloaded and then load the suspension before tightening.

Nathan

Thaik

Hmm thanks.
I'll do that.
Hmm, how do you edit the thread's name?
I want to change it to **Solved**.

fiz1981

is it the whole bar or just the links you replacesd?

Thaik

I have replaced the whole bar indeed.
That's what does most of the job of reducing body roll.
I didn't replaced the links, they are still in good shape, however, you must replaced the sway bar bushings to fit the new bar and also the bracket, you can reuse the old brackets like most people say, but I have put them side by side for comparison and the bracket from the RSX is studier and the metal is a little thicker.

You gotta replace that bar, it doesn't cost that much, less 100$ old or new.
Of course, buying used mean there could be some rust but it is pretty as functional.

I have also replaced the front one but didn't notice much difference, less roll for sure, better highway stability, more responsive steering, but it's really the rear that makes such a big difference, after all it's 19mm vs 13mm.

PM me if you have any other questions.

BIGGS000

Now that Thaik's problem has been solved I'm hoping you all can help me with a similar problem. I bought my '02 with 91000 miles. I took it to my mechanic and had some work done including the replacement of the front stuts. After a problem with a bad new strut the vehicle settled in and rode great. I drove it 450 miles after that maintenance from my parents to my home and the ride was great. Now, about 1500 miles after the maintenance it is riding like complete crap. Everytime I go over a bump it makes that loud sound you get when the suspension is banging into its full range of travel. I've looked at the struts and springs as best as I could without jacking it or taking anything off. Everything I can see looks to be in good order. I don't see any issues with the new struts and the old springs still look solid. The tires were all mismatched and not in good shape so I have since replaced all of them with Cooper CS4 (a week ago). The ride quality has not improved. Additionally, with the new tires (it did this with the old ones too but I thought it was because they were crap tires) the front tires look like they have too much weight on them. Where the front tires contact the road they ballon out a little. They are sitting at 30psi. What other kind of things can I look at? Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Lastly, if you can't tell, I'm just a noob. I am a very capable mechanic and am branching out into auto. So, I'm just learning right now but with the right guidance from all you smart experienced folks I think I can get this taken care of.

Matt_75

I'd look at you're front lower control arm compliance bushing. It could be broke and banging against the frame most noticeably when going over a speed bump. Common problem.



Piece #12 below.


It's pressed in.

Thaik

Agreed

The front lower control arm appliance bushing are the first component to be most commonly known to fail prematurely on 7th generation civic.

Just by curiosity, what do you replace your front struts with?
OEM parts, after market?

Cheap after market parts tend fail prematurely, I heard that Monroe shocks ride like crap only after only few weeks of wear, but I don't think that's the case with you.

By the way, my problem isn't 100% solved , still have to replace the tires on my car, it rides like crap on bumpy, choppy roads, but I'd say the ride is pretty good overall comparing to before replacing the shocks and sway bars.
And maybe the springs too, not that they broken, but it doesn't match up really well with Tokico shocks/struts and the new stiffer stabilizer bar, plus my car sits way, but way too high, especially the rear xD I'm riding even higher than stock.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

wow winter is here and even at only 32F it feels like im riding in a tin can. everything rattles, even small bumps are like bone crushing hits, and it sounds like i have metal tires lol. cant believe what a difference there is from winter to summer. i went from a cadillac to a bicycle lol.

Matt_75

Yeap, could be that too, but at least we gave him something to look at.

BIGGS000

Sorry, man. Didn't mean to go hijacking. The front struts got replaced with OEM and the old springs were kept.

I don't think I woulda thought to check that out. After you mentioned checking those I did some more research and some more driving around. So, my lower control arms definitely needs new bushings. They aren't as bad as the picture but they are dry, cracked and starting to tear away. Additionally, my rear shocks need replacing. I've noticed a majority of the clunking sound coming from the rear. I think those springs are also still good. I'm gonna get some Energy Suspension bushings all around. It looks like it's about $170 to get all the bushings and the motor mounts. I'm gonna do all the work except I'll get a shop to remove the old bushings and press in new ones because I don't have the tools for pressing in/out. Hopefully the shops don't charge too much for that. I'll start calling around tomorrow. Thanks for getting me going in the right direction! I can't wait to start doing some maintenance!