First, I just want to say that this forum is an AWESOME IDEA!

Right now, I'm running H&R Sport Springs and Tokico Blue shocks. The ride is decent, but it doesn't feel too tight around corners and I think my shocks are starting to go out after 1.5 yrs (squeaking like crazy).

I'm also wondering what other suspension components are recommended for a mainly street-driven car (only a few autoXes and maybe 2-3 road racing sessions ), ex: swaybars, upgraded LCA's, bushings, lower tie and strut bars, etc.

I hope that this thread can help out a lot of suspension n00bies like me. Thanks again for making this forum, mods!

 

keep your springs. upgrade your shocks to illuminas. and get an aftermarket rear sway bar.

tie bars/strut bars really arent part of suspension.

whats squeeking? i dont think your shocks would be.

 

I would check your lower and upper ball joints, tie rod ends, all bushings (including trailing arms), and your steering rack. Pretty much all you need to do is look for excessive play in your suspension. Wiggle everything around and find out what doesn't feel solid. Doing this, and just noticing what changed with your cars feel after replacing a part will teach you a lot about suspension. Where does your car feel like it has the most play? In the front, the rear, or in the steering?

Oh, and I wouldn't worry about aluminum lower arms, better sway bars, or new tie and strut bars until you fix the other stuff I mentioned above. Think of these as icing on the cake, and not the actual cake.

Jonathan - Who has sunk mad cash and effort into his suspension, and still has stock lower arms and sway bars, and no strut or tie bars (yet).


Modified by MugenDude at 9:41 PM 1/4/2005

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by boostincoupe &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">First, I just want to say that this forum is an AWESOME IDEA!

Right now, I'm running H&R Sport Springs and Tokico Blue shocks. The ride is decent, but it doesn't feel too tight around corners and I think my shocks are starting to go out after 1.5 yrs (squeaking like crazy).

I'm also wondering what other suspension components are recommended for a mainly street-driven car (only a few autoXes and maybe 2-3 road racing sessions ), ex: swaybars, upgraded LCA's, bushings, lower tie and strut bars, etc.

I hope that this thread can help out a lot of suspension n00bies like me. Thanks again for making this forum, mods! </TD></TR></TABLE>

Buy my suspension below for your tracking...too stiff for MN potholes....

 

After checking all of your suspension like MugenDude said, I would get a set of Koni Yellows. See how those feel with your current springs.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by rochesterricer &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">After checking all of your suspension like MugenDude said, I would get a set of Koni Yellows.</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by rochesterricer &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">After checking all of your suspension like MugenDude said, I would get a set of Koni Yellows. See how those feel with your current springs.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I agree, with one possible exception. I'm running the H&R Cup kit. The kit consists of rebadged Koni adjustable shocks and a set of H&R springs. The springs are somewhere between the Sport and Race models. About a .25" lower than the Sports and stiffer too.

It's an option.

 

i currently have the tokico illumina s5-way adj. shocks and tokico lowering springs and its a great set up

 

You can always get an adjustable shock or get sways to get that body roll down to a minimum. If you want stiff then neuspeed sport/race springs with koni shocks and take your pick of rear sways. That's my thought on it.

 

Stock front sway bar

get koni yellows

keep the H&R sports up front

run a set of race H&R rear springs

adjust the konis up 2 notches in back to level ride height

Si rear sway bar

5mm spacers on the front

should allow great turn in, and mild mid corner understeer.

oh yeah, OK ride for MN streets.

Why two different springs? Because the race in rear and sport upfront give almost a equal bias, with the front still being slightly stiffer. As it is, current HR spring combos heavily bias the front, as do all street spring kits for that matter. Ultimately, custom spring rates to your choosing would be the best. But this may be the most hassle free compromise between race and street.

Putting a massive rear sway bar is just masking problems with your spring rates. The sway is a finessing tool used to adjust, not act as a spring.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ichishimakun &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Stock front sway bar

get koni yellows

keep the H&R sports up front

run a set of race H&R rear springs

adjust the konis up 2 notches in back to level ride height

Si rear sway bar

5mm spacers on the front

should allow great turn in, and mild mid corner understeer.

oh yeah, OK ride for MN streets.

