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

[vrmouseyd15b]

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:




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! :




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:




this is how my car ( the MINION ) used to sit:




after much wrenching, cussing, grinding, and a little bleeding, this is what I managed to achieve:



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 :




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 ) >>



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...

[vrmouseyd15b]

okay, I had to throw one more in:

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by vrmouseyd15b

okay, I had to throw one more in:

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?

[vrmouseyd15b]

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.

[Cobb]

Some how I expected it to look lower. 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.

[vrmouseyd15b]

Originally Posted by Cobb

Some how I expected it to look lower. 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?

[Frank Lee]

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.

[vrmouseyd15b]

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.

[Frank Lee]

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.

[Cobb]

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.