[coldtotouch]

Ok guys, so a suspension rebuild is upon me and i'm looking at doing the work myself (cause i don't want to give someone hundreds of dollars and frankly i don't know anyone i can trust at the moment).

What i'd like to do:
1. Change all bushings
2. Change my front and rear sway bars
3. Add front and rear strut bars
4. Change my shocks and springs
5. Potentially add a traction bar
6. Get more suggestions as to how i can improve my ride quality/handling (not including wheels, i have stock rims n good rubber, i will upgrade another day)

What i'd like to know:
1. What bushings should i buy... i'm all for OEM honda, this car is being built for daily driveability, with an emphasis on comfort. I'd like to get the Mugen RTA bushings cause the cost difference isn't that much more, and i have read they are 115 - 120% stiffer (can anyone confirm this?), and i'd like to change both my rear LCAs with new OEM (considering they come with freshly installed new bushings, and the cost difference is minor when you total the cost of the bushings required). Other than that what bushings do i need exactly? Part numbers would be apprecitated, but if i could be told where to look i can hunt myself!

2. After reading i found the HF sway bar is a good bar to run in the front, and a Suspension Techniques in the back. Any experience? suggestions?

3. I'm not sure what company to go with for my strut bars... anyone have experience with Tanabe? they seem cheaper, but price isn't my concern to be honest. The neuspeed looked good, I want your ideas and opinions!

4. Koni yellows w/ GC seems to be almost unanimous from what i read... Personally i'm looking for something comfortable. Progress Springs are progressive, but i don't like the 2" drop. I like the 1.2" drop with the Eibach Pro-Kit springs... thoughts?? suggestions?? I'm looking for a balance of comfort and cornering ability, without a significant drop (maybe 1.5"+/-?)... any ideas on spring rates?

5. Would it be worth it for me to add a traction bar? Suggestions? Full-race is alot of $, but if its justifiable then i have no problem spending on it... but i'd need the FR Rad too, right? Suggestions, opinions appreciated!

6. Speak your mind

thanks guys

 

[mattminerDOTcom]

I like all your ideas on the first list.

1.) not a bad idea if you are in it for comfort. the mugen bushings are no stiffer then teh current oem honda ones, so save yourself the money. and dont forget to clock them when you put them in.

2.) HF front good, or stock si. I run the neuspeed bar in teh rear. I feel it has the best design.

3.) I use nesuspeed Front and Rear Upper and Rear lower. Once again I fell they have the best design, especially in the front.

4.) I run AGX and HR Race Springs, but you cant go wrong with koni and GC....I used to have them. eibach pro kit are good, they wont lower your car much at all and arent much stiffer, but the comfor twill be there.

5.) I love having a traction bar, I run the Z10 one.

Heres what I run in my DD for reference:
KYB AGX and HR Race Springs
All ES Poly Bushings and Endlinks
SPC Rear upper control arms and Toe Links
Neuspeed Rear Sway
Si Front Sway
Neuspeed Rear Lower Tie Bar
Neuspeed Front and Rear Upper Strut Bars
Z10 Traction Bars

Planned upgrades:
Competition Engineering Helical Tie Rods
HF Front Sway
DX Steering Rack with Quaife Quick Rack

[email protected]

 

[Masta]

I have Koni's with GC's on my SE 400/lb front, 450/lb rears and it sucks on the street. The track however it is borderline too soft.

I have ES bushings, they're fine, but my RTA's need to be done and I'll go with stock Honda pieces. If I was to do it over, I'd use OEM bushings.

STB's, I have Megan racing, they're cheap and for what they do really, they're fine.

I have a 22mm rear sway bar, but I haven't installed it yet, the handling now is great for the way I drive. The biggest improvement in my car is the KAAZ LSD and ZC trans.

My suspension is so stiff, the body takes a beating. I'm looking forward to building a cage to stiffen the body at which point I believe I can maximize the suspension.

My advice is unless you are racing the car, go with a fairly soft setup, you'll be MUCH happier in the end.

I regards to the traction bar, unless you are drag racing, it's really not needed. Install new bushings in your stock crossmember, that should suffice.

 

[coldtotouch]

mattminerDOTcom:

1) I had also read somewhere that the mugen and oem honda were the same... that being the case i won't bother with the mugen ones. Heres a question about clocking the bushings. I'd like to upgrade my shocks/springs, and lower a bit. Should i change the shock/spring first, then clock the busted bushing, then change???

2) How big is the neuspeed bar? the ST is 22mm...

3) Ok now your talkin.. sounds like i'm gonna go neuspeed for this

4) I'm still lost in this department... i want comfort dammit do i have no options here? I think the pro-kit is what i'm gonna go for with springs anyway... gives me the drop i'm looking for.

5) How much did you pay for yours? Any disadvantages to having one? I'm not really into drag racing, will i take advantage of a traction bar?

