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Hello all:

I'm new to this treasure trove of a forum; read through a bunch of threads but didn't find entirely up-to-date info re: my (rather noobish) question.

17" wheels and tires (17x7.5; 215/45ZR -17) are on their way from tire rack; installing those next week. I'm waiting to see how it looks with stock ride height, but I have a sneaking feeling based on the threads I have read / pictures I have seen that I'll want to drop the car a bit to avoid the Tonka Truck look. Probably not too much as I live in the midwest and will be switching back to my stock 15's with Blizzaks for winters and will need to retain some clearance. That said, I'm thinking 1-1.5" drop tops. I understand the ride will be a bit stiffer, but I am not looking to drastically alter the ride quality. I've already got my hands full enough as it is avoiding pot holes out here.

Given a $1k budget, what's the best option out there? I much rather buy tried and true quality products that last rather than something cheapo. That's where you guys come in ~ what has held up to the abuse of the experts on this forum?

I see in some older posts that Tokiko blues seem to be a popular option; wondering if that's still the case. I also understand that a camber is optional at a smaller drop but strongly recommended... Would love some suggestions.

Peace ya'll.

 
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Blues are shocks and don't drop your car at all. With a budget of 1k I would say invest in some coilovers such as tein d2 or megan they keep your ride stiff but allow you to drop your car to whatever height you would like. But if your looking to just drop the car then springs are the way to go man. I'm on eibach sportlines and tokico blues and I'm dropped 1.5 all around just do some research and see what fits your preference. Good luck man!

 
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Look into H&R sports. They give about a 1.3" drop. I've heard there's no sag on them either with the sedans, so depending on what model you have you many wanna look into those.

 
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So would that mean that there's no sag for the H&Rs on a coupe for an 01 Civic?
*Sorry to thread jack, but I also had 17s and right now my tires are hitting the edge of the quarter-panel and I'm just trying to figure out possible solutions

 
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i guess that applied to H&R for RSX - they can be installed on the vics.
Coilovers are better for that price range, since you can raise in winters, but expect to align the rear at the least - camber kit.
Also, too much snow could seize the threads, so clean them periodically.

 
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http://hrsprings.com/scripts/appguid...ind3&MakeID=13

I wouldn't worry about sag on the coupes. And you can find H&R's for a heck of a lot cheaper.

 
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Thanks all for the thoughts. Thread jacking not a problem; happy to learn/help. So it looks like it's down to deciding between coilovers to allow for winter clearance adjustment or just springs. Coilovers obviously more 'spensive. I had my stock shocks replaced a year ago (with new stock shocks). How do stock shocks hold up for a 1-1.5" drop. Any difference between coilovers or springs as far as punishment on the shocks?

I'll try to work out the math of what my new ride height will be after adding the 17x7.5 rims with 215/45ZR 17 tires and work from there. Trolled through the millions of ride height pictures on this forum. Great resource. Best I can figure is that a 1-1.5" drop would basically maintain (or really only slightly reduce) the current ground clearance. That's fine with me as biggest concern is maintaining the distance between top of tire and wheel well (for looks) after I install the wheels/tires.

 
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stock shocks - will not last long... will require at the least the tokiko blues (up to 1.7")

 
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I put apparently 2" springs on the Tokico blues today, and didn't even have to compress the spring to get them on. Now i didn't try the stock shocks (will try tomorrow), but the Tokico Blues are supposed to have a shorter body and stroke. I mean, it wasn't until the upper strut nut was about 1/2 way on is when the spring finally started to compress.

 
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You can put the spring on the strut, it'll just cause them to blow out prematurely. I'm not sue what your trying to say.

 
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I was saying that the shocks with lowering springs were LESS compressed than the OEM springs/shocks I took apart.

 
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yes, if you put them side-by-side, their length should be shorter.
hope the blues take them for long... I did miss that part of yours...

 
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progress competition coilovers and call it a day http://www.corsportusa.com/store/cat...roducts_id=481

 
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my tires/rims arrive tomorrow and i am thinking i'll put them on and see how they look at stock height. that way i can at very least take a before and after picture, haha.

leaning twd the coilovers for flexibility and ability to adjust height for winter.

 
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Hey all, here's the wheels/tires:


Before (stock)


After:

17" wheels and tires (17x7.5; 215/45ZR -17)

Ride height isn't too shabby!

 
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those are really nice wheels. good **** sir

 
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well, i am in QC, and the eibach pro-kit i use already makes me plow the snow. not as bad as a sport kit would, though. Where are you located? lots of snow?
and no, get the the tokiko blues if you want to use springs instead of coilovers. or wait for the stock ones go - they are likely to go after some time, but that means you will need to do the job twice. Also remember my comment on the coilover threads, salt tends to make a mess on them.
Keep some money aside for potential worn-out parts. If you need some directions on which parts, see the suspension basics in my sig below.

 
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Thanks! I was trying to stay classy and nothing too gaudy.

Interesting note: I have all 4 stock wheels/tires sitting in the back seat. Noticed that my time off the block is a little slow, and I'm wondering how much of that is due to the 200 pounds of wheels sitting in the back or the additional inertia / rotational mass added by the new wheels/tires. I can't imagine it would make that much of a difference for a DD but I'll see how it goes without the dead weight in the back.

 
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I'm in the upper midwest, so we see all sorts of snow, ice, and as a result, road salt. I'm guessing any sort of drop is going to present issues with snow plowing; that's why I was thinking with coilovers could raise before the winter comes each year.

 
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Would you consider the progress competition coilovers a better system compared to the Tein Basics?

**Also, to the OP, have you decided what brand of coilovers you might be getting?

 
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ow hell yeah tien basics suck they don't give you a low enough drop and there notorious for blowing out progress strut bodies are 30mm shorter out of the box so lower ride height while maintaining ride quality progress is way better tien is over priced and over rated.

 
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Cool, what you said pretty much backups all the readings I've been doing about the best coilover system for the em2s. All I want are good coilovers that are good for daily driving but also give me a nice drop as well while sitting on 17s