Inexpensive springs & dampers for a worn-out '95 EX coupe?

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B

bcman

Senior Member
Hey Guys,

My '95 EX coupe now has 287,000mi and I'm pretty sure all 4 shocks are blown. Rear springs (and maybe fronts) are probably fatigued, as I overloaded the car many times in college and it now exhibits horrible body lean.

The car's probably near the end of its life, so I don't want to spend a lot of money on fancy suspension, but I also don't want to continue driving a potentially unsafe vehicle. Dealer parts would run $1600, so there's no way I'm doing that. If I can keep it in the ballpark of $500-600, I'm stoked.

Lately I've been looking at either H&R OE Sport springs or Neuspeed SofSport springs. Both have a modest drop of 3/4" and spring rates that are ~50% stiffer than stock. The question is, what shocks to pair with these springs? Would KYB GR-2s be a good match, or are they just for OEM replacement? I have also looked at Koni STR.Ts, but I would prefer the cheaper GR-2s if they will work alright.
 
I've seen alot of people go with Ground Control simply because their inexpensive coilover sleeves, and you can request the spring rate you want. I personally was looking at Black Works Racing coilovers because their cheaper than Skunk2 pro's but BWR was a sister company so, they pretty much walked with alot of Skunk2's bag of tricks and performance. The set up goes for about 500-600 for a Ek civic through ebay. Plus you can preload the springs and adjust your ride height separately. The same set up can be found in Form & Functions type 1 and are a bit cheaper than the BWR's as well.
 
The springs you mention will require more expensive shocks than his budget will allow after the springs are bought- and F&F coilovers really aren't worth the cash at that price point...
 
It really all depends on what he's looking to get out of it and if he's looking to actually put in power through that suspension or if he's just going to go slow and low. One thing after bouncing around the net looking for a decent suspension for myself I quickly noticed people all have different opinions on whats really the "best" set up.

For 500-600 a some what decent suspension could be built.. not track ready perfect, but not stock either.

SKUNK2 Civic Del Sol Integra Sport Shocks EG EK DC2 | eBay

Ground Control - Coilover Conversion kit, 92-00 Honda Civic/ Del Sol(CUSTOM RATES)

May even leave alittle room for some of these?
Ground Control - 88-00 Civic Upper Shock Mounts (Pair)
 
Gr2s will be fine.. or you could go with the AGX

There are also the Tokico blues (hp)
 
Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I probably won't keep the car for many more years, so I'm gonna go with the GR2s. I can get 4 shocks and SofSports for $385 shipped from Import Replacement Parts.
 
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