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does anyone know exactly what spring rates are and how they affect a vehicle?

 
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spring rate is the amount of weight needed to be put on the spring to lower it 1". for example if the spring rate for springs are 200 lbs. this would mean if you put 200 lbs on top of it, it would lower it 1". but also keep in mind just because the spring rate is 200 lbs doesnt mean its going to drop the car 1" when you put load 200lbs in the trunk. we have 4 springs and one spring isnt going to be holding that extra 200lbs. it also doesnt mean that its going to drop .25" because the weight isnt evenly distributed throughout all the springs.
-say you lower your car 2". your going to have a very small fender gap, probably less then a finger. well you put 5 people in the car and thats what about 700lbs. if the spring rate was 200lbs, thats going to lower the car about 1". thats why you have stiffer spring rates, lowering springs might be 300lbs or even more.
-as for how it effects the car... the ride is going to be effected. you have soft springs so its going to compress more and allow the shock to travel more being able to absorb the bumps. compared to hard springs where the shock gets little travel. an extreme example would be riding on something soft compared to a solid peice of steel.
-also lowering springs are progressive meaning the spring rate differs throughout the spring. the more the spring is compressed the stiffer the spring gets. why is this you ask? to prevent bottoming out but yet give a smooth ride. having one 150 lb person might lower the car .3"(this is just an example) but having 2 people 150lb each is only going to lower .4" instead of 3 because of this different spring rate. this is to give the most comfortable ride possible.

 
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hey wow! thanks for the info! Seems like you definitely know what you are talking about. The reason I ask this question about spring rates is because I have noticed the ride quality on my '01 Ex coupe getting a lot worse lately. Every tiny little raised bump or strip in the road makes my cars interior jump and make noise. I have been to two dealers and I think they are giving me the run around. The last one said that "the '01 Civics have a European suspension...geared more for sporty performance than for ride quality" Now if I remember correctly when the '01's came out they were noted for having a softer suspesion...in order to create a better ride. I was looking at Edmunds.com and they said on thier '01 new car review that Honda lowered spring rates... So I was trying to figure out if the dealer was just giving me a line of sh*t. My last car a '98 Civic 4dr lx never sounded like it was going to fall apart when I went over bumps or strips. Is there any way for me to tell if my suspension is broken??? Thanks again for your help!

 
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are you on stock wheels? i know a lower profile tire will kill the ride. also check the tire pressure, believe it or not that makes a big difference too. or last thing, it might be your shocks have blown. i heard some people blowing their shocks within a year even with a stock suspension. i think mohawkbooms shocks were blown and they replaced them for free. to check if they're blown, lean on one corner of the car(be careful our panels are very weak) and let it bounce back up, if it bounces 2-4 times, its fine, if it bounces alot its probably blown. do it to all corners. not sure how easy it is to tell tho. i know that if you find oil/grease around the shock that also means that its blown. my best bet would be tire pressure tho.

as for "The last one said that "the '01 Civics have a European suspension...geared more for sporty performance than for ride quality" Now if I remember correctly when the '01's came out they were noted for having a softer suspesion...in order to create a better ride. I was looking at Edmunds.com and they said on thier '01 new car review that Honda lowered spring rates... "
european suspension? they're tripping. if they were going for sport performance, they would have dropped the car a little, added a strut bar and a sway bar(for non-ex 01's). but according to 'goldline'(a goldline representative that comes here every now n then), ya our spring rate is stiffer, he said the older ones were 190lbs and ours are 290lb but this is only cause of how our suspension is. not sure why edmunds.com said they lowered spring rates. i dunno maybe 'goldline' was wrong cause ya my 01's suspension seemed very soft. i remember the back used to jump like crazy going over speedbumps and dips, my box would bounce around in the trunk to. with my 02, the rear was stiffened up a lil bit cause my box didn't move around. but anyways, back to the topic... the first thing i would do is put more air in the tires, if that doesnt help, check if the shocks are blown. if they're fine maybe it is just in your head... you could always try and test drive a new civic and compare(well the same year as your car cause theres a difference between the 01 and 02).

 
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hey...thanks again for the info. My car is stock everything...no mods at all. I went to this class that a nearby dealer was having for new Honda owners and he said that for the Civic I should keep 32psi in my tires so that's what I've been keeping it at. Other than having a terribly rough and bumpy ride, I can't really see anything leaking (like blown struts or shocks). One thing that I do notice though is that when I push down on the front of my car it seems extra mushy...almost like sitting on an old couch. I just got my car back tonight from the dealer and once again they say that there is nothing wrong with my suspension. They actually gave me a loaner car...an '01 Lx 4dr. I know that there are small differences between the '01's and '02's, but, when I pushed on the front of the loaner car, it was very firm and hardly went down at all and bounce right back in place. Do you think that they are just d*cking me around? It really seems like it's way too soft when I push on it...but they say everything is ok. HELP!!!

Is there anyone else in the San Deigo area with stock '01 Ex coupe suspension??? I really need some help here. I'd love to see if yours is as mushy and soft as mine.

 
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the only different with the spring/shock on 01 vs 02 is the rear from my understanding. but then it might differ from coupe vs sedan. its possible that the springs are starting to go. i even think there was something on the service bulletin about our shocks being crappy. try searching on this site. i know 'mohawkboom' got his struts replaced. it probably is a leaking strut, try taking it to a different dealer maybe. if none will help you, fight. actually i think some place in daygo serviced someones shocks. might have been darkcivic? i dunno for some reason his name comes to mind.