Suspension Lift and Tire width

[Shankifer]

Alright, don't jump the gun on this one.

I'm looking to lift my '96 Civic, a few inches, in the area of like 4-8 inches. I also want to get wider tires.

Why lift instead of lower? Because I live in a small town in PA, the roads are horrible and crossing railroad tracks at 5mph is getting old. if I took my Civic lower i would be scraping on every bump around here

Why wider tires? Because I think a lift is a bad idea without adding a little surface area to make up for the top-heaviness if you know what I mean.

Don't start taking me the wrong way, I'm not a hillbilly looking for kicks making a monster-civic lol.
I'm just looking to have a Civic that can handle a little more in terms of bumps and bruises.

So my questions to the members of this forum:

Is it possible to do a small lift using the suspension? and do you know any good places to find more information on this (I'm getting ready to replace tie rods, wheel bearings, wheels, tires, so I'm thinking doing the suspension might be nice to get in while all this is getting done)?

What would be my ideal width to create a decent distribution of the weight to all four tires so my chances of rolling (trust me guys, this won't be my street racer so don't consider me taking any corners at 60 ) are about as good as they were before a lift? and (prepare for noob question) Can I get decent width tires and keep my same wheels, or will I have to get the kit and kaboodle?

I hope you guys understand where I'm coming from, I really didn't join to insight a riot or anything with the thought of raising a Civic ;P

I'd appreciate any thoughts and responses.
Please and thank you

 

[JohnS.]

Before you get into this... Is your civic 100% stock? You don't have tires that aren't OEM size, no rims, nothing?

 

[Shankifer]

Completely stock, yes.

 

[the_net]

lowering it poses no problem,,...but raising the thing which i believe is already stock height...hmm...

 

[Shankifer]

Alright I'll run with the criticism

Don't leave me hanging though, what is my major dilemma to face in a lift?

Obviously this example is a racer and the 84 Civic is an awd I believe, but this is the desired effect of the lift.

Just the increased distance from Car to ground. Nothing too big and fancy atm

 

[JohnS.]

I don't mean to beat a dead horse but... I just really don't understand why you want to lift your car. Are the roads THAT bad that you literally bottom out at stock height? Spending money on lifting your civic isn't going to make it anymore comfortable to go over bumps. You should just save your money and go on different roads if you can. If you want to ride more comfortably on bad roads, get an SUV. Seriously.

I know what bad roads are like. I live in NY. We have construction here 24/7. If there isn't construction in one town, there's construction in another town. It never ends. I'm lowered 2-2.5" and I have my shocks turned up 3/4 of the way to as stiff as they go and it's really not all that bad. For the places I drive to, I don't have to take any detours or avoid any roads. I've only ever bottomed my car out once and that was going over a sidewalk with 2 other people in my car. I never go in that parking lot usually but my friend needed an ATM.

 

[Shankifer]

Alright, that's fair enough. I'm not going to complain lol.

In truth, I'm a computer guy, I really don't know as much as I wish I did about cars, I feel I know enough though. Apparently lifting and lowering is one thing I'll never grasp completely. On top of making my civic more versatile, I'd like to make it unique too. Sure I can get a sick paint job or something, but so can 9 out of 10 other guys that want their civic to be unique. I'm not looking for a monster, although hell, I think it would be cool as hell to get an old 84 AWD hatch and jack it up and turn it into a mini-monster lol. I'm looking for a unique, modernized, Civic with a little culture to it. Lift it up a little, and if I could spare the time and all the money I would definately upgrade the motor and change the drivetrain into an AWD and maybe get a slapshifter. That's just me though, call it what you will, a lifted Civic with some wide tires. That just sounds like it would be a one of a kind.

To hell with wishful thinking though. Might as well be a slave to trends.

 

[JohnS.]

I give you credit for wanting to do this. I'm not trying to put you down. Other than uniqueness, I just don't understand the reason behind lifting. That's all.

 

[r0nin]

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm +1 on the yusuke picture so i cant call u stupid for wanting to do this.

but if you really just wanna have a unique ride, you can probably get 17 rims+tires depending on the size they'll raise the car up about 2" and add another probably 2" width. then i know there's some suspension out there that does have a positive that'll raise it up another inch that's as far as i would probably go.

only reason i suggest 17's is to fill out the well a little more if you raise it higher. 16's should work the same, just might look a little small. BUT that might be what you have in mind. so whatever's gonna make you happy. lol

 

[JohnS.]

17's means he'll have to go lower profile tires compared to steelies and beefy tires which means the ride is going to be more harsh.

 

[NIKE H34D]

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm +1 on the yusuke picture so i cant call u stupid for wanting to do this.

but if you really just wanna have a unique ride, you can probably get 17 rims+tires depending on the size they'll raise the car up about 2" and add another probably 2" width. then i know there's some suspension out there that does have a positive that'll raise it up another inch that's as far as i would probably go.

only reason i suggest 17's is to fill out the well a little more if you raise it higher. 16's should work the same, just might look a little small. BUT that might be what you have in mind. so whatever's gonna make you happy. lol

Everything you said makes no sense. OP wants a smoother ride, More sidewall= Smoother ride.

OP your car will be unique, but it will also be useless and a waste of money. Its going to cost a LOTTTT for you to lift your car, get huge tires, get wide steelies/rims, AWD, and slapshift.


What year is your car anyway? I can tell you right now that you are not going to go through with it. Once you finally stop kidding yourself and take money into account, you will just a buy a nice luxury car that rides nice at stock.

 

[R3dline]

id say u need to sell your civic and get a truck in all honesty

 

[pmac193]

just leave it at stock ride height, or get an suv/truck.

 

[oc_civic]

I can personally attest to the following fact.. YES there are roads in PA that really are THAT bad... with that said I am honestly not sure how to go about a modest lift.. but what I can tell you is 4-8 inches is NOT a modest lift.. that is a fairly aggressive lift for a car that is already fairly low.. on the pricey side I am pretty sure that air ride would lift you up a decent..