TheKraken

I'm looking to get a pair of upper strut bars for my EM2, and want to know my options. Of course I'm on the fence on whether it is worth it, so I'm looking for a good deal on them. I'll probably get Megan Racing front and rear upper braces for now, as they are priced nicely for cyber Monday. I know it wont make a night and day difference, but every little bit helps, right? Soon after i will get a better sway bar and I've already got Tein springs on it, handles great already. Any advice would be appreciated!

What I'm looking at so far, both basically the same:

Megan Racing Megan Racing Strut Bar HONDA CIVIC

Megan Racing Megan Racing Strut Bar HONDA CIVIC

It Wasn't Me

https://honda-tech.com/honda-civic-2...s-etc-2531769/

My advice? Don't buy cheap crap. Buy the better option to begin with. (Neuspeed, Greddy, etc)

TheKraken

whats the problems with the quality on these?

It Wasn't Me

Look at it like this: The bar you posted, even at regular price, doesn't qualify for free shipping. How much more than $56 are the shipping charges? Not to mention the myriad of comparable strut bars available on eBay, for less money. (including shipping)

Now, this one (click that link) qualifies for free shipping, is better overall quality, and it isn't much more expensive than the bar you were looking at. (when you including shipping charges)

Arguably, their best available option is this one.


FYI: You can use (some, not all. clearance issues) RSX strut tower bars.

Rick hybrid

neuspeed is a better design.
have one on my 2003.

Falloutkid90

If you dont already have the rear sway bar upgraded. I would do that. That would be the biggest bang for your buck upgraded other then tires or coilovers. I have an 03 which has the best 15.9mm front sway bar (yours have the 25.4mm front) i upgaded the rear to the base rsx rear bar 19mm) that made a big! Difference. Since your sway bar is bigger id get either the 05-06 rsx type s rear sway bar which is 21mm or the progress bar which is 22mm. You can get the type s bar and endlink and hardware all oem and new for around $150 maybe cheaper if you shop around or buy used.

If you must get the strut bar get a neuspeed. Only get one piece strut bars that are soild and have no flex point. Neuspeed is the only that i can think that is still sold. A rear strut bar is a waste dont bother.

It Wasn't Me

Wait.. Smaller is better? Hm..

It isn't exclusive to the 2003 model, though. 2003-2005 EX models came with the 15.9mm front sway bars, 2001-2002 are 25.4mm.

DC Sports is pretty solid, and is still available.

Don't forget the plethora of RSX options, most of which are compatible with this chassis. Numerous one-piece designs are available, too.

TailZ

I say save your money. I have tried STBs from ebay to much pricey ones such as neuspeed. Little to no difference in handling TBH.. It's all in your head. Save up for a quality shock & spring combo or full coils. Just my input not here to argue.

If you were local, I would just give you the STBs I have laying around here somewhere. I only use my car for commuting now.

Falloutkid90

Yeah 15.9/19 is the perfered set up. If he wants to save money and just do one bar instead of both a 21 or 22mm sway bar would work the best. Im actually thinking about going with this set up (25.4/22) the one i have is pretty neutral with alittle oversteer but it doesnt feel as stable as id like a highway speeds.

Yes that is true i actually bought a brand new neuspeed fromt strut bar from the neuspeed website meant for the 05-06 rsx type and it fit fine. The best thing was i paid under $80 including shipping. Also neuspeed is the only one that clears a aftermarket intake if you have one or plan or getting one.

Falloutkid90

I think it does help alittle (if you get the solid ones) but it will only show your suspension's weakness more (stock struts, springs, ect).

TheKraken

Thanks for all the replies guys, a rear sway bar is definitely next on my list. I'm not sure about the front sway bar, i thought most front sway bars were linked to the strut tower, and mine isn't like that. I haven't taken the time while I'm under the car to look at how it is. my latest upgrade to the car was the tires, and even though I have stock rims, which is embarrassing, I put 195/55/15 g-force sport comp-2's and they have DRASTICALLY improved the responsiveness and handling, but now shows the gaps in performance in my suspension.

I wanted to stiffen up the suspension because when I really push the car hard around a corner it feels like the car starts to roll a bit and feel a bit unstable. I know more lowering would help, but I live in a rural area and my Tein S-Tech springs is literally as low as I can go without frame banging my driveway. I've got a near 40lb subwoofer in my trunk, which I'm positive doesn't help, but my audio setup is amazing and I'm not getting rid of it haha.

