Progress Suspension for the Civic SI

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The Progress Group gets our MotoIQ Certified Legit stamp of approval and here's why.  Their product is manufactured in-house in the good old U S of A for quicker development time for the final product.  This isn't to say that Progress rushed the suspension for the 8th generation Civic, quite the contrary.  They could have been first, but knowing that you only get one opportunity to launch a product successfully they kept going back and modifying the suspension to make it compliant enough for the street.  This is a high performance street application so hardcore race only track junkies should look elsewhere.  But the other 95% of us who enjoy an occasional hot lapping track day or auto-x mixed in with a majority of daily driving duties, this suspension will fit the bill perfectly.  With high-performance street driving in mind, the second priority for Progress was isolating the noise and finding the comfort balance with proper shock tuning and spring rates.    In speaking with Jeff Cheechov at Progress he said they were really after putting together a balanced system with high quality components that was comfortable to live with every day, but serious enough for enthusiasts – all while keeping the price point reasonable.

In terms of specifics, the front spring rates are 275lbs and 400lbs in the rear.  The front dampers are twin-tube and gas-charged and made out of SAE 102 DOM alloy steel tubing, CNC machined and fabricated with a plating using an electrolysis nickel process for corrosion resistance.  The front strut end caps are 6061-T6 CNC.  The coil-overs are isolated from the chassis using molded components and the urethane pad on the rear spring perch ensures a quiet ride.  With quiet and comfort in mind Progress uses two alignment cams for the front camber adjustment instead of camber plates.  In the 8th generation civic the shock towers reside inside the cabin under the mile long dash so there's not much in the way of isolation from all the unwanted noises associated with camber plates.  The Progress suspension kit comes with two alignment cams for a total adjustment of 1.5 degrees of negative camber.  Those who wish for more camber adjustment should consider using two cam bolts.  When asked about the choice to omit rear camber plates Jeff commented again “(camber plates are) very noisy, wear the bearings, use too much up-travel and are a tough to fit to this chassis. They would also raise the cost of the kit excessively. We consider them to be race-specific and not ideal for street use.”

Rear camber adjustment is handled by the optional SPC rear upper links which spec up-to 3 degrees of negative camber.  Height adjustment is between 1.0″ and 2.5″ lower than stock to allow enough adjustment for an aggressive lowered look without sacrificing ride quality.  Rounding the complete suspension system supplied for the SI by Progress is their sway (anti-roll) bar at 22mm diameter which is over twice as stiff as the OEM bar.

Our puny stock rear sway bar (top) and our new 22mm Progress sway (anti-roll) bar.