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http://www.elementwheels.com/proddet...prod=dr3316blk

I have an 01 Civic with stock height. I'm not thinking of lowering the car at all. I'm looking at getting I think 16" rims with the tires being 205/50/16 Kumho Tires.

Is this the route I should go? (16") Will it make the car look a little lower which would be cool to do without lowering it.

I know I heard somewhere if I go higher than 16", it will mess with the speedometer which I do NOT want happening.

I would love to have some opinions!

 
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It'll mess with your speedometer if you get a tire that doesn't have a comparable overall diameter as the tire size your car was calibrated in. A good place to see how far off your speedometer will be is the miata.net tire calculator (google it, it should be the first link).

205/50-16 is a good size to run. I run 215/45-17, and my apeedometer isn't noticeably off. Passing those "you speed" things on the highway, most I've seen it off was me going 71 when my speedometer read 70.

As far as you not lowering, any particular reason why? I just think that the 7thgen comes with a lot of wheel gap, and even eating a bit of that with a 1" drop makes it look better without sacrificing drivability. But, just my opinion and I ask simply for curiosity's sake. Also, putting a bigger rim on will do nothing to make your car look lower, especially if you're trying not to f*** with the speedometer. Here's a visual aid as to why that is


Ideally, the overall diameter of your tire will remain constant.

 
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Okay here is the Stock size compared to the tires I'm looking to get. So it's not too bad is it???
Tire Size Comparison
Specification Sidewall Radius Diameter Circumference Revs/Mile Difference
185/70-14 5.1in 12.1in 24.2in 76.0in 834 0.0%
205/50-16 4.0in 12.0in 24.1in 75.6in 838 -0.5%

I was thinking since I'm going up 2" in wheel size, to maybe drop it 1.5" or so but the ONLY thing stopping me is living in Tampa, Florida. The rain and flooding scares me to drop it lower. For example, I got a Short Ram Intake instead of a Cold Air because of the roads with water. Do you think dropping it about 1.5" would be alright?

 
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I'm dropped about 2" and when it rains hard here in Vegas, we get massive flash flood warnings.

Case in point, this happened at UNLV last year


I have an AEM V2 intake and have never hydrolocked my engine. Just drive smart when it starts to flood. I'm sure you'll be fine with a nice subtle drop (~1-1.5")

 
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Oh damn lmao. Yeah you're right. I probably will drop about an inch or 1.5" when I get the wheels.

-0.5% isn't bad what so ever so I will be getting the 205/50-16 with the rims.

 
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Also do you know where I can get some good springs to lower it about an inch or so? Only thing I'm finding Is 2"+.

 
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Tein H-Tech: .7/.8" F/R
Tein S-Tech: 1.3/1.4" F/R
Eibach Sportline: 1.4/1.4" F/R

 
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SWEET. You talked me into it now. I'm going to lower it after my wheels. Do I need anything else or just the springs? Sorry for sounding like a noob lol.

 
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I have Eibach Sportlines that I could sell you if your interested. I also have a front and rear camber kit.

 
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Along with the springs you may need new struts depending on how old your current ones are. I needed new rears with my Sportlines. Also may need a rear camber kit depending on how low you are. Front kit is not really needed unless you want more adjustability.

 
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My Struts are brand new. I had my whole front end re-done. Struts, ball joints, sway bar links, tie rods. Never had to replace the back struts but maybe will after lowering it. I just want to drop an inch or so with raising the wheel size 2 inches from stock. So IDK if I need a camber kit. I was told the camber kit is for people going really low and even putting the wheels out. I'm not doing all that.

 
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Increasing the wheel size won't make a difference since you are also reducing your tire sidewall height to compensate. If you don't lower it with springs the car will look to be the same height since your overall wheel diameter will not change much.

I needed a rear camber kit to get the car to a reasonable camber setting. It will help with tire wear and you will be able to adjust it to your liking.

