97cwr

Bought some Koni race/GC combo. Now I want to replace all the suspension bushings while I'm there. Its a 97 and they're all original bushings. Not sure which route to go. I've researched and even more confused now. Is OEM the best way to go even if your gonna track the car? its also driven on the street a couple thousand miles a year. Here are my options:

Hardrace full bushing set: Not sure of quality decent price
Suja1/Pic: not sure if they are still available decent price everyone that has used them seem to like them.
Mugen or spoon: Very expensive sure they're quality products
OEM: Still quite expensive, good for regular track duty?

Any suggestions from above or anything else? Def not going with poly's. If I'm going OEM, which trailing arm bushing do I need because there is no part number for the type r? Would I need camber arms if I'm dropping the car about an 1" all around?

94rs-turbo

iTrader: (6)

oem on most, kingpin makes good stuff also

Aklackner

OEM are probably going to be you best bet. The ITR was designed as a track day car so you’re not likely to have issues if you’re mostly stock and will be a world better than 20yr old original bushings regardless. Suspension modification can also have a lot of unintended consequences, so tread carefully.

On lowering: Bit of an odd question, if this is a track car, Depending on your class/restrictions you may want the ability to add additional camber. If this is a question about tire wear more on something that’s daily driven then an inch isn’t likely to cause too much additional wear if toe is set very close to 0. Many may argue this.

Just some info (IMHO &YMMV):
RTA bushings: you probably want to stick with stock here. (A google search will find the part number, I’ll try to update with part# I used later). The suspension is designed to slide back some while braking to increase rear toe and improve stability, this bushing facilitates that movement. Going with a stiffer or spherical bushing here will affect normal suspension movement and affect handling.

Rear LCA: you’re likely best off buying new oem arms over loose bushings. The U channel arm makes damage likely when pressing these bushing.

Hardrace - I’ve had pretty good luck with them but may not last long (read ~1 Yr for some). Generally considered lower quality but at an attractive price. Will also be a bit stiffer than stock, can be too much for some DDs.

97cwr

I've been checking the part numbers on the OEM bushings and the type r shares some bushings with the gsr? here's what I found:

front lower control arm bushings- same part #
front upper control arm bushings- same part #
rear compensator arm with bushings- same part #
rear upper control arm with bushings- same part #
rear trailing arm - should also be the same part #

The only bushings that are different are the front compliance bushing, stabilizer holders, link and ends and the obvious rear lower control arm. I was under the assumption that the bushings on the type r were all different. I guess I was wrong? Can anyone chime in here to help clarify...

Aklackner

Yeah it always seemed like th ITR had a full set of unique bushings but the only ones actually mentioned specifically as upgraded in the 97 usdm R Tech doc. are the damper mount bushings (5 fold stiffness increase) and the stabilizer bar received ball joints instead of rubber bushings.

yoshi234

Spoon.

y shi - who recently put in the whole Spoon kit onto 234 with the help of mikehonda

97cwr

where did you buy the spoon bushing set from?

Seedc2

iTrader: (1)

how is the car driving now, yoshi? must feel amazing, mike honda, baby!

yoshi234

97cwr

Pulled the trigger on a complete set of spoon bushings. Now, wondering if to install the spoon Trailing arm bushings or order a set of stock ones? The dilemma is real!!!
Yoshi I take it you installed the spoon Trailing arm bushings? Any ride difference with the whole kit installed?

yoshi234

Yup, installed the whole complete Spoon kit. I've only had limited seat time since the install but the whole car feels WAY tighter. Kepani drove the car yesterday for a bit and he came to same conclusion. The car feels tighter and also the suspension has stiffened up in a good way. Still on the same 9 year old non adjustable PIC coilovers. Before car felt 'floaty' which I thought the old PIC's were done. After the bushing install, that 'floaty' feeling is all gone. Hopefully I can free up some time to hit the track again this year!!

y shi - who wonders why you'd go with OEM RTA bushings vs the Spoon

dave7

Thanks for writing about the spoon bushings. Very interesting.

hungsteR

How much does the complete set of Spoon bushings go for? Anyone know what it compares to OEM set priced out?

Klasse

https://honda-tech.com/forums/acura-...t-one-3304567/

y shi - no doubt the Spoon is stiffer than OEM, but I wonder if it much better than a NEW set of OEM? Obviously you are comparing to your OLD OEM.

yoshi234

True, my originals were 18 yrs old w/ 113K miles on them.

y shi - who thinks the car is better now than it was 10 yrs ago and can't wait to confirm it on the track

97cwr

the prices on the spoon kits seem to vary from site to site. The average seems to somewhere around $600 U.S. OEM will cost you a little more I believe because I don't think you can buy the rear lower and upper arm, toe arm and compensator arm bushings alone. you have to buy the whole arm. At least that's what I found when I was trying to source out the parts from Acura here in Toronto. OEM route would have been well over $1000 cdn of course. Going with the spoon kit for the extra stiffness in the bushings. Hopefully, they will be an advantage on the track. Time will tell I guess. Noone has any on track reviews with this kit? weird.

94eg!

iTrader: (2)

As mentioned, OEM ITR had much stiffer shock hat bushings (actually an NSX-R part I think).

OEM ITR had stiffer rear end-link bushings & sway-bar bushings (eyelet inserts, mount brackets & LCA connection)

OEM ITR had stiffer front end-link bushings (another older re-used part from something else). End-link itself was the same as GSR though.

OEM ITR had stiffer engine torque mounts (1 rear & 2 front).

OEM ITR had different compliance bushings on the front lower arms (allegedly softer aft section for more toe change under braking)

98-spec JDM ITR has an alternate tube-style rear upper arm.

JDM ITR had an alternate part# for the front inner bushing on the front LCA (not sure what year it was used on).