Mods, please move if this should go elsewhere...just wanted to share the install for anyone considering doing this. Hopefully if there is ANY misinformation Charleston will chime in and let me know.


One of the best suspension modifications you can do to improve the way your Civic handles would have to be upgrading or adding a rear sway bar. Unfortunately, the sub frame on Civics tends to rip, or tear out, if you go much bigger than the 13mm bar that comes on the Si model Civic. There are a couple products available that address this issue, and this article is going to focus on installing one such product from A-Spec Racing. ASR has designed a very beefy sub frame brace that prevents the tear out normally associated with using large sway bars. I am going to show you how to install this brace in a 6th gen Civic to support a 22mm sway bar from an Integra Type-R. In this install, I am also adding aftermarket Lower Control Arms...mostly for the ‘bling’ factor, though they are a bit lighter than stock and will replace the worn out bushings in the OE arms.


Items to gather before you start:
- jack and jack stands
- blocks for front wheels
- lug wrench
- torque wrench
- ratchets
- 12mm, 14mm, & 17mm sockets
- 14mm open ended wrench


First off, here is the ASR Brace, the ITR Sway Bar, and the Omni Power Lower Control Arms. I also made some End Links out of Aurora Aluminum Rod Ends, and purchased Grade 8 hardware to secure them. Due to a shipping error I ended up with one red and one silver end link; however, since I employ the logic of function over form…I shook that one off.




Before you start, go ahead and loosen the lug nuts on the rear wheels so they can be removed once you have the car in the air...this will make it much easier to work on the suspension, especially if you are replacing the LCAs. Now you can block the front wheels, jack up the rear of the car, and support it on jack stands...please make sure to use jackstands.




Once you have the car up and supported, go ahead and remove the rear wheels. This step is optional, but removes a big load, frees up some room, and generally makes the work much easier.



Alright, if you are changing the LCAs out, then you will need to remove both of these bolts...they are both 14mm in OE trim.



Next you will need to remove these two bolts to get the LCAs off...these are again 14mm...You need to remove them whether or not you are changing LCAs.




You should now be looking at the bare subframe.



This not so thick sheet metal is the reason big sway bars rip the subframe to pieces.



Here we can compare the shiny new Omni Power LCAs to their OE counterparts. Notice they are the same length and the holes line up...that means these will not correct camber, though some aftermarket LCAs do correct camber. The Omni LCAs are mainly for the 'Bling' factor, though they are a bit lighter and come with new bushings. Here we also see the ASR kit with the hardware laid out.



Go ahead and get the ASR Brace and the LCAs in place using the longer, beefier LCA bolts supplied by ASR. Only put these in finger tight for now.



Next, if you removed the LCAs you need to get them attached back to your damper and the trailing arm. You might notice that the trailing arm does not want to line up.




You can either push/pull the trailing arm into place, or use a hammer...I opted for a dead blow hammer. Once you get the holes lined up go ahead and put the OE bolt back in finger tight.




Now you will need to get the ASR backing plates in place...this helps spread the load out across a larger area. (This is not required on a Si model because there is a backing plate welded in from the factory.




Go ahead and get the lower backing plate bolt in place.



Then get the upper bolt in place to get the backing plate aligned correctly, and go ahead and tighten the lower backing plate bolt to 22 lbf-ft.




Here you can begin to see how this brace helps to spread the load.



Now you are ready to add the sway bar.



You can use OE 99-00 Si end links, but I opted for heim joint type end links and pieced our own together. ASR also has this type available as a kit for an additional $70.



The ASR kit comes with these aluminum spacers that basically act as metal bushings for your sway bar.



I am using grade 8 hardware, with a 'thick' washer on each side of the swaybar.



From right to left - bolt, end link, thick washer, ASR spacer, swaybar, ASR spacer, thick washer, split washer, & self locking nut. You will torque this all down to 22 lbf-ft.



I opted for Energy Suspension Graphite Impregnated Polyurethane bushings for the sway bar. These are 7/8" (22mm) universal fit and include zerk fittings so you can grease them. I had some ES Formula 7 grease left over from a Master Bushing install...and decided to lube these guys up.



To secure the sway bar you will need to remove the top and bottom bolts on the ASR brace, line up the sway bar brackets, and get the bolts back in place finger tight. You can see the ES grease on the bar around the bushing. I just greased the bar and slid the bushing back and forth a few times.



Slide the bar back and forth until your end links are in the correct position...then you will probably have to adjust the length to get them lined up with the holes in your control arms.



Go ahead and get your end links attached to the LCA...but do not tighten them up yet.



With rod end type end links, you will need to space them out from the control arm a bit...I used three thick washers for this.



It looks a bit crooked, but do not worry, once we lower the car and tighten them up they will straighten out.




Speaking of lowering the car...go ahead and re-install your wheels and get the car back on the ground.



Now we need to torque the bolts to spec.

LCA bolts = 40 lbf-ft
End Link bolts = 22 lbf-ft
Sway Bar Bushing bolts = 20 lbf-ft



All done. If you replaced the LCAs and banged on your trailing arms at all, then an alignment probably wouldn't hurt. You do need to make sure and torque your lug nuts back to 80 lbf-ft though.




That is all she wrote on this one...you can find the full article with links to larger images HERE.

 

Bling ******* Bling!

 

if thats youre daily driver, you might not like the noise that those $70 bushings are going to make (at least, thats what ASR told me when I asked what the point of upgrading would be)

 

nice writeup with some crystal clear pics.

 

Another great write up!!!

 

 

nice, how much did the kit itself set u back?

 

Awesome write-up!

and omg that's a sexy setup.

 

goody goody gumdrops!!!!
great writeup man!!!
even went into TOO MUCH detail for us lamers!!!
thanx!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by aallbbeerrtttttt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">put this in the FAQ!! </TD></TR></TABLE>yea good pics too very nice setup

 

very nice

 

nice writeup

 

awesome, and very nice write up.

i will stow this away for future reference in case it is needed or to pass on the info to someone else.

great job! and that is pure sex. i love it.

 

Thanks guys, it is good to know the write-up is useful. I am a diy *****, so I always take tons of pictures when doing something to my car.



<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by pdiggitydogg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if thats youre daily driver, you might not like the noise that those $70 bushings are going to make (at least, thats what ASR told me when I asked what the point of upgrading would be)</TD></TR></TABLE>

This is my daily driver, and there are indeed a few 'clinks' when going over certain bumps...but I am definately OK with that.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by eg crunkmonster &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">nice, how much did the kit itself set u back?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Total including ASR brace, sway bar, LCAs, ES bushings, endlinks, & hardware, came to about $475.

 

this is an excellent writeup, since i'll be needing it soon.

 

very nice writeup

 

very nice write up, very informitive

 

Nice setup, I want one.

Did you use anti seize?

 

No anti-seize...I tend to take things apart to often to worry too much about it.

 

You should use it. It works wonders.

 

This might be a silly question...?
If I bought an aftermarket swaybar, those would normally come with endlinks and bushings correct?

 

Probably bushings but not always endlinks.

 

Bump for downloadable PDF Version.

You can download it Here

 

Haha, back from the dead by the original poster. I just installed mine this past Thursday. I love it.

 

NICE WRITE-UP. I ABOUT TO DO THE SAME SETUP, EXCEPT WITH SOME SRR