how to lower my cb7?

[ingold]

ok so I'm clueless on suspension.
i have springs that I'm going to put on to get a drop.
is it as simple as that or do i need to do something else?

[mcdizzle]

i would suggest getting new shocks to put the springs on as well, as your stock shocks are likely old and on their last leg. im sure you can find the rest of the info you seek in the suspension subsection of the forum

[deevergote]

Springs (if they're not a quality brand, don't use them.)
Shocks (absolutely necessary... old stock shocks will blow, and be VERY unsafe...)
Camber kit (necessary for safety, to keep your tires in good condition... don't go cheap!)
Alignment


Regardless of what people say, you NEED these things to lower your car.
You also need to ensure that your other components are in good condition... ball joints especially,

DO NOT go cheap with suspension components. Your life is riding on your suspension. If it fails, you lose control of your car. Do it right, or do something else.

[mcdizzle]

Springs (if they're not a quality brand, don't use them.)
Shocks (absolutely necessary... old stock shocks will blow, and be VERY unsafe...)
Camber kit (necessary for safety, to keep your tires in good condition... don't go cheap!)
Alignment


Regardless of what people say, you NEED these things to lower your car.
You also need to ensure that your other components are in good condition... ball joints especially,

DO NOT go cheap with suspension components. Your life is riding on your suspension. If it fails, you lose control of your car. Do it right, or do something else.

while i agree with all this, unless your running -2* or more of camber its not totally necessary to have the camber adjusted as much as it is the TOE, as bad toe is what wears tires the quickest.

good brands of springs - tein, h&r, skunk2, progress, eibach
good shocks - koni, kyb, skunk2
camber kits - they dont really make adjustable upper arms for our cars so you have to have an ingals ball joint pressed in or order the arms with the ingalls kit already installed from TASauto
alignment - any shop that does alignments can do these, but if your city has a road-race shop that can do a 4 wheel alignment and corner balance thats what i would suggest.

[deevergote]

Skunk2 shocks aren't great... I've never heard anything good about them. Koni is best, KYB GR2s are about as cheap as anyone should go.

While a camber kit isn't necessary, it SHOULD be used, even for a mild drop. Bald inner tires can be more dangerous than evenly worn tires, because the driver may not be aware of HOW bald they really are.
Many people read the "Toe is what kills tires fastest" and think that correcting the toe is a replacement for correcting the camber. They are two completely different angles. While I know that you understand this, most beginners do not.

An alignment will always correct for toe. With a lowered vehicle, both toe and camber should be corrected.

[ingold]

well basically I just want a drop for looks.
not preformance. I do not drive the hell out of the car.
I'm still in highschool so have a very tight budget. I was given some springs from
a friend that were on his cb. what's a cheap but good shock/strut.

[mcdizzle]

Skunk2 shocks aren't great... I've never heard anything good about them. Koni is best, KYB GR2s are about as cheap as anyone should go.

While a camber kit isn't necessary, it SHOULD be used, even for a mild drop. Bald inner tires can be more dangerous than evenly worn tires, because the driver may not be aware of HOW bald they really are.
Many people read the "Toe is what kills tires fastest" and think that correcting the toe is a replacement for correcting the camber. They are two completely different angles. While I know that you understand this, most beginners do not.

An alignment will always correct for toe. With a lowered vehicle, both toe and camber should be corrected.

yeah, i forgot about some beginners not completely understanding everything

[evil_demon_01]

well basically I just want a drop for looks.
not preformance. I do not drive the hell out of the car.
I'm still in highschool so have a very tight budget. I was given some springs from
a friend that were on his cb. what's a cheap but good shock/strut.

Even dropping a car for "Looks only" requires the job to be done safely.

As Deev said, Buy quality parts and get springs / shocks / and camber kit.
If your on a budget and can't afford all of that, then don't fit anything until you can afford it.

Do it once, Do it right, Do it safe.

[deevergote]

well basically I just want a drop for looks.
not preformance. I do not drive the hell out of the car.
I'm still in highschool so have a very tight budget. I was given some springs from
a friend that were on his cb. what's a cheap but good shock/strut.

