Increase ground clearance of Civic & improve mileage

vivek_sharma20 · 13th December 2007, 17:39

Hi,

i am buying a civic and the ground clearance is quite bad. Can you help with how can i improve the ground clearance without impacting the performance of the car.
Also what kind of filters / other components can be fitted which can improve the mileage.

autopsyche · 13th December 2007, 18:00

You could install 1" aluminum spacers on the shock absorber mountings to increase ground clearance. Although it will reduce your fast cornering capability, but your daily driving will remain relatively unaffected.

The only genuine way of increasing fuel efficiency would be through your driving style!

viper · 13th December 2007, 19:00

Hi,

If budget is not a constraint I would suggest you install Coil over suspension setup which is height adjustable and you get 36 levels of damping as well. Your ride will greatly improve and you can set it up as per the road conditions.

Viper

hondadude · 13th December 2007, 19:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by autopsyche

You could install 1" aluminum spacers on the shock absorber mountings to increase ground clearance. Although it will reduce your fast cornering capability, but your daily driving will remain relatively unaffected.

Would this have any impact on warranty ?

muralisk · 13th December 2007, 19:45

I am not sure if any of the modifications are good for the car's aero dynamics and am sure that these modifications would impact the warranty i.e., in case of damage, Honda will have the right to refuse to fix under warranty. As I see, the only way to overcome this problem is to drive carefully and hope that the speed breakers are designed more scientifically and as per the specified specifications.

rangaraj · 13th December 2007, 23:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by hondadude

Would this have any impact on warranty ?

All they need is a small excuse to say it is out of warranty..

CrAzY dRiVeR · 14th December 2007, 00:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by vivek_sharma20

i am buying a civic and the ground clearance is quite bad. Can you help with how can i improve the ground clearance without impacting the performance of the car.
Also what kind of filters / other components can be fitted which can improve the mileage.

better ground clearance?
Better mileage?
Better performance?

Time to consider the Optra Magnum instead!

sushrutha · 14th December 2007, 10:58

Yep you can add sluminium spacers for increasing the height to certain extent. But sad part is, suspesion sound will become more. Had done the same for my Zen, but reverted back to original setup only coz of the sound.

csentil · 14th December 2007, 14:29

Yeah.. avoid certain areas in Bangalore and you'll be fine. Horrible speedbreakers on the JP Nagar Ring road. All other speedbreakers are fine. A couple on the Bellary Road towards Yelahanka are also bad. If you are fully loaded you will scrape them. Trying going diagonal.

I suggest you do not change anything on the suspension. You will void the warranty and could spoil the car if not done properly.

Higher profile tyres might help but would give odo error and lesser mileage.

scooby05 · 14th December 2007, 14:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by viper

Hi,

If budget is not a constraint I would suggest you install Coil over suspension setup which is height adjustable and you get 36 levels of damping as well. Your ride will greatly improve and you can set it up as per the road conditions.

Viper

How much would this setup cost? Jiggy. and can this be done on most cars?

Ricky_63 · 14th December 2007, 17:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by sushrutha

Yep you can add sluminium spacers for increasing the height to certain extent. But sad part is, suspesion sound will become more. Had done the same for my Zen, but reverted back to original setup only coz of the sound.

I beg to differ - I had installed spacers on my Zen's shockers in 1998 it did a good job, stiffened the suspension a bit & no problems of tyre scrapping (wider tyres on alloys). Maybe your spacers were not installed properly.

Cheers

hellspawn · 14th December 2007, 17:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ricky_63

I beg to differ - I had installed spacers on my Zen's shockers in 1998 it did a good job, stiffened the suspension a bit & no problems of tyre scrapping (wider tyres on alloys). Maybe your spacers were not installed properly.

Cheers

ditto...i had installed spacers 2" hard pu spacers on my zen(the rear),as the tires used to scrape.after that there were no issues.you cant feel the difference in daily driving.as far as noise from the shockers is concerned..i had a free flow setup.

