Tiberious SG
Members
Sorry I’ve taken my time with this review:
I’ve wanted to lower my car since I purchased it in 2010, however My funds were strained by a few unexpected house repairs jobs.
But this year I finally got out in front and was ready to go ahead and lower my car.
Unfortunately my original plan of going the A-SPEC route seemed to have expired as the kit is no longer available and the dwindling supplies put me off.
I was left with the age old choice of collies or sports Dampers and coils as a choice, I did a load of googling research and even asked for opinions here on the forum and found that the entire subject is closely contended on both sides. I decided that there was no clear winner in any category (price, reliability, reviews etc).
I revisited my original plan the ASPEC kit and realised that I had opted for this due to the practicality and simplicity of the setup and also in no small part I was influenced by TA’s numerous reviews & recommendations.
So I started to look for a kit that would do the same job and eventually I came across the Bilstein B12 Kit with Eilbach Pro-springs.
The Eilbach springs are a popular mod and have many recommendations, but the Bilstein damper kit is a bit rarer on the accord i-cdti (not sure if I’m the first in the uk) as the more popular choice seems to be the BC setup.
I was not confident I could get the best out of a coil over setup as I am a daily commuter doing around a hundred miles a day on a mixture of A roads and the M6.
I work Nights permanently in shifts so playing with the adjustment of the suspension would be a problem for me.
I decided I needed something that was more plug and play and could not be compromised by my ineptitude in setting it up or failing to feel if it was not dialled in correctly.
My choice seemed to be the Koni, H&R and the Bilstein B12 kits all of which were matched Dampers and Spring setups with around 30 -40 mm drop and a good mix of sports and comfort handling.
The kits were mainly developed for the 2.4 K series not the 2.2 1-cdti
I eventually went for the Bilstein as they use the mono-tube design.
I was also swayed by the company’s reputation this was a big factor along with them now offering matched dampers with Eilbach springs for the 2.2 i-cdti my mechanic has a GTR that runs on Bilstein suspension so I decided to go for this kit.
So ordered kit from DC Performance £595 Delivered
I realised that I would need rear Camber adjustment and that I would be getting a hunter alignment after the kit was fitted so I went for the Japspeed rear camber Arms form Japspeed’s ebay shop for £99 delivered
I didn’t fit the Kit myself (Beyond my capabilities) and due to my work schedule I was not able to hang around at the Garage to watch it being fitted, although I asked my mechanic to remove and replace all the bushings whilst he fitted the suspension, Its an 04 Accord with 140 K on the clock so I’m pretty sure there was plenty of swearing and cursing as seized and corroded bolts had to be removed and drilled out.
I also had a couple of other jobs done while the car was in, Brake pads replaced, Fuel filter replaced.
And after three days I got the call I had been waiting for confirming that they had finished and the car was ready to be picked up £400 for the labour and brake brake pads (I supplied the FF filter)
Now I should add at this point that My mechanic and a number of my colleagues where very sceptical about me doing this to a diesel, and I had been told to just replace the coils or buy a sportier car, but these opinions have evaporated since the upgrade!
The first thing that was said to me at the garage was how well the car cornered and much better it handled on their test runs (yes I caught the plural in the sentence).
I drove away from the garage and my ten minute home journey strangely took about an hour and a half. (A road detours!)
The car is completely different, no brake lurch or acceleration squat, (at first it tricks you into thinking the car is slower as the sense of inertia in either case has been drastically reduced)
The corner wallow has been reduced substantially and although she is not totally flat in the corners, I have not been able to lose traction or detect anywhere near as much roll as she had on the stock setup.
I took her the next day to have a Hunter alignment done at Nigel Lang’s in Bolton (As found on www.alignMyCar.co.uk nearest and able to squeeze me in at short notice) the next morning.
This would also allow me to get a look at my new yellow struts as there isn’t much room in the arch to see
So got there pretty early and they were very helpful and did a full alignment for me £91.
