Maelong

Hey HT'ers
After living in South Korea for the past few years and getting the opportunity to own a genuine jdm '96 ITR, my future entails moving back to the US and as the ITR wasn't going to be legal to import for a few more years, I had to unfortunately sell the vehicle. The good new is I will be getting my college car back, a '04 gsr. After having fully realized the potential of this chassis with the ITR, I have decided to properly 'refresh' my old car which includes maintenance and performance upgrades along the way. I personally havent been able to drive the vehicle in a matter of years but it has been kept in the family. general maintenance was performed as usual but age has not been kind to suspension and other moving parts. First, I plan on rebuilding the suspension as well as possibly upgrading the rear sway bars. After doing research, I have already proceeded in purchasing Koni Yellows from an H-T sponsor and ITR springs from a member. Replacing all bushing and ball joints will be completed as well, most likely with energy suspension kit or some other equivalent.

my first question: with the ITR springs and Koni yellows set on the lowest perch, are extended tophats needed for proper dampening? or will reusing the oem tophats and rubber be ok?
my second question: upgrading the rear sway bar to OEM type r 22-23mm. is it still possible to purchase these new from the dealerships? budget minded, better to just get a kit such as progress? (ASR looks great but a bit too blingy and pricey)
my third question: would it be better to find rubber or poly bushing for something that will be a daily driver and possibly my first car to attempt scca events?

My goal for the car is that it will be my DD most likely for a couple years in which I plan on attempting SCCA events and possibly track days in which this will be my learning car. Speed isnt so much of a concern. Much more concerned on handling, then braking, and lastly power.

Sorry in advance if this post in poorly formatted and filled with grammatical errors.

B serious

iTrader: (1)

ITR springs are already 0.75" to 1" lower than a stock integra. Using them on the lower Koni perch is a bad idea. You'll definitely need to address the lack of available travel. You're setting a 250LB spring to be like 1.5 - 1.75" lower than stock. 1.5 to 1.75" lower than stock would work with like...600+ LB springs maybe. But not with 250's.

I'm sure extended hats will help with shock travel...but what about the LCA to shock tower contact?

Rubber bushings are the best compromise for a street driven car, given a reasonable budget and bushing lifespan expectancy. Lots of reasons why manufacturers use rubber or reinforced rubber instead of poly.

Maelong

Understood. I did see people mentioning having to trim the bumpstops. As an alternative question option, would the stock tophats be okay on the normal perch with ITR springs?

B serious

iTrader: (1)

Yes, on the normal perch, the stock tophats are fine. Because stock ITR's come that way.

As an aside....trimming bumpstops won't solve the issue if you choose the low perch. Not chosing the lower perch will solve the issues caused by choosing the lower perch.

Maelong

ty for clearing that up for me