Change the entire car with one thing

Yes, wheels can change the look of a car and the tires can play a big part of the handling but that's not the one thing that changes the entire car. Suspension and ride height are what determine the look and handling and overall character of a car. That's what I'm getting into today with this post.
First a quick run down of what suspension I've had on previous cars:
My 1972 bug had stock rear suspension and the front beam suspension with 3-4 splines removed. It dropped the front end probably 2-3 inches and gave it that "hot rod" raked look. It was bouncy but looked cool.
My 1995 Civic EX coupe started out totally stock. Within a year and a half I had Eibach Sportline springs (given to me by my friend) and KYB AGX adjustable shocks and struts. This setup was awesome for the price and simplicity. The parts were good quality and worked well. The adjustability of the KYBs was really nice to have. I was able to feel the difference from soft to hard.
My 1995 Mustang GT had Eibach Pro-kit and I don't remember if it had anything other than stock shocks. I never really pushed this car in corners.
My 1998 Civic LX sedan was totally stock.
My 2002 WRX originally came with Goldline lowering springs and KYB GR2 (non-adjustable) shocks. This was a nice setup for the daily commute and spirited drive. I wanted to get more aggressive so I replaced them with BC BR Coilovers with 8k f/6k r springs and adjustable shocks. I had these installed at Innovative Garage in Salt Lake. I also had them install a bumpsteer kit. This setup changed the entire car. I also had a fairly aggressive alignment. It was lowered more as well. I had 17x9 +35mm Rota Grids with 245/40/17 tires. I did take this to a W.O.W (Wide Open Wednesday) event at Miller Motorsports Park which included an autox area. What a hoot! After getting the coilovers and enjoying the new ride I will never want to go with anything else.
My Fit was dead stock too.
My BMW 330ci had the H&R Sport Cup Kit (lowering springs and shocks/struts). This was a very nice setup as well. Stiffer and lower than stock but not very aggressive. I did an autox event with it like this. A little too much bodyroll but very nice for the daily drive.

So, in the past 20 years (whoa, I'm getting old) I've had many different cars and suspensions. These have all been my daily drivers. Obviously a track dedicated car will be a different discussion. For a daily car though, for me personally, I like a stiffer suspension than what the average lowering spring and sport shock can offer. Especially if you want to drive a car hard, like at an autox event or attacking some canyons, you're going to want stiffer springs and good quality dampening. This setup gets even more important when you run aggressive wide wheels and tires. I ran into this with my bimmer. I went aggressive in the rear with 18x9.5 +35mm and 265/35/18. After I first got the wheels/tires installed, I drove it to work. It was rubbing on some bigger bumps. I then invested in a heat gun and fender roller. I rolled the fenders and gave them a mini-pull. There was a mounting screw that I trimmed as well. All that work helped but I still heard a very slight "squeak" noise on big bumps. I found that the tire was rubbing on the edge of the bumper. If my suspension was stiffer there likely wouldn't be any tire to bumper contact due to the reduced suspension travel of a stiffer spring rate.
So, as I plan out what I want to do with the Civic, I will be getting some quality coilovers. There are many options for the 90's Civics. This chassis (88-00 civic, 94-01 integra) likely has THE largest selection of springs, shocks and coilovers than any other make/model. You can buy anything from $30 lowering springs or $200 "Racing Coilovers" from eBay all the way up to $5000 JRZ coilovers. For a street car like mine that will see mostly normal driving duties with some occasional aggressive driving and maybe 2 or 3 autox events each year it doesn't make sense to go very expensive. For me the sweet spot for street car coilovers is about the $1000-$1500 range. In this range you get quality construction for long lasting performance. You also get adjustability with dampening and ride height. This allows me to soften up the shocks for a trip down to St. George for a baseball tournament and then the next weekend stiffen it back up for an autox event. The ride height adjustability allows me to dial in the "look" or "stance" I want along with optimizing the setup for best handling and ground clearance. Having an adjustable setup you could go "show low" and raise it back up for daily driving. While that availability is there, I'm not interested in changing my ride height. I plan to get it where I want it and leave it there. Personally I don't want to have rubbing issues. I need to be able to put kids in the car along with some baseball gear. I had the rubbing issue with my bimmer and don't want to deal with that again. My personal preference on the "look" I want is not super slammed anyway. I prefer the "track" look with the top of the tire about even with the fender edge or a slight gap.
The most important first consideration is what brand are the coilovers. I don't want a no-name brand that has no history nor will back up any quality issues. Reliability and quality are important. In considering the options in the sweet spot of $1000-1500 one of the things I'm looking at is what the spring rates are for the different systems. My experience with the BC coilovers on my WRX was very positive. Those were 8k and 6k. I do remember reading that different suspension designs have different needs for a given performance level when it comes to spring rates. McPherson struct type design doesn't work the same as double-wishbone like my Civic has. I need to do more research to understand the differences. It has something to do with the geometry of the different designs and the "swing path" the specific geometries generate. Maybe I'll dive into that world a little and report back what I find.