Why two different springs? Because the race in rear and sport upfront give almost a equal bias, with the front still being slightly stiffer. As it is, current HR spring combos heavily bias the front, as do all street spring kits for that matter. Ultimately, custom spring rates to your choosing would be the best. But this may be the most hassle free compromise between race and street.

Putting a massive rear sway bar is just masking problems with your spring rates. The sway is a finessing tool used to adjust, not act as a spring.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Interesting setup, everyone's thoughts on this?

I was leaning towards Koni Yellows anyways, and I wanted to keep my H&R Sport springs because they ride pretty well.

In the future, if I get serious about tracking my car, I'll switch to custom spring rate GC's.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by boostincoupe &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I was leaning towards Koni Yellows anyways, and I wanted to keep my H&R Sport springs because they ride pretty well.

In the future, if I get serious about tracking my car, I'll switch to custom spring rate GC's. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Sounds like a good idea!

 

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

Sounds like a good idea! </TD></TR></TABLE>

Thank you!

Okay, now as I asked further up: Assuming all my suspension components are in good working order, what are some good suspension mods that will stiffen up my car's cornering capability, and what brands do you recommend?

examples: sway bars (ex: ITR w/Beaks kit, Susp. Techniques, etc.), a rear lower tie bar, front lower tie bar, etc.

Help me get stiffer!

 

Dont waste your $$ on tie bars, braces, c-pillar bars, z-pillar bars, etc...... get to some autox events and get some seat time!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by .RJ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Dont waste your $$ on tie bars, braces, c-pillar bars, z-pillar bars, etc...... get to some autox events and get some seat time!</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

better driving cant be bought. Seat time is more critical than all these JDM fad brace pieces.

Actually, a stock civic with R compounds and a keen driver would probably out-pace many other drivers with $$$$ in suspension pieces and "high performance" street tires in a comparable car

Get slicks if you want to really unleash the capabilities and participate in as many eventsas you can. Get as much input from experienced people as possible no matter what they drive (corvettes, AWD, so on) . Forget bars and such.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ichishimakun &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">better driving cant be bought. Seat time is more critical than all these JDM fad brace pieces.

Actually, a stock civic with R compounds and a keen driver would probably out-pace many other drivers with $$$$ in suspension pieces and "high performance" street tires in a comparable car

Get slicks if you want to really unleash the capabilities and participate in as many eventsas you can. Get as much input from experienced people as possible no matter what they drive (corvettes, AWD, so on) . Forget bars and such. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Good points.

Yeah, my car's just a daily driver that I want to handle as well as possible without losing ride quality too much. Gotta please the ladies.

Oh, BTW, wheel/tire setup is 16" rota grids w/ either Yokohama ES100's or Dunlop FM901 205/45/16 tires.

 

Personally, I would stick with 15" wheels with 205/50/15 Falken Azenis tires. You should get a slightly better ride with less rotational weight but less bling. The tires are notoriously wide for a 205.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by GChambers &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Personally, I would stick with 15" wheels with 205/50/15 Falken Azenis tires. You should get a slightly better ride with less rotational weight but less bling. The tires are notoriously wide for a 205.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's great, but I don't want a 15" wheel, and I don't want Azenis.

I want a wheel that fills the wheelwell fairly well, looks good, and is fairly lightweight/functional. Plus I want tires that are good in the rain as well as shine and last for a decent amount of time.

That's why I'm going with bronze 16" Rota Grids and 205/45/16 Yokohama ES100's or Dunlop FM901's.

 

Azenis are fine in the rain. Dont get hung up on lightweight wheels, they wont help you as much as you'd like to think

 

azenis are a better value. Using 15" w/azenis &gt; 16" lightweight with EVS/Dunlop strictly based on track performance. 16&gt;15 in looks however.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ichishimakun &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Banned for no reason 2 times. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Actually, you were banned the last time because you were acting like you were somebody you were not.

You are using a man's name, a man who is respected in this scene, and you went as far as using the man's picture as your avatar.

You also went so far as to attribute to this well known individual a quotation disparaging of his customer base, of which we are they.

Please just watch your step. He has done us more good than you could ever dream of doing, and at the very first sign of any kind of disrespect from you concerning this man...you're gone again.

 

Just ban him again and get it over w/

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by vtecvoodoo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Just ban him again and get it over w/ </TD></TR></TABLE>

Should do the same with you

 

Finish your t-belt, slacker.