Thanks for the info, do you figure most of the shock spring setups for the element are compatible with the SC? Is ride height the only thing affected?
AF NON-SC Shocks/Struts onto 2007 SC: Completed today.
For the last year or so, I've been trying to find someone who did what I eventually did; An Element SC owner who couldn't find SC suspension parts and just decided to go with non-OEM ready-to-go shocks.
I've looked through threads here on EOC and couldn't find a definitive answer, just open ended questions and a pretty informative CR-V compatibility page with inconclusive results and only theoretical ideas.
I went ahead, took a risk, and purchased a ready to install shock/spring combo from 1aAuto and installed them today. Their website says "Excluding SC models" on the description. I don't care. Once I received these, I lined them up to the OEM KYB shocks/springs and.....lo and behold, the 1Aauto setup is about 3/8" taller than the OEMs. The main difference with these and the OEM SCs is the amount of coils; the OEM has 3.5 noticeable coils whereas the aftermarket spring shows 4.5 coils.
Took me about 4 hours to complete. They weren't bad to install, but still ran into some difficulties (the tie rods on both sides were supremely stuck onto the shock body and took 30 or so hits to get it off). Lining up the two main 19mm bolts on the bottom took some heaving, but it' eventually lined up. Same with the rears.
The result: So far, it's a night and day difference in terms of ride quality. I purchased the SC with 176k miles, and it had the original shocks which were creaking and crying, making every trip to Costco sound like I'm navigating rough seas in a wooden man-of-war..... while every small bump on the road jolted my internal organs to the point where I gave up doing research and just went with this.
The SC ride height is TALL now, however, I'll give it about a week or so for it to settle, then get an alignment. I'll post up some images in a bit. I'm happy - I went from no shock absorption to absorption.
I hope this information can be useful to some SC owners out there.
PS: These are obviously cheap ($367 for the whole set without tax) and obviously China made and not as sturdy as the OEM KYB's, but I've used no name suspension before on a lot of cars in the past and never had issues with them. I guess I'll wait and see how these hold up a year or two from now.
I've looked through threads here on EOC and couldn't find a definitive answer, just open ended questions and a pretty informative CR-V compatibility page with inconclusive results and only theoretical ideas.
I went ahead, took a risk, and purchased a ready to install shock/spring combo from 1aAuto and installed them today. Their website says "Excluding SC models" on the description. I don't care. Once I received these, I lined them up to the OEM KYB shocks/springs and.....lo and behold, the 1Aauto setup is about 3/8" taller than the OEMs. The main difference with these and the OEM SCs is the amount of coils; the OEM has 3.5 noticeable coils whereas the aftermarket spring shows 4.5 coils.
Took me about 4 hours to complete. They weren't bad to install, but still ran into some difficulties (the tie rods on both sides were supremely stuck onto the shock body and took 30 or so hits to get it off). Lining up the two main 19mm bolts on the bottom took some heaving, but it' eventually lined up. Same with the rears.
The result: So far, it's a night and day difference in terms of ride quality. I purchased the SC with 176k miles, and it had the original shocks which were creaking and crying, making every trip to Costco sound like I'm navigating rough seas in a wooden man-of-war..... while every small bump on the road jolted my internal organs to the point where I gave up doing research and just went with this.
The SC ride height is TALL now, however, I'll give it about a week or so for it to settle, then get an alignment. I'll post up some images in a bit. I'm happy - I went from no shock absorption to absorption.
I hope this information can be useful to some SC owners out there.
PS: These are obviously cheap ($367 for the whole set without tax) and obviously China made and not as sturdy as the OEM KYB's, but I've used no name suspension before on a lot of cars in the past and never had issues with them. I guess I'll wait and see how these hold up a year or two from now.
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BallBearing, Thank you for the info, I"m in the same predicament now where I need to replace the struts on my 2008 SC.
I did my due diligence and called Monroe as they list a part number that most sites claim will fit (G57223 and G57222 ready mounts). I spoke to their support division and after a lengthy phone call the representative confirmed that they will not fit the SC model and advised they will update their fitment guide for those part numbers
I also contacted KYB as they are the OEM provider for Honda, They too also told me they DO NOT carry a part number for the SC and advised I contact the dealership.
So here I am, contemplating your install, I don't know that I'll be too happy with the taller stance, so here's a question for you. Don't know if you may know, but if the aftermarket setup has taller springs, do you think that replacing those springs with the factory SC springs will give me the factory height?
The only other thing I can think of that won't allow for that, is the travel on the shock its self
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated..
