xtcnrice

Can't go wrong with any of those setups. They're all great choices.

xakeo

Gotta say it all depends in a few factors to consider, such as how low you want to go, how are the roads in your dd and how much you wanna feel 'em, are you planning to change the wheels too?

I believe a common point on those of us with this set up, is lowering the car within the given range and giving the suspension a better feedback, but retaining somewhat the comfort of the car as when stock. I've been (driven) CU2's with BC and Teins coilovers, and while there is somewhat some comfort still you are subject to more road feeling when bumpy. Mind you all my experience have been on 19s and 20s. My dd is 20-25 miles @day mostly highway, stop and go, not much to report, and then some street, which are really crappy. On this roads now with the 20s on, bumpy but confty and most of the feeling comes from such low profile set up, and not from the suspension set up.

Before I change my shoes (after suspension setup), I couldn't tell the difference much, except when turning. But the combo of wider wheels with the right set up makes aaaaaaall the difference. I would not change a thing...

Also, I had H&R a while back (integra) and right before that I had eibach and I think the H&R are a bit softer, which I tried to stay away this time. Maybe someone wants to comment on this a bit more?

Anyhow good luck and let us know which you ended up doing!

bagwell

iTrader: (1)

honestly, I just wanted a decent drop and didn't wanna screw with coilovers;
I'm happy and would do the exact same thing if I had it to do over again

Puppetmaster

What he said. That and Koni's dampers are as good or arguably better than any of the others out there, except maybe H&R and KW.

However, I did like the Tein SS on a previously owned car, since those reused the stock top mounts and not pillowballs, so there were never any metal on metal contact issues like squeaks and vibration. I've also heard great things about ISC N1 coils (and their customer service) from friends who own Subarus.

xakeo

So I kinda disregard this issue for a while but can't do no more...

Here is my alignment sheet right after I dropped it..


And roughly about 4-5k miles later here's how she looks in the rears:


Now I research a bit, and so much is said... and I don't wanna ended up getting whats not needed...

I think this will solve the issue - SPC 67545 Control Arm

but I wanted to get ur feedback also cuz I donna want to mess up any other results like toe or any of whats good... Also I think front is good...don't feel or looks bad at all...help is welcome!
I'm such a noob...Im like the guy who had no idea Noobs even existed!!!


Ty all

stan_t

I believe your tire wear issue is due to your toe setting. Have it 0'ed out.

I've been running the "SPC - 1-Arm Rear Camber Kit - 08 Accord / 09 TSX/09" adjustable control arms since August 2013, they've been fine. With them I was able to dial out some of the negative camber, but it's probably still in the -1.5 range -- don't remember for sure, would need to dig up the alignment spec sheet. If you want even less negative camber, you'd need the whole kit, or the ball-joint kit.

Looking at your fitment though, I'm not sure you are after less negative camber? I would think alignment shop could set the toe to 0 without you buying anything extra.

Stan

AcuraRolling

at one point i was -8.5 in the rear running ingalls ball joint and camber arm (stock length) and my rear toe was 0.00. you should find a better shop to fix that.

stan_t

My guess is, this was a 2 wheel alignment since the car is FWD, and the techs just didn't touch the rear.

Stan

stan_t

Bump for 40,000 trouble-free miles on these KONIs.



Stan

jGuts89

I remember putting Koni's on my RSX. Total freakin nightmare. You have to take the stock shock and drill a small hole at the bottom to drain all the oil and then you have to cut off the top of the shock and slip the Koni into the old shell (for lack of better words) and then basically just put the old part back together with the Koni now installed inside. The Koni's themselves are a great product but for the RSX I hated the install. It took me all freakin day!!

ulrblitzer

The 8th gen Civic's were the same too. The fronts were inserts that required you to chop up your OEM shocks. Luckily the CU2's are fully assembled and plug n' play.

BROlando

Koni yellows only come as inserts for RSX's/Civics with McPherson strut front suspension. Inserts are total boner killers. But some of the awful noises can be taken care of if the installer knows what they're doing...or if the installer is a little crazy and very skilled...and is willing to weld the insert.

