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Ok, I am noob to suspension. I searched here, read FAQ and still didnt find a solid answer. When upgrading(for lack of better term) your suspension, what is the difference between Coil overs and just springs? Is doing one better than the other? or is it just preference?

 
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Springs are more comfy because they're progressive, coilovers are straight rate intended for racing. The benefit is adjustable height.

 
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if you want a drop for a good price, go springs..Tein S Tech

 
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But whick is better, springs + shocks or coilovers ?

 
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It's a matter of opinion. If you want a tight sus. ment for racing, where your hight is adjustable, then go with Coilovers. If you are looking to drop your ride hight but not loose the ride quality, then go with a spring and strut.

It's a simple concept. Ok so most Coilover's are cheeper, but you loose your ride quality drasticly. Thats why I'm going to go with the spring setup. If you go with the spring set up, you can do other sus. mods too, to help get that race quality and not loose too much of your ride quality. New bushings, stabilizerbars, links, and strut braces are just some of the mods.

So before I end, remember: IT'S A MATTER OF OPINION!

 
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coilovers are not cheaper, they are more expensive, especially better ones. With full coils the shock and spring are designed to work together, hence usually more R&D

You can have a good racing suspension with springs and shocks, but they will have to be custom made. The fact that GC (sleeved coils) are highly involved in racing and use progressive springs that just move up and down makes any setup worthy of racing as long as you know what you are doing.

I agree though that you need to decide what you want from your suspension and decide from that. Each type has pros and cons and there is no "better." All of this is in the FAQ though.

 
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Yeah.... like Robbclark1 said, decide what you want.

Springs: beter ride, cheaper, easier to install

Coilovers: more money, more adjustablity

Personally I would rather have a good set of springs and struts because the tiny amount of time I would spend on a track isn't worth the extra money and the track is the only place that coilovers would be use full for me. Coilovers can be useful if you want to do the show thing, you can drop you car for the show, then raise it back to drive daily. But good coilovers are so much more money.

 
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ROBBCLARK1- I agree that coilovers can be more expencive. There are just too many CHEEP ones out there though. Guess I should have brought that up. The best sugestion I can give is to decide what you want out of your suspension, and DO SOME RESEARCH....

 
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Thanks for a more better in-depth answer. This was not in the suspension FAQ. here is what the FAQ has (related to this post):
Springs - fairly comfortable ride, set height ~$100-$200
Sleeved coilovers - ride is usually rough/bouncy, adjustable height ~$300
True Coilovers - coilover and shock in one designed to work together giving a great ride. adjustable height ~$800-$1300

so no its not in the FAQ as I stated in my initial post. This is my research and I made the post to help better form my opinion of what I would prefer. I am not worried about a rough ride, but would like to be comfortable. No tracks involved here, so I would prefer better ride with a stiffer suspension. Thanks for your input guys..

 
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I didn't mean that all of my post was in the FAQ, I mean that choosing what you want is up to your needs. Sorry, I guess I didn't make myself clear.

No track, then a set of good springs with non-ajustable shocks or adjustable shocks (whatever you prefer), front and rear camber kits, and an alignment will do you just fine.

 
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keep in mind that if you go with springs with more than an inch of drop, you probably will need new struts, and those aren't cheap (well the cheap ones are worthless, so don't bother with those) and they're not easy to put on in most cases.

 
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What are some good quality aftermarket struts and shocks? for the non rich people?

 
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Shock/strut = same thing. Do you want adjustable or not? Check this thread and read up on some reviews.

http://www.7thgencivic.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=171892

http://www.7thgencivic.com/parts_rev...cat.php/cat/10

 
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I guess that depends on where you're from. In my area for a shop to take off your suspension, take apart the strut and install Koni yellows in there along with some lowering spring would run ya round 400+ for the labor. So Konis = $500, spring = $200 abd labor = $400 for a total of 1100 bucks. Same as a set of nice coilovers would cost. But with coilovers you can adjust the height...

 
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i'd say for regular street use just go springs and new shocks. im riding on ebiach sportlines and they ride great and give a really nice look. and don't take the ride to a shop i installed all my springs in under 2 hours, and it was my first time installing springs.

 
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I would definately get good coilovers over any spring. Having a kit, made it impossible for me to get my car on a lift at pretty much any shop. Now that i switched to tein super street coilovers, i can adjust the height in about 10 minutes and be ready to get maintenance done.