Ground Control/Koni coilovers-tried and true go-to suspension for the Honda community for years!

BC Type BR coilovers. BC coils have become a great entry level coilover option. I was happy with the set I had on my WRX.

So, let's get to the options I'm looking at for the '99 EK Hatch, in no particular order.
First we have the big names who have been in the suspension tuning world for a long time. This includes companies like Buddy Club, Tein, Skunk2, Apex'i and Ground Control. For the Honda world, I know the Ground Control system is very popular and well liked one. It includes Eibach springs on an adjustable coilover design and uses Koni Yellow shocks with different valving. I found this system for sale in the $700-900 range. Just did a quick search and people are running various different spring rates.

K-Tuned K1 Coilovers-found them cheapest on jhpusa.com

The Speed Academy guys ran K-Tuned K1 and K2 coilovers on their project Civic EK Coupe. This car is essentially the same as mine. The K1 kits I've found for $900 and run 10k and 6k spring rates with adjustable dampening. The K2 Circuit is 20k and 16k with different dampening valving.  The K2 goes for about $1500-1700. I found a few decent video reviews on YouTube for both. While the "racer" in me would love to run the K2 I think its just too stiff for my needs. Plus its another $600-700 more cost. I am definitely trying to get the most for my money. I have other parts I want to do on my Civic in this first year or so. So, any money I can save will go a long way to the overall look and performance of my EK.
Another option is BC coilovers. With my success using the BCs on my WRX, I would be happy to get a set for my Civic.
I'll tell you, I'm leaning towards the K-tuned K1's. The price is right. $900 is very affordable for what I'm trying to achieve. Also, I really like what I've seen from K-Tuned on all their Honda parts. They are a company dedicated to Honda's and so for me, the fact that they specialize in this certain type of car means they're invested in making good quality parts. and are designing them specific for these cars. I also really respect the Speed Academy guys and their opinions on parts they test.
So, I am pretty much decided on the K1's.
I have more research to do on what alignment settings I should do. I went too aggressive on my WRX when I had the BC coilovers. I had too much wear from the toe out. I went with the suggestion of Innovative Garage. It was not an issue with their work or the alignment. I found that the tire wear was too much for my commute. It caused my tires to wear sooner than I wanted. I found that the camber was not necessarily the issue. The issue was the toe out (I ran 1/16" I believe). It helps in turn in but when normal driving, it scrubs the tires on the inside tread. So, for the EK I'm planning to be more in the 0 toe out. More to come on what alignment I should go with. I believe I'll need to get adjustable upper control arms to be able to adjust camber front and rear. If I stick to about a 2" drop I may not need to get camber adjustability. Like I said, more to come there.

EK hatch = the Daily Racecar

Blogging 2 nights in a row? Are you feeling alright?  ;)

Might as well keep going while I'm motivated to write.

