THEhomelessONE

Picked up a CRX HF I'm planning on swapping an h22a1 into. Going to use an ESP traction bar and Koni/GC 450f/500r combo. I'm new to Honda's so I have no clue about all the brands for suspension components. I don't mind too much on budget, just want solid pieces that'll survive at the track. My suspension is shot so I'd like to swap everything out with solid aftermarket stuff. Everything is original. Thanks!!

2x0

For items such as control arms, tie rods, etc. many here will say that any standard OEM replacement will do just fine. And they are probably right. But there are plenty of aftermarket options around, most notably Skunk2, Hardrace, and some others.

The main differences between these and standard OEM replacement will likely be bushing stiffness, and appearance. In some cases adjustability, such as front upper control arms or rear toe arms with camber adjustment. Minimal weight savings can be found in aftermarket rear LCA's and some other components. Just look for a decent compromise of cost vs. quality. Skunk2 seems to do good at this mostly. I have their front upper control arms, rear toe arms, and rear LCA's and they work fine.

But, the most important thing that you need to look at replacing are bushings and ball joints. This is where age, wear and tear allows everything to move out of spec. For the front lower ball joints, all signs point to using only OEM. Can't say I disagree, but they are pricey and a pain to replace. I would make these a top priority. Then check your tie rod ends and steering rack. For tie rod ends, Moog or any other OE replacement should be fine.

Next, check your rear trailing arm bushings. Any good urethane replacement on those will suffice. The rest of the bushings are easiest to replace just by doing the entire component, mainly control arms.

90civichbsi

iTrader: (1)

There are a lot of options out there.
I am currently running a mix of uerthane, hardrace and spherical for bushings.

For spherical, PCI offers the best bang for the buck. Spherical will make the most difference on the rear trailing arm and front inner upper and lower control arm bushings. Everywhere else you can get away with Urethane or Hardrace.
Suspension ? PCI Racing

Front camber adjustment: PCI makes a nice set of upper arms for the crx now, but i have been running the SPC Upper ball joints for years now with good success.
https://www.tirerack.com/suspension/suspension.jsp?make=SPC&model=Adjustable+Ball+Join t&group=Adjustable+Ball+Joint&partNum=SPC67125&aut oMake=Honda&autoModel=CRX+Si&autoYear=1991&autoMod Clar=

For everything other than the front inner upper/lower control arm, and rear trailing arm bushings I am using energy suspension urethane bushings. The initial install is a pain, but replacement down the road is super easy and a complete set is about $200.

For the remainder of ball joints and tie rods, oem or moog stock replacements work well.

I'd recommend getting a rear sway bar since the HF doesn't have one stock. Suspension techniques is a good option, but you'll want to modify the brackets that attach to the shocks. You need to weld a little extra metal to one side of the shock brackets to keep them from swiveling on the shock bolt.

90civichbsi

iTrader: (1)

Also are you planning on doing any sort of racing or just track days? Adding a traction bar isn't allowed in many classes.

An alternate option is going with these strut rod bushings for the stock front crossmember:
EF Civic/DA Integra Front Radius Rod Bearings | Kingpin Machine

I run energy suspension urethane bushings in the front crossmember and don't have any issues on track.

2x0

I'd probably stay away from the sphericals unless it will be a track-only car. Just my opinion but not worth it on a street car or occasional track car.

THEhomelessONE

Very cool, thanks for all the great info guys! It'll be a weekend/track car. Not spec or competitive racing just messing around on the track with some friends. I'm guessing I should stay away from spherical because of wear and maintenance? I'm a mechanic at my families shop so I don't mind a bit of extra work. Thanks again. 15x7 RPF1's and A048's will be here on Monday too woot.

solorex

Got through all your suspension as stated above, get out and start sorting out the car before you think about swapping the engine. And just FYI most traction bars are garbage. I'd stay OEM if you can. You'd be surprised how fast a D-series stock motor can be in the hands of a well sorted car and experienced driver. You don't necessarily need that big engine to go fast and have fun.

Chris_Bye

You are going to have to run a traction bar (in most cases) if you're doing a swap as the header on DOHC engines will hit the subframe. I would recommend the Innovative traction bar- the reasoning is the innovative torsion bars have two bolt holes that go into the lower control arm- like the OEM does. Many aftermarket traction bars only have one connection point on the LCA, which I actually had come loose and fall out of my car (EF Civic). In other chassis the traction bar doesn't act as a torsion bar as well, but on EF chassis they actually hold the LCA from moving frontward or backward- why having those two bolts is a peace of mind.

THEhomelessONE

I'm going with the Innovative pro traction bars as well as their H swap kit. Yeah I read about the dual vs single heim joint issue, so going to pass on the ESP setup. Kingpin stuff is very nice, but wow they're expensive. PCI is expensive too, at that point I'd rather just go Kingpin. I already have a 94 prelude with h22a1 that is smogged and registered the swap will happen.