Omnipower EG Street Coilovers into EF writeup (really this time)
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From: Salem, OR, USA
Omnipower EG Street Coilovers into EF writeup (really this time)
First of all I'd like to say I'm not aiming this writeup at those clueless to coilover installation. For the basics, go here http://www.c-speedracing.com/h...r.php
I installed a ES master bushing kit prior as well... again this will not be covered here as there are plenty of sites and posts with this info.
PARTS LIST:
Omnipower EG Street Kit
EG lower front shock forks
Zip-ties for front brake lines
I'll start with the rears, mainly since they are the most straightforward. Before you touch anything on the car at all, you must prep the coilovers by loosening the 19mm nut at the top of the shock until it is flush with the top of the shaft. Then raise the spring perch lock and spring perch up until the washer on top is just barely touching the 19mm nut, then lock the spring perch and perch lock togather with the spanners.
Ride height in the REAR ONLY will be adjusted by raising and lower the lower mounting fork. (Omnipower instructions say both front and rears... but this is a hybrid application after all)
Jack the car up safely, and remove the rear shocks. (If you don't know how to do this read the link above) Once the rear shocks are off, compare the Omnipower coils to the stock ones and adjust the lower mounting cup so the Omnipower assembly is around 2 1/2" to 3" shorter than the stock one. This is a starting point only so do not tighten the mounting cup locking collar.
Reinstall the coilovers and torque everything to spec except the mounting cup locking collars and the upper 19mm nuts. If you have urethane bushings, torque suspension parts down while on the jack. With stock rubber bushings, torque at ride height. Install the wheels and lower the car back down.
You will ALWAYS have to lift it back up and adjust so deal with it. Measure ride height at each corner, then jack the car back up and remove the wheels only. Adjust the height by turning the whole shock body to either screw it in or out of the lower mounting cup. Omnipower instructions recommend to do this by hand but I found it easier to use the spanners. To lower the car, turn the SPRING PERCH CLOCKWISE, to raise the car, turn the PERCH LOCK COUNTER-CLOCKWISE.
Once adjusted again, now is a good time to install washers on the upper control arm body mounts for camber adjustment. Plenty of past threads are available for this, search if you need it.
Put the wheels back on, lower the car, and measure height again. If you are happy with the measurements, tighten the mounting cup locking collars and torque the upper 19mm nuts to spec. The whole purpose of the 19mm tightening at the end was to set a correct preload on the shocks. If you ever change ride height, these must be loosened again.
The rears are pretty easy as I said in the beginning, the only problem I noticed is that the lower mounting cups are rather large and will rub against larger than stock swaybars.
Onward to the fronts! Again, prep the coilovers by loosening the 19mm nut at the top of the shock until it is flush with the top of the shaft. Then raise the spring perch lock and spring perch up until the washer on top is just barely touching the 19mm nut, then LOOSELY lock the spring perch and perch lock togather with the spanners this time.
Now heres the different part for the fronts: raise the lower mounting cup up as far as possible and lock it tightly. You will see why shortly, for now, set the front coilovers aside.
Jack the car up safely, and remove the front shocks. (Read the link above some more, fronts can be a PITA; also now is a good time for a front camber kit install if you are so inclined) Once the front shocks are off, remove the lower forks. You will be using forks from a 92-95 EG Civic on the Omnipower shocks so you can toss the old ones, sell them, store them in your dad's ever shrinking shed space or whatever.
Now Omnipower recommends starting with coilovers 2" shorter than stock units for a good starting point. Remember how I said to raise the lower mounting cup as high as possible for the fronts? That's basically the lowest setting for an EG, but when placed side by side with the stock EF shocks at this point, they are the same length (Omnipower was a hair shorter)
I put the coilovers on my car at this point since I was a little afraid to go against the Omnipower instructions. When I reassembled and set my car on the ground it was still at stock height! Instead do this: loosen the spring perch and perch lock and lower it until the distance from the top of the spring to the bottem of the shock is 2" shorter than the top of the stock spring to the bottem of the shock. The reason I say from the top of the spring, is because the top hat will not fall down that far, only the spring will.
