SpeedoKing

so i have decided to do a swap in my 99 ej8 but im going to wait till i get out of college and have a extra couple grand to play with. but in the mean time i am going to build my suspension and get the car back to OE spec. this summer i am planning on lowering, and a sub frame brace, some LAC's, and a sway bar my question is, is it worth the money for a front sway bar or should i jus stick with a rear sway bar? this is my DD so im looking for a sporty feel but i don't want to feel every bump and pot hole. what is your experience/advice?

b16a3delsol

I have front and rear sway bars on my del sol and love it. You might be able to purchase a set of CTR sway bars kinda cheap and be satisfied.

A lil 2.3l action

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by b16a3delsol &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have front and rear sway bars on my del sol and love it. You might be able to purchase a set of CTR sway bars kinda cheap and be satisfied.</TD></TR></TABLE>


deff. a CTR would surfice.... dont let anyone tell you that big name brand sway bars are better... they all to the same thing... they would just look cooler i guess.... they do alot actually.. they help out alot you can deff feel the difference in you car when you put them on, depending on what else you have done to your suspension.. if its stock, then idk, but if you have struts,springs,swaybar,and control arm ( adjustable or not ) then strut bars will deff make a difference

SpeedoKing

thanks guys i was going to buy a eibach kit but now ill look for a good set or ctr sways i really don't care how they look i would prefer it to look as stock at possible.

B serious

iTrader: (1)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by A lil 2.3l action &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">


deff. a CTR would surfice.... dont let anyone tell you that big name brand sway bars are better... they all to the same thing... they would just look cooler i guess.... they do alot actually.. they help out alot you can deff feel the difference in you car when you put them on, depending on what else you have done to your suspension.. if its stock, then idk, but if you have struts,springs,swaybar,and control arm ( adjustable or not ) then strut bars will deff make a difference</TD></TR></TABLE>

"Honda" is a big name brand. He was also talking about sway bars.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SpeedoKing &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">thanks guys i was going to buy a eibach kit but now ill look for a good set or ctr sways i really don't care how they look i would prefer it to look as stock at possible.</TD></TR></TABLE>

There are a few things you should know.

I like the stock look also. OEM Honda parts are usually nicer in quality as well. The CTR FRONT bar is 26mm...which is the same as the eibach bar or the 99-00Si bar. The advantage to the Eibach bar is that you dont have to buy the 99-00Si/CTR front lower control arms and shock forks and swaybar end links. Those parts can set you back quite a bit.

The CTR/Si front bar mounts differently. Which is why you need the CTR or 99-00 Si LCAs. The LCAs are wider and made from tubular steel. They look nice. However, the shock fork is wider on those models. So you will have to buy the shock fork. The Swaybar links for those cars are also VERY VERY delicate, rare, and EXPENSIVE. They're like $50 a piece.

The eibach bar lets you use just some 96-00 EX LCAs found at any junkyard. The EX LCAs have the sway bar mounting point. You can also snag the end links from the junkyard car...or you can get new ones. I believe they're commonly available and cheap.

The CTR rear bar is actually bigger than the Eibach peice. However, you can buy an ASR kit that allready has a 22,23,or24mm sway bar on it.

The bigger the bar, the more the car will do at that end. A bigger bar in the front means adding understeer. A bigger bar in the back means adding oversteer.

I think most people agree that the 24mm front and 22mm rear combo or the 26mm front and 22/23mm rear combo (depending on the chassis and other mods, ofcourse) are fairly neutral setups with a good addition of oversteer at the limit.
However, that being said means nothing lol. It depends a HUGE amount on your driving style, other suspension items, chassis, etc. etc etc. Too many factors to make an actual statement. That's about as general a statement as I can make.

I can tell you that the eibach bars are DEFINATELY setup for gross display of understeer. 26/13, IIRC is the eibach setup.

Buy the Eibach front bar for an NON Si. It should be 26mm, IIRC.

Buy a Subframe brace (ASR is highly recommended) and a 22/23mm rear bar. There are certain stipulations and questions for buying this setup, however:

Do you like oversteer? Do you plan on tracking the car? What type of track?

SpeedoKing

wow thanks for all that info. the car is mainly used for a DD i do auto cross every once and a while when they have it at the local airport, there is a drag strip a few miles out of town that i don't run my car at (b/c there is not point in running a stock civic) but plan on running it in the future. this summer depending on money in addition to the sway bar and subframe brace im going to lower it on koni yellows and eibach pro-kit. so im looking for something that i can use everyday but have some fun with when the time comes. is the ASR kit something that would look somewhat stock (i would get it in black so it wouldnt stand out) and still be something that i can drive on everyday and not feel every little bump in the road?

