I know there are some options out there, but not nearly as many as my old EG. I don't want to compromise the handling characteristics too much. I want to know what is out there, and what everyone reccommends? I have seen the following options available for the EP3.

1. Tein's Basic, SS, Flex
2. Omni Coilovers
3. Ground Controls with some strut combination.
4. Mugen

Is there anything else? I would really like some adjustability, So that throws Mugen out of the equation, and any other drop springs. Is there anyone else out there that has a reccommendation? George Knighton, I'm looking in your direction.

 

i'd go with the FLEX most definitely, cause i have it on my ep and rides like a champ

 

omni- if you only track once or twice a month. omni's are not out for the ep yet, but will be soon. they had to fix some shaft discrepancies.

tein basics- pretty similar to the the omni's in terms of use. show, less go.

tein SS/ flex- good choice, too overpriced. no ep application on the SS.

ground control-koni yellows- preferred by most ep track bubbas. i've been hearing about blown shocks. keep in mind the yellows are meant for sport springs.

mugen SS- sport drop (1.25?). great for track.

me? i prefer omni's since i only track once or twice a month. so, it all depends on the purpose.

 

also buddy club and jic i have the flex myself and would go with the buddy cub as well both are great choices buddy club can be dropped more though but thats not nessecaraly a good thing

 

Mugen if you just want a bolt and go application.

Tein Flex if you want a suspension that is a little more flexible (adjust camber and ride height).

There is no cheap solution. Expect to pay $1K+ for something decent unless you just want lowering springs on oem shocks.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Todd00 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Mugen if you just want a bolt and go application.

Tein Flex if you want a suspension that is a little more flexible (adjust camber and ride height).

There is no cheap solution. Expect to pay $1K+ for something decent unless you just want lowering springs on oem shocks. </TD></TR></TABLE>

That's what I had anticipated. I wasn't expecting anything too cheap. In the range of $1500 would be great.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ptran13 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">George Knighton, I'm looking in your direction. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Well, GK is rolling on Mugen once again.

-Victor

 

Mugen N1 is quite nice. custom spring rates+ mugen N1 dampers =

look at who manufactuers the damper and it will tell you a ton.

Just remember
Showa is good

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ptran13 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> I don't want to compromise the handling characteristics too much.</TD></TR></TABLE>
It'd help if you tell us what you intend to do with the car.

Are you going to have it on the track more than a couple of times/year?

If this is a street/commuter car that is only going to be on a track every once in a while then, honestly, the Mugen SS is going to be everybody's current plug-n-play solution.

Keep your OEM front sway bar and put a DC5 ITR rear sway bar on, and you have yourself a very nice handling EP3 that doesn't require any adjustment other than toe-in.

I know you said you wanted some height adjustability, but it just complicates things on the EP3. The Mugen SS is lowered just the right amount, and the front tie rod connection points are set up for that height adjustment so that the McPherson front drive bump steer problem isn't made worse than it already is.

As someone has already said, there were specification and manufacturing problems with the proposed revised Omnipower setup, and as far as I know they've gone back to the drawing board and might even pick a new manufacturer before it's over.

I am sure that when Omnipower completes the process everybody will be impressed at what he's able to offer us for the money, but if you want something right now I think the Mugen SS is a no brainer.

If you can wait a while, the Omnipower revised setup would approximate the Mugen's damping and spring rates, but at a cheaper cost and while also providing height adjustment.

As Victor said, I am on my second set of Mugen SS.

 

Not to thread jack, but I have been going through the same kind of considerations with my pending ep3. Sounds like the Mugen SS is the way to go for a street car that will only see the track a few times a year. Does anyone know the approximate drop and the best place to pick them up right now?

thanks

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by giff74 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Does anyone know ... the best place to pick them up right now?</TD></TR></TABLE>
King Motorsports is the Crown monopoly for all things Mugen in the United States. They determine the price at which people are allowed to sell.

"97 TYPE-R 312" who posted above usually stocks them (that's where I got mine), and the usual Honda-Tech favourites like IPS Racing also stock them. Depending on what King is allowing them to do at the current time, they might or might not be able to save you a little over the King Motorsports price.

