- Tue Mar 31, 2009 8:04 pm
#106925
The deal with "shocks" and "struts" is purely semantic. Anyone here (including myself) could give you a quick definition of each but it would most likely be wrong. In other words, even people that know what they're talking about don't agree. But in short, it has to do with the type of suspension you're describing. Civics from 88-00 are double wishbone. 01+ Civics, RSX's, and virtually every other non-truck, non-exotic on the road is Mcpherson strut. The part that you're referring to plays a slightly different role in each of those types of suspensions, so even though the part looks exactly the same, it has a different name. (Notice that I'm dodging using the word "strut" or "shock" because I'll most likely get them mixed up).
One thing everyone can agree on is that the correct term is "damper". Don't worry too much about saying "strut" or "shock". Everyone knows what you mean, and only the anal-retentive and highly arrogant people are going to try to give you shit for it.
There is no inherent difference between the wheel rates or quality of a strut/spring combo and a coilover kit. For example, you could get yourself some Eibach lowering springs and some Koni struts, or you could get Ground Control coilovers with Koni struts. Ground Control uses Eibach springs. Eibach and Koni both offer custom rates. So the brand, quality, and rates would be exactly the same. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS THAT "COILOVERS" HAVE AN ADJUSTABLE PERCH ALLOWING YOU TO CHANGE THE RIDE HEIGHT.
There are cheap imitation lowering springs, and there are high end lowering springs. There are cheap imitation coilovers, and there are high end coilovers. In either case, the cheap stuff is garbage you should have never wasted money on. The high end stuff is overkill that you should have never wasted money on (unless it's a dedicated race vehicle that never sees the street).
And if you want to get technical, the stock suspension is a coil over suspension. "Coil over" simply means that the strut is inside the spring. But when we're talking about aftermarket suspension, we say "coil over" but what we mean is that the ride height is adjustable. How is that for anal-retentive and arrogant?