B serious

iTrader: (1)

The beauty of swaybars is that you wont really notice too much harshness. The bar works as a torsion bar only when the two sides of the car are attempting to be uneven.

The ASR brace is available in black in limited quantities at JHPUSA right now (good timing for you). It's on sale for $170 as well ($180-190 regular price, usually for black or silver models). IIRC, they are usually only available in silver. You can paint it whatever color you want after that, though. The brace itself doesn't add any harshness to the ride. It just mounts the bar solidly to the subframe so you wont tear the mounts off your stock subframe under heavy cornering. If you plan on autoxing with soft springs and a big sway bar, the ASR brace is A MUST!! You WILL tear out your swaybar mounts from your subframe otherwise.

If you go koni yellows, why not get ground control coilover sleeves? They have been tried and true. There's a retailer on honda tech selling the whole package for like $800, IIRC.

The OTS Ground control spring rates are definately soft enough for daily use. However, I used a 350F and 450R spring on my 99 hatchbox. I loved it...it seems like other people have used it and loved it as well. I just discovered it by accident. It rode real nice, but handled very well too. I feel comfortable with oversteer, though. I like it.

SpeedoKing

ill take a look at the ground controls and see what i think i have till summer to decide exactly what i want, and to get it all ordered and shipped so im not set on any one thing and if the price is right i may as well do it but i am in school and a hundred bucks here and there is not that easy to come by. so im not sure if ill go with the coilover for the extra 300 but ill see.

B serious

iTrader: (1)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SpeedoKing &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ill take a look at the ground controls and see what i think i have till summer to decide exactly what i want, and to get it all ordered and shipped so im not set on any one thing and if the price is right i may as well do it but i am in school and a hundred bucks here and there is not that easy to come by. so im not sure if ill go with the coilover for the extra 300 but ill see.</TD></TR></TABLE>

The coilovers should only be around $100-150 more than buying the springs.

SpeedoKing

yeah im getting the shocks for around 350 and the shocks for 250ish i think so im looking at 600 vs 800. that 200 is my sub frame brace. so i have to see how i stand for cash and what is on sale at the time.

B serious

iTrader: (1)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SpeedoKing &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yeah im getting the shocks for around 350 and the shocks for 250ish </TD></TR></TABLE>

lol...typo? Or just a LOT of shocks?

93egSLEEPER

running with just a rear sway bar and no front might make it squirrely and feel like it has oversteer too quickly. i would just up everything top and bottom, front and rear for the best balanced feel.

EKduck

im gonna be doing a similar setup as well.
ASR subframe with the rear sway bar 23 mm i think and a civic EX 22 mm front sway and adding koni yellows with the ground controls/eibach (400F 400R)... either that or the omni power coilovers i cant decidce

B serious

iTrader: (1)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EKduck &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">im gonna be doing a similar setup as well.
ASR subframe with the rear sway bar 23 mm i think and a civic EX 22 mm front sway and adding koni yellows with the ground controls/eibach (400F 400R)... either that or the omni power coilovers i cant decidce </TD></TR></TABLE>

The GC/konis will probably be a more high quality, flexible, versatile setup.

You're going to have a lot of oversteer with the 22/23 combo and the spring rate you're thinking of. Remember, the car has 60/40 weight distribution at best. The front is going to be more demanding than the rear. If you stiffen the rear up too much, you'll oversteer a lot. If you like oversteer and can roll with it...then do it. I just think that it'd be a little too much oversteer with that setup.

SpeedoKing

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

lol...typo? Or just a LOT of shocks?</TD></TR></TABLE>


haha yeah sorry 240 for springs and 150 for shocks.

94CoupeEJ1

Your EJ8 came from the factory with a front bar. Is it missing or are you looking for a thicker one to balance with a thick rear bar? I haven't heard anyone mention if there is a thicker one available that will allow you to use your existing mounting points. It sounds like some are assuming your car came without a front bar.

SpeedoKing

i was thinking about replacing the front but i think ill jus leave the stock one and get a rear sway if i dont like the way it feels ill see if i can find a thicker front sway but i figure save the money unless i need it.

94CoupeEJ1

On my 99 EJ8 I added a rear bar from an Si. Adding the Si bar doesn't create too much oversteer and is a nice addition since it is only 13mm. I'm sure adding an aftermarket 20-23mm one, along with sub frame bracing will add some serious oversteer if the front one isn't upgraded.