I heard this from a shop..
- Thread starter Honda Importz01
- Start date
Wildman
Read the rules
you can lower your car on stock shocks.
how long your stock shocks will last afterwards is a complete gamble. they could go in a few weeks or several months - it just varies.
even without the shocks blowing though, it will still handle poorly.
how long your stock shocks will last afterwards is a complete gamble. they could go in a few weeks or several months - it just varies.
even without the shocks blowing though, it will still handle poorly.
shavedaccord
Well-Known Member
anything over 1.5" your asking for trouble.
I knew I had read about this specific idea somewhere, and I've finally found it... I know it's on another forum, but the guy who wrote it up did an incredible job (IMO). Here's a link to the complete write up:
Clicky
And here is an excerpt from his write up (in case you don't want to read the whole thing...
3) Can I put lowering springs on my stock shocks?
People tend to ask this question a lot, and the answer is always the same:
Of course you can, but I will never recommend it.
None on these forums, nor any reputable technician, nor any sensible car enthusiast will ever recommend the use stiffer springs with stock shocks.
When you’ve been around these communities as long as I have, you tend to hear all of the stories. There are always going to be people who put enormous drops on 1993 stock shocks and get away with it for 100,000 miles. It is possible, and it does happen. Then there are the people with 2004s who put on the springs that supposedly “work with stock shocks,” and their shocks are blown within a few days. These kinds of accounts tend to debunk the idea that the most important factor contributing to whether or not a stock shock will last is its age. Sorry, the age theory just isn’t true. If you are going to consider the shocks’ age, you also have to take into consideration the road conditions they were exposed to, how they’ve been driven on, what they have carried, etc. Still, none of those factors can outweigh sheer physics.
It remains that the single most important factor that determines whether or not your shock will survive is the spring that you place on it.
The bottom line is that stock shocks were not necessarily designed to handle springs that are much stiffer than stock. I know people want to assume that whatever happened to their buddy is what’s going to happen to them, but that’s not how it works with suspension. This is a very dynamic game, and you need to be prepared to deal with the worst case scenario.
Hope this helps!
Clicky
And here is an excerpt from his write up (in case you don't want to read the whole thing...
3) Can I put lowering springs on my stock shocks?
People tend to ask this question a lot, and the answer is always the same:
Of course you can, but I will never recommend it.
None on these forums, nor any reputable technician, nor any sensible car enthusiast will ever recommend the use stiffer springs with stock shocks.
When you’ve been around these communities as long as I have, you tend to hear all of the stories. There are always going to be people who put enormous drops on 1993 stock shocks and get away with it for 100,000 miles. It is possible, and it does happen. Then there are the people with 2004s who put on the springs that supposedly “work with stock shocks,” and their shocks are blown within a few days. These kinds of accounts tend to debunk the idea that the most important factor contributing to whether or not a stock shock will last is its age. Sorry, the age theory just isn’t true. If you are going to consider the shocks’ age, you also have to take into consideration the road conditions they were exposed to, how they’ve been driven on, what they have carried, etc. Still, none of those factors can outweigh sheer physics.
It remains that the single most important factor that determines whether or not your shock will survive is the spring that you place on it.
The bottom line is that stock shocks were not necessarily designed to handle springs that are much stiffer than stock. I know people want to assume that whatever happened to their buddy is what’s going to happen to them, but that’s not how it works with suspension. This is a very dynamic game, and you need to be prepared to deal with the worst case scenario.
Hope this helps!
Sketch o5
Señor Greengo
yea, just get some different shocks, like tokico blues. the kyb gr2's ive heard are "stock replacements" or something like that, and a friend of mine actually has them and hates them. i have no experience with either of those shocks, cuz i went straight to the top shelf, the Tokico Illuminas, they have a 5 way adjustable dampener.
talontsiawd
Well-Known Member
If you don't care, gamble on the stockers. That's what i did. The thing is, i use prokits. Now you can listen to the article posted above, or you can listen to people who have done it. It doesn't garrentee that your shocks will last.
One thing though. People always talk about shocks going from stiffer spring rates. This will acclelate the wear for sure. But the size of the drop is what is going to blow them right away. You have a shock where the piston is being forced down. The lower the drop, the further it will go. This give preload on the shock, which pretty much makes it wear from nothing. But then you have the piston way further down, reducing shock travel, stiffening everything up. You totally mess up the valving and that will pop a shock not made for it in no time.
One thing though. People always talk about shocks going from stiffer spring rates. This will acclelate the wear for sure. But the size of the drop is what is going to blow them right away. You have a shock where the piston is being forced down. The lower the drop, the further it will go. This give preload on the shock, which pretty much makes it wear from nothing. But then you have the piston way further down, reducing shock travel, stiffening everything up. You totally mess up the valving and that will pop a shock not made for it in no time.
wg2k7
Well-Known Member
my friend has a 01 av6 with h&r sports and it has stock shocks (he bought it like that). i drove it once and put it through a quick handling course and it handled really good, much better then my stock car. it has been like that for a while, but he just got lucky. you can gamble and try to save some money but truth is its just easier to do it all at once and not have to worry about it
