actually, would it be better to do suspension, then headers/catback ? or the other way around?

as for suspension .. i've heard a lot of good things about the koni/gc combo.. but has anyone tried the Tein SSD? thoughts? opinions? experiences?

 

I would do suspension first. Youll notice alot more from a suspension than the h/e I can promise that. The koni/GC combo is a wonderful combo - suited for the most demanding auto-xr or road racer. Thats what I am doing - and Ive never seen anybody upset with it. Hmm - I think the user IN VTEC has the Tein SSD - dont know if he has them in yet though - might want to PM him.

 

Definitely suspension first. The Tein Basic setup looks good, mainly b/c it's so affordable, but I don't know anyone that has it.

 

thank you for the quick replies

i'm not looking to get the Tein Basic. i'm looking at the Tein Super Street Damper (16 levels of adjustability for damping force). i'm looking at about $1k for that setup. i believe the koni/gc combo will come out close to that price too.

 

I was actually wondering what people thought about the tein ss too................

 

go with suspension 1st.

 

my friend had the ssd on his civic, and we went out to the "skidpad" which is just a constant-radius 270* freeway entrance, and he could only muster a measly 45 mph entrance with a constant acceleration to about 50 mph. I entered at 50 and accelerated through to about 60 mph. We were both at the limits of adheasion on this turn. Everything is the same on our cars, but I have a tokiko illumina/gc combo with a suspension techniques rear sway bar and he had the ssd with the stock sway bars. I know the sway makes a difference, but another thing is that his car rides bumpy and hard as fawk even on his softest setting, but mine is nice and tolerable even at full hard. I recommend a koni/gc or illumina/gc combo with an itr swaybar. It'll be better, based off my experience.

edit: my setup was less than 1000 bucks and the koni/gc with itr sway is about 1 grand, I think, so these would be better choices, IMHO. Oh, good luck with your choice

 

go suspension. I have eibach pro kit springs and tokico shocks. Pretty cheap and great ride quality.
If you decide to do engine mods. I would get an intake over a header, cheaper, sounds nicer b/c its engine noise, and probally give you a little more HP. Not enoguh to tell a diffrence but hey every bit counts.

 

anyone have any other words to add concerning the Tein SSD ?

 

I got a Type R sway bar, Type R springs, and full ES bushings, its AMAZING!

 

i got the neuspeed reworked konis along with ground controls. i was pondering more expensive "full" coilovers like the h&r and such (they didnt have good prices on tein then) but i went with my combo because of adjustability. i was able to pick any spring rate i wanted and have shocks that are fully adjustable. the shocks are revalved to take slightly higher springrates (namely the neuspeed race) and have more perch settings than the standard konis. i also got 400lb front and 350 lb rear springs. it rides real smooth and handles excelent. honestly its a total bargain compared to most other setups out there at just about 900 bux.

also suspension and tires are for sure the first thing to upgrade... you get way more bang for your buck

 

yeah. i think i've decided on tires already.. and i'm doing that in the next couple weeks. i guess i'll save for the suspension as my next thing. as far as Tein SSD .. it does offer damping force adjustability .. so i could go for stiff or soft ride .. i've only read about the suspension in a magazine .. but i'm more interested in anyone who knows first hand what its like.

garados' comment is interesting. were both cars running the same tires? tires will make a difference in gripping too...

 

Suspension 1st, then performance.

94 LS TEIN HA, gotta love em'

 

we were both running kumho 712's, but mine were 215/40/16 and his were 205/50/15. Both had about 2000-3000 miles at the time. Oh, I was running 0* of camber while he had about 2* in the front and 0 in the back.