* * * PLEASE READ - Frequently Asked Questions - FAQ's * * *

JohnS.

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Welcome to the Wheels / Tires / Brakes / Suspension FAQ.


This is just the beginning of this thread. Please realize it has room to grow. Links can be added in the future, it can be broken down further, etc. It just seems that a lot of topics these days are getting covered far too often which is why I created this thread.

• If you find that certain information is incorrect, feel free to PM me. We do not need to turn this thread into a debate on what’s right and what’s wrong.

• If you wish for information to be added into this post, feel free to PM me with said information and a source.


I don’t want to hear, “my dad told me this is true, can you add it?”. I will only add information that is known to be true and has a reliable source.


Let’s start off with some basics:

1. You get what you pay for. If you want to buy eBay stuff because you’re on a budget and are too impatient to save more money, fine. But don’t be upset or disappointed when things don’t line up, or the ride quality sucks, or parts break, etc. Some people swear by their eBay coilovers and that’s okay. It’s your choice. But just be ready to suffer the consequences.

2. Do not cheap out on suspension (goes with #1). The last thing you want happening to your car while putting stress on the suspension is for something to break.

3. You simply cannot be slammed and have a comfortable ride. If you want to be slammed, you have to keep the suspension from sitting maxed out on the bump stops. Suspension bottoming out constantly is A. not good and B. makes for an uncomfortable ride. In order to achieve this, you need stiffer spring rates and stiffer spring rates leads to a harsh ride. Can you install extended top hats or shortened shocks? You sure can. But then what happens when the upper control arm starts hitting the shock tower because of them? Can you cut holes in the shock towers? You sure can. But then what happens when your axles start hitting the frame rails? Can you notch the frame? You sure can. If you haven’t seen my point yet, how far are you willing to go?

4. “Best setup” is subjective. There’s a huge difference between modifying a daily driver you want to handle a little better and building a track car that sits low requiring high spring rates. So don’t ask “what’s the best setup to buy?” because it’s all up for you to decide based on your budget and your goals.

5. “Help!!!!" is a very vague question to ask. Provide the year of your car, model, and any modifications that may factor into helping us give you as specific of an answer as we can. And please try to troubleshoot yourself before asking us!!! It's very hard to answer, "I hear a squeak, what is it?". Find out where it's coming from, when it does it, etc. The more details you give us, the better chances we have of giving you a solution.

With that being said, here are some questions that seem to get asked on a more-than-often basis. They are broken down into sub-categories (wheels, tires, brakes, suspension).


Wheel FAQ’s:


Q: What wheels are these?

A: The best way to find out the make/model of wheels is to first, take the wheel off and try looking inside of it for any stamps, logos, etc. Next, is to search. I realize asking may sometimes be the best way to find out, but please try and search first. Google images or Member’s Rides section may be your best bet. Even look on other forums. There are tons of Civic’s out there. Popular wheel manufacturers are Rota, Konig, BBS, Enkei, etc.

Q: Will these wheels fit my car?

A: That depends on a variety of things: offset, wheel size, tire size, bolt pattern (yes, as silly is this is, some people are just completely oblivious), and how low you are. Factor in those numbers and go from there.

Q: What wheels will fit my car?

A: Read above.

Q: Where can I buy wheels?

A: There are TONS of places you can buy them. Local craigslist, ClubCivic sponsors, classifieds on automotive forums, eBay, or you can even google “buy Honda civic rims” or anything relating to that. You can also check out JDMLand for the more expensive but popular brand name wheels that Honda enthusiasts seem to buy.

Q: What lug nuts?

A: Please please PLEASE read the following carefully... Honda OEM wheels have rounded lug nut seats. Aftermarket wheels generally have tapered/conical lug nut seats. It is NOT safe to mix different lug nuts with different lug nut seats. If you are looking for black lug nuts to use on OEM wheels, both the NSX and S2000 CR came with them.


Tire FAQ’s:

Q: What tires should I get?

A: That depends on your budget and your goals for your car. Is it a daily driver? Is this your only set of wheels? Do you want summer tires for performance or an all-season tire so you can drive all year long on them? You should be able to go to any tire store and search by price, size, category, etc. and go from there. TireRack is an excellent place to start and usually has good reviews.

Q: What size tires should I buy?