Double wishbone/multilink cars like the TSX just have full damper assy's. No inserts.

Koni makes a very nice shock...and I'm not surprised at all about the longevity.

stan_t

I ran KONI inserts on a Subaru also -- struts on all 4 corners, had to cut up the strut housings. Shocks are much nicer, I love double wishbone suspension. Adjustible height perches are nice, too.

Stan

jGuts89

Well I'm no skilled installer by any means but I was crazy enough to attempt the install myself, and well like I said... It was the most pain in the ass install I have ever done! Luckily I had no problems and ran the Koni's all the way till I traded the car in.

lexarmy

Thank you to stan_t. Used your posts to sort out the details on my install of this shocks on my 2010 TSX.

I did a Eibach springs with OEM shocks at first, but ultimately did not like the feel or ride. After a while, I pulled the trigger on the Koni yellows. I love the ride quality now! I feel an argument could be made to say this setup feels better than stock as well. I did the install myself and decided to with the lower perch at the moment it came time to assemble the shocks. So happy with my install! Let's me finally move on to other things now, lol.

Some info below for those who might want to know.

Suspension setup:
Eibach Pro Kit springs
Koni Sport Yellow shocks (front: 1 turn from soft, rear: 1.5 turns from soft)
Progress Group rear sway bar (and endlinks at stock length)
Eibach Pro Alignment Kit (for front)
SPC Performance 3 arm kit (for rear)
Momo Drone wheels (18x8)
Yokohama tires (235/45/R18)










Thanks again stan_t

xtcnrice

Great looking car lexarmy!

Is the front alignment kit a ball joint kit?

lexarmy

Thanks! Yeah, it's just a ball joint instead of any arms for the front.

Forgot to mention the tires are YK580 and wheels are ET40 (40 offset). The offset was almost too much. The front fender did not need to be "rolled", but I did need to fold that inner lip in as there was about 3-5mm of rub. It's been trouble free for two gas tanks now.

holy frog

Thanks Lexarmy.

On an Eibach, Koni and Progress RSB set up at highest perch front and back, - would you say the Alignment kits are critical to a proper alignment?

slyslysly

Anyone have a parts list of those oem parts that they reused when installing the new konis?

I am planning on just buying all the pieces new to make installation that much easier

lexarmy

I don't have experience with them on the upper perch, but...yes, I believe it's necessary. Without any camber kits, my rear was -3 after the Koni install on the lower perch. Because of the kit, I now have my camber at -1 on the rear and 0 on the front.

@slyslysly
I replaced all the rubber in the setup except the bump stops (I only modified those).

These part numbers are from the Acura online store. I had purchased my parts from another dealer though.

Dust Cover: 51688-SDA-A01
Spring Mount Upper: 51686-TA0-A01
Spring Mount Lower: 51684-SDA-A02
Absorber Mounting: 51631-SL0-003

A side note if I may:
I have a full set of brand new Koni shocks that are for sale if anyone is interested. They have never been installed and are still in the box. Shoot me a PM if you're interested.

slyslysly

Awesome. Thanks. I've PM'ed you about your Koni's too.

Itr0059

I also got a full set of used koni yellow available pm me ...

Balcones

I'm looking to either do Konis with stock springs, Konis with stock springs down 1-perch mount on the front, or KYB stock replacements on my wagon. Is there any chance that anyone has any of these pics saved? I drive the car a ton, it's a daily, would like to lower the front a touch but keep a spec alignment and not scrape the driveway. Also could use a little guidance on which bushings need replacement without question.
Thanks.
Pics of said wheel gap:

Itr0059

BROlando

They're a great shock. They'll work with stock springs.

Setting them down to the lower perch with stock springs will not be a brilliant idea....but it works.

Though, the coating is absolute junk. So...they will rust like the dickens if you use them in road salt. If you care about that kind of thing.

I would replace whichever bushings are worn and leave the others alone. Without knowing your mileage...the compliance bushings are usually the first to go.

Make sure you clock the necessary bushings when you do your shock install. Honda bushings can last 100-200k.

forward

Not installed yet, but soon. Just waiting on a few more parts to arrive.


