I have been looking through this board and came across the Spoon spring post with application to the koni dampers so i thought i'd better join and get some help on this. My car is a '98 UK ITR with 40,000miles on it and i am very keen to make it roll less and sit a little lower (for handling). My first idea was to use the Spoon progrossive springs on stock dampers but now this appears to be considered a bad idea especially considering the mileage on my dampers. Does anyone have experience of this combo and its effectiveness and its usefullnes on a hard driven street car? Also on the Spoon website they list and show fixed dampers with springs (yellow) for the ITR and was wondering if anyone knew anything about these?

I am also wondering about the vast aray of strut bars, tie bars, roll bars etc etc etc available for the ITr and what anyones opinions and experiences are with these.

Thank you in advance.

 

I've been running spoon springs on stock shocks and struts for a little over 20K miles now. My shocks and struts and pretty much dead, but the car still handles very well. When money becomes available, I will be upgrading.

 

Strut bars/Sway bars ---- http://www.kingmotorsports.com (look in the Mugen section)

Rollbar - http://www.ioportracing.com


edit: the rollbar will do much more than any strut bar or sway bar. I chose the 4 point bolt in kit



[Modified by EleanoR, 5:38 PM 11/25/2002]

 

I think you have issues with the stock suspension for the wrong reasons.

 

 

eh? sorry guys, I am interested in the same setup, but only for my second car as it is relatively cheap. So what is the wrong reason?

 

Why?

 

the reason is looks.

I dont upgrade anything based on looks , and you think that body roll needs to be addressed to make the car handle better.

perhaps you should research a little more but I highly doubt you are able to outdrive the ITR suspension.

 

see above post.

 

Hey Doc, thanks for the advise, but...Well... let's put it this way.. We are in Europe with lots of really nice country B-roads (Twisties) and also which is very Wet, The ITR shock on Standard springs really SUCK here! I am hoping by lowering the car maybe by 2.5" to bring the center of gravity a bit closer to home (added that it also improves the look of the cars as well ), and on progressive springs may reduce the body roll and provide better balance. As Body Roll shifts the balancs and center of gravity. I know that some may argue that to fit some Anti-Roll bars, but this will not be much use when the car starts to skip side ways, as they are bit too harsh on wet roads, on to on coming taffic.

I think this is the same with YOR....

So back to YOR's question. does the Spoon springs on Standard shocks help relieve body roll??

... finally can I outdrive the ITR Shocks? Yes! when I make several trips a year to Das Nordschleife.

 

I beg to differ.

2.5" drop on stock shocks ??

yeah that will handle and ride like a dream

you're obviously concerned with looks and think body roll is evil in someway , I would rethink that.

 

So, how would you rate ride and handle like a dream? what would be your perfect setup then?

 

you would need to tell me more info than that.....

I dont share the same taste as you , you seem more concerned with looks and I prefer function.

 

if you are out driving the stock suspension on the streets

sounds like u are doing this for looks.

 

Buy a GOOD set up.

fairly expensive:
Buddy Club P-1 Racing Damper
Zeal Super Function
Tein N1
(all of these WAY above your application)

beyond expensive:
Moton
Ohlin
(all of these WAY above your application)

You should look at...
Zeal B2
Tein HA
Mugen Lowdowns
Koni Yellows w/ Ground Control Coil Overs (if you're in europe, i am not sure how expensive it is to get this stuff)


[Modified by disordeR, 1:56 PM 11/25/2002]

 

Spoon springs + Bilsteins for shock and springs setup.

I will highly suggest the following if you consider coil-over suspension :

Spoon ADJ.
Buddyclub Racing Spec
ZEAL B2/B6

 

ah... ic..

guys.. don't worry about it.... this is so depressing....

 

get H&R race and Koni yellows. Handles good, LOOKS awesome. Who cares, not everyone races their ITR door to door competitively. It IS YOUR Car, and you should do whatever you want. Everyone should have the ability to enjoy their own car. And for you ITR guys, just think about how much faster and how cooler you will look when you blast by on the track with a stock ITR suspension.

 

Thank you to the peple who have helpfull.

To the others: Why do you think I am interested in looks rather than function? I only bought my Integra for one reason: Its driving capabilities. My reason for wanting to lower the car is to reduce the center of gravity so the car rolls less. Surely with stiffer, tighter suspension this will be the case. The reason i am asking about anyones experience of ITR suspension is purely because i am interested in performance and dont want to mess up the cars beautiful neutral handling. I dont think 'body roll is evil in some way' as you suggest and are aware that some body roll is needed for balanced handling but a reduction in body roll is not unreasonable request as as standard there is a lot of roll. You may not be able to drive to the limits of your car safely but how about letting other people give their USEFULL opinions.

