Hey guys,

As the title says, I'm having slight difficulty selecting a setup that will work for me, as I've lowered my car and my exhaust pipe has been rattling against my stock LCA.

To remedy this, I've started by scrapping my exhaust setup (the piping was pretty straight, while other exhausts usually have a bend up and over the LCA to avoid contact) which was cheap anyways, so it didn't bother me to say goodbye!

So now that I've got my second exhaust, I'm switching out my LCAs (yes I'm aware aftermarket LCAs are bit thicker) since I would be doing this down the road a bit anyways. I've narrowed it down to a couple LCA choices. I'll probably go with either Skunk2s or spring for the F7s as it's only $30.00 more or so. After a bit more reading on swapping out LCAs, I've found that they won't be compatible without a bit more modification. Apparently I'll need a new, aftermarket set of endlinks as well (I've heard BLOX endlinks recommended as they're fairly cheap and get the job done)? If that's the case, then I'll go ahead and get those 2 items.

However, I've also heard that people who are purchasing new LCAs are also probably upgrading their rear sway bars, which sounded right to me. If this is the case, then I was thinking I could kill 2 birds with one stone, and snag a rear sway bar that comes with matching endlinks! Will the bolts on this set be long enough, or would I have to grab another set of endlinks anyways? I have no idea. I'm speaking in particular of the Progress Technology rear sway bar, by the way. I'm not sure if anyone's heard of them or if they're good or bad or what.

Beyond that, I'd need someone, preferably with experience, to recommend a size of sway bar that a lowered car could use that would also not interfere with the exhaust or anything. Apparently some come with "sliding range adjustment" - I've seen those in 24mm+. Non-adjustable ones I see in 22mm.

After all this is said and done, I was going to wrap a small section of both the LCA and the exhaust where they are closest together, just incase I hit a bump and they make contact. May possibly coat the exhaust in some heat resistant silicone or something too. Anything to increase the longevity of these parts' lives!

As for my personal use, I don't autocross or do any terribly hard racing, at least for now. I'm just looking to improve my cars handling, and have fun working on my suspension while I'm waiting for my engine to die so I can replace that next!

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

Stick with what you currently have. There no real benefit in upgrading lca.

 

I understand, however they may not be solely for aesthetics for very long. I figure if I'll do it in the future I may as well do it now. Any help or recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

What does this even mean? There is no advantage of using aftermarket parts over OEM in this instance. If you want the look then by all means get the F7s but unless the bushings are going out in your stock LCAs (and even then you can just swap out bushings) there is no benefit..

 

I was under the impression upgrading from OEM to aftermarket provided at least some benefit over stock LCAs, hence the term "upgrading". I could be wrong, but I believe they are a bit lighter than stock, as well as some other perks over OEM. I'm open to all comments. I don't claim to know everything, which is why I posted here. Is it worth $200+? That's for the buyer to decide, I suppose. I was really sort of looking for some answers as far as compatibility goes. Ex; this will work with this; this won't fit with that, etc.

Thanks!

 

As for compatibility and fitment, there are issues between identical setups. People have posted "My exhaust hits my sway bar with xxx combination" and you'll get a response with "Weird. I have the exact same setup and no issues."

So things vary from car-to-car even using the same parts.

 

You are wrong. Going from OEM to aftermarket LCAs is not an upgrade. In some cases it is a downgrade. So I repeat; there is no performance benefit whatsoever to going aftermarket for LCAs. It's all about looks.
As for compatibility you haven't even stated what exhaust you have. How is anyone going to tell you if "X" part is compatible with unknown exhaust? In any case if your LCA is hitting your exhaust you're doing something wrong.

 

Interesting! Thanks for your input. I don't see how I could have done anything wrong though. The car is lowered, decreasing the space between the exhaust piping and the LCA. It's a crap Pacesetter exhaust system, but I don't see how that would matter. Either way, I wasn't referring to fitment of the exhaust. I meant fitment between the LCAs and the rear sway bar. Other forums have mentioned that the F7 LCAs weren't working with their install and thy had to get a separate set of endlinks. I thought I could save a little money by just getting a sway bar that comes with an endlink set that will be compatible with said parts instead of getting LCAs, sway bar, as well as separate set of endlinks. Hope that makes sense. Thanks.

 

That's what you did wrong.

 

Lol ok, thanks for your input everyone. I appreciate it! New exhaust system is in the works. Possibly some other goodies as well!

Thanks again and my apologies for any miscommunication!

 

All I have to say is.... YUCK!. There's header wrap, but it's more for keeping heat on the exhaust.

And if you do plan on autocrossing the car in the future (which I know you are thinknig about it, or you would'nt have mentioned it) , you'd better get a set of rules and start looking at the classes. Especially if you are gonna do an engine swap after your done "waiting for this engine to die". You will be surprised what little things bump you up into higher classes fast. For example, swapping a B18 into your Civic would throw you into Modified, and there will be no way for you to be competitive, no matter how much money you throw at your Civic.

 

this is the closest to the truth on here.

here is most likely your main causes:
-exhaust piping od/routing.
-ride height of the car.
-spring rate/"stiffness" of damper.

i do not have a problem with my hatch just driving around. but certain tracks with certain corners give me enough weight transfer/body roll to have the lca knock the exhaust out of the hangers.


not really true and doesn't really matter. our region in sms the top 5 out of 15-20 cars is normally atleast 4 ff hondas with a subaru thrown in there. also does it really matter about being competitive? maybe he wants to just go out and pedal around so classing doesn't really matter.

 

There are two aftermarket LCAs I would ever consider buying:

Function7

PIC lcas

That is all.

Skunk2's new stuff I'm sure it fine, but for that kind of money you can get baller Function7 for pennies more.