Tighten the spring perch to perch lock but only loosely. Attach the EG front forks, reinstall the coilovers, and torque everything to spec except the upper 19mm nuts. If you have urethane bushings, torque suspension parts down while on the jack. With stock rubber bushings, torque at ride height. Install the wheels and lower the car back down.
Measure ride height at each side, then jack the car back up and remove the wheels only. Adjust the height by raising and lowering the spring perch/lock. Make sure that each time you lower the car to the ground, the springs do not seat wrong into the upper rubber mounts. UNLIKE THE REAR, YOU ARE NOW CHANGING SHOCK TRAVEL, DO NOT GO TOO LOW!!!
Put the wheels back on, lower the car, and measure height again. If you are happy with the measurements, tighten the spring perches and perch locks and torque the upper 19mm nuts to spec.
Congrats! You're done, now go get an alignment! The specs I was going for were:
Front:
Height
-2.25 inches (205/50/15 Azenis, no rub)
Caster
+3 degrees (if this was adjustable I would go +5 or higher)
Camber
-1.5 degrees
Toe
Neutral (some prefer slight toe-out)
Rear:
Height
-2 to -2.25 inches
Camber
-1.5 degrees
Toe
Neutral (slight toe-in will rotate better, slight toe-out will stick better)
If you take the car to an alignment shop, see if they will let you sit in the drivers seat while they align the car. You would be amazed at the difference it can make on the on screen readings.
I added camber with a Progress non-adjustable camber kit on the lower (+0.75 degree) setting in the front and washers (2/side = around +1.0 degree). Using this kit makes it possible to set camber by ride height, then dial in toe afterwards. Around -2.25 inches on all 4 corners with this setup will yield around -1.5 degrees camber all around.
Overall I am very pleased with my setup. I have not had any front A-arm problems, nor have I ever rubbed with 205/50/15 tires on 15x7 Rotas. I don't think an EF kit needs to be designed from the ground up, although there are a couple add-in items I could recommend for the EG kit on EF applications. First, front helper springs would safeguard the front upper rubber spring mounts in the event that the front wheels ever left the ground. Second, taller front tops hats as an option would be awesome. I have never bottemed the front shocks yet, but since I had to mess with the shock travel, these would restore the travel and let me sleep better at night. And lastly, the sway bar issue in the rear will have to be addressed. Unfortunately if aftermarket bars were just larger stock-shaped ones, they wouldn't hit, but they are usually bent slightly differently and rub due to this.
Thanks to Omniman, KTeller8, the guy on the phone from Omnipower (Rob I think), Simple for the EG forks, and my dad for his garage!
Modified by Mr.Saturn at 2:36 AM 8/29/2004
I installed a ES master bushing kit prior as well... again this will not be covered here as there are plenty of sites and posts with this info.
PARTS LIST:
Omnipower EG Street Kit
EG lower front shock forks
Zip-ties for front brake lines
I'll start with the rears, mainly since they are the most straightforward. Before you touch anything on the car at all, you must prep the coilovers by loosening the 19mm nut at the top of the shock until it is flush with the top of the shaft. Then raise the spring perch lock and spring perch up until the washer on top is just barely touching the 19mm nut, then lock the spring perch and perch lock togather with the spanners.
Ride height in the REAR ONLY will be adjusted by raising and lower the lower mounting fork. (Omnipower instructions say both front and rears... but this is a hybrid application after all)
Jack the car up safely, and remove the rear shocks. (If you don't know how to do this read the link above) Once the rear shocks are off, compare the Omnipower coils to the stock ones and adjust the lower mounting cup so the Omnipower assembly is around 2 1/2" to 3" shorter than the stock one. This is a starting point only so do not tighten the mounting cup locking collar.
Reinstall the coilovers and torque everything to spec except the mounting cup locking collars and the upper 19mm nuts. If you have urethane bushings, torque suspension parts down while on the jack. With stock rubber bushings, torque at ride height. Install the wheels and lower the car back down.
You will ALWAYS have to lift it back up and adjust so deal with it. Measure ride height at each corner, then jack the car back up and remove the wheels only. Adjust the height by turning the whole shock body to either screw it in or out of the lower mounting cup. Omnipower instructions recommend to do this by hand but I found it easier to use the spanners. To lower the car, turn the SPRING PERCH CLOCKWISE, to raise the car, turn the PERCH LOCK COUNTER-CLOCKWISE.
