I drive a 99 Civic DX HB with B18C5, stock Si mounts. ( pics @ http://64.233.207.13/~citrek/ek )

For suspension, I currently have Tanabe Sustec Pro SS Coilovers with Pillow Ball, Ingalls rear camber kit, Skunk2 front camber kit, and Skunk2 rear tie bar. I have a ES bushings master set going on. I have on the way right now, 00 Si Front LCA's, forks, and sway bar.

I'm planning on ordering Function 7 rear LCA's @ 1.5lbs each and Comptech rear sway/tie bar combo.

My question is, won't this make my more susceptible to wash out in hard cornering, or fast maneuvers?

 

yes you will get better rotation in turns, and eliminate most of the unwanted understeer, but for the most part, unless you're running close to equal or higher front/rear spring rates, you shouldn't have to worry too much about the back end stepping out on you.
a proper alignment will help that also (if not done already & if the toe is way off base)

i don't know if those Tanabe sus are adj, but keeping the front suspension set at a higher setting will help maintaine enough understeer to make it safe on the street..

that setup should allow you to get the rear to trail nicely w/ some driving technique and a lil off throttle/braking rotation for when you want the car to hook in the turns at an event.

plus the CT bar is adjustable so you should be able to soften it up for daily/street usage.

for the most part you shoud be fine, unless it's wet & you try to get the rear to step out.

 

You have a laundry list of upgrade parts but don't say anything about the actual tuning and driving. Having the parts with a range of popular names does not make a balanced package, using and tuning them and combining them with an appropriately smooth driving style is where they are going to get their full effect.

You don't say much about when it occurs but my guess is that your unwanted oversteer is likely to be driver induced. Tightening the nut behind the wheel can be the best upgrade of all. Spend you money on some autocross or HDPE experience and you'll be farther ahead.

I haven't got a clue what a set of 1.5 lbs trick lower control arms cost but whatever they are I can't imagine that they would be of measureable performance benefit fo the money. I know all about unsprung weight but this seems to me to be more of "if we build it, they will come and buy".

If the car has a real handling issue, target the issue and tune your existing parts or get other parts you need to solve that issue. Light LCAs will probably be more effective in lightening your wallet than anything else.

 

Great answer but will he listen? I find that most of the time they don't

 

oh yeah,

look at the 10th picture down.

Do I see a sideways cap with a white t-shirt?

WeRd uP StUnnA!!!

Also, those 1.5 lb lowercontrol arms will essentially 'stiffen up' your rear suspension, but only over rough pavement. Although most likely it will not be noticable, it could make the car more squirrelly over rough pavement.

 

yeh yeh, the hat was on crooked, i don't wear my hats like that normally. i cocked it over so i could lean over like that and take the picture.

bout getting some experience, this is already something in the works. i was chatting with my buddy at a ferrari dealership and they bring their cars to a road course in WI. i'm going to get in a few classes with my car and go from there. more practice on courses, some races, etc.

i posted here for input, not to see if people would reply just for ***** and not read what they have to say. thanks so far, i appreciate the information.

 

I had rear wash out the other day after eating the track food @ VIR.

Not sure if this helps or not

 

Expanding what Lee said, when asking for suspension advice, numbers and hard info are the best starting point, brand names mean less. At a minimum, one should probably include:

Type of car - You'd be surprised how many folks leave this out.
Expected use - Track days? Road Racing? Autox? (Drifting or canyon carving? Don't even try.)
Problem you want to solve - most detailed description you can provide
Spring rates - lb/in or kg/mm front and rear
Alignment settings - front and rear camber and toe at a minimum.
(anti)Sway bars - Diameter in mm is best, then maybe brand or origin (e.g. ITR Rear)
Shocks - Single/double adjustable? shortened? revalved? Brand?
Coilovers/collars - Just need to know if you can raise/lower the car
Camber kits - Got 'em? y/n
Wheels - Size & offset (e.g. 15"x7" 40mm offset)
Tires - Brand and size

Also a good idea to learn the terminology of handling. That way everyone understands what you're saying.

I'm sure others here can add to this list, or maybe point to a site with the basics.

Don't forget to look at the "Road Racing/Autocross FAQ (New Members Read Before Posting)" thread at the top of this forum. plenty of good info there.

 

Lower control arms just locate the suspension to the frame on the lower half of the spindle, right? Can anyone tell me how putting different control arms (lighter or otherwise) on your car will affect handling balance? Obviously, this is not taking into account different camber with a longer/shorter arm...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by citrEK &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i was chatting with my buddy at a ferrari dealership and they bring their cars to a road course in WI. </TD></TR></TABLE>

is this the dealer in lake forest/highland park?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by madhatter &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">... Can anyone tell me ...</TD></TR></TABLE>

A portion of that control arm is unsprung weight, which has to be accelerated (both positively and negatively) every time the suspension moves. Inertia makes it harder for that process to happen if the bar has more mass.

That said, there is only a TINY number of people in the world who will be able to utilize that last teensy-tinesy advantage to shorten a lap by any measurable amount - and surprisingly, none of them post here...

K

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hondan00b &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

is this the dealer in lake forest/highland park?</TD></TR></TABLE>

its on 34/ogden near 294

 

If you havent yet, try to attend one autocross event or practice day with your setup. Then you can get a chance to safely push it and find out what it takes and feels like for the rear end to come around if its going to.

 

Sounds like you need to go to a HPDE to learn your car.

Maybe let the instructor drive for a little while and let him tell you what the car is doing, and how to control/ correct it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Bbasso &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Maybe let the instructor drive for a little while and let him tell you what the car is doing, and how to control/ correct it.</TD></TR></TABLE>

The instructor can tell you this just fine from the passenger seat. IMHO.

I declined a request to drive a student's car last weekend.

 

wouldnt a suspension forum be a great idea?

 

RJ has locked my post because there are 2 of the same thing on the same day so I need to ask my questions here, I don't mean to hijack your thread but have no choice

I am trying to get more info on these,
Do they shorten the track of your car?

Are they that much lighter then cast Iron ones, OEM?

Any other helpfully information or thing that I am forgetting or would not be aware of?

Are they worth the 179.99 for a pair?

http://store.hybridgarage.com/...assis

I am thinking of getting these for the unsprung weight and camber correction.

Any comments would be helpful.

Thanks and sorry

 

You know, the contents of the very link you've posted in both threads answers some of your questions:

"They retain the stock length and locate the wheels in the correct position without affecting the track of the car."

Also, in that same link they describe how they can optionally do camber correction and how their position on doing it that way: "Although we do not recommend adjusting camber with the lower control arms for most applications, adjustable camber bushings are available as a special order item due to high demand."

Really, the only person who needs this is someone who trying to obtain minimum weight for some competition class and has exhausted all other means of weight reduction. Any advantage for handling from less unsprung weight will be impossible for you to tell. Camber correction with the offset bushings will probably decrease the rear track, which is why they don't recommend it.

 

Since you're a fan of P1... go ask Jack is these are a good purchase... LOL

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by XrcR6 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

"They retain the stock length and locate the wheels in the correct position without affecting the track of the car."

Camber correction with the offset bushings will probably decrease the rear track, which is why they don't recommend it.</TD></TR></TABLE>


Ok so you can have them for unsprung weight but I will not notice because it's a mute point and this will keep the same track of the car but at the same time if I use this for camber correction I will shorten the track of the car.

So either way it does not help

Basically this stuff is crap.