 
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Okay so what camber kit do I need and do I need both front and back? I'm so new to the lowering part of the car scene. I just don't want ANYTHING that is going to mess with the frame of the car or anything like that. I see people drive all the time with there tires slanted out and it just looks so stupid to me and I know their frame is going to split lmao.

I'm going to get 1 of those 3 spring set that xRiCeBoYx gave me links for btw.

EDIT** Also, judging by my civic model anyway, the back sits higher up by the looks of it so I probably ONLY need the rear set if anything. What do you recommend if I get some?

 
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We were all beginners at one point

Do you have a coupe or sedan? Nevermind I see EM2 crew

If you go with the H Tech's you should be fine without a camber kit. The S Tech's and Sportlines you will need at least a rear kit. The front is optional. Either an SPC kit or ingalls is good.

If you end up deciding you like te Sportlines I can sell you mine with a rear camber kit. I still have the original box and they don't have a lot of miles on them.

 
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Yup, Coupe all the way! I appreciate all the help here. It's nice having other Civic drivers to chat with and talk parts ect.

I will let you know if I go with the ones you have for sure. I was looking at the H Tech's, almost an inch lower it says. That WILL be noticeable right? I don't want to buy lowering springs and I can't tell I have them in lmao. But like I said before, I don't want to drop really low anyway. Just a little noticeable difference for that ugly gap.

 
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Less then an inch will be noticeable, but not much. I thought that when I bought my Sportlines I would be happy with a 1.5 inch drop forever. I was for about a year then decided I wanted more. Now I'm at 2.5 and happy .

With most mods you will have to try something yourself to see of you like it. 1.5 inch is still a mild drop so there is no speed bump or slanted driveway scares and the ride comfort is still good. Either of the three choices that RiceBoy posted will be a great starting point for deciding what you want to get out of your suspension and what you like/dislike.

 
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To answer your first question, 205/40/16 will be a perfect tires size. (provided your wheels will be 16x7ish). Using this tire comparison tool, you can see that the difference in the outer diameter is only .52% off, which is well within the recommended +/- 3%.

As stated before, some good springs with mild drops are:
Eibach Pro Kit
Eibach Sportline
Tein H-Tech
Tein S-Tech
H&R Sport
Neuspeed Sport

In my opinion, I would never drop a car less than 1.5". That is where you can really notice it, but its still very driveable.



Since you replaced the rear shocks recently, they should be fine. Personally though, if I was getting lowering springs, I would also replace the shocks with aftermarket ones that are meant to handle a drop. And if you go with quality brands such as Koni, Tokico, or KYB, their shocks have lifetime warranties, so if the shocks blow or start leaking, you have peace of mind. And after market shocks will be valved more aggressively, which you want since the springs will be stiffer.


And finally, with a 1.5" drop, YOU DO NOT NEED A CAMBER KIT. Just read this little article, it will explain why.

http://www.clubcivic.com/board/showthread.php?t=199650

 
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Thanks for the info and the link to the tire site. I want to go about 1.5" or so drop. So my 3 choices are going to be out of the Eibach Sportline, Tein S-Tech, & Neuspeed Sport springs. Those 3 are the best to what I'm looking for. I probably won't go for a camber set at all. Just upgrading my shocks with it. I can't wait to get all this done. I want to focus on getting my wheels first and then I can set all this up.

 
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It might just be your lucky day......

https://www.civicforums.com/forums/1...sportline.html


This would be great for what you are looking for. Good price too.

 
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If you want a reference for what an EM2 looks like dropped on tein s-techs, here's what my car looked like when I ran that setup



I also upgraded to tokico blues (amazing struts, btw) and I have an SPC rear camber kit installed. Nice, happy little drop, comfy ride, camber within factory specs. I probably would have kept that setup forever if I didn't come across the deal on the coilovers I now have.

Rim/tire setup is 17" buddy club p1 racing SF's with a +42 offset, wrapped in 215/45-17. Never had any abnormal tire wear or rubbing issues.