Cant the civics ground clearance be increased by opting for bigger tires and rims where the overall diameter increases.this would help increase the GC,right?

viper · 14th December 2007, 17:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by scooby05

How much would this setup cost? Jiggy. and can this be done on most cars?

Hi Scooby,

I think this can be done on almost all cars. Costs will vary but should be in the general range of 45k upwards(for a set of 4 ) depending on the car, make of coilover, and the type that is height only or height & damping adjustable.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ricky_63

I beg to differ - I had installed spacers on my Zen's shockers in 1998 it did a good job, stiffened the suspension a bit & no problems of tyre scrapping (wider tyres on alloys). Maybe your spacers were not installed properly.

Cheers

Hi,

I agree with you installing spacers is no big deal whether it is Aluminium, metal
or PU or rubber and definitely does not make any sound unless it is badly made and installed.

Viper

vikram18 · 15th December 2007, 02:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by viper

Hi,

If budget is not a constraint I would suggest you install Coil over suspension setup which is height adjustable and you get 36 levels of damping as well. Your ride will greatly improve and you can set it up as per the road conditions.

Viper

Should / can you install Eibach lowering springs as well along with the coilover or is that unnecessary?

hellspawn · 15th December 2007, 03:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by vikram18

Should / can you install Eibach lowering springs as well along with the coilover or is that unnecessary?

lowering springs on a civic....

13th December 2007, 17:39	#1
vivek_sharma20 Newbie Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: bangalore Posts: 8 Thanked: Once	Increase ground clearance of Civic & improve mileage Hi, i am buying a civic and the ground clearance is quite bad. Can you help with how can i improve the ground clearance without impacting the performance of the car. Also what kind of filters / other components can be fitted which can improve the mileage.
	() Thanks

13th December 2007, 18:00	#2
autopsyche Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: New Delhi, Indi Posts: 1,511 Thanked: 36 Times View My Garage	You could install 1" aluminum spacers on the shock absorber mountings to increase ground clearance. Although it will reduce your fast cornering capability, but your daily driving will remain relatively unaffected. The only genuine way of increasing fuel efficiency would be through your driving style!
	() Thanks

13th December 2007, 19:00	#3
viper BANNED Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Mumbai Posts: 1,766 Thanked: 20 Times	Hi, If budget is not a constraint I would suggest you install Coil over suspension setup which is height adjustable and you get 36 levels of damping as well. Your ride will greatly improve and you can set it up as per the road conditions. Viper
	() Thanks

13th December 2007, 19:45	#5
muralisk BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Hyderabad, Bangalore Posts: 711 Thanked: 13 Times View My Garage	I am not sure if any of the modifications are good for the car's aero dynamics and am sure that these modifications would impact the warranty i.e., in case of damage, Honda will have the right to refuse to fix under warranty. As I see, the only way to overcome this problem is to drive carefully and hope that the speed breakers are designed more scientifically and as per the specified specifications.
	() Thanks

14th December 2007, 10:58	#8
sushrutha Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Chikmagalur/Ban Posts: 1,701 Thanked: 334 Times View My Garage	Yep you can add sluminium spacers for increasing the height to certain extent. But sad part is, suspesion sound will become more. Had done the same for my Zen, but reverted back to original setup only coz of the sound.
	() Thanks

14th December 2007, 14:29	#9
csentil Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,349 Thanked: 39 Times View My Garage	Yeah.. avoid certain areas in Bangalore and you'll be fine. Horrible speedbreakers on the JP Nagar Ring road. All other speedbreakers are fine. A couple on the Bellary Road towards Yelahanka are also bad. If you are fully loaded you will scrape them. Trying going diagonal. I suggest you do not change anything on the suspension. You will void the warranty and could spoil the car if not done properly. Higher profile tyres might help but would give odo error and lesser mileage.
	() Thanks