Menu
What's new
By:
Advanced search...

Upgrading Suspension but no lowering? + other things!

bagpuss

bagpuss

Members
Messages
35
Reaction score
1
Location
coventry
Car
2006 2.2 cdi estate
After some advise please. :)

When Fahad remapped my car the other day , and diagnostic check was all okay, also he rekons decent engine! (74k)

Its such a dramatic change to power delivery , and knowing engines a good un - its kinda inspired me to get some other things done.

First is de-coke inlet manfold-in bits at mo., full service fluid change etc.


Just orderd some braided lines , already have rear caliper seal/pistons kits from last year- so will get onto that .

Looked into front brakes but TBH they seem pretty dear for twin piston calipers, they all need rebuild , a couple that dont are £250-300!


So next suspension as always wallows about like a big barge! -but wasnt designed for sporting use as CDti so not complaining.

Would like Bilston shocks and have found the following :


Rear B6 24/107327 / Front B6 24/107303. (from other peoples posts).

Have found some Spax (SSX Spring Kit Honda Accord Estate 2.2 CDTi Type CN2 Year 04/03-On, No lowering. Part no S012068).

I have 17inch wheels off Type R, so wheels fit fine in orginal arches, old epsilons @16inch , just looked wrong!

But dont want ideally to lower :eek: as carry a lot of weight when i go away , and rekon it would comprimise load carrying ability.

Also want to retain comfort TBH, as have old Landy and mk2 gti for the pot hole pain. :)


Can get them both for around £550 (shocks from Germany) vs b12 lowered kit @£670 from Uk.

Am i doing right /wrong ? any advise before i place order!!!
 
I would install a set of the genuine Honda A-spec suspension upgrade kit. It lowers the car by 25 to 30mm with a slightly stiffer spring rate whilst retaining a good amount of comfort.
Have a search on A-spec suspension kit on the forum.
 
If the compliance bushes are torn that could be making the ride more wallowy. Might be worth checking first as a possible cheap fix.
 
Have just e-mailed HH regarding A-spec kit, lings had it for £665, found another place potentially @ £731 :eek: .

Read on another thread HH sold it for less than £300, but if i thought getting a set of twin pot calipers at a decent price was a challange...........

I was kindly PM a link to a Koni sport package @ £550, which is the same as i can get the Bilstein/Spax springs for, but 35mm lower.

Have just sourced B6 Bilstein and Eibach Springs (the coils of choice?) for £520 :) but again 35-40mm lower.

Am i correct in thinking if i lower it by 35mm adjustable links are required ?, and Hunter to re-trak, which i only just got done when i put on 17" alloys :(

Will wait till i get home to see what HH says, if no joy, then will probably go for b6/spax combo, as no lowering involved!

Re bushes, will check but flys through MOT, and Bushes = PAIN :(
 
Bear in mind that you may not be compromising your load carrying ability by as much as you think.
Sports suspension will have less travel and the spring rate is a lot firmer than oem.
Yes the car is sitting lower initially but the height will also move less under load due to the stiffer springs/ harder or shorter dampers.
I'm not an expert but I am an avid carp angler and car nut who has carried ALOT of tackle in many a lowered car and it's never been an issue.
For example myself and a friend, two lots of tackle/food/clothes for a weeks fishing in France in a turbo integra dc2 lowered 40mm and had no arch rubbing.....but a very bad back after 450 mile trip!!
 
Cheers for that insight Andy,

I think that the bad back bit has steered me towards standard springs :D

Just might get uprated koni dampers ,as mine are around 10 years old , and must have gone off by now!

Also HH and Cox, have not replied to any e-mails regarding A -Spec kit.
 
You have to ring HH or Cox.
When I spoke to one of the guys at Cox one time he says they usually get 50 to 100 emails a day. I ***ume this would be similar to HH too.
If you need an immediate answer you have to ring them
 
Lol sorry that was a poor ****ogy !
On good quality suspension I'm sure the accord will still retain some comfort, lots of people on here have done it and will no doubt provide some feedback.
As for the integra in question it was running Ohlins coilovers and stiffer bushes throughout with front / rear upper and lower braces and front quarter panel braces to help cope with the power.
It was VERY unforgiving but then that's what there all about. The standard accords are not designed to be hardcore at all.

Any lowered cars care to comment? I'm also interested to find out as its on my to do list.
 
Have just heard back from Cox, and they have the A spec kit :

08W60SEG600 (08W60-SEG-601).

cost is £560 deliverd next day, am seriously tempted!
 
