HWL adjustables or Monroe Reflex

[prodigy]

Hi,

Need some feedback on getting a new set of suspension.

I know i shouldn't be comparing but i need opinions on both absorbers from existing users. I'm more of a comfort oriented person and my current stock absorbers are too soft and my car quite easily scrapes against the road when going thru a bumpy road. I talked to HWL salesman and apparently he can get a softer spring to match with the HWL adjustables as in stock form, HWL are actually very hard.

On the other hand, i spoke to another mechanic on Monroe Reflex and this is a more of a aftermarket replacement for stock absorbers. This is definitely a comfort oriented suspension.

The problem is, i need something thats as comfortable as my stock and yet its got to be stiff enuff so that it doesn't scrape against the road during bumpy ride and also going over bump. Please advise.

BTW, the HWL set is 2 times more expensive that the Monroe set.

 

[partyJOE]

me now a HWL user,formally using MONROE... i'l go for MONROE... comfort n long lasting.. nuthg can cum close 2it in terms of comfort...
HWL no matter how many times u tuned them stil hard...
no offence,just my personal experince

 

[wildboar]

u cant get comfort (like stock) and yet perform like aftermarket coilovers..theres always a compromise..i dun quite understand how ur car actually scrapes the road on bumpy areas...unless ur car is ultra lowered or u have very low skirtings..or do u mean ur tires are scraping ur fenders??

ur car (or tires) are scraping the road (or fenders) because the suspension is soft..in order to prevent scraping, ur suspension needs to be stiffer, which will affect ur comfort..

 

[prodigy]

Hi, thanks for the immediate feedback.

Here's the problem. Some if not most of our roads are very uneven and especially in the highway when you drive fast. Everytime i go over the bumpy patch, the whole car will bounce and i suspect the mud flap is the first to scrap against the ground. In fact my mud flap is already half gone. Secondly, the front bumper will also suffer some scratches.

Also, when there's 2 person sitting behind, there's some nyet...nyet sound coming from the back. Not sure if its spring or absorber but apparently the mechanic said its the sound of a bottoming absorber.

The biggest problem here is that the car is way too low. BTW, i'm driving a stock standard EJ Civic. When it goes over the bump, it sure is gonna scrap on the bodywork and also the mud flap.

All these problem leads me into wanting to buy a new set of absorber with most mechanics saying the problem lies in my original suspension which have not been changed for 120,000KM. As i mentioned, comfort is my number 1 priority but in the same time i wanna eliminate all those bumper/mudflap scraping. The way i see it, adjustables will never be as comfortable as aftermarket ones ie. monroe, tokico or kayaba.

 

[escaflowne]

if you want comfort.My reckon is that not to go for adjustable.Even you tune the adjustable to the softest setting it is still siffer.Go for monroe and a decent spring,you need to figure out some mix and match.
Like let's say when you go over the bumpy patch of the highway,your car still bounce since it is comfort setting but not as severe as a spoiled stock abs(i have that on my car b4 too ^^),the bounce and rebounce of monroe shouldn't scratch your bumper of mud flap unless you really lowered your car too much.
For adjustable,when you over the bumpy patch of the highway,what you exp is a solid bounce of the car and land in one single shot,compare to comfort setting you may have like 2-3 residual bounce.Solid feel and of course less redunctant movement you have more control,for short the reaction is solid and spontaneous.Of course,it is hell not comfortable at all.
my 2 kupang~~^_^

 

[gavan]

hmm, maybe you can go for a set of titans :D but i bet is way out of your budget too :D so the next bet should be another set of either an orginal absorbers plus springs from another honda, or just get a custom set which you could set your height and also your comfort level(eg: Gabs) :D just my opinion larr, cause you could alwiz opt. for higher suspensions instead of stiffer ones :D

 

[prodigy]

I thought so too. There should be no way a stock absorber that allows a car body to scrape thru a road in a bounce. I think i'll just go for Monroe Reflex. BTW, do you guys know where can i get good priced Monroe. My regular mechanic quoted me RM 215 per piece. Anywhere else i can find these absorbers?

 

[gavan]

i have to disagree on the thing you mentioned that stock absorbers wouldnt allow scraping, actually some models to :D like the 306, its kinda low, or maybe the one my dad got was kinda low(bought it new tho) and sometimes over certain humps, the bottom would scrape a lil, but i guess in your case, its either the springs or the absorbers are gone, either that or the previous owner cut/lowered the original springs :D cant tell tho, butthen i bet if you change your absorbers and springs, might give you a higher ride, if you got those higher ones and not sport springs or something :D

 

[prodigy]

The car is definitely not lowered. What pisses me off is that on normal roads, when the car goes over a bumpy stretch, it'll scrape. Its not so much of going over humps.

 

[gavan]

owh, lolz, maybe its just the long mudflaps, i remmeber my frens citroen and also my frens satria has excessive long mud flaps and it tend to scrape the ground on bumpy roads and also humps, so erm, try removing them and see how it goes :D

 

[SkYwAlKeR]

owh, lolz, maybe its just the long mudflaps, i remmeber my frens citroen and also my frens satria has excessive long mud flaps and it tend to scrape the ground on bumpy roads and also humps, so erm, try removing them and see how it goes :D

mudflaps are quite cheap 'indicators' that ur underbody car gonna scrape the road ma... thats the early warning sign...

try eibach springs... comfort plus not too low...

 

[wildboar]

prodigy, sounds like ur absorbers are dead...the weight of ur car is probably being beared by the springs alone...try remove ur absorbers, compress them down..i bet they will not rebound back up to original position..they will just stay compressed and will take forever to rebound back (if it ever does)...ur solution is to just get back a set of OEM abs..if ur springs are stock, then just change the abs..if ur springs are cut, u might wanna change that too..monroe's are pretty good for comfort..i used it before..

 

[prodigy]

Thanks for the feedbacks guys.

Getting some prices for Monroe Reflex. Apparently it costs about RM 230 per piece for front and back. Anyone here knows where i can buy cheaper?

 

[escaflowne]

I do heard about eibach spring is quite ok.Anyone tried before? hard,soft?

 

[wildboar]

Thanks for the feedbacks guys.

Getting some prices for Monroe Reflex. Apparently it costs about RM 230 per piece for front and back. Anyone here knows where i can buy cheaper?

wats ur ride? i think RM230/pc sounds kinda high..a complete set wud cost u almost RM1k..add in a bit more, u can get coilovers..but mine was monroe sensatrac..i think sensatrac is for sagas/iswaras & reflex for wiras..just different name for different models..but when i bought it abt 2yrs ago, it cost me abt RM500 for the full set fron & rear..but dats for iswara..mebe the price has increased since then...happy hunting..