Any other parts you think i should change that i'm not aware of that one would change while rebuilding their suspension??

Masta:

What do you think i should ride on for a shock/spring combo to get the best comfort... See i'm not looking to track race to be honest, this is for daily driveability, though i'd like to be able to take my car out on the track once in a while... Comfort is still priority, considering 98% of my driving in the car will be for daily driveability

Another piece i'm looking to get is fender braces as well!

 

[Masta]

f you're not tracking the car, I think Koni's are not needed. Go with some KYB AGX's and Eibach Pro-Kit springs. A mild drop progressive spring with a fairly stockish spring rate will allow the car to handle better, but still have a nice cushy ride and a good look.

I would leave the stock sway bars on the car, why add rotation for the street?

Replace all the bushings with OEM.

Get an alignment and you're good to go.

Fender braces would be a good idea, anything that stiffens the chassis with minimal weight are always a good thing. I'l be welding mine in soon.

 

[coldtotouch]

f you're not tracking the car, I think Koni's are not needed. Go with some KYB AGX's and Eibach Pro-Kit springs. A mild drop progressive spring with a fairly stockish spring rate will allow the car to handle better, but still have a nice cushy ride and a good look.

I would leave the stock sway bars on the car, why add rotation for the street?

Replace all the bushings with OEM.

Get an alignment and you're good to go.

Fender braces would be a good idea, anything that stiffens the chassis with minimal weight are always a good thing. I'l be welding mine in soon.

Its not that i'm not, more i'm not looking to make that the primary purpose of this car (i'm not gonna be living at the track)...

What are the stock spring rates? anyone know??

I like the adjustability of the Koni Yellows... how about the Illuminas *cough tom*?

Sway bars not needed? I just want my ride like i like my women... smooth n tight
:wink:

 

[downest]

I like the adjustability of the Koni Yellows... how about the Illuminas *cough tom*?[/quote]

HA! I liked my Illuminas a lot, but I did have to get two of them replaced due to manufacturing defects. Also I have recently seen two more blow on another non-CRX. I now have Koni Yellows on the new car, though they are the non-externally adjustable kind. The only thing I miss is the adjustability of the Illuminas, and if you bought new Konis you would have that too. Also remember Konis can be sent in and re-valved as you like too. I would have bought them when I got my Illuminas if they weren't so much more money. Think of it like this, very very few people complain about Tokicos, but NOBODY has a problem with Konis. Masta is right though, if you aren't evven autoXing, go with what fits your budget best, AGX and Illumina both have a lifetime warranty. Matt's car feels great with the AGXs, made me almost regret not getting those.

 

[Dren]

I think the stock Si suspension is nice for street driving. I wouldn't upgrade from that unless you want to race the car.

 

[Masta]

I wasn't saying no swaybars, I was saying leave the stockers in place.

Koni Yellows would be fine, just more expensive. I run them, and I love them.

 

[lessonsinspeed]

I run the ST rear swaybar, and would suggest it. I've had no issues with it, practically no degradation of ride quality, and is by far the biggest single difference in the balance of the car (it bests my Tein coilovers and complete poly bushings). If you have a DX, I'd leave the front sway as opposed to going to an HF bar.

As for springs, consider Tein S-Techs. Good, cheap springs, with progressive rates that are close to stock.

As for improving handling, the one thing no one has mentioned yet is cutting weight, however you see fit :wink: .

 

[coldtotouch]

but I did have to get two of them replaced due to manufacturing defects.
Also I have recently seen two more blow on another non-CRX.

Nevermind... i think i'll go with the Adjustable Koni Yellows... my perspective is buy it once, buy it right... though i'm curious, would AGXs be good for occasional autox?

I think the stock Si suspension is nice for street driving. I wouldn't upgrade from that unless you want to race the car.

I would like to race the car... i've just never done it before :shock:... though i have to admit its a great suspension off the line...

I wasn't saying no swaybars, I was saying leave the stockers in place.

Koni Yellows would be fine, just more expensive. I run them, and I love them.

Right, i got that, though i think i still want to do it for the sake of doing it.

Koni Yellows would be my choice indeed...

I run the ST rear swaybar, and would suggest it. I've had no issues with it, practically no degradation of ride quality, and is by far the biggest single difference in the balance of the car (it bests my Tein coilovers and complete poly bushings). If you have a DX, I'd leave the front sway as opposed to going to an HF bar.

As for springs, consider Tein S-Techs. Good, cheap springs, with progressive rates that are close to stock.

As for improving handling, the one thing no one has mentioned yet is cutting weight, however you see fit :wink: .

I'm looking forward to getting the ST rear sway...

I have an SI, so i'm going to downgrade to an hf if possible, or a dx potentially i guess for the front swaybar... do civic swaybars work (i'm assuming yes)? potentially from a CX?

