Hey guys, my friend watns to drop his AP2 but isn't sure if he goes with Springs it'll be safe for the car/struts/etc. Would he blow out the shocks/struts or anything? Will it cause the car to hop or bounce?

if it is safe, which springs do you guys recommend and if I am not mistakening, it won't improve the handling b/c the stock suspension is far superior to just springs correct? THanks a lot.

 

springs alone,won't cut it.

 

You probably won't notice a difference in handling, but whenever shocks blow out you can just get a full coilover setup.

The geometry wasn't meant for aftermarket springs, so the handling will be compromised some at the limits, but most people don't admit to that.

 

If you just change the spring (presumably they will have a higher rate), this would leave the suspension underdamped. Sadly, this means that in spite of making the car look "sportier", it will be detrimental to its handling.

 

If your friend doesn't want to spend a wad of cash and just wants to lower the car a bit for looks, springs are fine. If you're not driving at the limits, you'll never be able to tell any difference. But if he want to autocross or whatever, I'd say coil-overs are the way to go.

I myself don't have a boat-load of money to spend and am not interested in auto-x or anything so I opted for the springs on stock shocks. The ride with the H&R's is pretty much stock feeling and the way I drive, handles more than adequate. And there is no bouncing. I'm not sure what I'll do when the shocks eventually blow, but I'm leaning towards some Koni's.

BTW, the H&R's give a modest drop (.75" front and .6" in the rear). Just enough to close up some ugly gap. Other brands of springs will differ so I am only speaking of the experience I've had with the H&R's.

Here's a few pics to give your friend an idea of the drop with 18's. Hope this helps.

 

That drop looks sweet on 18s

 

Hey Afwfjustin,

You seem to imply that people who have lowered their car over the stock shocks and found what I found are just in denial. You're probably right in some cases, maybe even most, but how much actual experience do you have in lowering S2000's? The OP needs to near from people who have lowered with springs over stock shocks, and who use the car in a way that would expose any problems. He needs to ask somebody like a past national autocross champion who has driven a car like mine. I'm not trying to take you to task here Afwfjustin, but I humbly disagree, based on the following thinking ...

I can't comment on most people or most springs, but the Eibach Pro Kit on my car didn't cause any handling issues AT ALL. How many of the people who say all springs cause problems have actually tried aftermarket springs on their own car? Why would I lie about the handling? LOL, why would the Evolution school instructors lie about the handling; Certainly they aren't denying crappy handling after I lowered the car to defend MY decision. How do you explain that?

Shocks respond to velocity, not position, and our OEM shocks work perfectly (no excess gas pressure or anything to "blow" them) throughout the entire range of suspension movement.

If well designed springs like the Pro Kit will blow shocks and spoil the cars handling you guys need to present something more than just general comments. I've lowered, just springs, no blown shocks, and the handling has been experienced and applauded by some of the top autocrossers in the US.

Telling people that springs will blow their shocks or spoil their cars handling seems wrong to me, becaue I've got springs and all the claims have turned out to be wrong.

OP, if you get well thought out (well designed) springs you can lower the car moderately with the stock shocks without damaging the shocks or spoiling the handling. You will NOT improve the handling, IF you will have to pick the springs carefully and can find the right springs for you MY car. The Pro Kit I have was designed for the earliest AP1's (MY00-01) and would make more of a change to the handling of later cars. Might be a total dissaster on an AP2, I really don't know. I do know that a good set of springs will absolutly NOT cause most of the problems people here on S2kI say they do. I use to think they were would, until I tried it for myself, and then I didn't contridict any of them until I'd had some national champions autocross my car and give the handling their stamp of approval. Springs are cheap enough to take back off if you don't like the result.

A full adjustable coil over system does absolutly nothing to reduce or eleminate the changes in the suspension geometry when the car is lowered with springs over the stock shocks, and if you don't corner balance the car you're not going to get the full benefit of the adjustability. Coil overs can make a BIG difference and a real improvement, but it's more about changing the spring rates and shock valving to fine tune the handling than about keeping the stock handling.

Oh yea, if you drive over really rough roads, obvously the reduced suspension travel after lowering will affect the ride quality, and if you go fast enough the suspension will bottom out, but my Pro Kit springs don't bottom out any more often than the stock springs did (which is to say, almost never).

Downsides of lowering are reduced ground clearance and reduced total travel, not blown shocks and crappy handling.

 

Like Afwfjustin, you are one of the guys here I really respect, and I don't understand your post.

Do you really think it's just that simple?

If you are correct, I'm a dumbass.

 

I agree that if you just use stiffer springs to keep the car from bottoming you'll have a rough ride and may well be underdamped with the stock shocks (maybe, but I really haven't tied it and will not guess about these things the way some seem to do), but a good set of springs that are designed to work with the stock shocks (on any car) will always have a progressive rate rather than a constant rate, and at least in the S2000 with the Pro Kit (the only setup I have any experience with on the S) the spring rates are such that they are not underdamped.

FWIW, I'd have aggreed with you before I tried it ... The Pro Kit was an education for me, but with experience I've learned how wrong some of our assumptoins can be sometimes.

This is a little like some of the other "great debates" where people who have never tried something have a theory that it is bad, so they warn people away, and give reasosn that make prefectly good sense, but don't *necessarily* turn out to be true in practice.

 

Red, I made that comment mostly in general terms. I had Eibach kits on the past two cars of mine (del sol and 00 civic Si) and the shocks DID seem to wear out quickly. I replaced my shocks in the civic with some Koni adjustables and noticed that the handling was MUCH improved.

Maybe the S2k shocks, as you're putting it, are able to handle the difference more than other cars. If that's so, then I retract my statement However, the cars that I've driven with "spring only" setups just didn't feel that great until I put upgraded shocks or coilovers on.

I did mention though, that anyone with springs "probably won't notice a difference" in terms of better or worse, and I stick by that. As for the type of spring - that may have a lot to do with it. I know that Eibach makes quality stuff so maybe that's why you've had success with your setup. Another brand might NOT be as good (or not work with different MY's like you hinted at with the AP2), which is DEFINITELY possible You can't really tell unless you're driving the car near it's handling limits though, which is rare for most cars so that's why I was stating that most people either won't know or won't admit either way. I've also never been too crazy a fan of progressive rate springs so I might be biased in that going with lowering springs won't really improve the handling - only make the car sit lower and possibly compromise some handling during hard cornering.

Maybe I worded everything in "too absolute" of a way - I think I have a habit of doing that often.