So, what is it like to drive a 90's commuter car? LOL It's slow! I've never owned super fast or powerful cars. But, going from 230hp in 3300lbs (330ci bimmer) to a 106hp in 2300lbs ('99 EK hatchback) is a big change. The bimmer was also lowered and BMW also has the "Ultimate Driving Machine" going for it. Did you see the weight difference? 1000 lbs!!! This is one of the big factors in my decision to get back into a Honda.  Add lightness! Weight kills driving feel. Also #slowcarfast! It's more enjoyable to drive a car closer to its maximum effort than to hold back on a faster car.
I'm having so much fun driving this Civic around town. It takes more thought and planning to pass people on the freeway. It's fun to take corners. The light nimbleness is just fun!
The other detail is the Honda transmission and its shifter feel. My bimmer had a $300 nice quality shifter. This stock 20 year old SUPER light feel shifter is soooooo much fun!!! I can't really explain it. It's so light weight. You can flick it around. It's like this musical instrument that you can precisely and carefully maneuver around from gear to gear. The engine is so quick to rev that you can rev match so easily and quickly with the flick of the wrist. It puts a smile on my face.

The post needed a picture up towards the top. Here is the range of colors that Konig has for the Hypergram! I've already done Matte Grey on my bimmer. Maybe its on to Race Bronze next for my "daily racecar"?

The other thing I realized as I was thinking about what car to get next and as I test drove the Civic and then got back in the bimmer and then began driving the Civic is I'm not the right type of driver or personality to own a Mustang or any of the more powerful cars. My bro is a 'Stang guy. He loves getting aggressive in canyons and letting the tail hang out. He is less cautious you could say LOL. That kind of driving and mentality is rewarded by cars like Mustangs, rwd, torquey, higher power, heavier chassis, bigger and wider chassis. I just plain don't have the guts to hang the tail out. I'm a scaredy cat! I seriously owned a rwd car with over 200hp for 3 years and never got it sideways! I never did a burnout! Heresy, I know! I did like less than 10 drag launches in those 3 years. The traction control was annoying. But you can turn it off and I hardly ever turned it off.
I'm more of a "grip" driver. I like to stay in the lines. I like the details, I like to be precise. I feel like light FF (front engine, front wheel drive) cars fit that personality. I also like the "David and Goliath" ethos, the "Giant killer"(If you're wondering what Giants any Hondas have killed, just go review how the Hondas have done in Global Time Attack events in Australia!). I like to do more with less. I like efficiency. Light cars like Civics are known as "momentum" cars. You can't rely on your right foot to make up for mistakes. You have to nail the apex to carry your speed through to the next turn. I like the planning and thinking behind getting it right.
The first thing to address with the Civic then is not the engine. I could spend $1000 on the D16 single cam 4 pot and it would maybe make 140-150hp. It's simply not worth investing in. A turbo kit on the stock block would probably get it up to 175hp or so for like $3000 or so. Honestly not a horrible option, but now I've just added weight (turbo, intercooler, piping) and its all on the nose of the car. For the same cost, I could swap in a B series engine and get the same power level and have 1000 more rpm to play with.
No, the engine is not where I'll be focusing. The suspension and wheels and tires are "Stage 1".
Let's start with wheels. I'll definitely be going with 15". These are the most plentiful and cost effective. I personally prefer the look of 15" with 205/50/15 tires over 16" with 205/40/16. This second 16" option is exactly what I had on my first Civic (aka Jackie Chan). It looks good, don't get me wrong. Over time its not the look I like.

"Jackie Chan" was my first Japanese car, first Civic. It's a '95 EX Coupe. These were 16x7 +40mm Nippon wheels I bought off of eBay for like $400. The tires were 205/40/16 Sumitomo HTR's I believe. I bought this car in 2001. This picture was 2003 in Glendora, Calif. The suspension was Eibach Sportlines with KYB AGX adjustable shocks. This was a really good setup.  I loved this car. Hhhhhh....

I'm definitely a fan of the "JDM style" of build for Hondas. I'm also a huge track and autox fan. I like the "meaty tire" look. It looks purposeful and mean! It also makes the most practical sense for drivability and makes the most functional sense in that its the best way to build a car to be driven hard and for cornering. I can appreciate the "stance" look just like I dig super low hot rods and customs and even lowriders. I can appreciate the look and work that is involved. But, my personal style (and budget) is the functional, meaty stance.
So, first things first, I need to get some wheels. The black 14x5 steelies with plastic 90's hubcaps are not doing it for me. They're ugly obviously and they are hard, balloony all-season tires and they have no feel or grip. 185/65/14 tires have a tall sidewall.

Ugly 14" steelies with hubcaps!