The things I listed are the MINIMUM requirements for lowering a car. Looks OR performance. They are the minimum requirements for safety. You're still in high school. We'd like to see you live long enough to graduate.

If you want to go cheap:
Get KYB GR2 shocks. NEW. They go for about $50 each... so $200. Don't get cheaper shocks than this. These are about as cheap as you want to go when lowering your car... anything less will blow quickly. Blown shocks will significantly decrease your ability to control and stop your car. If you have to slam on your brakes, your tires will leave the ground and you will not stop in a reasonable distance. Do not take this lightly.

Find a used set of H&R Sport springs. $100 maybe. This will lower your car between 1.5" and 1.8". A mild drop. Necessary because of the next part (which I don't like suggesting...)

Don't run a camber kit, but get an alignment. $60-$80. This will result in uneven tire wear (make sure your tires are in good shape first... replace them if they aren't). Be VERY aware that the inside of your tires are going to wear out. The tires may look ok, but you'll be riding on completely bald tires in the areas that are making contact with the ground. As with blown shocks, this will also limit your control and ability to stop.
The mild drop I mentioned above is necessary. If you go any lower, the negative camber angle will increase, causing the wear on the tires to be much more significant. If you don't get a camber kit, you should not go very low.



Just about $400. That's what it's going to cost you to do the bare minimum
The camber kit will cost you an additional $150-$300, depending on the one you get... the TASauto adjustable upper control arm kit is probably the most expensive, but by far the best and safest option. DO NOT get a cheap camber kit. They break... and a broken camber kit can be catastrophic.







I'm not just some old guy preaching... I've made these mistakes myself.

I've driven with a blown strut (just one was enough to scare the shit out of me... made me turn around even though I was late for work, just so I could order a new one... which I overnighted and installed the next morning before work!)

I've purchased and installed a cheap camber kit (Dropzone)... it broke. On the highway, at 65mph. It was an anchor bolt type (rather than a ball joint type), and one side broke completely. The other side was barely hanging on. Had that other side broken, I'd have lost control and crashed at 65mph, in traffic.

After the kit broke, I didn't replace it. I was aligned, but for toe only. The inside of my tires wore out. I Ignored it. One day, a bus decided to make an unannounced left turn from the opposite lane, right in front of me. I was going just 35mph, and I nearly kissed the bus. It took me nearly 200 feet to stop.


If you can't afford to lower your car properly, then save your money... or spend it on something else. Halfassing your suspension can kill you. Especially a young and inexperienced driver, that may not have the reflexes, instincts, and feel for the car necessary to MAYBE survive a catastrophic failure.

[N9netwoAccord]

Find a used set of H&R Sport springs. $100 maybe. This will lower your car between 1.5" and 1.8". A mild drop. Necessary because of the next part (which I don't like suggesting...)

Don't run a camber kit

deeve for your own personal memory.. i have h&r sports on my 5th gen and they have -1 degree of camber. i personally did my own alignment and thats what it is front and rear.


edit: some car manufactures run that stock for camber specs.

[deevergote]

That's why I suggested H&R Sport, and no lower. -1 degree is what ATX suggested to keep the upper control arms from hitting, and he always said the wear wasn't significant.

My near-death encounter with the bus was a few months after I had gone lower, with H&R Race. I miss my Sport drop.

[N9netwoAccord]

That's why I suggested H&R Sport, and no lower. -1 degree is what ATX suggested to keep the upper control arms from hitting, and he always said the wear wasn't significant.

My near-death encounter with the bus was a few months after I had gone lower, with H&R Race. I miss my Sport drop.

i had to cut a half coil off the front of mine because i wasn't happy with how the front sat. i'm not encouraging this to the OP... i only did it because i can't stand the rear being level with the front.

still had -1 degree of camber though.

[deevergote]

I liked that they were level!

[N9netwoAccord]

I liked that they were level!

haha you sound like my roomate! his RSX-s on tein s techs is raked a little bit, and he hates it, and i lvoe it. he liked mine level and i hated it lol

[deevergote]

I'd like a rake on a big RWD muscle car... on my FWD Honda, I don't want it!