After months of deliberating I decided against coilovers for my Civic Coupe. Although the better handling - the harsh ride, increased tyre wear and the fact that despite the ability to change the hight at the turn of two spanners the geometry would need resetting, which is all a bit much for 60 miles a day.

I went for the US prefered setup of Koni shocks and Eibach Pro-Kit springs. This combination is regarded highly as a street setup, with the adjustable rebound rate on the shock allowing for track days. I didn't have the space or time to fit them myself so I handed the car over to Elite for the 3 hours it took to fit it all. The car itself didn't look much lower but then you look at the gap between wheel and arch and it's the space of one finger.

 

Konis also have the benefit of adjustable perches for the springs - really only a job to fiddle with at time of installation - but there are 3 settings. I went for the lowest. The rebound settings were not sorted very well on installation. Fully firm up front and softest on the back resulting in girlfriend damage on the way home. Luckily for this application all of the shocks are top adjustable (not all are) which means a key is included to turn each shock to tune the ride in a matter of seconds. It is not how i'd imagined - the adverts look as though each shock has a knob permanently fitted. Perhaps that's just me being thick though. On softest all round the ride quaility is a kin to standard - notably firmer but not too stiff, controlling body roll yet having enough movement not to make each cat eye feel like a brick. The progressively wound Eibachs help this, giving for small bumps but get progressively firmer the more travel is needed.

 

I set the suspension at around semi firm at the back and 1/4 up front. This helps with acceleration in extremities so the back doesn't give so the weight transfer is minimised keeping more pressure over the front wheels. Some people consider the ride to be crashy - which to some extent i would agree, but the ride is hardly valved to be supple. Koni and Eibach back up the quality of their products with quality guarantees too - this swayed me from buying Tokico Illuminas as the guarantee is void outside the US.

 

Overall I'm very impressed with the transformation. Before at speeds of 70+ mph the car would'nt feel very sure footed, cross winds taking their toll. Aside from that I was happy with what the standard setup offered me. The Koni and Eibach combination allows me to push the car, accelerate throughout a bend (it's only a 1.6 SOHC, remember...), and really enjoy it. The car feels much more controlled, doing as you ask and the scope for adjusting the ride for track days (although not done yet) is an added bonus.