Thanks again for the post
I did my due diligence and called Monroe as they list a part number that most sites claim will fit (G57223 and G57222 ready mounts). I spoke to their support division and after a lengthy phone call the representative confirmed that they will not fit the SC model and advised they will update their fitment guide for those part numbers
I also contacted KYB as they are the OEM provider for Honda, They too also told me they DO NOT carry a part number for the SC and advised I contact the dealership.
So here I am, contemplating your install, I don't know that I'll be too happy with the taller stance, so here's a question for you. Don't know if you may know, but if the aftermarket setup has taller springs, do you think that replacing those springs with the factory SC springs will give me the factory height?
The only other thing I can think of that won't allow for that, is the travel on the shock its self
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated..
Thanks again for the post
I know of people doing the opposite. Putting SC struts on other elements for a lower ride hight, and the two main things I’ve learned from those posts are that:
1. The only difference between sc struts and other model struts are the ride height and spring rate, meaning that if you use stock struts on an SC you will get a smoother riding vehicle at the height of a non-SC element. Should smooth out the ride a bit and because the SC has the 18 inch wheels cornering performance should remain roughly the same.
2. If you want a new SC strut assembly you will need to go through Honda. A set of four complete struts and springs is ~$900. Buy online unless you get good discounts from your dealer ?.
Hope this helps.
1. The only difference between sc struts and other model struts are the ride height and spring rate, meaning that if you use stock struts on an SC you will get a smoother riding vehicle at the height of a non-SC element. Should smooth out the ride a bit and because the SC has the 18 inch wheels cornering performance should remain roughly the same.
2. If you want a new SC strut assembly you will need to go through Honda. A set of four complete struts and springs is ~$900. Buy online unless you get good discounts from your dealer ?.
Hope this helps.
So to your knowledge, if you have an SC you can basically order any strut spring combo that would fit any other element and bolt them in?I know of people doing the opposite. Putting SC struts on other elements for a lower ride hight, and the two main things I’ve learned from those posts are that:
1. The only difference between sc struts and other model struts are the ride height and spring rate, meaning that if you use stock struts on an SC you will get a smoother riding vehicle at the height of a non-SC element. Should smooth out the ride a bit and because the SC has the 18 inch wheels cornering performance should remain roughly the same.
2. If you want a new SC strut assembly you will need to go through Honda. A set of four complete struts and springs is ~$900. Buy online unless you get good discounts from your dealer ?.
Hope this helps.
Bingo bucko. It will raise the car a bit, but not anything monster truck status. Should be a more pleasant ride as the SC’s spring ratio is WAY beefier than it needs to be.So to your knowledge, if you have an SC you can basically order any strut spring combo that would fit any other element and bolt them in?
Okay, so I do apologize for the SUPER late reply to your question....but it does look like you received some solid information from fellow EOC members!BallBearing, Thank you for the info, I"m in the same predicament now where I need to replace the struts on my 2008 SC.
I did my due diligence and called Monroe as they list a part number that most sites claim will fit (G57223 and G57222 ready mounts). I spoke to their support division and after a lengthy phone call the representative confirmed that they will not fit the SC model and advised they will update their fitment guide for those part numbers
I also contacted KYB as they are the OEM provider for Honda, They too also told me they DO NOT carry a part number for the SC and advised I contact the dealership.
So here I am, contemplating your install, I don't know that I'll be too happy with the taller stance, so here's a question for you. Don't know if you may know, but if the aftermarket setup has taller springs, do you think that replacing those springs with the factory SC springs will give me the factory height?
The only other thing I can think of that won't allow for that, is the travel on the shock its self
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated..
Thanks again for the post
I do believe you can throw on the stock SC springs onto the new struts, but I cannot say 100% for sure. The cups on the struts on the A1 Auto strut bodies were roughly the same diameter, visually, but I did not take exact measurements to confirm. I suppose the only way you can verify this for sure is if you try it yourself.
It's been well over a year now, and I'm still very happy with my installation. I will say, I do miss the lower stance of the stock SC suspension, but I've since stopped caring about the looks as I'm a bit utilitarian and enjoy the smoother ride, overall, compared to the old dead shocks. It is still a bit bumpier and not as smooth as the stock suspension, for sure. But for the price difference, I'm still very happy.
One can use standard struts for a 2007 and beyond with SC springs. I recently did this and one does end up with nearly normal SC ride height. It doesn’t take much to disassemble the struts. Oddly the SC spring is short enough that one does not need to use a spring compressor to reassemble the standard strut with the SC spring.
