SkylineKin

Need to do some suspension refreshing on my 96 civic, the OEM bushings are getting tired (190k w/ many track days). I have done lots of research but wanted to see if I am missing anything.
This is just a basic setup for track day use, need some compliance for periodic street use.

Car currently has a B16a w/ lsd, Autopower roll bar, sparco Ergo2 w/ PCI mount & Schroth Harness, GC/Koni's, F7 Rear LCA w/ si rear bar, carbotech XP8's & 205/50 street tires.



I would like to do the following...
1. Replace all the worn rubber bushings
2. Add camber adjustment F&R
3. Improve Steering Ratio & feel

Here is what I am thinking...
-ES Poly bushings for front LCA's
-ES Poly Front Sway bar Bushings
-ES Poly Steering Rack Bushings
-ES Poly Shifter bushings
-Integra Pinion Swap (not the whole rack just the pinion to improve ratio) & de-power OE EX rack
-PCI Rear Spherical Trailing Arm Bushings
-Skunk2 FR & RR Upper Arms (maybe PCI in front if they are available for EK civic)
-OEM Front Lower ball Joints
-OEM Inner/outer tie rods

Anything I am missing? Any better alternatives to the above?
*Wheel bearings per Known's suggestion

flip_nl

Wouldn't bother going with skunk2 front camber arms. Those are know to slip (check out SPC arms.)

Not a fan of PU bushes, but if lubed up regurarly I guess they would be sufficient for your needs.

Garage_Spec

I have never had any issues with my Hardrace control arms. Decent bushings and the camber settings haven't slipped. Also used Hardrace super tie rod ends and that quickened steering response quite a bit.

coolhandluke

iTrader: (2)

I would recommend against poly bushings. As noted above they require regular lube. Instead, opt for OEM Honda. Cheap, durable, and top-notch quality/fitment. The HardRace units I originally went with in 08' have slowly been swapped out for OEM Honda. The few spherical pieces I have are Kinpin Machine front lower compliance (DC2) and PCI rear trailing arm.

flip_nl

Also something to take in mind about PU bushings:

The movement of most of the pivots isn't purely around 1 of the lateral/longitudinal/vertical axis (depending on the specific bushing, but you will catch my drift). Thus using a PU bushing will cause binding of some degree, in places the pivot moves on more then 1 axis.

tcrane

Dont leave out Megan Racing Camber adjustment pieces - good quality parts and pretty competitive in terms of cost. Zero issues with mine so far.

known

iTrader: (1)

I'm going the other way on this.

In my race car, not track day car, I used Poly bushings everywhere except the rear trailing arm, which was the revised oem material. I got several great years out of them, and when they wear its pretty cheap to replace with a new set.

I also never, ever had an issue with skunk sliding camber arms...ever.

Spherical from kingpin are the best and most expensive option, and on a car that serves as a daily I wouldn't run them.

Hardrace I used on a street/track day car and was very happy with them.

I think between hard race and ES poly bushings, you will be good to go.


In terms of running an integra rack, and taking away the power steering...its going to suck. The rack was setup for power. There are other ways to set this up, like using quaife if you really want to.



I would also add in doing your hubs, I did a write up on it awhile back: https://honda-tech.com/road-racing-a...rings-3042916/

Garage_Spec

I have used a manual converted integra rack for quite some time and it is extremely nice for anything over 3mph. I see no reason to over complicate this, some suggest to take the rack apart and remove a seal but I just drained 2/3rds of the fluid and it's lovely. Just another option.

billabongrob

iTrader: (1)

This is not something that I would expect to hear at all. Been away from Hondas for a while (5-10 years) and it's good to hear that they stepped up their game. Maybe I check them out for my DA.

kristo

Afaik you can't get these new for an 96-00 Vic like OP has.

Tegra206

iTrader: (2)

2000 Honda Civic 2 Door EX KA 5MT Rear Lower Arm - HondaPartsNow.com

kristo

Indeed, I forgot you can get (most of) them for the rear. I suppose the inner and outer lower arm bushes are the same as EG ones. How about the front (including SI)?

Tegra206

iTrader: (2)

Should be able to find most. I can't find front upper control arms at all, so it's all aftermarket on those

SkylineKin

Thanks for all the replies guys, trying to just keep it simple so I appreciate all the suggestions.

Sounds like nobody has any issue with the PCI rear trailing arm kit. The integra pinion gear and OE EX de-powered rack are low on the priority list. Main priority is the original bushings so I may have stirred up the pot a little with that item on the list.

I am going to research the front upper arms more and the hardrace bushings. One thing I like about the poly bushings is like Known mentioned they are easily replaced/serviced instead of having to press a new set of bushings in. Also My Function7 rear arms have poly bushings (made by ES) and have been trouble free for many many years.

Tegra206

iTrader: (2)

I'd go spoon sports but what do I know

red96turbols

I used ES graphite impregnated bushings on everything on the rear end, using PCI bushings on everything in the front and ditching the shitty *** skunk2 UCAs that have been nothing but problems from their crappy ball joints and high deflection from their weak stamped design. My car isn't even all that powerful and has destroyed 5 sets of S2 "pro series" joints and UCA bushings are shot, again. I highly suggest against anything skunk2 except the mega power rr exhaust lol. Not to mention the rear camber arms broke completely in half and the bushings they used didn't even last a year. Mind you this car sees maybe 3,000 miles per year. Switched to KIWI rear camber kits and PCI front uppers.

As far as ES, I haven't had a single issue. Really liked the shifter bushings that tightened up the feel of the linkages.

red96turbols

Check out "Special Projects Motorsports" they redesigned UCAs in conjunction with PCI, their new design looks nice I just ordered a set a long with the upper and lower front bushing kit from PCI. Their previous design (last year) was a tubular design this one is not. But more importantly its also not stamped.

I also found the best price with shipping from JHP,

SkylineKin

I have had my eye on these new PCI front upper arms but are they compatible with 96-00 civics?

known

iTrader: (1)

Are you running like crazy low scraping the ground? I beat the crap out of my car on the track for years and didn't have these issues with the skunk parts?

I'm not some skunk fan boi, I actually was very unhappy with some of the fitment of their pro cam gears going on to their pro cams....tolerances were way off.

ryanplayjoint

I purchased a second front subframe for my 96 hatch and replaced all the bushings with hard race and installed. It really eliminated down time and ease of install. The front lca bushings are very difficult to install and if I was to do it over I would have just got the arms with bushings installed. I replaced the steering rack bushings and front links/bushings all with hard race.

The car is a manual steering car with a depowered (looped lines) power rack.

I had all prothane stuff installed before swapping out the subframe. Didn't notice a difference between the two.