1997 Honda Civic EX Shocks - Time for replacement?

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DJ NoMore - 27 Feb 2008 22:05 GMT

Greetings all,

While taking my (actually my late wife's) 1997 Honda Civic EX coupe to
the gym last night, I noticed that it wasn't riding as good as it used
to. Besides the factor of crappy Louisiana Roads, I am starting to
think that it may be time to replace the shocks based on age alone, even
though the car only has approximately 74k on the odometer.

I just wanted to get the general consensus as to if age, 11 to 12 years,
warrants replacement of the shocks?

One more question, are those higher priced setups, such as Eibach,
Bilstein, and Koni worth the additional $$?

Thanks,

Chris

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jim beam - 28 Feb 2008 03:48 GMT

> Greetings all,
>
> While taking my (actually my late wife's)

irrelevant

> 1997 Honda Civic EX coupe to
> the gym

irrelevant

> last night, I noticed that it wasn't riding as good as it used
> to.

sudden onset of a problem is unlikely and almost certainly accompanied
by either damage or hydraulic oil leakage.

> Besides the factor of crappy Louisiana Roads, I am starting to
> think that it may be time to replace the shocks based on age alone, even
> though the car only has approximately 74k on the odometer.
>
> I just wanted to get the general consensus as to if age, 11 to 12 years,
> warrants replacement of the shocks?

gas pressure does leak from shocks over time, but most people leave
stock honda shocks longer than that.

> One more question, are those higher priced setups, such as Eibach,
> Bilstein, and Koni worth the additional $$?

do you want to race? are you willing to sacrifice comfort? most models
offered by the above give a much firmer ride.

if you're not prepared to replace with oem, go with kyb gr2's. they're
significantly cheaper than oem and the same ride or better. good
quality too.

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DJ NoMore - 28 Feb 2008 15:56 GMT

>> One more question, are those higher priced setups, such as Eibach,
>> Bilstein, and Koni worth the additional $$?
>
> do you want to race? are you willing to sacrifice comfort? most models
> offered by the above give a much firmer ride.

There is NO WAY I am going to race a 1.6 liter Civic!

> if you're not prepared to replace with oem, go with kyb gr2's. they're
> significantly cheaper than oem and the same ride or better. good
> quality too.

I went on a 60 mile round trip adventure last night, and the
ride/handling didn't seem as bad as I first thought it to be. I think
this problem exists between the driver's seat and the steering wheel.

Thanks for suggesting the KYB shocks!

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