Font and rear shocks. Ground Control sleeves, collars and urethane insulators, and Eibach springs


Rear coilovers


Close up of Koni external snap ring and matching rabbet in sleeve


Close up of top end of sleeve, in place on shock


25+ year old (left) vs. new (right) Ground Control urethane insulators


Close up of top end of Koni yellow shocks showing rotary adjustment tab (foreground) and with white plastic adjusting nut in place over tab (background)

BROlando

^Ha..that's interesting.

Ground control uses a really soft front spring.

The rear is going to be significantly stiffer than the front. I presume they kind of just "upped" the stock biases? Idk what the factory spring rates are though.

forward

The springs I posted images of aren't the springs which would be included with a complete, off-the-shelf Ground Control coilover set. I was never able to determine exactly which springs Ground Control includes with the #4517 '08-'12 Honda Accord set, as they don't specifically state that (at least I didn't come across the spring specs in my online research), but going by the image GC has hosted on their 'site for the #4517 set...:



...the two springs are 230.64.69 (9" tall, 2.5" diameter, and 391 lb/in) and 180.64.61 (7" tall, 2.5" diameter, 346 lb/in). Based upon the presence of the o-rings, it may be a generic image as the 4517.02 (w/Koni shocks) doesn't use the o-rings.

I had a set of GC sleeves and adjusters I purchased for my '95 Accord years ago, and because one sleeve had with some light damage, they sent me an entirely new set, and told me to keep the damaged set. I cleaned up the two damaged threads, and noticed they looked very similar to the sleeves in the #4517 set...sure enough, they were nearly the same, save for some extra length which I can machine off. Since I had no springs to go along with this extra set of sleeves and adjusters, I shopped around, using my experience with the GC #4510.02 set (200.64.58 front, 180.64.44 rear) I had on my '95 Accord wagon with Koni STR-T shocks. The front springs I purchased are slightly shorter than the GC kit's (-30mm) and very slightly softer (391 vs. 381 lb/in), while the rear spring I purchased are slightly taller (+20mm) and a bit softer (250 in/lb)-- which is exactly the firmness of those in the rear of my '95. I realize it's not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison between the '95 Accord and '11 TSX, but I can always swap out the springs if I feel they aren't what I want. Based on my experience, they should be close.

I'd love to see/read what the stock spring rates are, too. That would at least give a good baseline for comparison, if nothing else.

BROlando

Springs are easy/cheap to swap out to find what works.

I am not sure if a 67N (~7KG/mm), 200mm front spring will hold up a 2G TSX without coil bind. Maybe at really low height?

The front shocks don't have that much travel, though.

For a 200mm spring, I think you'd need at least like a 10K-12K spring to hold this big motha up properly.

But I'm just "calculating" based on my visual memory.

Let us know what u run into!

forward

No, they don't. My '95 Accord wagon, to which I made very similar changes, also had very little front suspension travel.

The last of the parts arrived today, those being the strut plates/mounts/"top hats". I went with factory parts as they were cheaper than their aftermarket equivalents:



I purchased KYB strut bellows, bump stops, and shock bushings for all four corners, but neglected to factor in the thickness of the Ground Control sleeves, which adds a few millimeters to the outside diameter. That wasn't an issue with the front bellows, but in the rear, the I.D. of the bellow at the lower end was slightly smaller than the O.D. of the sleeve, so I had to slice off the bottom 5mm of each bellow. After doing that, I was able to slip the lower end of each bellow over the top end of each sleeve:




Other than that, pretty straightforward stuff as far as assembly goes, though I did flip the bump stops 180* before slipping them into place inside each bellow. Everything's ready to install:




I raised the spring perches/collars five turns on all four corners (not yet shown above on the fronts) and set that as my baseline height, so I'll adjust as necessary once installed.

forward

A few notes regarding my installation experience:

