I wanted to rant a little and maybe gather some info on improving suspension stability. I drove a friend's 99 civic vp (value pack) and it's very stable... i drive my civic and it's not even close... maybe due to having oem shocks+springs.. or is it because of the struts? basically, what's the best route to having a stable car that doesn't bounce side to side when moving the wheel sharper and also not adding useless items because "it's the cool thing to do."

i know shocks+springs will improve handling.. what else can i do to improve steering+suspension on a 92 civic dx hatch?

thanks!

 

Control arms dude! i just got OMNI control arms and sway bars... and my car is soo stiff in the turns. it feels soo awsome. guaranteed!

 

coilovers and swaybars

 

control arms? i have brand new oem control arms in there... it did rectify the sloppy feeling but it's still not "sharp" when i move the wheel.. or am i expecting a ferrari feeling outta my civic? well i want a responsive suspension/steering.. how should i go about upgrading?

ok, swaybars is on my list... which exactly have noticable improvement? i know front and rear upper strut bars and front and rear lower sway bars... which ones are recommended and which ones are optional for better handling?

also, will i have to upgrade any other components in order to place sway/strut bars?

thanks!

 

btw, the thing is, the 99 civic i was refering to doesn't have sway/strut bars... i'm sure about the strut bars it MIGHT have a rear sway bar, haven't looked... i'll look tomorrow

 

Koni yellow and ground conrtols... the stiffer you go, the better it will be. rear ITR sway, stock front sway. wanna get real into it? I really recomend the ASR rear subframe brace. Great product!
that setup is bullet proof, and awsome. ask any of the HC cars drivers.
also, alignment settings have a lot to do with it. Toe out the rear wheels, and it will be QUITE responsive, and rotate better.... though at the cost of at speed stability, and tire wear.

 

nobody's mentioned this, but get an alighnment first of all. that way you can tell if you need to go further. Alignment will affect the stability of your vehicle far greater than suspension upgrades.

 

I've got the same issue with the same year and model. My ball joints are going (at least the uppers) which I'll replace shortly. Also I believe the bushings probably need replacing. Although with new control arms that fixes that problem. I think shocks/springs would do it. Alignment is also quite important too which I'll rectify soon.

 

full coilovers, polyurethane bushings, sway bars, beaks subframe kit, strut and tie bars.

 

Control arms and strut tower bars will not have any effect on handling, or control the body motion he's talking about.

I wouldn't start throwing sway bars at it until the rest of the suspension is sorted either. Sure, it'll help, but if your shocks and springs aren't up to par, you're just band-aiding the problem. Sways should be used as tuning devices, not a solution to sloppy handling.

The first thing I would do is shocks. A set of koni yellows will have a dramatic effect on the control of body motion. Some H&R or Eibach springs woulnd't hurt while you're doing this either.

I'm also guessing that the bushings have never been replaced; and I'm sure they're all shot now. This could be a huge factor as well.

 

new ES bushing lower lca, and rear lca, also trailing arm bushing... new upper control arms... new tie rods....

i'm sure my shocks/springs are the problem since they've never been changed (i don't think) and they're stock... so that probably explains it... i'm sure everything will be worked out when i put stiffer shocks/springs combo..

now the car itself is stable... doesn't have any movement in the suspension... BUT when I corner the car just sways around too much... like one side is lower than the other and all the tires are still on the ground... so that's my shocks/springs right there..

alignment was done with stock settings

if you got more thoughs/experiences/suggestions, post up please...

thanks!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by civic_driver &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">new ES bushing lower lca, and rear lca, also trailing arm bushing... new upper control arms... new tie rods....

i'm sure my shocks/springs are the problem since they've never been changed (i don't think) and they're stock... so that probably explains it... i'm sure everything will be worked out when i put stiffer shocks/springs combo..

now the car itself is stable... doesn't have any movement in the suspension... BUT when I corner the car just sways around too much... like one side is lower than the other and all the tires are still on the ground... so that's my shocks/springs right there..
alignment was done with stock settings

if you got more thoughs/experiences/suggestions, post up please...

thanks!</TD></TR></TABLE>

Body roll. Definitely replace the worn stock suspension. PU bushings and strut bars would be my next step in eliminating body roll.

 

yeah body roll is it... what are PU bushings?... which strut bars do you suggest? i've heard the front top strut bar and the rear lower sway bar provide the largest improvements.. what do you think?

 

omni makes great products and affordable, i would get front and rear sway bars, upper strut bars, fully threaded coilovers, and if you still have some money left over, get a rear tie bar, ( it looks cool but thats about it)

 

I wanna get the sway bars but I need to replace all 4 lcas with the ones from the teg (will the EX ones work?)

so yeah, extra money right there... can I just drill the my DX LCAs to make this work?

 

Biggest thing that is going to reduce body roll are shocks and springs.

This lowers your center of gravity and also gives you a stiffer spring rate. After shocks/springs sway bars are by far the best investment to your suspension.

 

yeah, spring/shock combo is first thing on the upgrade list.. i'll do the upgrades in spring time while i save money and gather info during the winter