Ground Control Coilovers/Tokiko Blue shocks, Bumpy ride??? D:

Dnguyen92

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Ground Control Coilovers/Tokiko Blue shocks, Bumpy ride??? D:

Hello CC,

I have a Civic EG 92 lowered on Tokiko blues in the back and ground control coil overs in the front. I'm sure if you have after market suspension your ride is supposed to be relatively smooth but my drive is always rambunctious as hell. Any clues as to what's going on?
 

TigBitties

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what are you spring rates?
 


ek forever guy

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The spring rates don't really matter, anything more than OTS is going to leave the whole setup underdamped. Tokico blues are an OE replacement not designed for increased suspension travel or stiffer rates.

You need new shocks, get some tokico illuminas. A really good shock. Koni sports won't work with the variety of GC you have.
 

Dnguyen92

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Oh damn, so it'd be better to just swap out my springs in the back?(excuse me if im getting terminology wrong I'm new in the game.) Any ideas about my coil overs? There's another thing, When Im in reverse, in the front left wheel it sounds like the spring is being tugged on or something. Sort of sounds like someone is picking at a very tight metal wire if you know what that sounds like.
 


ek forever guy

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I'm still not sure what setup you have.

Ground control coilovers, on what shocks? Do you have two different setups on the front and rear?

Coilovers are typically the term prescribed to a full shock/coil sleeve assembly. A shock and spring are the two major components of the suspension. Coilovers are just generally adjustable height.
 

Dnguyen92

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Yeah i have two different set ups. For my ground control coil overs, I can adjust them freely. I know that you're supposed to use a coil over key to adjust the height, but do you think mines are f**ked up? Because I can adjust it freely with my finger when i remove the wheel.
 

Dnguyen92

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I was reading your thread on how to drop your car properly. You already know what kind of set up I have, ground controls in the front/tokico blues in the back. How can I even really determine the rate and how low I can drop my EG safely? Remember, I'm new! But I've been doing the same as you, saving up waiting patiently. As for keeping the car I'm not sure. It's salvaged and this stock sohc isn't as fun as I thought it'd be. I can't even tell when Vtec kicks in! Or if it even kicks in at all! I have alot to learn about this.. so any info will be greatly appreciated!
 

speedygonzales

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I know this might be a lil off topic but only the ex and si (d16z6) eg's had vtec. and it'll take headers and exhaust to be able to tell if vtec is kicking in... even then its kind of hard but you'll notice the rpms getting higher faster. And as for how low and safely? it depends on how much work you put into it and how careful you are. you just throw shocks and springs on it and not take the time to do it right it will never be safe, but if you take your time and do it right you could be scrapping the ground every time there is a slight imperfection in the road and the only thing you'd really have to worry about is your oil pan lol
 

Dnguyen92

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Ooh true. Well I bought the car like that.. and I was reading up on the 92 cx's and it said the d16 vtec kicks in at 4500.. I guess I dont have it then? because my head said Vtec and It is a d16z6. Idk man. Oh and just coming into my drive way, I heard 1 loud pop coming from my driver side. I'm guessing its the coil overs.. any idea what is causing the pop? D:
 

civexspeedy

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I'm not very clear with what exactly you have for your suspension.

Tokico blues are shocks. Ground Control sells coilovers. They are 2 seperate things. From what you are tell us, we are only getting half of the information we really need.

What shocks do you have on the front? What shocks are on the rear? What springs/coilovers are on the front? What springs/coilovers are on the rear? That should help clear things up a bit.

What do the springs on the coilovers say on them? There should be numbers stamped on them that look like this:



Give us the numbers and we can help figure out what shocks to use or if you need to change your springs. In most cases, if you lower a car or modify the suspension, you will have a more uncomfortable ride. Moreso when you use coilovers.

No your GC's are not messed up. To adjust them, you loosen the allen bolt that's in the spring perch and then spin the perch up or down the collar. It is supposed to move up and down easily by hand. When you are done adjusting, tighten the allen bolt back up. Keep in mind that when ever you make significant height changes to your ride height, you will need to have the car aligned. Raising or lowering a car changes camber and toe settings.
 

Dnguyen92

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oooh ok, i plan on changing my breaks and rotors this week so when i lift them i'll take some pictures. Thanks for the tips speedy! Very useful info and I'll keep you guys updated this week. I really appreciate the help.
 

Puma

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Main problem: you have 2 different setups. Best ride=1 set up, and coilovers.

/thread.
 

Dnguyen92

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So i got an oil change today, and they told me the status of my alignment. Apparently it's really bad. So bad it has caused my cv boots to tear. LOL. Sooo I'm probably going to have to put new ones in.. but any idea how I can adjust my height properly so that I don't break or tear anything.
 

civexspeedy

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So do you think I should get rid of everything and just buy one whole new set?
It would probably be easier to start over. You could easily sell atleast the springs that you have on the Ground Controls but to do that you need to get the readings printed on them. Should be able to get around $100 for both of the springs together.

You're looking at around atleast $700 for a good Ground-Control setup with good shocks(depending on spring rate).

So i got an oil change today, and they told me the status of my alignment. Apparently it's really bad. So bad it has caused my cv boots to tear. LOL. Sooo I'm probably going to have to put new ones in.. but any idea how I can adjust my height properly so that I don't break or tear anything.

If you alignment were really THAT bad, you probably wouldn't be able to drive the car lol. You might want to take a look at your boots yourself to make sure they aren't trying to rip you off.

Set the car on a level surface. Take some measurements, preferably from the center of the wheel to the lip of the fender. Jack up the car, loosen the allen bolt on the spring perch and spin it up. Do this to both sides, drop the car and take your measurements. Repeat over and over until you have both sides at the ride height you want and they are both level with eachother. Once everything is at the height you want, tighten the allen bolt and you're done. Just remember you'll need an alignment after you have the ride height adjusted to where you want.

There is still a problem, we don't know exactly what you have for suspension. I'm assuming you only have Ground Control coilovers up front? If that's the case, what's in the rear? Stock springs? Some aftermarket lowering springs? Or also Ground Controls?

Pictures would be the best to clear things up if you are unsure.
 

ek forever guy

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So i got an oil change today, and they told me the status of my alignment. Apparently it's really bad. So bad it has caused my cv boots to tear. LOL. Sooo I'm probably going to have to put new ones in.. but any idea how I can adjust my height properly so that I don't break or tear anything.
Pro tip: Don't slam your car.

And you should get an alignment every year at a minimum on a lowered car. Especially if you're using half-assed cheap/mixed components for your suspension build.
 

Puma

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Pro tip: Don't slam your car.

And you should get an alignment every year at a minimum on a lowered car. Especially if you're using half-assed cheap/mixed components for your suspension build.
:word:

I have to do them twice a year b/c I raise/lower my car so much for the season change.
 

Dnguyen92

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Pro tip: Don't slam your car.

And you should get an alignment every year at a minimum on a lowered car. Especially if you're using half-assed cheap/mixed components for your suspension build.
I didn't even want it slammed that hard to be honest. I got it like that tho. So i'm guessing ground control coil overs and tokico blues are super cheap then?
 

Blood_Shot

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lol I just pulled my ground controls off because they were destroyed and now have tokico blues with tokico red springs, not enough drop but they ride alot smooter. Got all 4 brand new for 200 bucks so I shouldnt complain
 


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