I have a 93 Integra, and I just got Tokico Illumna's and Ground Controls installed. I had cut springs and stock struts before. I have the setting on 3 all around. It seems as though the car handles better, however, it still "bounces" over larger holes or bumpes in the road.

Any ideas? or Input? How long is the break in period?


Thanks in advance.

 

What's your front and rear spring rates?




[Modified by bulldog_RS20, 9:18 PM 7/19/2002]

 

Not sure, they are just the stock rates. Nothing special.


[Modified by ocbeta, 10:18 PM 7/19/2002]

 

I'd try a lower setting on the shocks to see if there's any noticable change. Tokico says the highest rate for the front should be 350 and the rears around 300. I'm sure your springs aren't that high so, dialing back on the shock setting may give more compression and rebound absorbsion...

Or call Tokico yourself and ask them what you have and they might have some ideas...

 

I have the same setup on my 3rd Gen sedan. I run the struts at 3 in the front and 4 in the back. I feel like it's a bit stiff, but you gotta sacrifice comfort for performance here and there. I don't bounce all over the place, but I too don't know my spring rates.

 

I am running 3 all around, I don't mind if it is stiff, but I don't want the back wheels to bounce around. I am wondering if a rear-upper strut bar will resolve the issue.

maybe I will try 4 in the rear, perhaps, 4 all around.

 

If your car is lower than 1.5 inches than it is probably bottoming out on the bumpstops on those large pot holes which will make it skip and bounce around. If you have it slammed than that is definately the problem. Try raising it a bit. A car that handles good on smooth ground only is not a good handling car. The car needs suspension travel to handle properly.

 

Excellent

Unless you are full time racing, really like the looks, or possibly drive through alot of canyons/curvey roads, dropping your car that much makes it hard to enjoy sometimes. If I were to lower my car more than 1", I could not make it up my driveway without scraping. Getting out and adjusting all the time is just NOT so much fun...

I like drop springs better, as you decide on a predefined amount of drop based upon your needs. Leave it at that. Plus, with lower amounts of drop, you get much better spring rates. More spring, more stability over rough terrain, and nicer ride. A coilover has to do all drop rates with a largest spring size as being the common factor. The most amount of drop! So that makes for bitsy springs compared to drop springs with a 1 to 1.5 inch drop.

Just my 2cents worth

 

Thanks for all of the help so far!!


can you cut the bump stops? (I know that doesn't sound like such a good idea, but I like the advantage of a lower center of gravity, plus the car does look a lot better being low.) If I cut the bump stops, will I shorten the life of the struts? I am assuming Tokico knew what hey were doing when they specified the size for the bump stops. Just an idea.

Thanks again, I would really like to get this all figured out.



[Modified by ocbeta, 6:10 AM 7/24/2002]

 

??

 

Are you not using stock bumpstops? I believe bumpstops need to be matched w/ springs, for example H&R Sport springs specifiy to not cut bumpstops except on certain Accord and Prelude models.

Now remember that if you are running stiffer springs and higher-rate dampers, your car will more closely follow the profile of the road. So if the tire drops into a dip or goes over a bump, the body of the car will more closely follow those changes, rather than floating over them like larger cars do. This can make for a more bumpy or "bouncy" ride, but it's a different kind of bounce than what you get with blown shocks. With blown shocks your suspension will continue to oscillate even after the tire has passed over the bump or dip.

 

Cool man, thanks for the help. I am thinking about getting some good strut bars. Because they tend to help with this type of handling. I think that I am just not used to the stiffer springs.

Thanks again