As for the drop, I am afraid I've never really measured it. If you're wondering what the car looks like, it's about perfect as far as ride height goes.

It's an EP3. It's never going to look but so good.

 

i just want to play devil's advocate here...

if you are going to go with a coilover set, please consider the following:

are the dampers rebuildable?
if they are rebuildalbe, is it stateside, or are you going to have to ship it to the moon? this will cause some substantial downtime if you need to send one out.

are the coils a common diameter? often, coilover "sets" come at a compromise. are they matched for the street? are they matched for the track? are they even matched at all, or just bin parts that they use as a blanket for all honda cars of this type? you may find them a bit soft/firm and will want to alter that with different spring weights/lengths. it will be much more difficult to do so if the spring diameters are unusual.

finally, consider your driving environment. if 90-95% of your driving is commuting, full adjustability is really a waste. sure you'll get to take a turn at X speed, but at the cost of day-to-day comfort and stability.

i compare that to trying to drive year-round on summer tires in a place like minnesota. it's great when the weather's warm and nice, but dangerous and impractical the rest of the time.


personally, i would recommend a strut/ground-control configuration.

 

also, tockico adjustable shock are now out, so if you wanted a lil more agressize drop than the mugen, you could to those, and pick a spring combination to your liking.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kung fu grip &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i just want to play devil's advocate here...</TD></TR></TABLE>
As usual, you make a lot of sense.

In all honesty, the reason I'm on my <u>second</u> set of Mugen SS is because I hit a pothole so hard that it bent one of the shock shafts.

It was virtually impossible with the Mugen SS to do anything other than buy a new, complete set of them.

I've had Ground Control on the EP3, by the way, and I was not impresed. Nor were the people who drove the EP3 at Expo 3 w/the Ground Control.

Do you have experience with Ground Control on the EP3, or are you taking your DC2 or other experience and thinking it'll work on the EP3 the same way?

I have Ground Controls and revalved Koni on my DC2 ITR, and it's great on that...but didn't have the same luck on the EP3.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by George Knighton &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">As Victor said, I am on my second set of Mugen SS.</TD></TR></TABLE>
What happened to the first set ?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mzboy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
What happened to the first set ?</TD></TR></TABLE>

"In all honesty, the reason I'm on my second set of Mugen SS is because I hit a pothole so hard that it bent one of the shock shafts." -GK



-Victor ( who is looking for pics of his Mugen lowered EP at the moment )

 

It will might be raced at a track once a year. I hope to make it to this year's ITR Expo at MAM.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by George Knighton &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
As usual, you make a lot of sense.
Do you have experience with Ground Control on the EP3, or are you taking your DC2 or other experience and thinking it'll work on the EP3 the same way?
</TD></TR></TABLE>

i do have experience with ground-controls, though not on the ep3. i am wondering what struts the majority of users with this configuration were running, though.

the problem i have with ground-control is a lot of people buy them because it will allow them to lower the car so much, for aesthetics, not considering the effects on the geometry. (i'm not implying george or anyone here has done this)

i like the ground controls because if i blow a strut, i can replace it quickly or get the pair re-valved quickly. i also like them because i can easily replace the springs with differn lengths, widths, and/or incorporate tender springs. if i need more height adjustability, they can send me longer/shorter sleeves.

i'm not saying ground-control is the best solution. it depends on the driver and the lion's share of the car's use.

i think ground controls on the ep may not be as pleasant as they have been on other hondas for a variety of issues: performance strut availaility, spring weights, owner settings, etc.

the car is still pretty new and the chasis still needs a lot of debugging. also, people have to keep in mind that macphereson systems require different spring weights than wishbone. typically, wishbones can require twice the weight to that of a macphereson because of their geometry and leverage.

i'm just trying to help people become more acquainted and educated about these sorts of things, and not get too caught up in brands and bling.

your mileage may vary.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 97 TYPE-R 312 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">"In all honesty, the reason I'm on my second set of Mugen SS is because I hit a pothole so hard that it bent one of the shock shafts." -GK



-Victor ( who is looking for pics of his Mugen lowered EP at the moment )</TD></TR></TABLE>


Wow, it's right in the post....I suck at the internet!

 

tein's have a great reputation and customer service (very important). plus, they are rebuildable.