The mounting of the tie rod is higher on the strut on a regular LX/EX unit than on a SC strut fyi
The mounting of the tie rod is higher on the strut on a regular LX/EX unit than on a SC strut fyi
How were you able to install the EX/LX struts on the SC? I tried and couldn't get the lower control arm low enough to get it to line up the 2 x 19mm bolts? You use a pry bar or spring compressor?
Some yahoo installed those EX/LX ready struts on my SC right before I bought it, so it bounced around like a Jeep and rocked and dove and squatted uncontrollably. Since they were 03-06 springs/struts, I just installed a set of 03-06 H&R springs on them. Problem solved - I’ve retained the SC ride height and probably improved the handling, and only had to drop $200 on it.
Great info, H and R is top shelf for suspension springs, good to know there is a practical solution for SC suspension replacement thank youSome yahoo installed those EX/LX ready struts on my SC right before I bought it, so it bounced around like a Jeep and rocked and dove and squatted uncontrollably. Since they were 03-06 springs/struts, I just installed a set of 03-06 H&R springs on them. Problem solved - I’ve retained the SC ride height and probably improved the handling, and only had to drop $200 on it.
One can use standard struts for a 2007 and beyond with SC springs. I recently did this and one does end up with nearly normal SC ride height. It doesn’t take much to disassemble the struts. Oddly the SC spring is short enough that one does not need to use a spring compressor to reassemble the standard strut with the SC spring.
The mounting of the tie rod is higher on the strut on a regular LX/EX unit than on a SC strut fyi
When you did this did you have any knocking from not having the spring compressed? I just bought my SC, new struts from Honda are on back order and the noise from my front end is driving me nuts. (I already replaced ball joints, sway bar links, bushings, and the lower control arms. Its definitely the strut now.)One can use standard struts for a 2007 and beyond with SC springs. I recently did this and one does end up with nearly normal SC ride height. It doesn’t take much to disassemble the struts. Oddly the SC spring is short enough that one does not need to use a spring compressor to reassemble the standard strut with the SC spring.
The mounting of the tie rod is higher on the strut on a regular LX/EX unit than on a SC strut fyi
Not sure how anyone was able to make non-SC shocks work with an SC spring swap. The strut rods are an inch too long and the spring is not tight enough and hence will knock over bumps. That's why you can mount the springs without a spring compressor; not good. Found this out the hard way and applies to both the front and back. This on a 2010 SC but I was able to get the correct OEM shocks from hondapartsconnection.com without issue a few months ago. Picture is of the rear shock. Non SC on left.When you did this did you have any knocking from not having the spring compressed? I just bought my SC, new struts from Honda are on back order and the noise from my front end is driving me nuts. (I already replaced ball joints, sway bar links, bushings, and the lower control arms. Its definitely the strut now.)
Thank you for the information and saving me the headache, I was about to buy 2006 EX struts and lowering springs. I was reading that the tie rod mount is higher and was concerned with premature wear and tear on the rack and pinion, as well as issues in alignment. I am impatient when it comes to noises in my cars. I went ahead and ordered the new front struts from hondapartshq.com I will wait it out to get the right ones.Not sure how anyone was able to make non-SC shocks work with an SC spring swap. The strut rods are an inch too long and the spring is not tight enough and hence will knock over bumps. That's why you can mount the springs without a spring compressor; not good. Found this out the hard way and applies to both the front and back. This on a 2010 SC but I was able to get the correct OEM shocks from hondapartsconnection.com without issue a few months ago. Picture is of the rear shock. Non SC on left.
![Honda_shock.JPG]()
I also ordered the top mounts since I was taking it apart anyways. I was reading that these go bad too and should be replaced on the front struts. Part# on a 2010 SC are 51925-S6M-014 and 51920-S6M-014.Thank you for the information and saving me the headache, I was about to buy 2006 EX struts and lowering springs. I was reading that the tie rod mount is higher and was concerned with premature wear and tear on the rack and pinion, as well as issues in alignment. I am impatient when it comes to noises in my cars. I went ahead and ordered the new front struts from hondapartshq.com I will wait it out to get the right ones.
No knocking or noises from mine. My suspension is basically an 03-06 with lowering springs, and it’s fine.
You have had no alignment issues? I know there the tie rod attaches slightly higher on the older struts.No knocking or noises from mine. My suspension is basically an 03-06 with lowering springs, and it’s fine.
Alignment performed immediately after, no reported issues From the techs.
I finally managed to source OEM SC struts, after replacing the drivers side I moved on only to find that the spring for the passenger side didn't fit. I missed a major issue before starting all of this. Apparently my SC was already riding on stock 2006 EX struts. So now I've got a spare set of SC struts laying around in the garage as I don't have the correct springs. I stuck some KYB quick struts in it and my knocking is gone.
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