Putting together a Koni/GC kit for my 2000 AP1 that will see extreme mountain driving. It will potentially see some track/auto-x, but primarily Deals Gap, Boone NC, Western NC, etc. Read: Mixture of rough, bumpy, hellish, uneven, unpredictable surfaces.

The car has no aero, no extended ball joints, etc. Only real mod is a Megan rear bumpsteer correction kit.
Looking for neutral to slight oversteer balance.

I plan to run 255 RS4/RT615K+ square, on four rear AP2V1 wheels, or the usual 17x9 RPF1. I haven't decided yet.
The GC kit I found on Craigslist for $125 came with 8" Eibach springs
262497 200.64.67 ~380in/lb
181814 200.64.77 ~420in./lb

I have a 32mm eBay front bar, 00 front and rear bar, AP2 front and rear bar at my disposal for fine tuning.
Planning to run the 00 front and AP2 rear, maybe step up to the eBay front bar if need be?

Which bump stops should I use? I was looking at the GC SOFT bump stops, which seems to be what comes with the kit. Trim them to what height?

My research suggests that I NEED extended rear GC top hats to have any sort of real travel, yes?
Flame suit on, are the eBay extended top hats safe to run? My gut tells me no, but it's worth asking since they're about 1/4 of the price of GC top hats

Will I run into springs going loose at full droop, considering they're 8" free length and I plan to run extended hats in the rear?

Can I / should I run extended extended front top hats? I've read of clearance issues with the hood.

Spring isolators.. Energy suspension style A?

Running 255 square, research suggests I should put the 420lb springs up front, and 380lbs in the rear?

Alignment advice? Thinking zero toe front and rear to preserve tires (rear BSK eliminates need for massive toe-in), -2.0 front camber, -2.5 rear camber ?

What are the D-shaped metal rings that came with the GC setup? I only have 3, so I hope they aren't needed.

 

Those springs can probably be run either way (front and rear) to get some reasonable balance. I would prefer the stiffer ones up front. But for 8 years, Honda only put the stiff ones in the back.

An AP2 has a neutral/slight oversteer balance. So maybe imitate that.

Idk what rate the SOFT bumpstops are. I would try and match the stock ones.

If you're using going to use extended rear hats, then you're effectively softening the rear.

The rings are provided with the kit in order to adapt the GC sleeves to the shock. I'm hoping you bought a kit with Koni yellow specific sleeves?

 

Send me your email address, I'll send you my suspension balance calculator spreadsheet. You can play around with all combos of those springs, and those swaybars, to see what it does to f vs r balance.

 

I've run the eBay extended top hats front and rear on my KWV3s for a few years now. They're pretty good quality. I bought the Civic versions as they were half the price and the exact same thing.

 

Those spring rates are too soft imo. i have a koni yellow setup with swift springs 11k/10k with the extended top hats.. it still hits the rear bump stops pretty easy with a moderate drop( 0.75"-1")