Can i out drive my ITRs suspension? Yes i can. I have owned the car for two years and have covered 20,000 miles in it including a two day thrash to the south of france using only back roads, various trips to the Nurburgring Nordscliefe, and many track days and hard country road driving. If i only wanted my car to be lower as you are so quick to suggest then i would have simply chopped up the springs already on it. DONT THINK SO. You may have a 'ricer' problem in the states but in the UK the ITR is not driven by idiots with neon lights and i'd rather not be catorgorised with them. I work for a motoring magazine, i love cars, i have a lot of driving experience in a multitude of cars on road and track including Ferraris (F40, F355, 308GTB), Porsches (2.7RS), Caterhams (R500), single seaters etc etc. so dont just leap on me because i suggested lowering my car. I asked for your input not your criticism. It has reached a point where i find the standard ITR rolls too much in the corners and i would like to correct this if possible whilst not compromising its back road control as the Nordscliefe is very bumpy as are our roads in general...

98 UK ITR: B-Factory racing gas flow, Spoon head gasket, HKS manifold, cat replacement pipe, Hiper exhaust (secondhand changing to Spoon), Rebored throttle body, Apexi induction kit (changing to Mugen box), Tarox disc and ferrodo pads.


[Modified by Year One Racing, 10:56 AM 11/26/2002]

 

It sounds like you need Spoon N1 dampers . They are pretty stiff but they are driveable on the streets. You can't go wrong with Spoon. Actually to answer you question on Tie bars. I have all four Spoon bars on my car. It is hard to say if they made a differance on my car because I put them on soon after I got the R so I never got a good feel for the stock supension. They do help but I don't think they are worth the money. I think Swaybars are better investment then Tie bars. Swaybars really make a differance in handling. Unless Euro R's have JDM 23mm rear sway bars, that is a good place to start. Go alittle bigger if you want more oversteer but don't go too big or it will be very tail happy.


[Modified by PyR01-0347, 11:13 AM 11/26/2002]


[Modified by PyR01-0347, 11:14 AM 11/26/2002]

 

Are sway bars what we call anti-roll bars? I would love a full coilover set up but cant really spend that much and i think hard coilovers would destroy the handling on undulating UK roads. Many cars are really too stiff for the UK (inc. R34 Skyline, Porsche GT2,) as standard if that helps demonstrate quite how fun and challenging our roads can be. If you've ever seen the WRC Mote Carlo rally then those are my ideal kind of roads...


[Modified by Year One Racing, 11:47 AM 11/26/2002]

 

Hey Year One Racing,

Im in a similar position, ie wanting to tighten the car up after a few years.

My SIMPLE conclusion is this:
Coil-overs - Fully adjustable coil-overs are great but you need some time testing and adjusting to get your moneys worth. But the high end models are GENERALLY light, strong and deliver. Ideal for track. If you search you should find plenty of reviews, such as
https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=222454

Ground Control/Bilstein - Cheaper, tough and still deliver. Spring rate is set and forget. Custom spring rates are only a few days away if you really want them. I want Bilstein because they seem very tough and I need that in Australia.https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=338629

As for tie bars, swar bays/anti-roll bars, I am going to buy braces where the car doesn't have them, ie rear strut towers. If you regularly track I think the more bracing the better. I think the swaybars are more to cater for your driving style (as are spring rates).https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=342003

If you are going to have the suspension done, check out your bushings as some may need replacing or you might just want to put stiffer ones in. Spoon seem to make a good set but I have no experience with them.

Good Luck!

PS I'd harass you about the Ashes but you thumped us in the Union test!

EDIT: Spoon springs are very good especially with a matched shock, however they seem to drop the car at least an inch which is too much for crappy aust roads.... Which may also require camber correction etc.


[Modified by mpd076, 10:11 PM 11/26/2002]

 

I dont know how relivant this is, but look at the last auto-x I went to:

28 Acura 100 60.912 60.518 60.174 60.174 48.199
6 Acura 62.467 60.032 60.017 61.924 60.017 47.894

The #6 car was bone stock. The #28 car had H&K springs(I think thats what he said), rear strut tower bar, header, intake, cat, exhaust. Makes you kinda wonder doesn't it. $5,000 in parts, or a little driver skill.

 

well, autocross is all about the driver. i feel i am a fairly competent autocrosser, by far not the best. i have a well set up SM car and i have yet to beat a ES non turbo mr2 driven by pat salerno raw! i have come really close, but have not been able to do it. pax? forget it....
my point about the above rambling is that it is all about the driver. also, spoon springs look very nice on a itr and the ride is not unpleasant at all. this is on stock shocks. unfortuneatley, i was never able to drive the particular car that i installed them on in good weather. only in the rain. i was impressed with them though. decent upgrade for those looking to lower their itr a smidgeon, without totally screwing it up. spoon springs-

 

Does anyone know about the fixed Spoon shocks/springs they sell?