Newbie73

I have an 04 VP that is in desperate need of rear struts. Any time I hit the slightest bump, the rear end slides to the right and freaks me out on wet pavement. Knowing I need struts, my question is with my VP having lowering springs, do I need to buy a certain kind of strut or will regular struts work? As you can tell, this is my first lowered vehicle. Any help with any info would be awesome.

ishjay

Form functions suspension kit.

GolNat

iTrader: (7)

Are your tires ok?

Tokico Blues would be a good option with lowering springs.

Newbie73

Tires are 80-90%. No bulges or broken belts. I just bought the car a month ago. I went from a lifted truck to a lowered Civi. Whole new experience.

ishjay

Blues would help.
But if you're going to use the same lowering springs.
Go with koni yellow.

Newbie73

I know with lifting a vehicle you must use a specific size. Is it the same for lowering?

GolNat

iTrader: (7)

Yes you must buy struts that are for you specific year and since you are lowered you want a more performance shock because it can handle the drop.

ishjay

Agree.
If the lowering spring makes your car low, make sure its street performance.
Tokico, koni, and kyb are great.
Make sure you get alignment right away

Newbie73

Thanks guys. You've been a great help!

rustycivic

Actually, you want to give the suspension about 2 weeks to settle in before you get an alignment after replacing either the springs or shocks.

harmoncollege

The Honda mechanics I talk with say most of the "settling" that will affect alignment happens very quickly...driving around for a couple hours will take care of it. They recommend an alignment right away. Could be wrong, but that's what they tell me.

I don't know what lowering springs you are using, but make sure the shocks/struts can handle the rate of the springs you use. Your best bet is Koni Sports (yellows). They can handle any spring, including Neuspeed Race. Koni STR.T (oranges) should be able to handle pretty much any other spring than Neuspeed Race. Best thing about Koni, other than the incredible performance, is the lifetime warranty.

Call Chris at Redshift Motorsports in Pennsylvania. I believe he used to work for Honda R&D and is unbelievably knowledgeable.

GolNat

iTrader: (7)

Tokico's are lifetime warranty as well. Though Koni's are suppose to be the best, just a PITA to instal on 7th gens.

rustycivic

From first-hand experience (my older brother's Accord), it took at least 1 week for the springs to full settle. He waited 2 to get an alignment.

Day after install (Eibach Sportlines: 1.8in drop). We measured, and at that point, it had dropped the car about 1.2in.


And 2 weeks later. The full 1.8in drop. You can see the car is definitely lower.




Now, when both of us installed our coilovers, they only settle about .1-.2in. I'm guessing that was due to the coilovers having much stiffer springs, that the softer Eibach Sportlines. It makes sense that a softer spring will settle more than a stiffer one.


And to the OP, Koni Yellows are AMAZING shocks. They can handle pretty much any stiffness spring you can find, and also have great damping (stiffness) adjustability. I have a set paired with Ground Control coilovers, and aboslutely LOVE them.

GolNat

iTrader: (7)

It took my Sportlines a couple days to settle (I do a lot of driving though).

Unless OP is really lowering his car or getting GC's I would go with Tokico's just because of how much of a pain Koni's are to instal on a 7th gen compared to blues. If he really want to go low then Koni's are the way to go!