Why not go for some budget coilovers, Tein have some on ebay at the minute for £500 ish. Then you can pick the height you want the car to be, if you go for any shock adjustments you really need to Geo doing anyway.

I have just bought a set of Super Street Tein coilovers, but if you do your research, and buy from respectable brands you can't really go wrong with coilovers, they are better than standard shocks and have more adjustability. BC or Tein are my favorite brands. :)

**You can also keep original ride height with coilovers if you so wish.
 
Well I was all set to phone and order A spec kit today, phoned HH as they haven’t responded to e-mail I sent last Monday, but spares department were not answering so took my number and still never got back to me! – I know they are most forums affiliated dealer, but seriously, that is slack!

So cox it was, then seen response re: bilsteins and coilovers. :unsure:

I knew I could get the bilsteins with eibach springs for around same price as 'A' spec kit via Germany.
But these would mean adjustable camber arms and Hunter re-track would it not ?

Regarding coil-overs are these not extreme and stiff though?

Not sure about the adjustment regarding ride height, is it the preload or actual coil position you alter?

On Bikes you can set up basic pre-load via sag of bike and rider weight, is it the same for cars?

Also cannot quite get my head round how cheap shocks are- as rear aftermarket shock for bike is like £800 each , so coilover x4 for £600 seems well cheap in comparison- but no doubt the sky’s the limit if you really wanted for cars I guess,. :)

But are you better off getting basic non-adjustable vs more complicated rebound / preloaded adjustable for the same price , and potentially quality compromise- I really dont know?

How long have people been running cheaper end coil overs for without leaks/failure? :unsure: ?
 
ive used both buddyclub n+ and tein superstreet coilover on my accords i have got..they last a couple of years tops....the coilovers seem to lose there rebound on the dampers.they become hard....when i upgrade i will be going back to shocks and springs.most likly bilstein b12 with differant spring rate.10k front 6,7 rear.ive had them on previous car.they were great.i think better than coilovers

ive had my buddyclubs on for 2 years...ive never adjusted the ride hight or stiffness since installing them...adjustments is pointless for everyday use.
 
I would expect longer than 2 years out of a set of coilovers, the Tein's I had on my Lexus were 5 years old when I scrapped it, and then sold them on! They are still going strong on my mates car 18 months later!

Quality is everything, I have just paid £732 from demon tweeks, for my Tein Super Street coilovers. And the beauty of them is they are adjustable, so can be hard if you want to do some spirited driving, or soft for motorway cruising. You can even get EDFC for Tein's that means you can adjust the damping in the car and on the move!

Granted the height adjust is a pain, especially once they are set, but it is good have in case you get some different size wheels. It means you can get the car set up exactly the height you are happy with. If that isn't important to you then just go with the Bilstein b12's you have mentioned.

Coilovers will out perform standard type shocks on a track. But I doubt you would notice the difference on the road.

**Edit, another advantage of coilovers is that you can fit them yourself if you like getting your hands dirty! :)
 
Well went to buy the A spec kit 08W60SEG600 from Cox, but then realized he didn’t stock diesel version, also I have 18 inch Type r wheels, so said it wouldn’t be any good any way. :(

Spent a few hours today researching coils vs shocks, koni vs bilstein , lowered vs standard springs etc.
I read many threads today, from all over world, with loads of different cars; the average vibe
I got was as follows:

Coil overs if I could race round as such ,as so much adjustability , but would wedge out around £1000+ if I did, as too many reports of leakage on cheaper versions.
However, as I seem to live in traffic jams on crap roads meant C/O were out.(but those electrical teins looked tempting :p )

Koni have rebound adjustment, (not compression) which just seemed odd to me, can leak, but apparently, lifetime warranty if that happens.

Bilsteins, B6 etc. no adjustment, never fail/ leak less harsh than equivalent konis if riding stock springs.

So will get at set of B6 bilsteins, and use existing springs.

If I want to lower/stiffer in future, will just get Eibach or some other kit, get the adjustable rear camber arms, and have full Hunter re-track.

Would get new springs, but nowhere seems to sell stock height - all are lowered , which is another £200 of additional expense re: arms/tracking.

Found these via Germany

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-Bilstein-B6-Sport-Dampfer-Honda-Accord-7-vorn-hinten-/351339850444?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_77&hash=item51cd7caacc

Basically £400 , so not too bad at all (as long as right ones) :) .

Thanks for all input, ;) but really is a minefield of personal choice, and potentially expensive and time consuming if you get it wrong. :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top