HKS Hipermax S Coilovers for 16-21 Civic Hatch/Coupe/Sedan

HKS Hipermax S Coilovers for 16-21 Honda Civic Hatchback, Coupe, and Sedan

The 10th-gen Civic's factory shocks are tuned for one setting: comfortable enough for everyone, firm enough to feel modern. That works fine until you lower the car or push it harder. Fixed-rate springs and dampers can't be adjusted, so you can't firm things up for a canyon road or soften them for a rough commute. Lowering springs on factory shocks shorten the stroke, and the shocks start to run out of travel. Once you're past stock, you need ride height and damping you can actually adjust.

The Hipermax S is HKS's street coilover. It replaced their long-running Max IV GT, and it's built around ride quality first. You get adjustable ride height, 30 levels of damping, and a valve design meant to keep small bumps from crashing through, even with stiffer springs. On the road, the car sits lower, leans less, and settles faster, without the harsh ride a lot of cheap coilovers have. It's not a track-only setup. It's meant for a car that sees daily miles and the occasional spirited drive. That's the right fit for most Civics.

Which Version Do You Need?

• Hatchback (FK7): built for the hatch's rear suspension and weight.
• Coupe and Sedan: different spring rates, matched to the coupe and sedan's weight and suspension geometry.
• Coupe and Sedan with Canceller Kit: for cars that came with factory adaptive dampers. The canceller tells the car's computer the factory dampers are still in place, so you won't get warning lights or error codes.

Monotube, Inverted Front

These are single-tube (monotube) dampers. There's one larger tube with a floating piston separating the oil from a pressurized gas charge. That makes room for a bigger damping piston than a twin-tube shock, and the oil sheds heat better. So the damping stays consistent on long, hard drives instead of fading as the shock heats up. The front dampers are inverted. The shock body is flipped upside down, putting the larger tube at the bottom where the side loads hit hardest. On a strut front end like the Civic's, that adds stiffness and keeps the strut from flexing in hard corners.

Damping That Doesn't Punish You

HKS's Dual Preload Valve System (PVS) is how this coilover stays comfortable. At very low shaft speeds, the kind you get from road texture, seams, and small bumps, the valve lets oil bypass the main damping circuit, so those small hits come through soft. Bigger movements, like body roll, dive, and squat, get the full damping. A redesigned needle jet widens the adjustment range, so the 30 settings feel distinct from each other instead of mostly the same. Start in the middle and go one direction at a time.

Mounts, Height, and Bump Stops

The front upper mounts are pillow ball mounts. That means a spherical bearing instead of a rubber bushing, so the strut top can't wander around and the steering feels more direct. You'll hear and feel a bit more of the road through them. The rear has an adjustable shock body length, so you can set ride height without compressing the springs. That keeps the full shock stroke available no matter how low you go. HKS also updated the bump stops. Those are the rubber stops that cushion the suspension when it gets close to full compression. The new ones take the harsh hit out of bottoming the suspension on a big dip or a hard landing.

Install Notes

Set the ride height on the bench to roughly where you want it before the coilovers go on the car. It saves a lot of time. Torque every fastener with the car on its wheels, then drive a few miles and recheck the height once things settle. Don't go so low that the shock bottoms out or the tires rub. Lower isn't automatically better. Get an alignment after the install. Lowering changes camber and toe, and skipping the alignment costs you tires. HKS backs these with a three-year warranty.

Fitment

• 2016-2021 Honda Civic Hatchback (FK7) - hatchback version
• 2016-2021 Honda Civic Coupe and Sedan - coupe and sedan version
• 2016-2021 Honda Civic Coupe and Sedan with factory adaptive dampers - coupe and sedan version with canceller kit
• Does not fit the Civic Type R (FK8)