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Now im 18 with a low paying job and not too much money to go around. Im running a stock 02 civic DX, stickshift right now, and when I say stock I mean STOCK. So I was inquiring about upgrades and was led to believe that I should upgrade my suspension far before any performance upgrades, and then I got to thinking…. I understand performance, but what about suspension? So through days of research here are my findings and questions…

So i realize the first thing im gonna want to do is drop my vic. So I start looking around and I see two things, lowering springs and coilovers. Being a young person with not too much spare money I immediately looked at the lowering springs and research some about these. I found out that there is apparently only one kind of lowering springs that will not require me to get a kit, being the Eibach pro kit? I completely understand the difference between a coilover (adjustable) and a spring kit, I just don’t believe I have the money for a coilover kit. If you have any advice or opinions on lowering my vic, please post J

Secondly, are there any other notable upgrades that I should focus on before indulging in the vroom vroom aspect of my car? Are tie/sway/strut/ arm bars worth the install? Before or after performance? What else do I need to know in terms of suspension upgrades that may be considered “shortcuts” or “tricks”. Please keep in mind that I want the most bang for the buck. Thanks in advance

 
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You're close to having a solid understanding of basic lowering principles, but not quite there.

Each component of the suspension works as a component of complete system, upgrading any single part will have an effect on all others. The two components of the suspension most effected by one another are the springs and dampers (ie. shocks/struts), because in very basic terms the damper controls the spring. If you upgrade the springs without upgrading the dampers, the action of the springs will exceed the dampers ability to control them. The result is a bouncy, rough, poor handling ride. Dampers are valved to work best within a certain range of spring action, which is determined by spring rates. The further above the dampers valving the spring rate is the more negative the effect on the suspension will be. The stock springs are are somewhere around 200lbs and the stock dampers are valved to match that, the closest lowering spring to that are Nuespeed at 260lbs (IIRC). Unless you have relatively low mileage on your struts and shocks, I would not suggest installing lowering springs over them for any length of time. Even if you have relatively new struts and shocks and you install lowering springs over them, they won't last long. Which is why we generally recommend you always upgrade the struts and shocks when you install the lowering springs.

Tie bars - they're only necessary to brace the subframe when installing a large sway bar.

Strut bars - The front will do little for actual performance, but has a fairly significant impact on the overall feel. The rear will achieve nothing other than looking pretty.

Sway bars - Hugely beneficial to handling and lots of affordable options. Most people upgrade only the rear sway bar, upgrading the front mostly serves to balance an upgraded rear. Lots of us remove the front entirely, I can go into this further if you want. The most affordable option for upgrading a rear sway bar is to buy one for $50~ off an RSX-S.

Lower control arms - Look pretty, theoretically the slight decrease in unsprung weight is an advantage but you'd never notice it.

Front control arms - upgrade the bushings to energy suspensions.

One very cheap mod I love, energy suspension motor mount inserts.

 
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Since reading this you have changed my outlook but provided me with even more questions. As i am looking for the best overall output from my ride it seems that i am going to want both springs and shocks/struts, and since i've looked at the prices it seems that the springs + shocks/struts= $700~ and since coilovers run for $800-$900 its looking like coilovers might be a better option.... so with coilovers i wouldn't need any shocks/struts?

Lastly, could you elaborate a little on the energy suspension motor mount inserts? i tried to search it on the forums with little avail

 
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depends what coilover you get. Ground controls require struts. Skunk 2, progress, FF2 Mugen etc do not.

 
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The question of whether you need shocks and struts if you purchase coilovers is very common. The answer is pretty simple, a coilover is a shock and spring paired together by the manufacturer but using a different name. The only real distinguishing characteristic of a coilover from a stock shock and spring pairing is the threaded body that allows for height adjustment.

If you want just springs and shocks that would perform moderately well, you could order a combination for around $600. Most any lowering spring with Tokico hp (blues) would work well. It gives you a bit of low with a basic performance gain. If you're looking for something more expensive with more of a performance gain, I would recommend you Koni Yellows with Ground Control sleeves for around $900.

ESMM inserts fill the voids in webbing of the stock front and rear motor mount bushings, effectively making them solid and relatively stiff. A lot of people purchase them because the front motor mount is a common failure point (the webbing in the bushing rips). They improve performance by limiting the movement of the engine and transmission and make the car feel more stable overall as a result. IIRC, they're $20 from energysuspensionparts.com. They're my least expensive mod, are very simple to install, and made a fairly significant difference in feel. They're good starting point if you have the itch to mod and you're on a budget.

 
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Where could I find a place to order a combination?

