Suspension for a long daily driver.

[02DailyAccord]

Hi all, first a bit of background- I have a 02' 4 cyl sedan that is my daily driver. I come from the world of sport trucks and my old daily was 98' S10 with some serious suspension work. After a few months of driving 3+ hours a day on highways and back country roads I hate the serious weight transfer issues it has under sudden braking, and hard cornering, it goes from understeer to oversteer and back in a matter of a surface transition or a few potholes/bumps.

Mechanically everything checks out, the shocks are worn and I could simply change those but I am used to a vehicle that handles significantly better.

While the fundamentals of suspension I understand quite well, I've had to read up on a lot of information with respect to manufacturers that is new to me.

This is what I've settled on:

Koni Yellow Sports for front and rear, with Ground Control coilover sleeves, and 450lb springs front, 350lb springs rear. Along with the Eibach front/rear sway bars. Perhaps a megan upper front tower strut bar as well. I am changing from stock rims/tire size to 18's with Falken Ziex 912 225/40/18.

The projected maximum drop will be 1.5" or less, and I've read the 6th gens typically do not need a camber kit, and if any its the rear due to a taller camber curve. At this point I am not anticipating buying a camber kit.

A setup a long these lines seems to be widely recommended and the best option relative to Tein's or other coilovers in the 800-1200$ range. Not the cheapest certainly but I've always been one of those guys that if I do it, I do it right the first time and am happy with it.

My biggest question would be, is there anything I've overlooked specific to the 6th gen accords when it comes to suspension setups?

Thanks.

 

[LowerMyCG5]

i say go for the koni, gc combo

 

[lashlee]

I had a KYB/Neuspeed SofSport spring combo for years and recently switched to Tein SS coilovers. Like you I drive about 3 hours total so I feel you when it comes to having something that makes you feel a little more sure of what the car is doing. I prefer coilovers since it gives you some additional options when it comes to setting the height as well as the dampening. Anything will be better than OEM, especially if there is any amount of mileage.

 

[RedRyder]

I don't know that GC sleeves are worth it for only lowering 1.5". If you ever want to go lower they'll be nice to have since they're easily adjustable, but if you definitely plan on stopping at 1.5", and you want a comfortable ride, I'd just pair some Eiback Pro Kit springs with those Koni's.

And beefing up the RSB is all you really need, most people don't bother with the FSB.

The only thing you may not be aware of is that you will need to lower your car more in the front than in the back, as these cars are notorious for "the boat look".

 

[Frisky Arab]

Somebody who actually did research before their first post?! I think I just felt the world stop turning...

Props to you man, seems like you already know your s**t. Gonna post some pics of your setup when your done?

 

[v6indodarknight]

yeah rsb is a big yes!!! for the 6thgen, go with the progress 22mm rsb, but since ur an i4, u might need to bend a bit of the muffler or move it a bit,

since the rsb tend to rub or touch the muffler...

but i ma let the i4 chime in, since what i had was a v6

 

[RedRyder]

^Progress is 24mm.

Eibach is 22mm I think, and 3G TL-S is 21mm.

 

[F350spyder]

Just go w/ the TL-S RSB. Makes the car way more balanced and damn cheap at that.

 

[02DailyAccord]

Hi all, thanks for the feedback. My thoughts on the GC sleeves vs just springs are this:

If I buy straight springs, and the ride height is say 1/4" higher in the front than the back, Im basically S.O.L. aside from mods that adversly effect the spring (and I don't agree with that). Atleast with G.C. I'll have the flexibility to be sure I get the stance/height Im after. Yea I am well aware of corner to corner cross weight ratio, though for a daily Im less concerned. Hell in S10's purposely proloading the FSB by 1/4" short on the right side end link is the cheap way to correct "Chevy lean" without changing the springs/shocks, but by doing so it is definitely changing the cross-weight of the truck. I never found handling to be too screwed by it. My thinking is that provided the FL and FR GC's are within a thread or two of each other in adjustment, your cross-weight should not be way out any more than just straight springs would be.

I'd rather pay another hundred bucks or so to know that when all the parts show up and are put on im not like "well damn... thats not what I expected/wanted and now I have to send **** back".

With respect to FSB/RSB- my understanding is that the OEM ratio of bar stiffness (loosely correlated as bar size) should be maintained otherwise during aggresive cornering the body twist/cross weight change is more dramatic and not as balanced as the car was originaly designed for.

I guess here my question is, does the TL-S run the same front bar as the I4 accord, if so then I could see running the TL-S rear bar.

With the progress at 24mm, my thought is that would be too stiff for the amount of weight back there, no?

Again my thought on the Eibach pair is that they're balanced in ratio between FSB and RSB.

Which given that there is no RSB atm, I suppose ratio is a moot point, but then my thought was that the FSB stock is pretty soft hence add the rear, beef up the front, keep some balance.

I haven't done as much reading into fsb/rsb on the accords as I had seen quite a few good comments about the eibach bars.

Also, Im not too fond of junk-yard parts or familiar with accord parts sellers what would be the best avenue for a reputable seller of tl-s bars with new poly kit?

Thanks.

 

[02DailyAccord]

Oh and I looked at the Teins, and I like them but I have one major beef with them.

In the fine print they have huge disclaimer print that thier stuff is not for street use, it is show, track, or off-road only.

Which is stupid because they really pass off thier stuff as being street-useable but then totaly disclaim any liability for it.

Koni is an OEM direct replacement, there's no off-road only BS there (who is off-roading an accord with like 3" of ground clearance anyway).

The KONI warranty is a lifetime warranty to the original
purchaser against defects in materials and workmanship
and against wear out for as long as you own that car
registered for street use. -

Ground control has a little bit more language, but as long as you use the right PN's/order from them thier support is solid, and again no exclusion due to street use.

Tein though- "This Product complies with JASO automobile standards. This Product is designed for OFF ROAD USE ONLY. The Product may only be installed in race vehicles, show vehicles and other specifially configured vehicles intended for off-road use."

If thats the case, take "Street" out of the name and call them "Off-Road Basis" or "Track-Basis" but then they wouldn't sell as many units Im certain. I find it a bit appalling tbh.

After Tein, nobody speaks highly of Megan coilovers. After Megan and Tein, you're looking at F&F's which many that use them don't seem to use them in the winter. They're great for southern US but not for Canada... Im not interested in having **** stock susp in the winter and coil overs in the summer, defeats the point.

To get to a good all-year coil over, you're basically into some really serious coin, and width adjustability that is far beyond what I need as a street daily.

As a side note, I've asked GC if they can do dust boots on the Koni's, and they said they can NP, mainly to help keep the salt and **** out.

Sorry for the rant, but I've been through a lot of coilover discussion and just not convinced they'd be the right way to go.