I've got an 88 crx with sum serious handling issues, I have tokico blues
and eibach race springs, Full camber kit and front and rear strut bars, anyways right after installing the new suspension parts all was good and it handle like a dream, then the winter came and I put on snow tires and took off my noramal summer wheels which are teg gsr fat fives with nitto 450's
205-50-r15. about two weeks after putting the snow tires/wheels one the handling of the car started to become very unpredictable. It pulls to the right and the back end almost feels like drifting out. On very smooth pavement it is alright but still not right. So now I have the summer rubber back on and the issue is still the same. I brought it to get alligned and everything is to spec, but it still pulls to the right. The real issue is how unstable the back end feels. I'm really at a loss. the allignment shop thinks that my car was hit and the frame bent, but I look all round the car and there is absolutly no damage I even took off the front and rear bumpers and all was good.

any help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

Ben

 

worn suspention bushings

 

could you possibly have a seizing caliper?

do a search on 88 lcas, i think i read something about the rear mounting point having a different feel to it unique to the 88s, something about it causing the rear to slide around. may be emphasized due to the lowering job??

 

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=847755

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=423747

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=690666

that covers the passive rear steering the 88s have, hope that helps you with any questions.

what size rear sway did you put on, bigger ones on the 88 rears cause the rear to swing out, according to one of those posts anyways.

 

I actually don't have a rear sway bar, I have the hf model which didn't come with one. like I said too I did all the suspension work and it was fine for a few weeks, then the problem hit. I know the 88 are a little loose in the rear, but it is just out of control right now, could bushing cause this kind of exteme change?

 

hmmmm i know mine are worn out and they dont feel like that.

i thought you had rear sway, i misread the front/rear strut bars

but that being said i also used to own a 81 toyota tercel hatch for literally two days. had a problem like yours the rear was loose and swung out, second time not too lucky, hit a pole. LOL

anyway one of the rear struts could be faulty?? i know its new, but any chance of it blowing up?

i dont think worn bushings would cause a extreme shifting feeling.

how bout the rear strut mounts, are they all tight?? deffinatly sounds like a rear suspension problem though.

try going over all the bolts and tighten everything up to rule it out.

what are you using for the rear camber kit? washers or adjustable arms?

 

your issue is not that your car is an 88. the difference is minimal to begin, and even less prominant when the car is lowered. i'll let tyson show you the pics and explain how dynamic toe change works if you don't take my word for it.

without a rear bar your car should push a lot. i am assuming stock hf front bar.

first, make sure you trust the shop giving the alignement and get a print out.

but it does sound like a bushing or balljoint issue. chances are your rear lca bushings are toast if they are original, and replacing with original or mugen parts (search for the numbers, both are available) would be a good idea.

it also sounds like you have some front end bushing or ball joint issues, due to the wandering/pulling even though it is aligned when the car is not moving. i'd check the front radius rod bushing and the upper and lower ball joints first, then look at any of the other bushings that can allow for funky toe change under load.


Modified by rsca_crx at 1:06 AM 6/10/2005

 

but when my car had worn out ball joints the alignment shop wouldnt even attemp to align my car.

if this was his case the shop blows.

for bushings to be worn, would it cause the kind of extreme swing out he claims all of a sudden?

 

the shop that did my aligment is a honda specialist shop, alos all of my bushings are stock, I've been looking to polly bushing but have read lots of bad reviews so I'm kind of torn to get new stock or not,
everything in the rear is tighted down to spec the shocks look good nothing looks visually wrong. also the camber kit in the back are the adjustable arm type.
is there any way to check the ball joints?

 

when the shop checked my ball joints they showed me that they were worn out by putting it up in the air, taking the load off the front suspension, then placing his hands at 12 oclock and 6 oclock, then pushing. he stated that good ball joints should not allow the wheel to have any play, mine kinda wiggled when he pushed up and down on it.

this was done on my formula, but im assuming the theory is the same

 

pushing in towards the wheels well?

 

yeah like one hand on the top, one hand on the bottom and just kind of pushing it back and forth, see if theres play. if this is the case the shop should not have even attempted to align with worn ball joints.

 

I will give that a shot tomorrow
thanks for the help
any opinions on polly bushings vs stock?

 

jack up the front end and push **** around- you'll see how it works. worn radius rod bush's will let the wheel move forward and back. worn upper ball joints will move in and out, as well as front and back. if they are really worn, you can take the wheel off, grab the top of the knuckle, and shake it back and forth.

 

im using energy suspension bushings only because i bought the master kit and wanted/needed to replace everything. ride will be stiffer, just depend what your gonna use your car for and how picky you are with little bumps and stuff. try going for a ride in a car thats got em and see for your self. some people love em some hate em.


some poly reviews

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=90732

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=73847

 

I'm hoping for a fairly stiff ride, still streetable but also a pretty good handling car for sum scca events,

thanks for all the help

and I'll check those ball joints and bushings tomorrow

 

then you should like the poly. good luck with your issues and post back tommorow with your findings.

also just try pushing your rear strut area, just to see if you got a faulty strut or not.

if your talking about the way your rear slides out the way im thinking, then im thinking its more then just the bushings, unless its possible to completey ruin the bushing all of a sudden.

i mean these things wear down gradually right guys???