A: That depends on what you want and the size of your rims (and even how low you are, if you are really low). Do you like lower profile tires or meaty tires? Lower profile tires have less sidewall which means they will have better steering response. Lower profile tires also make for a less smooth ride while meatier tires make for a smoother ride. Also, you want to take into consideration your speedometer and how much you may throw it off. You can use a tire size calculator to figure that out (link below).

It is also a common misconception that wider tires instantly = more grip. You also have to factor in tire composition. For example, a 195/55 summer tire is more than likely going to offer better handling than a 205/45 all-season tire. And do not be deceived by UTQG ratings. Just because “180” is the first number, doesn’t mean it will last you 1 summer. If you intend on doing a lot of autocrossing, you’ll probably get less than summer out of them. If you drive normal and just want something sticky for your summer wheels and spirited driving, you can probably get more out of them as long as you keep your suspension in check and get your alignment checked at least once a year.

Tire size calculator:
http://www.rimsntires.com/specs.jsp

Q: Will these tires fit?

A: That depends on your wheel size, wheel offset, and how low you are. If you are slammed, you are probably going to have to roll your fenders and/or remove or notch your fender lining. Same goes with low offset wheels. Figure out those numbers and go from there.

I think generally, the following is true (there are exceptions. The best way to know for sure is to go to the manufacturer webpage or even TireRack and look up the tire):
  • 185’s fit 5”-6.5” wide wheels
  • 195’s fit 5.5”-7” wide wheels
  • 205’s fit 5.5” – 7.5” wide wheels
  • 215’s fit 7.5” – 9” wide wheels
Q: Where should I buy tires?

A: I personally highly recommend TireRack. They have excellent prices. I have heard of other people buying from other sites as well. Feel free to add comments on where you bought your tires and I will gladly add them to the list.


Brake FAQ’s:

General brake information that is good to know (more can and will be added):

Regarding front brakes:
  • 92-00 EX and 99-00 Si’s have the same front brakes.
  • EX/Si Civic's and LS/RS/GS/GSR Integra brakes have the same size front rotor.
  • The Integra caliper pistons are bigger and therefore, have a bigger pad.
  • LS/RS/GS/GSR Integra's all use the same brakes (pads, lines, rotors, calipers). *This applies to rear brakes as well!
Regarding rear disc brakes (including swaps):
  • You don’t HAVE to buy the whole trailing arm assembly. You only need the spindle. But it’s just easier to get the whole trailing arm assembly and slap everything on.
  • 94-01 Integra’s (LS/GSR) and 99-00 Si’s have the same rear brakes (different part #’s obviously but as far as rotor, caliper, and piston size) <- This MAY be incorrect. Feel free to correct me.
  • 90-01 Integras (minus Type R) and 88-00 Civics with rear disc brakes are all interchangeable onto EK (EJ), EG, EF, DA, and DC chassis’.
  • 90-91 CRX Si, 92-95 Civic/96-97 Del Sol VTEC, 99-00 Si, and 90-01 Integra (minus Type R) all have the same size rotor.
    • Depending on what car you have and what brake setup you buy, that will determine what parts you need.
  • All 94-01 Integra's (minus ITR) use the same front and rear caliper.
  • 92-95 Civic EX / Si with ABS use the same exact brakes as 94-01 Integras with ABS
Regarding master cylinder sizes:
  • Non-ABS Integra's use a 15/16"
  • ABS Integra's use a 1"
  • 92-00 Civic EX, 99-00 Si, 94+ Del Sol VTEC use a 7/8"
  • 92-00 Civic / Del Sol use a 1"
  • 91 Civic EX Sedan Non-ABS use a 15/16"
  • 92-95 ABS use a 15/16"
Q: Upgrading front brakes to EX?

A: 92-00 EX and 99-00 Si’s essentially have the same front brakes (same size caliper, caliper piston size, knuckle, and rotor). If you want to swap EX front brakes into your DX/LX/etc, you’ll need the entire knuckle and associated parts (hub, bearing, caliper, caliper hangers, rotor, pads). Whether or not the car has ABS doesn’t matter. The rotor is the same size. Only the mounting differs for the ABS.

Q: Should I get cross drilled and/or slotted rotors?

A: Simply put: no. They are more prone to cracking over regular blank rotors.


Suspension FAQ’s:

Q: How low should I go?

