96 honda civic lowered 4" - just wanted to share (lots of pics)
 

This whole idea first fell in my lap over a year ago in the form of a free e-bay adjustable coilover set from my brother - in - law (great guy)!! *four like this:
http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/...psxfabpzvd.jpg



then, of course, I would need a new set of shocks and struts and nice lower control arms, because I was planning on breaking bolts or having to cut bushings - which I did both! :
http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/...psyhx9ldr4.jpg



And, since those of us who know a thing or two about cars don't like the "driving on my sidewalls" look ( myself included ), I got front and rear camber adjustment hardware:
http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/...psbrtmvpw5.jpg



this is how my car ( the MINION ) used to sit:
http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2kmuwing.jpg



after much wrenching, cussing, grinding, and a little bleeding, this is what I managed to achieve:
http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/...psgtny0odu.jpg


Finally got it onto an alignment rack today ( had to find one that was level with the ground first ) and got to take a look at how I did. here's the before *** I spent 4 hours messing with it to get it driveable for the before :
http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/...psdv1ayhdo.jpg



It was in the rear that I TOTALLY FORGOT about how the REAR TOE WOULD BE AFFECTED by all the other changes to my suspension!! It wasn't until the guy was adjusting the rear toe, and I was like $H!T... but the numbers don't look too bad for now. I'll end up buying the rear toe adjustables and getting another alignment. Here's the after paper ( I asked them to try and zero everything ) >>
http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/...psrqs9t3uj.jpg


I've got more pictures, but I don't want to break the "INTERWEB" with pictures of my minion. I welcome your comments and questions. I keep planning to to a "how to" thread, but in my own classic fashion, I just plain start tearing into the work at hand...

okay, I had to throw one more in:
http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/...ps62esqxbk.jpg

That's awesome. If I had that, the transition between my undertray middle panels and diffuser would be more effective. BTW, in the pics it does not look like a 4" drop. It looks like 2 or 3 to me. You measured, I'm sure, yes?

Yup. 23.5" ground to wheel well top from 27.25 up front. Technically I'm 3.75" down, but I'm a dude, so it's 4 inches. Lol.

Some how I expected it to look lower. :confused: Id give it 2 weeks and re do the alignment as the springs will start to sag.

For relation, here my insight on tanade df springs.

That looks cool. Do you run bigger tires?

Sorry, you can't get a decent measurement from anywhere on the car to the ground. It is simply not repeatable- go try it. You'd have to have measured from, say, the inner wheel well to the top of the tire. That's a 2" drop; 3 MAX.

Then I guess I'm not too sure. Gotta love the eBay cheapies! Either way I'm expecting a little better mileage to go with all the funny looks and great handling I've just installed.

Agreed- cornering can be improved.

There were a couple of occasions I wanted to measure ride height; one was the camper truck laden vs unladen and the other was when I lowered my Coupe. It was then I discovered I couldn't measure to the ground- even on what appears to be a decent concrete slab- because the measurements were all over the place, far too large to make the measurements of any value. It was then I discovered I could get better measurements by leaving the ground out of it, by measuring from the tops of the tires to the inner wheel well. The Coupe got lowered approximately 2" and it looks like your before-and-after.

P.S. The ground is still "in it" because the vehicle is parked on it, but the measuring errors are less. Concrete slabs are deceptively uneven.

oem 175 65 r 15 Painted oem wheels black.

Give it a few weeks it will hang a little lower. I agree with franks 2 inch estimate. :thumbup:

Frank Lee agrees! ;)

2" or 3" or 3.75 or whatever... it's a good look, I think. Filling the wheel wells better is just better.

Huh. You do make sense. My measurements agreed twice, with a short run around the block, I never checked again! I'll give it a week and check again. Thanks.

If it does settle more, I'll have to re work my exhaust. That's my lowpoint now. ..

I typically measure axle centerline to wheel well for the same reasons. That gives me two hard points to base changes off of, and compare front to rear (since the tires are slightly different sizes).

I did a similar lowering on my Civic. Before and after looked very comparable to the OPs pics (his maybe a smidge lower up front). It was about a 2.5 inch drop. Mine scrapes too much as it is, I couldn't imagine going any lower.

Hey Mouse, what's with the little container of Chinese take-out hanging off the rear of your car?

it's a jdm thing :)

if you ever decide to build belly pan, With those new LCA's... you won't have to worry about building "clearance" to avoid the LCA's :)

Man, I ought to get on eBay and order a bunch of shiny yet dubious aftermarket suspension parts for the Black Widow and lower it 4 inches, too . . . . . Wait a sec, with my current suspension, I lower it 4" just by sitting in it!

My opinion is save your money for repairs, don't blow it on non-essential crap like that, but then again I did buy that Kammback a couple of tanks ago . . . .

I assumed you meant the tailpipe at first, that's about as Chinese take-out as it gets

Yeah, the Chinese take out box, on a japanese car! I just think it's hilarious. It's been on the car about a year now and I still laugh every time I see it! It used to have a fortune cookie on it, but that was many driveways ago.

I'm proud to say that my mileage looks like it's going up! (I've also found a new respect for the EOC). MIGHT JUST BREAK 50 MPG THIS TANK! ! Previous best was 46.2 mpg. We'll see what comes out in a few days, and I'll be driving easy and eoc'ing my butt off until then.

Frankly, this mod has inspired me to try and hypermile harder than ever!

If this is what it takes to adjust the nut behind my car's wheel, then so be it.

