I recently purchased a set of Neuspeed Sport springs (http://www.eautoworks.com/html/ORD-1-1-1-2476.cfm), along with new KYB GR-2 shocks, and a no-name camber kit for both the front and rear, for my 90 civic HB.

I successfully installed the rear shocks springs and camber kit, but after installing the front set-up, somthing doesn't seem right. The springs are supposed to drop the front a whole 2 inches, although when I lowered the car off jack-stands, there is hardly a noticeable difference in hight. It still seems somewhat stock height.

But the big diffence is in the ride. WHen taking it for a test drive the car wanders a bit, which I'm sure is because of the wrong camber angles, but the biggest difference in when going over the smallest bumps in the road. It is extremely bumpy and it sounds like metal-to-metal hitting. It almost seems as though the shocks are not working at all. I've made sure that all my shocks are tighten in place and all other bolts are tight as well.

Is there any known issue that may cause this problem? Is there something I'm missing, or are there some other adjustments I need to make? Do I need to tighten anything when under load and not suspended by the jack-stands?

Any help would be greatly accepted.

Thanks.

I figured out the problem after all...read on.





Modified by multitracks at 10:53 PM 5/19/2005

 

First off, I don't think GR2's are meant to handle that much of a drop.

Here's my diagnosis:
When you installed the new springs on the struts you didn't cut the bumpstops (hard styrofoam feeling things that are on the strut rod) That is what you're feeling when you feel the car go over any sort of bump. You're riding on your bumpstops. You'll have to redo the install and cut the bumpstops in half.

 

^^ I agree. cut your bumpstops. also, your car needs a few days to settle on those springs, so it will ride a little higher than normal at first. as far as pulling from side to side, you should always get an alignment done when replacing suspension parts.

 

Ok, yeah it didn't look like it had much travel with the bump-stop in there. I thought of pulling it out completely, but I guess i'll just cut it in half.

THanks a ton.
-=K

 

Make sure you post here after you cut them and tell us about the ride then k?

 

Deal. I'll include some pix as well

-=K

 

I went ahead and put the car back on stands and pulled and cut my bump-stops and put it back together only to find the same problem; the car was higher than it should have been and it was bottoming out during test-driving.

Pissed off, I stuck my head inside the fender well once again to see what the hell was the matter. I looked up at the control arm and it looked like the top of it was resting against the inside fo the fender. At that point I realized when installing the camber kit, I adjusted it all the way out, figuring a 2-inch drop required a big adjustment, which pushed the control arm out far enough to get hung up on the inside of the fender well. So what was happening was when I lowered the car down of the stands, the body would come to rest on the conrol arms rather than the springs and shocks, thus the metal to metal noises during test driving.

I went ahead and loosened up my camber adjust ments, pushed the control arm back in, tightened everything and put it back on the ground. Not surprised, the car was sitting nice and low and drove smoothly.

The car is now at this moment getting new CV boots and a 4-wheel alignment, thanks to 'Made in Japan'.

Guys, I appriciate your help. Without you I probably would have threw my hands up and paid somebody else to figure it out.

honda-tech rules!

-=K

ps: it was raining yesterday, so pictures will follow at some point

 

to figuring it out yourself and not paying someone for it. That's one mistake you'll never make again.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by multitracks &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ps: it was raining yesterday, so pictures will follow at some point</TD></TR></TABLE>

You did all this in the rain?

 

Great stuff multitracks!! Even though you might feel like you wasted time cutting the bumpstops, you didn't. You won't bottom out now.

 

Heh, yeah. I had our patio umbrella out there covering me. GHETTO!!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by multitracks &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Heh, yeah. I had our patio umbrella out there covering me. GHETTO!! </TD></TR></TABLE>

I've replaced a shift cable in my apt parking lot in the rain before. Had to drop the subframe to run the cable while laying in a small river. You gotta do what you gotta do.

 

This is one reason why I don't like camber kits. I still don't get excessive inner tire wear & I'm lowered 3" (stock suspension arms for 5 years now). Good job figuring out the problem though...

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by multitracks &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Do I need to tighten anything when under load and not suspended by the jack-stands?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Idealy you would want to loosen all the supension bolts & re-torqe them with the wheels on the ground. This will un-twist the bushings that are set for stock ride height. All bolts that go through bushings must be torqued down with the suspension fully loaded. Here is what I do:

With the car on jackstands, you can just jack up underneath one of the LCAs until the car barley lifts off the nearest jackstand. Next you loosen every bolt at that corner (that goes through the center of a bushing), and then re-torque them. Set the chassis back down on the jackstand, and move to the next LCA. This can be done for every suspension bushing except the large trailing arm bushings, and the inside rear UCA bushings. Those ones would have to be pressed out & clocked the proper amount to get the same effect...

 

neuspeed springs that low are garbage just my two cents

 

Your two cents aren't worth very much.

 

Your dust covers are holding you up. take them off compleatly. That was my problem.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hump-Free &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Your dust covers are holding you up. take them off compleatly. That was my problem.</TD></TR></TABLE>Hahaha, I don't see that happening at all. That's a case of baad luck right there. Did you have metal or plastic ones? You must've been pretty low for the cover to be caught on the strut. I'm sure the plastic ones would've snapped after a few miles.