And is there a D.I.Y. for the ESMM? it sounds like something i would be very interested in

 
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I bought all three sets of my lowering springs used on craiglist for $60-100, that's an easy way to save a bit of money since springs wear out very slowly. Otherwise, THmotorsports generally has very good pricing as well as most vendors on Honda-Tech.

I should have written a DIY after installing my ESMMs, but never quite got around to it.

It's really simple. Jack up the car, support the engine with the a block of wood under the oil pan to prevent it shifting position while the mount is removed.The front mount is held in place by three bolts directly under the exhaust manifold, the rear mount is in the same position except against the firewall and directly above the midpipe. The front bushings pop right into place, the rear bushing needs to be trimmed a bit with a dremmel because they're poorly molded and then it pops into place as well. Lots of people only install the front mount since it's a 15 minute install and the rear takes maybe an hour.

On a scale of 1 to 10, with an oil change being a 2, installing them would be a 3.

 
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How badly do ES motor mounts make the car vibrate? Does the performance gain outweigh the discomfort? I've heard the black ones are slightly less stiff, but they can't be that bad, are they?

 
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Black and red are the same stiffness, the difference is black is impregnated with graphite to reduce squeaks. Squeaks are supposedly the worst in the cold, but I had mine over the full winter and never noticed any noise.

Vibration wise, it's only noticeable at a complete stop with the transmission in gear and even then it's not uncomfortably significant. If you drop it into neutral at lights it disappears almost entirely. The first couple days after installing them it's hilarious how much the car vibrates, but after that brief stint of race car status they soften up.

 
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"brief stint of race car status", lol, as mine is a daily driver that only ever sees 55mph a day, it's probably not worth it. Even though it's cheap, it seems like I wouldn't be able to justify the purchase and sacrifice a bit of comfort. But if you insist it's worth it, I'd give it a shot. After all, it's not hard to remove them and resell for $10 to a new happy owner

 
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I made a similar upgrade to my '02 Cavalier Z24 (lower and upper performance motor mounts), but immediately regretted it after realizing the difference in vibrations. I was pretty startled by just how much vibration I actually felt, so about a week and a half later I put the stock lower motor mount back in, but left the upper insert in place and found that it returned the comfort level nearly back to where it use to be. The lower mount and upper insert looked like this.

I worry that motor mount upgrades might drastically decline the comfort of my Civic and is why I hadn't even considered it, but in thinking back to my experience with the Z24, maybe just one insert could provide some performance gain without deteriorating the comfort level in any noticeable way. If this were so, which motor mount would you suggest upgrading in order to maintain the best comfort level?

 
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I'm surprised no one has mentioned the best suspension upgrade of all.....GOOD TIRES! Putting a decent tire under your car is by FAR the best improvement you can make to your suspension. Even if you replace the whole suspension with shiny new go fast parts, your car wont be that much faster unless you replace the part of the suspension that makes actual contact with the road...THE TIRES!! That is why a lot of people will lower thier car and put new wheels and tires on it. Aftermarket wheels are wider, which will allow for a wider tire. Doing so will allow for a wider contact patch on the pavement, which will allow for more grip. Hence it will handle better!
There are TONS of good options for new tires out there, which would lead to a HUGE discussion on here. As long as you go with a good reliable brand, and go with a tire with a rating of 300 and below, you should be good. I would honestly upgrade the tires before I upgraded anything else. BUT, a good suspension is a VERY close second place. You dont even have to upgrade the wheels to upgrade your tires. Although getting a wider wheel will give you more options. You can probably find a decent set of wheels on Craigslist if you wanted. But hell, you can get an average set of wheels for about $450-$500 new. Let's not get into wheel weight, etc. lol That's a whole new conversation there!
But yeah, MY suggestion would be to upgrade the tires/wheels, then add new springs/struts/coilover's. After you have done all of THAT, then do as you please. You've been given KILLER info above!

 
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definetly atleast try the motor mount inserts. i really liked them in my 2000 ex. they dont make the car shake where its uncomfortable. plus it seemed to shift a lot smoother. and i only had 2 of the 3 inserts in. also unless you parallel park on a daily basis id take out the power steering. you feel the road a lot better without it.

i also had progress csII coilovers and a 21mm progress rear sway. i would recomend both, however the sway bar made a bigger difference i think.

another idea is since you have a dx find a transmission from an ex. its geared closer and you can get an organic clutch while your at it.

oh and +1 on wider tires

 
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I dont know why but my car shook like crazy.. Was I supposed to wait a day or two for them to soften up?

I took them off the same day, my interior panels were making noise and it felt like I was sitting in a massage chair.. lol

 
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yeah they seemed to soften up a few days after i put mine it.