Once adjusted again, now is a good time to install washers on the upper control arm body mounts for camber adjustment. Plenty of past threads are available for this, search if you need it.
Put the wheels back on, lower the car, and measure height again. If you are happy with the measurements, tighten the mounting cup locking collars and torque the upper 19mm nuts to spec. The whole purpose of the 19mm tightening at the end was to set a correct preload on the shocks. If you ever change ride height, these must be loosened again.
The rears are pretty easy as I said in the beginning, the only problem I noticed is that the lower mounting cups are rather large and will rub against larger than stock swaybars.
Onward to the fronts! Again, prep the coilovers by loosening the 19mm nut at the top of the shock until it is flush with the top of the shaft. Then raise the spring perch lock and spring perch up until the washer on top is just barely touching the 19mm nut, then LOOSELY lock the spring perch and perch lock togather with the spanners this time.
Now heres the different part for the fronts: raise the lower mounting cup up as far as possible and lock it tightly. You will see why shortly, for now, set the front coilovers aside.
Jack the car up safely, and remove the front shocks. (Read the link above some more, fronts can be a PITA; also now is a good time for a front camber kit install if you are so inclined) Once the front shocks are off, remove the lower forks. You will be using forks from a 92-95 EG Civic on the Omnipower shocks so you can toss the old ones, sell them, store them in your dad's ever shrinking shed space or whatever.
Now Omnipower recommends starting with coilovers 2" shorter than stock units for a good starting point. Remember how I said to raise the lower mounting cup as high as possible for the fronts? That's basically the lowest setting for an EG, but when placed side by side with the stock EF shocks at this point, they are the same length (Omnipower was a hair shorter)
I put the coilovers on my car at this point since I was a little afraid to go against the Omnipower instructions. When I reassembled and set my car on the ground it was still at stock height! Instead do this: loosen the spring perch and perch lock and lower it until the distance from the top of the spring to the bottem of the shock is 2" shorter than the top of the stock spring to the bottem of the shock. The reason I say from the top of the spring, is because the top hat will not fall down that far, only the spring will.
Tighten the spring perch to perch lock but only loosely. Attach the EG front forks, reinstall the coilovers, and torque everything to spec except the upper 19mm nuts. If you have urethane bushings, torque suspension parts down while on the jack. With stock rubber bushings, torque at ride height. Install the wheels and lower the car back down.
Measure ride height at each side, then jack the car back up and remove the wheels only. Adjust the height by raising and lowering the spring perch/lock. Make sure that each time you lower the car to the ground, the springs do not seat wrong into the upper rubber mounts. UNLIKE THE REAR, YOU ARE NOW CHANGING SHOCK TRAVEL, DO NOT GO TOO LOW!!!
Put the wheels back on, lower the car, and measure height again. If you are happy with the measurements, tighten the spring perches and perch locks and torque the upper 19mm nuts to spec.
Congrats! You're done, now go get an alignment! The specs I was going for were:
Front:
Height
-2.25 inches (205/50/15 Azenis, no rub)
Caster
+3 degrees (if this was adjustable I would go +5 or higher)
Camber
-1.5 degrees
Toe
Neutral (some prefer slight toe-out)
Rear:
Height
-2 to -2.25 inches
Camber
-1.5 degrees
Toe
Neutral (slight toe-in will rotate better, slight toe-out will stick better)
If you take the car to an alignment shop, see if they will let you sit in the drivers seat while they align the car. You would be amazed at the difference it can make on the on screen readings.
I added camber with a Progress non-adjustable camber kit on the lower (+0.75 degree) setting in the front and washers (2/side = around +1.0 degree). Using this kit makes it possible to set camber by ride height, then dial in toe afterwards. Around -2.25 inches on all 4 corners with this setup will yield around -1.5 degrees camber all around.
Overall I am very pleased with my setup. I have not had any front A-arm problems, nor have I ever rubbed with 205/50/15 tires on 15x7 Rotas. I don't think an EF kit needs to be designed from the ground up, although there are a couple add-in items I could recommend for the EG kit on EF applications. First, front helper springs would safeguard the front upper rubber spring mounts in the event that the front wheels ever left the ground. Second, taller front tops hats as an option would be awesome. I have never bottemed the front shocks yet, but since I had to mess with the shock travel, these would restore the travel and let me sleep better at night. And lastly, the sway bar issue in the rear will have to be addressed. Unfortunately if aftermarket bars were just larger stock-shaped ones, they wouldn't hit, but they are usually bent slightly differently and rub due to this.
