I have a 91 CRX Si with a suspension techniques rear sway currently.

I am getting a set of ground control/koni's for my car, the rears are for an 88 CRX.

Note: I did search but want to make sure I don't run into any surprises when I tear this thing apart next weekend.

Two questions:

1. Are ITR rear lower control arms the same thing as 88 CRX's rear LCA's? If not, what fabrication do I need to make for the ITR rear LCA's? Should I just suck it up and buy the 88 rear LCA's? I don't want any geometry/height/ghetto rigged issues with this setup so I don't mind getting the 88 lca's if I have to (i already have the ITR lca's sitting in my garage).

2. Are there any recommended methods to mount the Suspension techniques rear sway w/ this setup? I recall there being a thread about some modification being necessary since there may be a binding issue (could not find that link when I searched).

 

Surprise!! 88 CRX rear koni shockd will not mount to your 91 CRX. You CRX has the "fork" mount set up at the bottom. 88 CRX does not. Actually I think I have two brand new Koni yellows to fit the fork mount (your car) at home I might part with. The 88 CRX rear suspension was different than all the other CRXs. The design with the 88 CRX and ITR are similar but I don't know if they are interchangeable.

The rear shocks are not going to work. Sorry.

Barry H.

 

i think he realizes that and is asking if he can use ITR LCA instead of 88 CRX Si LCA, which may be more readily available to him.

im not sure if ITR and CRX are different. its basically the same arguement if EF and DC and EG LCA are the same, dimensionally. ive yet to hear convincing arguement either way, yet there are ppl convinced on each side of the arguement. i think it leans towards all 3 beind the same, dimensionally.

as for special mounting, ST should mount fine like stock as long as the stock swaybar mounting point is there, although ive seen ppl recommend putting a spacer that fits between the two walls to strengthen the mount. i dont see a need for that (hmmm, unless maybe they were making do with non-Si 88 CRX LCA, since the hole is there, but not the threaded nut welded on)

at worst, you just use the extra hardware provided by ST to mount the swaybar to the shock, like in the case the car was a DX and didnt have swaybar mounting holes.

 

I have a set of DC GS-R rear LCA's, and a set of LCA's from my 91 Civic DX. THey are not dimensionally the same.

The bushings are different sizes and the DC's LCA's are about 15mm longer, IIRC. I'll snap some pictures tonight if anyone really wants proof.

I know what the LCA's are from, because I personally removed both. I was planning on using the GS-R's in my civic because i need sway bar mounting points.

 

measure from the bushing center to bushing center. i know the extreme dimensions of the LCA are longer because the casting is thicker around the bushings, but its bushing to bushing that counts.

 

CRX LCA does not = ITR LCA. There's a slight difference in the shock mounting "cup" such that the CRX one is a little too small I believe. I can confirm this for sure, as I've been in the presence of two people trying to make it work. When it didn't, and when we then tried ITR LCAs, everything went right together.

 

ST sells an "adapter" mount for the 88 arms. $50 from Summitt Racing.

I happen to have a set FS, PM if interested.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tyson &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">measure from the bushing center to bushing center. i know the extreme dimensions of the LCA are longer because the casting is thicker around the bushings, but its bushing to bushing that counts.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I was looking at the bushing centers (pivot point) when i checked.

 

itr= 88crx,they are the same dimensionally, i have seen them put back to back and when lined up you can see through all bolt holes and if a bolt is put through the holes they line up perfectly,

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Crx Jimmy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">itr= 88crx,they are the same dimensionally, i have seen them put back to back and when lined up you can see through all bolt holes and if a bolt is put through the holes they line up perfectly, </TD></TR></TABLE>

Again, you have to consider how the shock fits in there. The ITR shock will not go into the CRX slot.

 

but a 88 shock should go into an itr arm no problem, which is what we're dealing with here. Your experience is valuable, and you have confirmed the feasability of said substitution.

 

Oh, oh, oh, I'm getting this all backwards. Mea culpa.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by krustindumm &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have a set of DC GS-R rear LCA's, and a set of LCA's from my 91 Civic DX. THey are not dimensionally the same.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Crx Jimmy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">itr= 88crx,they are the same dimensionally</TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sscguy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">CRX LCA does not = ITR LCA.</TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Mleach &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">but a 88 shock should go into an itr arm no problem, </TD></TR></TABLE>

like i said, everyone seems to have a different opinion on this and thinks theyre definately right....

 

If anyone has a set of 88 rear lca's they want to sell to me I'll do the legwork (measurements/photos/etc) and see if we can demystify this.

our own little honda-tech mythbusters!

so...anyone got 88 rear lca's for sale?

 

There was a really old thread back in the day showing side-by-side pics of both LCAs. I THINK the distances between the bushing centers was indeed different, but close (close enough to not expletive anything up too bad), and that the ITR LCA would allow the use of the CRX shock, but not vice versa. I think the confusion arises from it working out ok and looking very similar.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sscguy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Again, you have to consider how the shock fits in there. The ITR shock will not go into the CRX slot.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I'm not sure about the LCA lengths and such but I can definitely say that a OTS Koni yellow ITR shock will fit an '88 LCA just fine. I've been running them all year that way and everything fits perfectly on my '88 CRX.

Jim

 

Dammit, now you have to go and screw everything up, don't you? A buddy and I had Zeal B6 shocks meant for an ITR that had previously been in two ITRs. When we tried throwing them in the CRX LCAs, there was just no getting them in there. BFH didn't work, excess WD40 didn't work, nothing. Could it be that there are TWO CRX LCA variants or something?

 

&lt;---Has ITR LCA's. Direct fit w/ no problemo. I have heard that the CRX "hole" for the shock is narrower but I couldn't tell by eyeing it up and never took measurements. They are IDENTICAL in length though, which is all that matters. (FWIW, ITR LCA's are cheaper than 88 LCA's from the dealer also.)

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 88 rex &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> (FWIW, ITR LCA's are cheaper than 88 LCA's from the dealer also.)</TD></TR></TABLE>

wow, youre right! $50 each from delray.

i just bought some new CRX LCA pair for $130 shipped. i didnt buy the 88 spec, but its the same price.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tyson &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">wow, youre right! $50 each from delray.

i just bought some new CRX LCA pair for $130 shipped. i didnt buy the 88 spec, but its the same price.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yea, I know. I was amazed when I was pricing them. Pretty much makes the 88 spec lca's a waste.

 

if you look koni lists the same part # for the shock of itr rear and 88 crx rear,

 

The 88 crx LCA is slightly narrorer than the ITR. I had the rear crx LCA's on my old car with some fancy jdm ITR coilovers, and they wouldn't fit at first.

nothing that a little time with a grinding tool didn't fix though. we just ground a very small amount off the mounting surface and everything worked fine.