davidronolson
New Member
I have been trying to do some research on this, and every time I find someone else that wants to do this, all they are met with is a bunch of criticism. I have read a few threads on this site, and as I said, no one is helping anyone with this. I am here to try and see if I can help give some understanding (and also get some help as to what I would need to do to complete this)
Firstly, most of the Honda enthusiasts that I have encountered seem to think that the only way to make a civic look cool is by slamming it to the ground, putting over-sized rims with thin strips of rubber called tires, slapping a wing on it and adding a body kit. (Don't take this as a personal attack. Maybe you're one of the enthusiasts that actually appreciate ingenious solutions to everyday problems instead of making a car that you have to baby over everyday roads.)
I have a silver 1998 Civic EX, 5-speed, bare bones stock and basic steelies on it. I live in Southern California where almost every intersection has a serious dip in it. I hear other cars bottoming out left and right, and have unfortunately bottomed out myself on a few occasions. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I feel that I am an exceptionally decent driver and seem to care about my car more than most people. (Take it as you will, I guarantee I am going to catch guff for that statement.) Personally, I have never really liked the slammed to the ground racer look, especially on civics. I think it's cheesy and overplayed. With that said, I love the look of my stock silver civic with black steelies. It's simple and clean. No frills. What can I say? They're phenomenal cars.
Now that my little rant is out of the way, I am hoping that I have weeded out the haters and bashers and I will receive some positive feedback and helpful information from someone. (although I probably just instigated them to give me a ton of negative responses)
I would love to put a very minor lift on the car (we're talking 1 to 2 inches tops. I have seen other people say that they wanted to lift it over 4 inches, and I just think that is absurdly excessive.) and also put a push-bar/bull-bar on the front of it. The lift would help deal with the large dips in the roads around here, and as for the push bar... well, I honestly just think it would look sweet.
Here is my initial thought process: If I were to make some 1 or 2 inch spacers for the top of the shock mounts, this would push the entire coil over assembly down accordingly, then I would assume that I would either have to lengthen the control arms in the front, or weld new mounting points into the body. I might also need to lengthen the axles somehow. My guess would be to either purchase longer axles (if possible) or cut the axles, weld in spacers, sleeve it, then re-weld it for extra strength. In the rear, I would need to lengthen the trailing arms and lower the control arm mounts. (Unfortunately, I don't have a welder at my disposal, and I am not exactly comfortable enough with my welding abilities to make it strong enough to weld anything on to a car that has to do with my suspension and steering.)
So there you have it. If you're against this idea, please do us both a favor and don't comment. If you have some insight or ideas, please comment away! I would love to talk to an enthusiast who is willing to think outside the box and help create a sweet little dirty cruiser.
Thanks guys!
Firstly, most of the Honda enthusiasts that I have encountered seem to think that the only way to make a civic look cool is by slamming it to the ground, putting over-sized rims with thin strips of rubber called tires, slapping a wing on it and adding a body kit. (Don't take this as a personal attack. Maybe you're one of the enthusiasts that actually appreciate ingenious solutions to everyday problems instead of making a car that you have to baby over everyday roads.)
I have a silver 1998 Civic EX, 5-speed, bare bones stock and basic steelies on it. I live in Southern California where almost every intersection has a serious dip in it. I hear other cars bottoming out left and right, and have unfortunately bottomed out myself on a few occasions. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I feel that I am an exceptionally decent driver and seem to care about my car more than most people. (Take it as you will, I guarantee I am going to catch guff for that statement.) Personally, I have never really liked the slammed to the ground racer look, especially on civics. I think it's cheesy and overplayed. With that said, I love the look of my stock silver civic with black steelies. It's simple and clean. No frills. What can I say? They're phenomenal cars.
Now that my little rant is out of the way, I am hoping that I have weeded out the haters and bashers and I will receive some positive feedback and helpful information from someone. (although I probably just instigated them to give me a ton of negative responses)
I would love to put a very minor lift on the car (we're talking 1 to 2 inches tops. I have seen other people say that they wanted to lift it over 4 inches, and I just think that is absurdly excessive.) and also put a push-bar/bull-bar on the front of it. The lift would help deal with the large dips in the roads around here, and as for the push bar... well, I honestly just think it would look sweet.
Here is my initial thought process: If I were to make some 1 or 2 inch spacers for the top of the shock mounts, this would push the entire coil over assembly down accordingly, then I would assume that I would either have to lengthen the control arms in the front, or weld new mounting points into the body. I might also need to lengthen the axles somehow. My guess would be to either purchase longer axles (if possible) or cut the axles, weld in spacers, sleeve it, then re-weld it for extra strength. In the rear, I would need to lengthen the trailing arms and lower the control arm mounts. (Unfortunately, I don't have a welder at my disposal, and I am not exactly comfortable enough with my welding abilities to make it strong enough to weld anything on to a car that has to do with my suspension and steering.)
So there you have it. If you're against this idea, please do us both a favor and don't comment. If you have some insight or ideas, please comment away! I would love to talk to an enthusiast who is willing to think outside the box and help create a sweet little dirty cruiser.
Thanks guys!