Thanks to Omniman, KTeller8, the guy on the phone from Omnipower (Rob I think), Simple for the EG forks, and my dad for his garage!
Modified by Mr.Saturn at 2:36 AM 8/29/2004
Re: Omnipower EG Street Coilovers into EF writeup (rjay8604)
If you dont know, Omni Power is made by the same person who created Skunk2 Coilovers. They're great quality and perhaps a lil better then skunk2 plus you can't beat the price for them.
-Jon
-Jon
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,031
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From: Salem, OR, USA
Re: Omnipower EG Street Coilovers into EF writeup (rjay8604)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by rjay8604 »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">were they um...say tein quality.</TD></TR></TABLE>
I can't really compare the one coilover a company makes to the dozens of coilovers another company makes. Tein stuff is overpriced... we all know that. I can say however that for equal performance the Omni coilovers are cheaper. More tomorrow, its 3am...
I can't really compare the one coilover a company makes to the dozens of coilovers another company makes. Tein stuff is overpriced... we all know that. I can say however that for equal performance the Omni coilovers are cheaper. More tomorrow, its 3am...
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 7,954
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From: Kteller, USA
Re: Omnipower EG Street Coilovers into EF writeup (Mr.Saturn)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Mr.Saturn »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
I can't really compare the one coilover a company makes to the dozens of coilovers another company makes. Tein stuff is overpriced... we all know that. I can say however that for equal performance the Omni coilovers are cheaper. More tomorrow, its 3am...</TD></TR></TABLE>
Thanks Mr. Saturn for your post, i ll use it on my site and credit you of course.
Any Crx Guys want to pick up a set of omnipowers. Let me know! "hybrid special" could be available. Make sure you mention your using them on your ef crx! pm me
I can't really compare the one coilover a company makes to the dozens of coilovers another company makes. Tein stuff is overpriced... we all know that. I can say however that for equal performance the Omni coilovers are cheaper. More tomorrow, its 3am...</TD></TR></TABLE>
Thanks Mr. Saturn for your post, i ll use it on my site and credit you of course.
Any Crx Guys want to pick up a set of omnipowers. Let me know! "hybrid special" could be available. Make sure you mention your using them on your ef crx! pm me
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,031
Likes: 2
From: Salem, OR, USA
Re: Omnipower EG Street Coilovers into EF writeup (CRX-Fluffy)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CRX-Fluffy »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">perhaps a lil better then skunk2</TD></TR></TABLE>
No perhaps and no lil, Omnis are full coilovers, and definately on a different level altogather.
P.S. Bump! I finished the writeup, pics soon if I can get a cam!
No perhaps and no lil, Omnis are full coilovers, and definately on a different level altogather.
P.S. Bump! I finished the writeup, pics soon if I can get a cam!
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,159
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From: GTA Canada
what price range are we looking at then...?
How will it compare to Koni yellow/skunk2 setup?
-edit-
Wait..non-adjustable shocks? For those prices? And we're comparing it to tein and Koni?
Something's wrong with that picure.
Modified by SETI20 at 2:51 PM 9/24/2004
How will it compare to Koni yellow/skunk2 setup?
-edit-
Wait..non-adjustable shocks? For those prices? And we're comparing it to tein and Koni?
Something's wrong with that picure.
Modified by SETI20 at 2:51 PM 9/24/2004
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From: USA
Re: Omnipower EG Street Coilovers into EF writeup (omniman)
Omniman the wait is worth it, i'm willing to buy stuff made by a guy like you. I'm hoping to use your valvetrain too, hope your valve springs will work with wicked stg.2's.
the wait is worth it, i'm willing to buy stuff made by a guy like you. I'm hoping to use your valvetrain too, hope your valve springs will work with wicked stg.2's.