On a side note, if you guys have any suggestions on a cheap, but relatively good low profile jack? right now I use a tiny 2T jack, but I still have to drive up on wood to get it under the car. Pretty sure northern tools or harbor freight has one for cheap, but iv'e found out they have some pretty junky tools. I guess that's what a warranty is for!

Falloutkid90

Im on stock rims myself with stock frirestones which suck. tires are the best thing you can do for handling. Sway bars would probably be next. The strut bar is really only going to shine when your pretty agressive (90 degree wide turn at 40 mph+) then youll feel the bar working. For everyday driving i feel like mine gives some steering wheel response. Honestly though if you look at the price of a neuspeed strut bar for our cars (even though you can get slightly cheaper ones off the rsx) i find them to be around 130 for another 20ish bucks you can get the 21mm rear sway bar from the 05-05 rsx type s including new endlinks. And you will feel the difference in handling 200%. Its not hard to put on either the only pain was getting off the old endlinks (compliments of living in the northeast). I just cut them off with a sawzaw and the whole thing took about an hour with just some sockets wrenchs the sawzaw and scissor jack out of my trunk. Since you have a bigger front sway bar them mine i think that you may not feel as much of a difference up front like i did with the strut bar but I could be wrong.

How does the car handle with the tein s techs with what im assuming are stock struts? Bouncy? Good or bad?

TheKraken

The Tein S Tech springs are simply amazing, and yes I'm running stock struts. The improvement from stock was staggering. Call me crazy, but literally everything was improved:

-Of course it was lowered, so it looks better, even though it was only modest.

-Handles better around a corner, less body roll.

-If you happen to hit a bump while going around a corner at decent speed, the car recovers much more quickly.

-Then the crazy part is that it even rides better, which I'm sure is because of the spring's progressive design.

Of course I am only one person and one opinion, but those springs are simply amazing and improve responsiveness and performance without slamming it to the ground. I totally vouch for these springs if you want performance but maybe your driveway is too steep for something lower.

Falloutkid90

Thats awesome to hear! I recently had to change my front struts because one of my springs actually rusted and snapped. I ended up purchasing kyb quick struts (they come fully assembled with spring strut bearing ect) and it actually took away from the perfromance of the car vs the 100k oem struts. I dont feel as confident with these anymore. I was thinking about getting tein h tech that drop it alottle less then an inch all around to help a tiny bit with wheel gap and performance because the new struts actaully raised my car and it looks worsen then before since it actaully at the reql stock height lol. But if the tein s techs are doing well for you i might have to snag me a set.

Do you bottom out your struts at all with the soft spring rate and low drop going over bumps or anything? Also how many miles are on your struts?

toyomatt84

iTrader: (1)

There's some slight misinformation there. 15.9/19 is only the preferred setup if you run a near-stock damper/spring setup, with relatively stock tire sizing and style (all-seasons or at best a mild summer performance tire). If you're looking to push your car's potential, you'll find that that size of anti-sway is completely antiquated when paired with a more track performance-oriented suspension setup. When scaling up in spring rates for a more stiffer and flatter-handling car, you're going to have to match your suspension capabilities with the sizing of your anti-sways. Obviously the car's spring rate, motion ratio, and overall curb weight will come into play there... but that's for another story.

My favorite setup thus far, was a 29mm front and 32mm hollow-bar rear, but then again I was running HKS Hypermax's custom-valved with Swift springs... so its a bit more focused then a typical daily-driver.

Oh, and the strut tower bar will do very little... at best. I've had one on my car for road racing, and noticed negligible gains in handling. It actually made the car very timid coming into heavy braking turns and was less desirable then a non-tower bar setup.

TheKraken

I've only bottomed out once, but that was an extreme condition. My driveway is very steep and I've never scraped not once. As far as I know I have stock struts, so I've got 170k on them. I need to get new ones for sure, especially the back shocks because when i installed the springs I noticed they were leaking :/

Falloutkid90

Ok thats good to know i drive my car aggersive sometimes usually twisty back country roads when i do and i wouldnt want to scrap all over the place or bottom out. I also responded to you video on you tube you should make a driving video with the springs on!

TheKraken

haha i might try! i uploaded a vid recently when i went on the snake, but that was my first time and on worn out economy tires. if i had a way to prop up my phone better that would be awesome