Alright, so a little introduction as I am new here. Justin, 05 5spd AT, navi, stock, 73k miles. It's time to do struts, now this is a family ride and is street driven but me being the mod junkie I am, I can't simply put stock equivilant back under it. This is my first real car, one that I looked long and hard to find the one I wanted (had POS ford mustang commuter awhile back). I have always had trucks and motorcycles (dirt and street). So my question to you guys is-What is everyones favorite strut and which is the best bang for the buck? Like I said, it is a family ride, around town some freeway, occasional road trip. But when "I" drive it I enjoy a sportier, slightly firmer feel. So is there a middle of the road that performs good and still keeps the wife happy?

 

also wanted to add that I am not looking to lower it, although a 1/2" drop or so wouldn't be bad if the coilovers were what I am looking for

 

A Spec suspension from Acura would suit your needs. Best of both worlds as it will lower the car @ 3/4" and retain the ride quality.

 

Koni Yellows are the most popular shocks around. They're adjustable from stock height to 3/4" lower.

 

Aspec suspension. enhanced handling without being overly harsh. subtle drop. great for a DD. do a search and you'll get an idea of Aspec suspension kit. this suspension was tuned for the TL by Acura...

or you can go with th koni yellows as IHC suggested (our resident guru). do a search on both of these and decide what you want.

 

Aspec for sure, I thought he was only looking for shocks but I guess "struts" can be anything lol.

 

A Spec AT suspension is roughly .75" of a drop.
A Spec MT suspension is roughly 1" of a drop.

Pick your poison.

 

You could also adjust with the koni yellow shocks and stick w/ the stock springs. A-Spec or Koni.. can't lose either way.

 

That's the nice thing about the Konis, the ride height and firmness is adjustable.

 

Thanks for the input guys I will do some research on both of them, I'm guessing from he posts that the koni yellows are just shocks without springs? I was looking at doing the while suspension so I'll have to look long and hard at the A spec. Thanks again

 

Just to clarify a possibly missed point: You can use your stock springs with the koni shocks. This would give you the adjust-ability that you were looking for.

 

any other opinions on a spec vs koni yellows? I dig the thought of just switching everything out but the concept of using the stock springs with adjustable shocks is enticing

 

also read that the Koni yellows reduce comfort a little more than the A-spec, any thoughts on this?

 

Konis can give a slightly better ride than stock on the full soft setting to a very harsh ride on the full firm setting. I had mine around 1//3 of the way up on stock springs. As you go with a stiffer spring you will need to dial up the damping.

 

You will not notice a reduced comfort from the Koni shocks. They do not give a harsh ride, at all. Unless you put them at full stiff or something. Otherwise, you can have it ride like a cadillac at full soft. In fact, I was surprised at how well they rode compared to the stock shocks (and I have lowering springs on mine). Even the woman says she loves how the car rides.

shox.com has the best deal on koni shocks... they have them for 658 shipped. If you opt to get the H&R springs or Eibach springs, it's $779+ship. Pretty good deal IMO.

Unless you can find a good deal on some low miles (used) a-spec stuff.. I highly recommend the koni stuff. They're also rebuild-able!

 

If you want something bolt-on, go with A-spec shock/spring combo or even some simple lowering springs (Eibach, H&R or Neuspeed) on stock shocks.

If you want something adjustable (ie: requires fiddling), then go with Koni's. Only problem with Koni's on this car is that you have to remove the back seat and front shock-tower brace to adjust them. If your not fond of working on your own car, then this is probably not for you (unless the install shop is going to help you tune them as well).

Just remember to factor an alignment into your budget. Once you alter your ride height, the toe will go way out of spec front & rear. If you drive like that it will destroy your tires. Don't worry about the extra camber from lowering, it will be fine as long as the toe gets straightened out.

 

I have Koni Yellow SP3 and Eibach Springs. 1.75" drop-- perfect for me and on firm-- runs perfect. Ride quality is still similar to OEM.

 

Are you on the upper or lower perch setting on the Konis? -1.75" seems like a lot for the Eibach springs.

 

I'm assuming he's on the lower setting in the front. I use the lower setting in the front and the oem (middle) setting in the rear. There are 5 adjustment perches on the rear... pretty cool.

 

Ok, so I am looking at Megan's now as well. It looks like the Megans ride height can be adjusted seperately from spring preload and dampening. Anybody had experience with these? pros and cons of these versus Aspec?

 

Look up reviews on Honda-Tech.com. You'll see.