I just recently bought a 98 R. Its realatively stock... Comptech icebox, a muffler (stock exhaust piping) and some ground control coilovers. The coilovers are TRUE coilovers, not just the sleeve overs. Anyways, the problem is the steering is very sensative. Seems magnified the faster you are traveling. The previous owner says the problem seemed to become worse when he lowered the car with the coilovers. I've adjusted the suspension softer and it seemed to help somewhat with responsiveness, but its still what I would call very loose. Anyone else with this problem? Common issue? Easy fix? I've checked the toe and its in spec. I have not checked camber or caster however. I am noticing the front tires have camber wear on the inner edges.

 

What wheels and tires are on it? An incorrect size or offset can make the steering sensitive.

 

Alignment check?

 

stock rims, 195/55/15's

 

Ive checked the toe in the garage. I don't have means of accurately measuring camber and caster and have been waiting until I can get into the local college so I can rack the car and check it myself. I REALLY don't want to take the car to a shop and let anyone touch it.

 

Check the suspension for loose parts (especially ball joints) and worn bushings. Is the steering wheel crooked when going straight? What was the rear toe?

 

I measured rear toe using jack stands, string and a tape measure. Laugh it up if you want, but its pretty damn accurate. I've set many cars this way. So long as the rear isn't terribly off, you can get the front damn near dead on. That being said, the rear was basically perfect. Not toed in or out. The front is set to match and the wheel is pointing straight.

It doesn't act like it has anything loose. Loose will add play. Its tight as can be. Its just overly sensative... Like if I hooked a corner at say 40ish, the car would oversteer like mad and I would look like a fool going side to side to try and correct it back to straight. Make sense? Almost like it handles "too well" in a way... only it sucks like mad.

 

I string align my car. It's all good.

Are you lifting off of the throttle in the corner?

 

check your inner and outer tie rods. When I had suspension work I had the same problem, my tie rods were basically loose.

 

Take a look at the upper control arms, make sure they are on the correct side. That can throw your caster way off and make the car unstable. Does it feel like it turns in way too easily?

 

Yes. This is exactly how I would describe it. Its not like it has something worn. Worn steering components bring play and delay in steering response. There is NO delay in steering response. Its VERY easy to get this car to turn and the returnability just doesn't feel right.... Ive thought it was caster related for a while, but couldn't figure out how caster would ever change except with bent suspension items. Caster isn't an adjustable angle on these cars. I'll check the control arms and see if the upper ball joint is biased either forward (wrong) or backwards (correct)... Thanks for bringing that to mind for me.

 

Was that the issue?

 

Ive checked the upper arms and they seem more biased toward the front off the car, if not centered. Its difficult to tell. I am talking with my friend to see if he knows if the previous owner of the car perhaps had any type of suspension on the car. I know my friend got it and it was stock, but with a few past owners its hard to tell. The nuts on the upper control arms don't look like they have ever been taken off, but looks can be deceiving in this case. I'll update if I find anything else out.

Ive noticed the car gets REAL squirley when you go to pass someone... Accelerating really makes this problem become a large issue. Im pretty sure it shouldn't handle like this.

 

post a pic of your car on a flat ground to see the height compared to front to rear

 

I had THE MOST BIZARRE handling issue on my '98 a few years ago, where it would pull to the left under accelleration (only at speeds above 40mph) but immediately straighten as soon as gas-pedal was released - I have a thread about it from then. Took months to figure out. Eventually we proved that it was a bad tire. It was CRAZY scary to accelerate on the highway because the instant I let off the gas it was almost impossible to prevent it from jumping to the right back to the neutral straight position.

No idea if this is what's going on with you, but swapping left/right tires or front/rear might be worth it to just see if it's tire-related.

Here's the thread:
https://honda-tech.com/forums/transmission-drivetrain-127/major-problem-diff-axle-bushings-2618406/

Let us know if you figure it out!

Steve

 

If I put brand new tires on the rear and had old ones on the front, it would feel all over the place on the highway.
Check the tire pressures. Might just be inflated too high.

 

https://honda-tech.com/forums/acura-integra-type-r-8/streeting-rack-adjustment-fix-any-loose-steering-569090/

 

If your UCAs were swapped, you would have increased caster making the steering heavier and the wheels would look pushed back in the wheel well. But if your UCA bushings were really shot, the UCA would move forward when accelerating and that would decrease caster, and cause the steering to get lighter.

Have you jacked the car up and wiggled the tire left-right and up-down? This is the best place to start when chasing down suspension issues.