Originally when I began my search, I really wanted to do 15x8 or even 15x8.5. For tires I really wanted to do 225/50 or 225/45 for that extra meaty look and Kanjo style with white lettering. Like this...

Kanjo style EK Civic with "Advan Yokohama" tire lettering

So, both my Civics had knockoff wheels. Nippon F5 are Desmond Regamaster copies. Those were on my '95 EG coupe. Then I had Rota Grids which are Volk TE37 copies on my '98 EK sedan.

My '98 EK Sedan with 16x7 Rota Grids with 215/40/16 tires on stock suspension.  Dig the pinstripe? Nope, me neither!! Don't ever buy from a ghetto used car dealer like First Class Cars. :(

After owning some knockoff Chinese wheels, (my WRX also had Rota Grids) I wanted to try and get some quality wheels. I bought Konig Hypergrams for my bimmer after watching the Speed Academy Civic track build vlog series. The Speed Academy guys explained that the Konigs are light, strong and affordable. That's my perfect combination. Sure, I'd love some rare Japanese wheels. I'd love some real Volks TE37s or Enkei RPF1s, but I simply can't afford those. In my search for Civic wheels, I started with Konigs again. I also really like the 949 Racing 6UL wheels. After looking around, they seem to be backordered everywhere I searched. They're also more expensive than Konigs. Not by a ton but they're more. As I said, I was first wanting to go aggressive. I wanted 15x8 or 15x8.5. But again, I pulled up the Speed Academy vlog series on the black EK coupe and saw that they had a blast on track and a nice meaty tire look with the Konig Hypergram in 15x7.5 +35mm and some sticky 205/50/15's (looks like they did go to a 225/45/15 on front later). THe 15x8/8.5 options from Konig have +25mm offset. That's a little aggressive. Not a ton. You can roll fenders. There are wide fender options. But, like the Speed Academy hosers (they're from Canada eh, take off eh hosehead) they wanted a bolt on wheel. Check it out. Looks great!!

Here's a screenshot from the Speed Academy YouTube vid when they installed the Konig Hypergrams.

 Here is the same wheel on an EG, the Konig Hypergram in Bronze. Love!

Ebay has been my source for wheels all these years. Here is the 15x7.5 +35mm Konig Hypergram in Matte Grey.

...and here is the same wheel in Race Bronze. 

I've purchased 4 sets of wheels/tires from eBay Speed Shop since 2003. I've had great success and great prices! It will be no different here. Discount Tire eBay store sells these Konig Hypergrams for $468 with free shipping. Steal of a deal!!
Now its just deciding if I want Matte Grey or Race Bronze. Hmm... decisions!
For tire, I see 2 paths I can take. I can take the approach I've always taken. Go cheap! For example, on my bimmer I bought Accelera PHI-R tires off eBay. I found 205/50/15 Accelera PHI-R tires for $243 for a set. So cheap!
For this setup (Konig Hypergram + Accelera PHI-R in 15") it will cost $711 plus $60 to mount and balance at Burt Bros. The same setup in 18" for my bimmer was $850 + $400 +$60 = $1310. About double!
The 2nd path would be to pay a little more and get a sticky 200 treadwear tire in 205/50/15. Like the EG picture above running BFG Rivals. There is the Nitto NT01/NT05s, the Federal RSR, the Toyo R888, and so forth. I found the Federal RSR for $350 for a set. Awesome deal! I might have to try that. They won't last as long as other options. The Dunlop Direzza is kind of a middle ground option at 280 treadwear and decent price. That might be my best option actually.

A few inspirational pictures to finish the post...

One of the few EK Hatches I could find with Hypergrams. Here it is in bronze. Very clean EK right here. 

This red EK Hatch is one I found on Instagram Speed Shop owned by "@jdmek7669". This looks like it runs 16" Konig Hypergrams. Those tires are pretty low profile. I have a hard time finding wheel/tire specs online. Nobody posts their setups openly. It's annoying.

Konig Dekagram, my second choice.

The Konig Dekagram was right up there. But, at the same size, this wheel is $100. Not sure why. Great looking wheel. I think a black Dekagram would look great on my red Hatch. Hmm.... should I reconsider?
That's it for tonight. Dream of 15" wheels and 200 tread track tires on your daily! I know I will!