I have about $400 and im debeting if some tociko adjustable shocks or the Aspec brace flus CTR rear swaybar will be a better investment towrds my handling. As of now I have a 97 civic ex lowered on tein springs. Which one will make my car handle better? thanks

 

i suppose the sway bar would have more of an affect, i bought shocks and springs (illuminas and prokits) before i bought sway bars, and the car still rolled like a mini van at autocross. Not as bad, but still not that great. I would go for the swaybar, and then start looking for shocks and springs.

 

i would come up cheaper with a swaybar plus brace, as i would have to allign after shocks.

 

Your car is going to handle completely different with an ITR rear sway bar. Like.... crazy. I don't know what your level of experience is at driving (not that it matters, everyone thinks they're a superstud), but I would buy some illuminas. Crawl before you walk.

 

im not considering myself as a good *** driver, but woth my setup I can controll the car pretty nice and have saved myself from other dumbass drivers on cellphones bout two times. So a ctr rear sway bar will change the handling completelty? Anyone have any input on koni reds?

 

When I put on my illuminas, changed to h&r sports, and put on a grs rear sway, I had to change my driving style dramatically. It wasn't hard, but a GSR is only a 13mm. Yours would be a 23mm. That's like going from A to Z in one jump. Do you know how a sway bar works? If you don't, then you can't really comprehend how it'll change the handling.

 

Also, I wouldn't get koni reds. I'd prefer an illumina all the way. Really good, stiff shocks, great rebound.

 

im guessing it will give me over steer by a shitload. for a car to be normally balanced i would guess the rear sway abr would have to be smaller then the front.

 

get agx's i found they work alot better get some good dropsprings with them and you should be set

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by turnsignalandy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">im guessing it will give me over steer by a shitload. for a car to be normally balanced i would guess the rear sway abr would have to be smaller then the front.</TD></TR></TABLE>

You won't necessarily end up with a lot of oversteer to contend with, it is after all, a F/FWD car. How close to neutral or oversteer you get would also depend on what size swaybar you're running up front. If none then yes, jumping to a 23 mm rear bar can get a bit hairy if you're used to boatloads of understeer.

My SiR has a factory 26 mm front swaybar and upgrading the rear to a 22 mm Comptech unit shifted the balance somewhat but the car, under most circumstances, still understeers at the limit.

To be honest, the best bang for the buck upgrade for a Civic is definitely a beefy rear swaybar. It really does change the character of the car dramatically. But like someone else said, baby steps might be a better choice considering sooner or later, you're gonna want to get new shocks & springs anyway.

 

if you're intrested in having a well handling car, i wouldn't even consider low end shocks, get yourself some koni yellows.. yes they cost more all of 200$ more maybe, but yea get the sway bar + brace first, itr/ctr + apsec brace, then get the shocks next.

you can get any quality part you want, no matter what budget. just a matter of time involed in saving money. If you get greedy and buy cheap bullshit like everyone else you just end up with a car like everyone else

slow

 

That large of a sway-bar will give you no warning before your tires break loose. I would go with someting smaller like a 17mm aftermarket. Or get the shocks first. (Koni yellows)

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RedRocketDX &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">That large of a sway-bar will give you no warning before your tires break loose. I would go with someting smaller like a 17mm aftermarket. Or get the shocks first. (Koni yellows)</TD></TR></TABLE>

i'm sure he can handle a 22/23mm bar.. its not really a big deal.. a 22/23mm bar on stock shocks thow.. well i'd hope he doesn't go do something dumb like pretend he does touge or downhill racing in a 15 second car

 

Agx i stress again the best bang for your buck

 

wow, so much misinformation in this thread its unbelievable


true, going from no sway bar at all to a 22 mm (only jdm itr swaybars are 23mm) is a pretty big change in handling characteristics, it wont be that hard to get used to it. as long as you dont dive into the corner, or lift off the throttle mid corner, you will be fine.


the swaybar will make your car handle better. thats what the op was asking

 

Sway bar, or save up and do all your suspension at once.

 

I agree! Do it all at once. Thats what I'm doing.

 

You know, I am riding on an upgraded rear sway on stock shocks, and on my car, body roll in the rear is ALMOST gone. I do notice it, but not NEARLY as much as I did on a stock rear suspension. I have the Progress rear kit, and It is very much worth the money.