awad619

NEW TO THE FORUM ! i just got a 2003 civic si . im a relative noob to anything to do with cars but fell in love with this civic! so its time to learn cars and remedy all the little things about mine that im not happy with. starting with getting a more smooth ride. any help and ill be eternally grateful.

MindBomber

What's your tire size?

Is the suspension stock?

random

When you refer to your car riding "smooth" or "rough", what are you comparing to?

In addition to describing your tire size and suspension type (aftermarket or not), also check if your tired are over inflated.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

tires with a softer compound, set around 30-35psi will help the most.

lazlong

Taller tires. The shorter the tire the rougher the ride.

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

the correct term is tire profile. i believe thats wt you mean

lazlong

Simple terms for the noob. Don't know how much he knows yet. But, yes, you're right, I shoulda explained it's the profile.

HA! I just wanted to use this one:

awad619

suspension - aftermarket coilovers

rims/tires - 17s with low profile tires (not sure the # for the tires sry)

but thatks for the recommendation to check the pressure i think they MAY be over inflated.

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

Tire size looks like xxx/xx/xx

Like... 215/45/17 or 215/45-17

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

ah good old 17s. anything above a 15 will not be smooth on the road no matter the tire.

lazlong

I like my 225/45/17 better than the old 215/55/17. The extra 12 mm of height is much smoother but, I wouldn't say it's a smooth ride overall.

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

I had no problems with 205/50/16. Felt like stock till u start turning. Less flexing on the sides

awad619

ok so im back. i have done a bit of homework. my tires are 205/40/16. i think i have lowering shocks (skunk) on stock struts, i say i think because i still cant get a clear answer from suspension shops as i have locking lugs and they cant properly look at them. i can only get the locks off when i get new tires, i know how to get them off but im not really comfortable doing it myself. will raising (if possible) the springs help? and what size tires should i go with? i WANT 205/45/17 maybe 205/50/17 or even 205/45(or50)/16. AND do you guys think i could go to 215.

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

here are ur problems:

answers will slightly vary if u have an SI (hatchback) or a canadian SI (our EX in the states)

1. ur tires are way to small. you should be running 205/50/16 if u are on a 16" rim. ur "40" profile makes ur tire very very small.

2. u have skunk coil sleeves. they suck. they are stiff. and they suck.

3. you are on stock struts and MOST LIKELY blown. any kind of lowering with stock struts is no good.

---------

if u plan on getting 17" rims, i would suggest 215/45/17 for the best ride. i have 215/40/17 and they are fine (softest setting on my koni yellows+GC). very smooth.

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

if u are on springs, then u wont be able to adjust the height...

but if u are on those coilover sleeves, then you will be able to adjust it.



but you need to let us know if u have a canadian SI or a USA SI

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

just realized something:

if u have "205/40/16" then you CANNOT get 205/45/17 or 205/50/17...because those tire sizes are made for 17" rims.... (unless u get new rims)

205/40/16 means u have 16" rims. the last number is the rim size.

awad619

when i was referring to 205/.../17 i should have been more specific. i know thats the rim measurement and i really would like to go bigger on the rim, but not at the cost of comfort. im wondering if bigger rims would affect that. but i think some people may have addressed that with a "yes" already.

and i have the hatchback version of the si. i didnt know it was different in canada.

so now assuming that my skunk (i think coilovers but maybe only lowering springs) are a larger culprit than my tires. what would be the cheapest and best way to undo what the previous owner has done, parts and labor estimates. *i hope my struts arent shot, but they seem ok. no real bounce when the car is shaken from the corners*

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

ok. so ur "stock" tire size is 195/60R15.


if you went with 17" and wanted a closest-to-stock tire size, you'd get 205/45/17 (ur new tire size would be only running .2% slow on speedo). the 45 sidewall/profile would be meaty enough where u wont be feeling every pebble on the road.

if u wanted a lil more meat on ur 17" you can go 215/45/17 (you speedo will be running 1.7% slow)


///////////////


now, with that said, tire size is only half the battle of a rough ride. ur suspension setup is the other half. a good quality suspension will still ride smooth on a 215/40/17 (pretty small sidewall)

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

this is a neat site to see how far off ur speedo will be if u got certain tire sizes

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

awad619

that site is extremely helpful thank you so much! im just wondering if i could get 205/45/17 or 205/50/16 in the clearancei have. im thinking yes.

ok so i may have wanted to be more descriptive about the stiffness of my shocks. when i go out of a decent graded driveway even at an angle everyone in my car is almost getting whiplash! im thinking my shocks are more than "half" of the problem :*( and im on a budget, i hope theres an affordable remedy for all of this. tires+rims are going to be around $800-900 and i was told to set the shocks back, even to stock, would be around $1600-1700 :*((

MindBomber

$1600-1700 is a very high estimate.

My first step would be to replace the current shocks with tokico hp, a complete set retails for $350, replacing them would cost an additional $400 in labour, and you'll need an alignment after which averages $100. Here's why I would replace the shocks before anything else, if your car has an average number of miles for the year 100k miles ~, they're approaching or at the point where they'll need to be replaced guaranteed. Blown or heavily worn shocks will never ride well, when paired with lowering springs it makes the situation that much worse.

Step two would be replacing the springs, and to be completely honest, I would do this at the same time as the tokico blues. Skunk2 has a terrible reputation within the tuning community and their line of suspension products is the worst of anything they make. If you like the the car being lowered look into replacing them with eibach springs, if not order new OEM springs from the link at the bottom of this post. Replacement springs should be around $200.

My final move would be replacing the rims with 16''s to allow tires with higher sidewalls, which if you go the used route and pick up a set off craigslist, then sell the current wheels would be fairly inexpensive.

The labour to swap shocks and springs is very basic and honestly, anyone with relative mechanical abilities and $100 worth of tools can do it themselves.

OEM spring source link

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

or you can save up and buy some coilovers for around 700-800 so u can adjust ur height of ur ride.

u cant adjust springs...kinda a pita

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

and remember! give positive rep for good advise!

awad619

than you guys. i really appreciate the help. i think i have the tools now to make an educated decision on what to do. this forum is da sh*t @sl33ryriceboi i already gave you rep lastnight when i saw that link thanx! and anone else who gave (imo) good advice ill hook you up too.

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

^rep back. thats the spirit. knowledge = awesome. plus u "searched" and "researched" on ur own. good traits

on a side note, i really believe in "do it right the first time" because if u do it right the 2nd time, then you have just wasted all that $$$ doing it the first time. (even tho u gain learning experience, which is also valuable)


there are some megan coilovers in the market place that are forsale. megans are excellent. btw

https://www.civicforums.com/forums/193-parts-sale

Shift-E

There are also some Koni's and Tokico's up for sale in the market place.
https://www.civicforums.com/forums/1...e-get-rid.html