well seems like the question now is...........how long do the stock struts/shocks last on lowering springs? I know many members do lowering springs vs coilovers so there should be alot of feedback.

 

A lot of that is going to depend on how many miles you drive and how you drive the car.

 

Thanks for not thinking that I was just tying to be disagreeable.
(Did you get the e-mail I sent ya?)

We lower Civics and Del Slow's at the shop all the time, and I'd be surprised if they didn't handle like total crap afterward. I don't really know, but I do tell the kids that it ain't gonna make the car handle like a race car. It's funny, beucase without fail, they always say the car handles better, and I always assume it's becaue they just don't know any better.

You're probably right that most people who lower will never notice any difference, not because it isn't there, but just becaue they don't drive in ways that expose the downsides of the drop (or maybe simply because they wouldn't know good handling from bad even if it bit them in the butt ). I'm so skeptical of lowering without other mods to go along that I didn't accept my own evaluations until they were confirmed by some National champs, so even though my car is lowered over stock shocks, I mostly think it's a bad idea. I would not have even tried the Pro Kit if I'd had an AP2, because they weren't designed for that chassis and probably wouldn't work as well.

For all I know, Eibach may have just gotten lucky with the S2000. Know what I mean?

Anyway, I put a Pro Kit on my MY00 car, and the handling has received the stamp of approval from drivers far better than myself, and there haven't been any major downsides other than the loss of ground clearance. I've had one of the front strakes torn completely off the car after running over a pylon (actually, it was an Evolution school instructor who hit the pylon and ripped the strake off the car), and I replace them periodically, when they get too scratched up. Some driveways and speedbumps are a pain, and a lowered street car sure as heck isn't all upsides. I'd just as soon be back at stock ride height, but the car just looks so darn good to me the way it sits right now that it would be hard to go back (and there is no good reason to go back, other than speed bumps and driveways).

It's funny in hindsight, beause I use to talk smack about lowering all the time, even here on S2kI, but I had to change my tune once I actually tried it. I know perfectly well why everyone advises people to avoid lowering with aftermarket springs, because I use to do it myself. Now I just tell people that I can only comment on things I've tried myself, and that's limited to the Pro Kit, which works amazingly well on my early AP1.

 

I am lowered on Espiler springs and very happy with them. I daily drive the car and dont really beat up on it. I just needed the better look

If you plan on pushing the car hard like autoX'ing, Id invest in a good full coilover set.

 

There are just too many variables. I can't see any reason for my shocks to wear out any faster after the drop. The progressive springs actually work the shocks over a shorter stroke, at velocities that vary from stock downward. It's really hard to visualize the total effect of progressive rate springs (which is one of at least two reasons you never see them on race cars). Anyway, shock stroke is less, and within the working range of the shock absorbers, so I don't see any reason to expect accelerated shock wear. Let me make it clear that this is speculation though. I don't think there is any way we can know with any certainty.

I check the shocks on all our cars, on a regular baisis, because it's just one of a number of things I'm too anal about. Shocks go away slowly (usually) and I don't want the handling of my cars going down hill so slowly that I don't notice it, so I worry too much. I'm the same way with the bushings and everything else, so I guess it's really pretty bad. Anyway, the shocks on our cars always last WAY longer than I expect. Back when we had a CRX Si our neighbor had a Civic SI, and even though we drive on the same roads (and I drive a lot harder than he does) he went through his shocks in less than 24,000 miles, and I still had the originals on the CRX when I sold it (if I remember correctly that was at over 50k miles). We replaced the shocks on the MX5 at 80,000 miles, and the new shocks hardly made any difference at all, because the only part of the origianl shocks that was hurting was the bushings (after over 10 years of hard use). I would not advise anyone to use my shock life as a basis for determining how long their own shocks will last. Like I said, there are just too many variables.

To some extent I guess the same thing is true of the springs. Maybe I drive in a way that doens't expose some issues, and maybe the guys at the Evolution schools do the same. I've tried to get the car to misbehave since the springs were installed, and it does what I expect, but I guess I really don't know that there aren't some characteritics that might be a problem for other people who drive differently and/or under different conditions.

I actually expect my OEM shocks to last a very long time yet. They're very well made, and as the man said, "so far, so good."

 

[QUOTE=C8V6C,May 19 2007, 07:16 PM] I am lowered on Espiler springs and very happy with them.

 

I'll bet most of the blown shock warnings (if any) come from people who worry about it, rather than people who can actually prove that the lowering caused the failure.

Keep in mind that just becaue one part fails right after you modify another part that the failure does not really establish a connection. With the number of people we have here on S2kI it is almost a given that some people will lower their car and have the shocks go out shortly afterward. How can they know that the lowering had anything to do with it? We all get varrying shock life, and no shock lasts forever. I think we have to look for guys that have put high miles on the shocks after lowering, but even that doesn't help, because we'd have to have analysis based on a huge sample to get statistically significant information (due to the huge number of variables). It doesn't help that some people can drive around on a set of shocks that are doing almost nothing and not notice it.

It's not exactly a crap shoot. The shock has a working range, and lowering the car doesn't change the working range of the suspension or the shocks. Lowering only alters the mean operating range, and changes the velocities (in a complex way when progressive springs are used). If the shock were doing more work to handle much higher velocities or being asked to operate outside its intended range it would make sense that the lowering might shorten shock life, but so far nobody has come up with any kind of theory to explain any mechanism or way that lowering actually might shorten shock life. It's just like the half shaft spacers. We're told that it's a problem, but the parts are still working well within their design limits and there is never an explination as to how they can have their life shortened without being operated outside their design limits.

Who here can identify the manufacturer of the OEM shocks on the S2000? FWIW, they come from a well respected, premium shock absorber company, and if they had the manufacturers name on them some people would buy them thinking they were a major upgrade. Who can identify the shock design and source?

 

Oh crap - I totally forgot. Are they McPherson?

I think a good thing to say is, do what you can afford within your budget. Coilovers are pretty sweet but they're also very expensive. If you can only afford to rock some springs - by all means rock some springs. The difference isn't probably going to be that big and the shocks are still going to work for a good long time. If they do go out, you can upgrade to some Koni's for relatively cheap

 

[QUOTE=afwfjustin,May 19 2007, 07:55 PM]Oh crap - I totally forgot.

 

Same company that apparently did the suspension rework for the new CR also builds our OEM shocks.
(Click the link and scroll down to see if anything looks familiar.)

If the car didn't already have 'em, I might just buy a set.