everyone will say yay or ney but IMO just putting the springs on is not a good idea. unless your just going for looks and your showing this car and NOT using it as a daily commuter, then do it cuz if your driving a lot, the drive is going to suck. i decided not to lower mine because i rode in a friends civic that got lowered and holy crap i felt like i was getting hit in the head on even the slightest of bumps. if you are going to lower it, i would look at the suspension upgrade link ****** posted.
"Hey everyone,
Just had the Eibach springs (part #4617.140) installed on my Bright Silver Koup SX, along with Ultra Racing (
Forte/Koupe 2009 | Ultra Racing Canada ) front upper tower strut bar, both the front lower 2-point and 4-point bars, the rear lower bar and the rear anti-sway bar. Also mounted the ASA AR-1s 18x7.5 w 215/40-18s BF-Goodrich Comp-TA KDW. (Would love to include pics but somehow my laptop has decided to refuse 'communicating' with my digital camera. Pics will follw as soon as I solve this minor (?) gitch. As an aside, I just don't understand how Bill Gates got so obscenely rich selling such crap... but I digress
...NB LAPTOP PROBLEM SOLVED, PICS UPLOADED). Also installed the Shark Racing lip spoiler and the Visual Garage shark-fin antenna.
The Eibach kit drops the car 1.2" front and 1.0" rear; I would have prefered the H&R's 1.5" front/1.2" rear but I just couldn't wait till the middle of June for the H&R springs to become available up here in Canada. The very small
visual difference between Eibach's and H&R's would only be noticable if two cars equiped with one of each would be sitting next to each other.
Visually, the result is absolutely stunning! I've had the car for almost two months now and had been getting a lot of compliments on how the car looks but now it is downright embarassing... heads snap wherever I go, young kids in dressed-up Civic SI's chase me down to get a better look at the car and whenever I park just in front of the door of whatever boutique/shop/business I need to go to, guys young and not so young come out to check out the car. A common comment here in Montréal is "yé beau en crisse!!" (I'll let the Yanks figure out what that means...
) I also have an '07 BMW 335i coupe with Beyern Mesh 19" wheels which I happen to think looks very nice and that car has never, never gotten this much attention.
Now for the important part: namely how it drives.
The stock 'sport
suspension' set-up is fine for 5/10ths cornering; mild understeer and 'reasonably' responsive steering. The absence of rear anti-sway bar is mildly noticeable on quick left-right transitions; you notice the rear tires hooking up just a heartbeat after the front which requires a small steering correction to maintain the line. When you push harder, the front/rear disconnect gets much more pronounced, to the point that it almost feels like the rear is going to transition to oversteer but it never gets there because the fronts have nearly given up and you need a large increase in steering input to counteract the severe understeer once the chassis settles down.
Now, the car is
very tight.
I tested the
suspension upgrades one at a time, starting with the frame braces, then the springs, then the rear sway-bar and finally the 18' wheels'n tires.
The frame braces speed-up steering response noticeably and actually makes the car feel better built thru bumps (less chassis flex=less noise transmitted inside when hitting bumps).
The springs firm things up very nicely without being harsh, greatly reduce squat/dive and substantially reduce the front/rear disconnect. I suspect that the springs without the frame bracing would result in an increase in impact harshness though I don't think it would be objectionable
if your primary goal is improved handling. If you just want the car to look cool
cruising the Taco Bell lot, then, yeah, you'll probably think it's a little hard...
The rear anti-sway bar completely takes care of the front/rear disconnect and allow the front tires to get much more traction during cornering, specially under acceleration.
Finally, the 215/40 18inchers raise traction to a whole new level. The car hangs on so much better before understeer reappears but then, you're at 8.5/10 with an ear-to-ear grin on your face...
4-wheel alignement was required; they installed camber bolts up front to bring it back within specs and I had them adjust the toe-in to the maximum positive value within the OEM specified range for that little bit of extra quickness to bite on initial turn-in
NB: Don't consider
not getting the car's alignment checked after any
suspension work; it'll eat up your front tires in no time...
The feeling is, it's a completely different car!
Remembering that the stock 'sport'
suspension front anti-sway bar was designed and calibrated without a rear anti-sway bar, the addition of an aftermarket rear bar does shift the chassis's total roll stiffness towards the rear somewhat; I'm hoping someone will soon develop and bring to market a stiffer front bar wich will make the car as neutral and balanced as a front-driver can be. Before the 335i, I drove a full kit '03 John Cooper Works Mini S; on dry, public roads, it was nearly impossible to make the car understeer and it was actually easy to set up oversteer when cornering which is quite rare for FWD cars.
Like I said, pictures as soon as I can.
******
Eibach Springs $395 tx incl.
Ultra Racing frame braces and anti-sway bar $917 shipping+tx incl
Installation : 3 hours frame braces, 3 hours spring swap, 1 hour painting brake calipers high gloss black $590 tx incl
ASA AR-1 18x7.5 w BF-Goodrich Comp-TA KDW 215/40-18 $1,870 shipping, tx+import duties incl at Tirerack.com
Alignement 2.9 hrs at the Kia dealership $380 (I know, it sounds like I got gouged but the car was on the machine 3 times + camber bolts were $41 each, 2 req'd)
Total cost $4,152 CDN
IF you value good handling and you drove this car, you'd definitely say it was worth it... "