A: That depends on a couple of things. The lower the ride, the more uncomfortable it’s likely to be. You also want to factor in the road conditions where you live. If you live in pothole central, you may not want to go too low. You can also search on google images to bring up cars that have whichever part you want to see what your car may look like.

Q: Will this fit?

A: You should be able to go to any brand name website and check out their vehicle application list. You can find out there whether or not it will fit. Otherwise, if part numbers differ from x model car to x model car that you’re trying to swap parts with, more than likely it won’t fit. There are different part numbers for a reason.

Q: Where should I buy these?

A: There are plenty of places to buy parts. To name a few: classifieds on automotive forums, ClubCivic sponsors, PasswordJDM, RobearRacing, JHPUSA, weaksauceparts, etc.

Q: Coilovers or springs?

A: That ultimately depends on your goals. Do you want to be able to adjust the height of the car or do you want it at a fixed drop? The big pro of being able to adjust your ride height is being able to raise the car if it snows in your area during the winter. One con is the fact that it is highly recommended to get your car aligned every time you adjust the ride height. Also, if you went with a Koni/GC setup (a very popular choice that costs upwards of around $800-1000 last time I've heard), you can get custom spring rates.

Q: Which coilovers?

A: That obviously depends on your budget. Function and Form Type I’s are a very popular choice for people on a budget (they are around $6-700) that still want a quality coilover. Otherwise, Tein, Skunk2, Ground Control, etc. There are plenty of other choices out there. Do some digging.

Q: What springs?

A: That depends on how low you want to go. Again, look in Members Rides, Appearance / Cosmetic on Honda-Tech, or even google image “Honda civic <spring name>”. You can go to any manufacturer webpage and look up the springs and how low they are rated to drop x model car.

Q: What shocks?

A: That depends on a couple of things. How low are you going to go? Tokico Blues and KYG GR-2’s are OE replacement shocks. I would not recommend buying them if you’re going to lower 1” or more. Other brand names are Koni, Skunk2, etc. Tokico Illumina’s and Koni Yellow’s are on the higher end and both are great shocks. The Koni’s are slightly better and more expensive.

Q: Do I need camber kits?

A: NO. Contrary to the BS that shops will try to feed you, you do not NEED camber kits in order to prevent accelerated tire wear. See the link below for details:
http://www.clubcivic.com/board/showthread.php?t=199650

Q: Strut bars and sway bars?

A: Strut bars alone won’t do much. You’re better off getting a rear sway bar (if you don’t already have one). Just remember, Civic’s have a weak subframe so it is highly recommended that you get a subframe reinforcement brace to prevent subframe tear out. ASR is probably the most popular choice, Beaks is an alternative. The Beaks subframe brace is NOT to be confused with the rear lower tie bar, which is NOT a subframe brace.

Which sway bar you get is up to you. After you get a rear sway bar, then I would say a strut bar may help with handling a little more. 2-point strut bars are pretty much pointless, especially if they have joints. You’d gain the most from a one-piece construction 3-point (it bolts to the firewall for a 3rd point).

Q: Should I upgrade the front sway bar?

A: Generally, I have read that a bigger front sway bar tends to increase understeer. I could be wrong on this.

Q: What do extended top hats do?

A:
Top hats do not lower the car any. They raise the mounting point of the shaft on the shock higher to give the shocks more travel. They are good to have if you are really low so your suspension has more room to travel. But, they have zero influence in ride height.
 
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JohnS.

BANGARANG
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10+ Year Member
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Reserved.
 


JohnS.

BANGARANG
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5+ Year Member
10+ Year Member
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Reserved...
 


JohnS.

BANGARANG
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5+ Year Member
10+ Year Member
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I've been adding things here and there since posting the thread. I haven't gotten any PM's which isn't a good thing... I expect this thing to be overflowing with information sometime in the near future ;).
 

CraigJamez42

New Member
I have a '93 Civic EX. No mods as of yet. Still working on getting the body straightened out. I've been looking for springs/coilovers,but I really dont want much of a drop cause I'm 6'2" and the cars low enough ha ha. Just looking for something that will improve handling with a minimal drop. Any suggestions would be awesome.:twisted::twisted::twisted:
 

JohnS.

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I'm going to reiterate this:

Save your money and do things right the first time! Do not waste your money on eBay garbage or taking shortcuts. You WILL regret it in the future and you will only waste MORE money replacing your garbage with quality parts.
 


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