The Tein S-Techs sound like what i'm looking for... does it drop the car at all? i'm looking for a subtle drop... just minor enough to add an aggresive touch without screwing me over potholes on our lovely toronto streets :|

 

[lessonsinspeed]

The S-Techs are about a 1.5" drop all around. It's a good, clean looking drop, and I liked it so much I set my coilovers to the exact same height.

 

[mattminerDOTcom]

i'm curious, would AGXs be good for occasional autox?

hmmmm, its quite possible

persaonally, i think stechs are way too soft. if you are trying to get as close to a factory ride as possible, thats cool. otherwise, id like something with a higher spring rate. alot of this stuff comes down to personal taste.

I upgraded from the tein superstreets to coilovers with 2-3x the spring rate and couldnt have been happier, and, as you can see, lessonsinspeed seems to be happy with teh teins.

its defintely hard to get your suspesnion right on the first shot.

[email protected]

 

[coldtotouch]

What are you spring rates currently? What different ones have you experienced? and what was your impression of them compared with stock, specifically for daily driving.

Also questions about bushings. Anyone ever interchange oem CRX for oem ITR? i heard some of the bushings are interchangable...

Also exactly what bushings do i need to buy to change?

I realize i need the Rear Trailing arms, and rear lower control arm. I'm assuming i need the front lower control arm, shifter bushing, rack end bushing, what else?????

 

[downest]

i'm curious, would AGXs be good for occasional autox?

hmmmm, its quite possible

persaonally, i think stechs are way too soft. if you are trying to get as close to a factory ride as possible, thats cool. otherwise, id like something with a higher spring rate. alot of this stuff comes down to personal taste.

I upgraded from the tein superstreets to coilovers with 2-3x the spring rate and couldnt have been happier, and, as you can see, lessonsinspeed seems to be happy with teh teins.

its defintely hard to get your suspesnion right on the first shot.

[email protected]

That was me driving :twisted:

I thought the AGX did a damn good job, Matt's car is very very well balanced, one of the best I've felt. It's hard to say if it's any one component, or a combination of all the nice little goodies he has on there. Also, don't listen to Matt or to me if you want ride quality, we both have pretty stiff cars, a lot of people complain about mine, and I'm pretty sure Matt's too, since they are really rough on the street (especially upstate NY!).

 

[mattminerDOTcom]

yeah i love it. I got to go install a tv, but ill post more later.

btw: I got home so quick lastnight, there defintely were some spirited sectiions where imglad there was no police interaction, including an encounter with a Ferrari 308 GTS.

we were tag teaming a stretch of a local highway at about 3 am...I was just following him in the next lane over, when I realized my car was kind of bogging down...I look down, I wish i had a camera. MY speedo was buried past 200km/h and I was up close to 7000rpm in 5th.

I checekd the datalog this morning (i foudn my car charger under my seat!) and indeed, the log says 6976 rpm 5th gear. No wonder she didnt want to keep going. At the next light though, the ferrari guy gave me the thumbs up. always fells good even from someone in a 14 second ferrari.

then I got home and passed out for 3 solid hours of sleep

be back later
[email protected]

 

[coldtotouch]

yeah i love it. I got to go install a tv, but ill post more later.

btw: I got home so quick lastnight, there defintely were some spirited sectiions where imglad there was no police interaction, including an encounter with a Ferrari 308 GTS.

we were tag teaming a stretch of a local highway at about 3 am...I was just following him in the next lane over, when I realized my car was kind of bogging down...I look down, I wish i had a camera. MY speedo was buried past 200km/h and I was up close to 7000rpm in 5th.

I checekd the datalog this morning (i foudn my car charger under my seat!) and indeed, the log says 6976 rpm 5th gear. No wonder she didnt want to keep going. At the next light though, the ferrari guy gave me the thumbs up. always fells good even from someone in a 14 second ferrari.

then I got home and passed out for 3 solid hours of sleep

be back later
[email protected]

Your telling me you didn't feel it at 200km/h till you looked down!?!?!?

btw i love to read stuff like that... this car truely is a poor mans porsche

 

[mattminerDOTcom]

i was pretty sleepy, and i was more concerned with hanging with the ferrari guy then looking at my gauges.

[email protected]

 

[coldtotouch]

So i need to change the rear trailing arm bushing desperatly...
but i'm just trying to figure out the most efficient way to do this. I realize i need to clock its position to replace it, but heres the question. Should i change the struts/springs (which will inturn lower the car, changing the position), and THEN clock the bushing position? To me this makes sense logically, but i really don't know differently...

to generalize, what is the best order to go about changing pieces for best efficiency (ie. not having to take apart the same area more than i need to).

 

[downest]

Your telling me you didn't feel it at 200km/h till you looked down!?!?!?

btw i love to read stuff like that... this car truely is a poor mans porsche

In that car everything over 10mph feels like you're breaking the sound barrier... on a very bumpy road.