I’ve wanted to lower my car since I purchased it in 2010, however My funds were strained by a few unexpected house repairs jobs.
But this year I finally got out in front and was ready to go ahead and lower my car.
Unfortunately my original plan of going the A-SPEC route seemed to have expired as the kit is no longer available and the dwindling supplies put me off.
I was left with the age old choice of collies or sports Dampers and coils as a choice, I did a load of googling research and even asked for opinions here on the forum and found that the entire subject is closely contended on both sides. I decided that there was no clear winner in any category (price, reliability, reviews etc).
I revisited my original plan the ASPEC kit and realised that I had opted for this due to the practicality and simplicity of the setup and also in no small part I was influenced by TA’s numerous reviews & recommendations.
So I started to look for a kit that would do the same job and eventually I came across the Bilstein B12 Kit with Eilbach Pro-springs.
The Eilbach springs are a popular mod and have many recommendations, but the Bilstein damper kit is a bit rarer on the accord i-cdti (not sure if I’m the first in the uk) as the more popular choice seems to be the BC setup.
I was not confident I could get the best out of a coil over setup as I am a daily commuter doing around a hundred miles a day on a mixture of A roads and the M6.
I work Nights permanently in shifts so playing with the adjustment of the suspension would be a problem for me.
I decided I needed something that was more plug and play and could not be compromised by my ineptitude in setting it up or failing to feel if it was not dialled in correctly.
My choice seemed to be the Koni, H&R and the Bilstein B12 kits all of which were matched Dampers and Spring setups with around 30 -40 mm drop and a good mix of sports and comfort handling.
The kits were mainly developed for the 2.4 K series not the 2.2 1-cdti
I eventually went for the Bilstein as they use the mono-tube design.
I was also swayed by the company’s reputation this was a big factor along with them now offering matched dampers with Eilbach springs for the 2.2 i-cdti my mechanic has a GTR that runs on Bilstein suspension so I decided to go for this kit.
So ordered kit from DC Performance £595 Delivered
I realised that I would need rear Camber adjustment and that I would be getting a hunter alignment after the kit was fitted so I went for the Japspeed rear camber Arms form Japspeed’s ebay shop for £99 delivered
I didn’t fit the Kit myself (Beyond my capabilities) and due to my work schedule I was not able to hang around at the Garage to watch it being fitted, although I asked my mechanic to remove and replace all the bushings whilst he fitted the suspension, Its an 04 Accord with 140 K on the clock so I’m pretty sure there was plenty of swearing and cursing as seized and corroded bolts had to be removed and drilled out.
I also had a couple of other jobs done while the car was in, Brake pads replaced, Fuel filter replaced.
And after three days I got the call I had been waiting for confirming that they had finished and the car was ready to be picked up £400 for the labour and brake brake pads (I supplied the FF filter)
Now I should add at this point that My mechanic and a number of my colleagues where very sceptical about me doing this to a diesel, and I had been told to just replace the coils or buy a sportier car, but these opinions have evaporated since the upgrade!
The first thing that was said to me at the garage was how well the car cornered and much better it handled on their test runs (yes I caught the plural in the sentence).
I drove away from the garage and my ten minute home journey strangely took about an hour and a half. (A road detours!)
The car is completely different, no brake lurch or acceleration squat, (at first it tricks you into thinking the car is slower as the sense of inertia in either case has been drastically reduced)
The corner wallow has been reduced substantially and although she is not totally flat in the corners, I have not been able to lose traction or detect anywhere near as much roll as she had on the stock setup.
I took her the next day to have a Hunter alignment done at Nigel Lang’s in Bolton (As found on www.alignMyCar.co.uk nearest and able to squeeze me in at short notice) the next morning.
This would also allow me to get a look at my new yellow struts as there isn’t much room in the arch to see
So got there pretty early and they were very helpful and did a full alignment for me £91.