And for the exhaust, 3"stainless "test pipe" back exhaust (no emissions by me so no cat) it's Damn loud and also makes me laugh so hard!
http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/...psd155f90e.jpg

I had terrible rear camber, I didn't mention, I guess. It ate the inner from my rear tires. My shocks\struts were pretty beat too, it actually rides BETTER on the highway now! At that point, the "performance" parts are cheaper than stock stuff, so why not? This is cheaper than going to a mechanic for a repair any day for side by side stock vs performance, and I do all the work aside from the alignment because I like to! so for me, I'm money ahead.



Now I don't have to pan under my car! I'm looking for something like a really wide brush to be my "air dam" that way the bristles will give over bumps / driveways now. . Any ideas?

The 4" lawn edging stuff, the kind that is very thin for the most part and thick only at the one rounded end is what I used. Installed with a curve on it, it will hold shape at speed but flex and return to shape when it rubs a speed bump or something. Very cheap. Very effective. Easily installed, really.

sounds like I've got plans for tomorrow night!

and when I get a small roll, that should last a lifetime unless the old lady grabs it for her garden! LOL

Not to beat a dead horse but I also don't think that looks like 3.75". It looks like a little under 3", but definitely over 2".

Looks good, although I probably would not be able to tolerate a ride that stiff lol. With my 1.4" drop I'm barely able to not scrape speed bumps, and every curb probably takes a few thousandths of an inch off my front bumper via abrasion.

Since you've got all those adjustable suspension bits, have you thought of making the camber slightly negative? If you take turns quickly, the outside of your tires will wear down more. Since you don't have much suspension travel left, you'd need static camber despite your double wishbones to get closer to the "ideal" for handling. I think -1.5 degrees is pretty reasonable for a daily driver and is good for tire wear, or so I hear.

Garden section of Wally world, I got a 20FT roll, which was enough for 2 failed prototypes and 1 final make, for only $6.34. Can't beat that.

[Edit]: I took screws and just used a drill to drill through the top plastic part on the lawn edging into the bumper, so my bumper has a ton of holes on the bottom not haha. Not like you can see them, but yea.

Negative camber helps for cornering. Give it 2 weeks it will get lower. :eek:

I love tunnels and overpasses, bahhhhhhhhaaaaaaaa

that so calls to my inner cheapskate, and I'm always at wally world for something, lawn edging is going on the shopping list!


Right on, brother! I can't help myself sometimes - I just love the sound! bwahaha!



as far as the rear wheels and their current toe setting, this looks like the answer to my litle problem, 96-00 honda civic rear toe adjustable doo-hickies:
http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/...ps309070d7.jpg

$38.99 free shipping - ebay (both sides)
(one side stock costs $5 less at my local auto parts place)

guess what my inner cheapskate wants me to do? damn right, I'm getting the blue ones! by the time the parts come in, and I finally get around to installing them, I think the suspension will have completely settled and it will be alignment time again.


That's a little above my head, but I like where you're going with that - I'm going to ask my local guy, he can build some pretty crazy stuff! If not, as adjustable as I will be with the rear toe adjustables installed, they should be able to hit the stock marks on my alignment and prolong tire life, if not anything else.

Nuttin like running on the edges of your sidewalls. :eek:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1408157654

Yeah, that's the "I really hate my car / I get tires for free" look. Neither of which apply to me. My Car's low, but everything still points up:D. This was just after going down, before the alignment. You can see the front tire's leaning out a little up front. It's all good now up front
http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/...psrozcsob5.jpg
it has and I believe is still settling since this picture on Sunday.

Can't wait to see pics after its settled. I lowered my car about 2" and have been wishing for lower...

http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/...psek5ztofw.jpg

Eco-edging. If they only knew. .. this will go on tomorrow. Time to really scrape on everything!

Mine is the other way... with the bulbous part on the bottom instead of top... the thin plastic sticking out on what you have as the bottom here can help as mounting points on the underside of the bumper cover.

Hey, im wondering if you can use leftover lawn edging to make a lower grill block.

the width of the lawn edging appears to be the same width of the grill opening.

Can you post a close up of your lawn edging for me please? I'm not too sure how I want to connect it yet:D




I was thinking the same thing, and if I like it, it can get fiberglassed in. .

This is exactly how I mounted mine, and the same exact brand of lawn edging. I only bought the 20ft roll though.

When I made my front air dam (before I lowered my car), it made a very significant difference in my FE. I'll search for the link if you'd like.

when I put mine on my civic the lawn edging was flipped compared to the picture. I put it on using self-tapping screws and if the screws are hidden the air dam looked stock on my white civichttp://i762.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps108a7784.jpg
after I posted this picture I cut it a few inches because it was sticking out too far by cal98's recommendation

Yea I really need to cut mine as well. It scrapes on the smallest bumps and it's taking heavy damage from the few bumps I hit on a daily basis.

WUSSYS!!!! Nothing is more fun than to scrape. I love idling behind people, then as I approach them hit a bump and SCRAPE scaring the crap out of them. :thumbup:

I get some nasty looks when I scrape, I just smile and wave.

Hard core! And eoc'ing, all they get to hear is the scraaaaaaapppppee! I'm in.

So, the consensus is that the"fat part" goes on the bottom? Ok. tomorrow will be a great day, my fellow ecomodders! My buddy in Franklin Park (Chicago)likes the air dam idea, and gave me a cool side skirts idea! I'll be sharing more with pictures after I get home and chop up a little lawn edging:D

You can't get 4" just from springs. You'll hit the a-arms at 3.5, the tie rods at 4.5". If I get some time I'll dump the air out of the bags and show you what 4 looks like (I'm currently at +1 because of the roads around here).

You're much better off fixing the airflow issues underneath than blocking the air. No clearance issues, and it'll be quieter. Take the extra few hours and do a pan.