A. G. Pym
Well-Known Member
- 71
- 45
I haven't seen much information on the forums about these, other than the typical "are these any good?" threads, so I thought I'd post a short firsthand review of my impressions so far.
Why I decided to replace my factory shocks:
My car has 54k miles on it, so I decided to replace springs and shocks. I didn't want to have to do shocks in a year because the factory units decided to let go after I did the springs, and I was itching for some lowering springs.
After a rather convincing article I read comparing these to Koni Yellows, Koni STR.Ts, and HFPs, I decided to buy them.
Link to the article: http://bestsuspension.com/06CivicTruhartShocks.htm
Why do you want these shocks?
Because they are a direct factory replacement, require no cutting like the Koni yellows, and to my knowledge are the only non-oem replacement option that comes in a FULL set. That being said, the biggest selling point is the length of these. The fronts are 3/4" shorter and the rears 1/8" shorter than the factory shocks. The spring perch on the fronts are the same height, so these will not lower your car any additional amount. The reason the shorter length is beneficial is because this gives you a full length of compression available with lowering springs. Lowering springs on factory shocks, as many people know, cause premature wear of the shocks due to over compression. The TruHarts being shorter allow you to have the full range of compression as you would with factory shocks. The TruHarts are additionally slightly stiffer in regards to compression and rebound. Please feel free to check out the linked article for actual data.
So up to this point:
- slight bump in compression and rebound over stock
- shorter overall length for full travel with lowering springs
- did I mention lifetime warranty?
- $220ish for a full set of 4 that requires no fabrication
They came in about $220 for the set of four. I didn't take any closeup pictures, but they appeared fairly well made. The welds looked very strong and were very smooth. There was some minor welding splatter on one of the shocks, but nothing anyone would ever notice or even care about, and definitely not something that would have any effect whatsoever on the function. The piston shafts were much smoother than I was expecting, with no gouging or visible machining marks, which is excellent! They were actually beautiful, and the glossy metallic silver they are painted was a near perfect match to the alabaster silver metallic of my car, not that you'd ever even see that with these tucked away underneath your car.
I paired them up with H&R Sport Springs on my 2012 Si sedan to replace my factory suspension with about 54k miles on it, so that was my baseline for comparison. Install was straightforward, other than a seized nut on one of my front endlinks, which caused the project to stretch over the weekend rather than just one day.
My verdict:
These are excellent. The increased dampening rate is noticeable over the factory setup. There is significantly less of the mushy slow bouncing effect over a bump that the factory suspension had. I'd been paying close attention to the dampening characteristics of my car over the past few months while I planned this, so that I would be able to better describe the differences, if any, these shocks made. The factory suspension, in my opinion, had that bouncy feel that a lot of factory suspensions have, and that is drastically reduced with the TruHarts. It's nothing at all like being in a car equipped with coilovers, but it is a real and noticeable improvement over the factory setup, without a doubt. It absorbs impacts nicely, and I live in an area with poorly maintained roads. Paired up with the H&Rs, the overall feel of the car has gone from a factory civic feel to that of a car with a suspension that is sporty and refined without giving you that jaw slamming feeling you get from coilovers. I think it's perfect for what I was wanting: lowered, daily driver friendly, but sportier than what the feel of the factory suspension provides. I absolutely love it, and it's been on for almost a week without any noises or any other indications of any issues. I highly recommend these shocks, not only due to their benefits for lowering springs, but also for the increased driver feel over factory. I honestly couldn't be more pleased with these!
The only picture I have so far is of my dirty car with winter tires on, but the shocks have no effect on ride height, so this is essentially just a picture of my car. This was taken two days after I installed the TruHarts and H&R springs, so it might yet settle some. I am still on my winter tires, which are 205/50r17, which is why it looks a little lower than most other representations of the H&Rs you see on here.
If you have any questions, comments, or are interested in my factory stuff, please let me know!
Why I decided to replace my factory shocks:
My car has 54k miles on it, so I decided to replace springs and shocks. I didn't want to have to do shocks in a year because the factory units decided to let go after I did the springs, and I was itching for some lowering springs.
After a rather convincing article I read comparing these to Koni Yellows, Koni STR.Ts, and HFPs, I decided to buy them.
Link to the article: http://bestsuspension.com/06CivicTruhartShocks.htm
Why do you want these shocks?
Because they are a direct factory replacement, require no cutting like the Koni yellows, and to my knowledge are the only non-oem replacement option that comes in a FULL set. That being said, the biggest selling point is the length of these. The fronts are 3/4" shorter and the rears 1/8" shorter than the factory shocks. The spring perch on the fronts are the same height, so these will not lower your car any additional amount. The reason the shorter length is beneficial is because this gives you a full length of compression available with lowering springs. Lowering springs on factory shocks, as many people know, cause premature wear of the shocks due to over compression. The TruHarts being shorter allow you to have the full range of compression as you would with factory shocks. The TruHarts are additionally slightly stiffer in regards to compression and rebound. Please feel free to check out the linked article for actual data.
So up to this point:
- slight bump in compression and rebound over stock
- shorter overall length for full travel with lowering springs
- did I mention lifetime warranty?
- $220ish for a full set of 4 that requires no fabrication
They came in about $220 for the set of four. I didn't take any closeup pictures, but they appeared fairly well made. The welds looked very strong and were very smooth. There was some minor welding splatter on one of the shocks, but nothing anyone would ever notice or even care about, and definitely not something that would have any effect whatsoever on the function. The piston shafts were much smoother than I was expecting, with no gouging or visible machining marks, which is excellent! They were actually beautiful, and the glossy metallic silver they are painted was a near perfect match to the alabaster silver metallic of my car, not that you'd ever even see that with these tucked away underneath your car.
I paired them up with H&R Sport Springs on my 2012 Si sedan to replace my factory suspension with about 54k miles on it, so that was my baseline for comparison. Install was straightforward, other than a seized nut on one of my front endlinks, which caused the project to stretch over the weekend rather than just one day.
My verdict:
These are excellent. The increased dampening rate is noticeable over the factory setup. There is significantly less of the mushy slow bouncing effect over a bump that the factory suspension had. I'd been paying close attention to the dampening characteristics of my car over the past few months while I planned this, so that I would be able to better describe the differences, if any, these shocks made. The factory suspension, in my opinion, had that bouncy feel that a lot of factory suspensions have, and that is drastically reduced with the TruHarts. It's nothing at all like being in a car equipped with coilovers, but it is a real and noticeable improvement over the factory setup, without a doubt. It absorbs impacts nicely, and I live in an area with poorly maintained roads. Paired up with the H&Rs, the overall feel of the car has gone from a factory civic feel to that of a car with a suspension that is sporty and refined without giving you that jaw slamming feeling you get from coilovers. I think it's perfect for what I was wanting: lowered, daily driver friendly, but sportier than what the feel of the factory suspension provides. I absolutely love it, and it's been on for almost a week without any noises or any other indications of any issues. I highly recommend these shocks, not only due to their benefits for lowering springs, but also for the increased driver feel over factory. I honestly couldn't be more pleased with these!
The only picture I have so far is of my dirty car with winter tires on, but the shocks have no effect on ride height, so this is essentially just a picture of my car. This was taken two days after I installed the TruHarts and H&R springs, so it might yet settle some. I am still on my winter tires, which are 205/50r17, which is why it looks a little lower than most other representations of the H&Rs you see on here.
If you have any questions, comments, or are interested in my factory stuff, please let me know!
