mcagle61

Hello everyone, I have an 01 CL-S with 305k on the clock. It's time to replace some suspension components. I have already had Koni yellows installed, but have decided to lower the car and go with 18 inch wheels. I am going to be replacing all front and rear suspension components. I'm wondering if I would not be better off upgrading to coilovers, instead of adding springs to use with my shocks. It obviously would be cheaper to go with springs, but I like the idea of being able to dial in ride height. The car will not be slammed, just lowered around 2 inches. I commute in the car around 80 miles a day. I have added EBC Ultimax rotors, and legend calipers. It has always been a good handling and riding car in spite of its weight, plus I think these cars lowered on 18's looks really good. I want a good platform to do engine,trans, and sound system mods on. Thx.

ExcelerateRep

The Koni yellows have an adjustable spring perch which will allow you to get about 20mm of drop out of them, and lowering springs can be used to take more height off; so you may be able to get to a height you're happy with with just springs.

I'd say you should stick with what you have at this point unless the Konis aren't in great shape. This way you can keep your dampening adjustment, a feature that will immediately drive up the price of any coilover system! Some Eibach or TEIN spring kits should serve you perfectly fine, you can find them on our store here:

TEIN: SKA34-AUB00 - TEIN Springs - S.Tech - Excelerate's Honda & Acura Store - Japanese Performance Specialist
Eiabch: 4041.140 - Eibach Pro Kit Springs - Excelerate's Honda & Acura Store - Japanese Performance Specialist

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions, happy modding!

mcagle61

The Koni yellows are fantastic, it's just that all the other components of the struts are worn out. I can't keep my shocks secured, they move around in the mount. At 306k I need to replace all suspension components. I love the Koni shocks, and I will probably build around them, but there is something appealing about coilovers. The matched construction of coilovers vs. mix and match with different springs/shocks...etc.

ExcelerateRep

I agree with the appeal of coilovers, and parts made to play together often outlast parts that aren't, but I wasn't sure what kind of shape the Koni's themselves were in. Adding springs to the Koni's now will save you money upfront, but, if you need to go back and replace the Koni's down the road then you're paying for labor to change/transfer springs twice on top of the cost of springs.

If something like that happened, by the time that's all said and done with the springs, you'll have spent $500+ easily.

The car has quite a few miles on it, so I don't know how much longer you're looking to hold onto it, or how much more you're looking to spend on it; but something like Tein Street Basis with new tophats and bushings should have you back in decent shape. Teins offer a comfortable ride, but let you know they are there when you dig into a corner. They're the perfect "daily driven" type of coil to me, and on top of that they last quite a while all at a solid price! The only downfall with that is you lose the adjustable dampening!

You can find the Tein Street Basis here: GSH94-1USS2 - TEIN Dampers - Street Basis - Excelerate's Honda & Acura Store - Japanese Performance Specialist

jmth52

Great info.. I will keep that in mind for my car.