 
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I would have to disagree with that article. I believe it is true with the older civics that had double wishbone suspension all around but not for our civics. With the double wishbone suspension design as the car is lowered camber becomes more negative. This is great for handleing but not as great for tire wear. Out cars are only wishbone in the back. You lower the car you get negative camber in the rear but you can't return it to stock camber settings without a camber kit. If you don't want to do that then that's fine. The back will be cambered more negative then the front since the front won't gain much due to its McPherson design. Staying within manufactures alignment specs is great for tire life but not for handleing. Having excessive negative camber in the back and none up front is not good for handleing. If a shop tells you they can't align the car without a kit its because they are trying to return it to within factory settings (that's there job you asked for an alignment).

Read this, its more specific to 7th gens:

https://www.civicforums.com/forums/4...ease-read.html

If I find a kid pic of my car on te Sportlines ill post a pic for comparison.

 
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Wow xRiCeBoYx, car looks sick. I seriously can't wait to do mine like that...



Okay so explain to me about the camber, if I drop my car about 1.5", my rear will go negative? What does this exactly mean and effect the car? So I definitely need a rear camber? This is the only thing I'm still confused about.

I REALLY appreciate ALL the help from everyone in this thread. I'm learning so much from all this.

 
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Correct your rear will go negative when you drop the car. 1.5 inches is not a whole lot so it won't go extremely negative. The exact number I am not sure but it will bump you you out of the OEM spec minimum which is -1.5 degrees. This is not necessarily a bad thing. When you increase your negative camber you increase your cornering grip (which is fun). So it will wear the tires a little bit more being out of factory spec but you will gain cornering ability. Now the rear end is extra grippy in te back around corners but the front is not because the camber won't change much in the front when the car is lowered. When you go around a corner the car will have better grip in the rear then in the front so it will cause the car to understeer more. This is safer but does not allow you to corner as fast. A camber kit will allow you to make your rear camber more positive which will decrease tire wear and decrease cornering ability for the rear of the car (causing it oversteer more). The same principle can be applied to the front of the car also but when it is lowered the camber is not changed as dramatically as it is in the rear. Also camber effects the toe in the front. I wanted my front camber set to -1.5 but in order to keep it within OEM toe specs the closest he could get it was like -1.3.

So do you NEED a rear camber kit, technically no.
Will it allow for proper suspension tuning and tire wear, yes. If you don't want to stay within OEM specs then that's ok.
The choice is really up to you and what you want to get out it. A car at stock height with stock tires would benefit from a camber kit because it can control how the car handles a turn.

 
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You don't need rear camber kit, but it is recommended.
I don't use them.
I run Tein S Techs on my stock struts, I love the ride comfort of them.

 
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Okay so I when I order a rear camber set and have it installed, will the place I go have it installed know what my OEM specs will be because I want it close as possible. I don't want anything off on my car like that.

Also, do I need to buy a pro alignment kit I keep finding online?

 
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The place that you get your alignment done will have access to the factory specs. I believe they are +-1.5 rear and +-.75 front. Also make sure if you get it aligned somewhere else that they know you have a rear camber kit. Even if the person has never adjusted a car wih them they will figure it out, it's not hard.

Not sure what a pro kit is but this is what you need:

http://www.spcperformance.com/compon...AFrom&to=USATo

There are other brands like K-Sport, Skunk 2, and some others but I don't know how they are as far as quality.

 
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Okay good to know. So that is the camber I need for both sides? Oh, and the pro alignment kit I was talking about from a site looks just like those arms you just linked me to. So that is pretty much the part I need for both sides. So when I order them, I order the Lowering springs and 2 rear arms...

 
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Yes that's the camber for both sides. You want both rear tires to be the same camber and both front to be the same camber (or as close as possible).

I believe the camber arms come as a pair so you would just need to order 1 set which will include an arm for the rear left and an arm for the rear right.

 
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Awesome. Yeah I wasn't sure if it came with one or a pair. I will make sure with the people from the site before ordering anyway to be safe. So you don't think I should get the camber for the front? Just the rear.

Also again, thank you all so much for all this help and knowledge.

 
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The rear kit is all you need.