I have a 2004 Civic GX. It handles like a boat. I just replaced the shocks with Koni Oranges, and that made somewhat of an improvement, but it still feels pretty sludgy...likely b/c the frame is flexing too much.
I use this car to drive for work about 1000 miles a month, almost all freeway, and I don't want to lower it or make it look modified.
Any advice on what to add?
About a 1"-1.25" drop isn't going to be very noticeable to most people. There are springs for your car that will lower about that much while still maintaining a relatively smooth, but much more sporty ride. The Koni Oranges you got are great struts, however they will not improve handling very much. Shocks control the movement of the suspension, they don't really make it "stiffer".
The springs I'd suggest looking into are:
Eibach Pro-Kit
H&R Sport
Koni Sport
I believe the H&R Sport springs would probably be the stiffest spring out of those 3 and they drop the car around 1.3" all around. You'll definitely get the most noticeable change in handling with these but also probably the harshest ride, though I'm quite sure it'll still be bearable for your commute. These springs are also mid-price of those 3 at about $190(TireRack price).
The Koni Sport springs are probably similar to the H&R Springs, they drop about the same amount and I can only assume that the spring rates are similar. However they are a little cheaper at about $175(TireRack price). These springs I'm sure would be a perfect match for the Koni shocks you have.
The Eibach Pro-Kit offers the most mild drop out of the 3 at about 1" all around. They probably also have the softest spring rates making for a much more comfortable ride, but less aggressive than the other 2. These springs are also the most expensive(by just a little) at around $200(TireRack price).
The best way to make a fairly significant change in handling
without changing ride high is to upgrade your swaybars. Going to larger swaybars will cost about the same as the lowering springs I mentioned and, depending on the sizes, could potentially get the same effect as the lowering springs. The benefit would be that you will not sacrifice ride height or ride comfort in any way as swaybars are effective only during cornering.
A cheap, but also the least effective, way to improve handling is using strut/tie bars. They can be had for a decent price but they also will not make a drastic improvement in handling. Probably not quite as much as what you're looking for. Either springs or swaybars would be an absolute first choice over these.
Not really going to get noticeably better handling without lowering the cars center of gravity but get front and rear strut bars and that should make it a little bit better but not great
There's a few things you can do without lowering the car that will make the car handle worlds better. Swaybars, strut/tie bars, bushings, alignment, camber bolts/plates, and probably most importantly tires.
if its like a boat, I am assuming you feel the car rolling, answer for that is to get a strut bar, not sure how many you need in your year of car, for mine i got one in the hood, trunk and lower rear. helps to stabilize rolling. got them for $25 bucks each, pretty cheap. definetely cheaper than buying other springs.
Strut bars do not reduce roll or pitch, they simply reduce flex. They aren't very essential to making a car handle better.
hmmm, then maybe try a strut bar before sway bar. They are very easy to install and apparently fairly cheap.
Swaybar
> strut bar.