1. I raised the snap ring on the front shocks to the upper position, as the ride height was too low with the ring in the lower position. Your setup will vary, but maybe it's best to start with the snap ring higher, then adjust as necessary.
2. The Koni yellow shocks are very easy to adjust, and while the difference between softest and firmest isn't huge, it is definitely noticeable. So far, I've had very little seat time to compare all of the possible settings, but the full firm setting isn't bone-jarring firm. If you've ever had a vehicle with Tokico blue shocks/struts, those are what I would consider very FIRM, and these Koni yellows, set to full firm, are not on that level. I'll leave it up to you to decide if that's good or bad, or just different.
3. The Koni yellow shocks are an excellent street shock IMHO, but it will depend upon which springs you are using, too. I don't really think you can go wrong chosing the Koni yellow shocks for a street car, unless you like things firm and harsh.
4. I'll try to add some more feedback once I gain more experience using the various settings, but my guess is I will leave the shocks at or close to the full firm setting.

Pics of my '11 TSX SW with everything installed are here: https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-tsx-...ogress-986775/

4drviper

In this picture the springs are loose when shocks are fully extended. Also noticed on your build thread the perches were moved up once they were in the car, but couldn't tell how much.

Can you tell me if the springs loose when you had the car jacked up with wheels off the ground?

I'm looking to get a set for my car and trying to figure out if I need helper springs. (or should even be worried??)

forward

Yes, the springs do not contact both the lower perch and upper seat ("hat", if you prefer). In my street driving experience, there should never be an occasion where the front suspension is fully extended, so it wasn't a concern for me.

I would suggest using a taller spring than what I used, as I went with an off-the-shelf part, rather than a custom spring. Too much height and you will lose the ability to adjust the ride height (and possibly compromise spring rate, too, if you compress it to much), but as BOrlando pointed out previously, I could use a bit more spring height.

4drviper

Thank you for the review. Sounds like it'll make installation easier if anything because I won't have to figure out how to press down on the knuckle to line up the shock bolt hole and knuckle/lca(front) hole.

forward

Oh, you'll still be pressing down on the LCA, no question, and disconnecting the front anti-sway bar links, too. You REALLY have to compress the strut fully to fit it in place, and if your compliance bushings are in good nick, it will take some effort...but it can be done.

tsxoniner

Had Koni Yellows with new tires just installed. I was on Eibach springs with the stock shocks, which lowered the ride quite nicely. The Koni shocks came with the snap ring in the upper position. The ride height is back up to the stock levels! Is this supposed to be that way? I thought with the Eibach springs that the ride height would still lowered? Or should they have been mounted with the spring perches in lower position? I purchased from Tire Rack and they want pictures of the shocks and spring perches. The ride is really nice, much better than previously, but I want my lower ride height back! I thought the if they were mounted on the lower perches, the ride would be even lower than what I previously had it at? Can somebody explain?

forward

I would suggest you move the snap ring to the lower position and see how it sits once its back on the ground.

Can the spring perches Koni includes with the Koni yellow shocks be 'flipped', essentially providing two different positions for the bottom of the spring? I can't recall if they can or can't, but I want to say they mount only one way.

DoctorDaveTSX

I'm pretty positive the spring perches can be flipped/installed in the incorrect position. When I was researching these I remember reading a thread where someone did just that and the car sat higher than it should. I don't remember which thread but am pretty sure it was a user's build thread. I made a point to the shop before install to make sure the perches were installed in the correct position.

forward

They can. Post #153 above has a clear image of one perch in the correct position, with the flared end installed pointing downward.

Kind of a bummer if they were installed upside-down, as the assemblies need to be removed entirely and disassembled to reorient the perches.

tsxoniner

Talked to Tire Rack after sending them pics of the dampers and they said 3 of the 4 perches were upside-down which would raise the ride height. Showed the pics to Wheel Works and the manager recognized the error right away. He said flipping the perches would drop it 1.5 inches, which was what they were at originally. I have an appointment to have it corrected on warranty. I asked him about the lower perch position and he thinks that will produce tire rub and then I'd have to pay them to reinstall again to raise it back up.

I'm wondering any of you using the lower perch level and how that was as far as tire clearance and ride? I think one or two of you did try it, but didn't like it. Can you elaborate more?