Cheap Sleeves?

[deevergote]

What parts should I trust? What should I definitely stay away from. I already have a good idea, just want to hear doffed want opinions. My neighbor, who's a mechanic, said if probably be fine with eBay springs. Only reason I asked. Before I talked about it with him, I followed the "right way" which I had read about extensively. What's the damage a blown strut/ shock can do?

A blown shock can result in a crash. Without the shock there to do its job, the tire will literally leave the ground over bumps. It will also bounce uncontrollably during hard braking... which, if your tire is bouncing, you aren't stopping. It might "ride fine" (as many people like to say) under normal circumstances, but in an emergency, you aren't going to be able to control your car. A very bad thing.

The "ebay" springs are almost always an insanely high spring rate, for which your stock shocks (and most other inexpensive aftermarket shocks) are not valved to handle. Think of it as a paddleball (you know, those wooden paddles with the rubber ball on a string...) If the rhythm is right, the ball bounces properly. If the rhythm is wrong, it goes all wonky. A spring with a rate that is too high for the shock's valving will be like that paddleball with an off-rhythm. It will make the car unpredictable when the shock is good, and it will blow the shock quickly. Most stock and cheaper aftermarket shocks are not valved for a spring rate any higher than 15% over your stock rate. Those ebay springs can be as much as 75% stiffer, or even a full 2x stiffer than stock.

Stock shocks are also not intended to be lowered. Most cheaper aftermarket shocks aren't intended to be lowered any more than 1"-1.5" (which most aftermarket springs for our cars go closer to 2"... and cheap ebay coilovers may even start you lower than that!) Again, the shock is valved for a certain amount of piston travel, and lowering the car significantly reduces that travel. As with the spring rate, shocks that aren't valved for cars lower than intended will produce unpredictable handling before they're blown, and they'll blow very quickly.

Anyone who says otherwise based on their experience is ignorant of the engineering behind their suspension... and they have yet to experience the panic of being unable to stop when a child chases a ball out into the street unexpectedly.



I've already mentioned the best shock brands. Koni Yellows are ideal for pretty much anything you throw at them. Tokico Illuminas are a close second (I'm not a fan of the brand, but those are decent.) Koni Reds are good, but not externally adjustable... not worth the effort, IMO. Koni STR.T are good if you don't plan on going lower than 2", and you don't intend to run an insanely high spring rate.
Tokico HP (blues), and anything made by KYB should be avoided unless you don't plan on going lower than 1.5", and you don't intend to run a high spring rate. In other words... don't bother with those.

For spring brands... there are many. I'm partial to H&R and Neuspeed (their products are practically identical in all but color...) Tein makes decent springs, as does Eibach. There are a few other good companies, but those 4 are the ones that most people here seem to use most often.
And of course, if you want adjustable sleeves, Ground Control (as posted above) is a fantastic choice. In fact, the ONLY adjustable sleeve I'd ever even consider (I don't like adjustable sleeves... they lock up if you don't keep them perfectly clean, and quite frankly... I don't have the need, knowledge, or tools to properly adjust them.) Ground Control sleeves use Eibach springs, and the spring rate can be custom ordered. They are best paired with Koni Yellows.


There is a very good "sticky" thread in the suspension section by mndude07 that goes into more detail than I have here. I strongly suggest you read it.

[Quashish]

deev do you just save a whole library of word documents for different responses to questions like this?? i think i would have old man hands if i typed out the same responses as much as you do, as many times as you have.

[deevergote]

I do have old man hands... but I'm an old man! They're very nimble old man hands, though

And no, I type all that stuff out every single time. I've never copied and pasted the things I say over and over and over again.
I'm pretty proud of this one, though. I was pretty damn thorough.

[vh22accord]

I've used D2 for all my cars. Never had a problem with them on the track or street.

[deevergote]

D2 has a pretty solid reputation for breaking. Not to mention the spring rate is absurdly high. Arguably too high for safety on a street car. A hell of a lot better than ebay coils on stock struts... but I wouldn't ever put D2s on my car.

[vh22accord]

D2 has trouble with suspension systems that do not employ upper control arms for example Nissan. The same goes for every other suspension company on the market. I have never heard of or seen D2 coilovers break on the 90-93 accord. I've done a lot of SCCA races and track days with my cars an never had problems.