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 30
Likes: 0
From: South CaL, ca, u
Re: Omnipower EG Street Coilovers into EF writeup (rjay8604)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by rjay8604 »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Omniman the wait is worth it, i'm willing to buy stuff made by a guy like you. </TD></TR></TABLE>
the wait is worth it, i'm willing to buy stuff made by a guy like you. </TD></TR></TABLE>
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 7,954
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From: Kteller, USA
Re: (SETI20)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SETI20 »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">what price range are we looking at then...?
How will it compare to Koni yellow/skunk2 setup?
-edit-
Wait..non-adjustable shocks? For those prices? And we're comparing it to tein and Koni?
Something's wrong with that picure.
Modified by SETI20 at 2:51 PM 9/24/2004</TD></TR></TABLE>
same price as the others.. which is actually still very low for the quaility and what your getting!
How will it compare to Koni yellow/skunk2 setup?
-edit-
Wait..non-adjustable shocks? For those prices? And we're comparing it to tein and Koni?
Something's wrong with that picure.
Modified by SETI20 at 2:51 PM 9/24/2004</TD></TR></TABLE>
same price as the others.. which is actually still very low for the quaility and what your getting!
Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 7,954
Likes: 0
From: Kteller, USA
Re: (SETI20)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SETI20 »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Well, Tein is only marginally more expensive.
And they're 20 something ways adjustable.
...but they're progressive :thumbdown"</TD></TR></TABLE>
right, i was speaking of the post before he's edit:
and omnipower will have adjustable systems available in 05
And they're 20 something ways adjustable.
...but they're progressive :thumbdown"</TD></TR></TABLE>
right, i was speaking of the post before he's edit:
and omnipower will have adjustable systems available in 05
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From: USA
Re: (KTeller8)
maybe one day will have adjustable dampening and adjustable spring rates, that would rock. anyway, what kinda price will the EF kit be, and what kind of spring rates. will it be any good for daily drivers.
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From: The burbs of illadelph, USA
Re: (rjay8604)
cool to see someone other than me has done this! I absolutly love the performance of my omnipowers and the price was unbeatable.
The way i mounted the front shocks was to mill the aluminum shock bottom a little bit and use the stock EF fork, worked well for me
However on the rear i have rota slipstreams and 205 azenis and it rubs, any ideas?
The way i mounted the front shocks was to mill the aluminum shock bottom a little bit and use the stock EF fork, worked well for me
However on the rear i have rota slipstreams and 205 azenis and it rubs, any ideas?
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From: GTA Canada
yeah....have the wheels milled to offset 45 by a decent shop, and check your camber. A little negative camber is ok... but too much will cause problems.
If all else fails, mildly roll/shave your rear quarter lining.
If all else fails, mildly roll/shave your rear quarter lining.
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From: Salem, OR, USA
Re: (Chronicsinners)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Chronicsinners »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The way i mounted the front shocks was to mill the aluminum shock bottom a little bit and use the stock EF fork, worked well for me
However on the rear i have rota slipstreams and 205 azenis and it rubs, any ideas?</TD></TR></TABLE>
The front forks are the same length for EG and EF, the shocks are different lengths. This saves some $$ but will not fix the travel problem.
I have rota slips and 205 azenis... no rub and all I have is 1 pair of shims per side (1 shim = about +0.5 camber) Mine are +40 offset and are the 15x7s.
However on the rear i have rota slipstreams and 205 azenis and it rubs, any ideas?</TD></TR></TABLE>
The front forks are the same length for EG and EF, the shocks are different lengths. This saves some $$ but will not fix the travel problem.
I have rota slips and 205 azenis... no rub and all I have is 1 pair of shims per side (1 shim = about +0.5 camber) Mine are +40 offset and are the 15x7s.
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From: Birmingham, AL, United States
Re: (Smokinsax)
Splendifurous!!
Bump this back up because I am seriously thinking about getting these (street versions). Great write-up, btw.
Does anyone know the most negative camber you need before absolutely needing to use a camber kit? I was thinking it is -1.7 or -1.9.
Bump this back up because I am seriously thinking about getting these (street versions). Great write-up, btw.
Does anyone know the most negative camber you need before absolutely needing to use a camber kit? I was thinking it is -1.7 or -1.9.
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From: Salem, OR, USA
Re: (maxpsi)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by maxpsi »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">-1.7 or -1.9.</TD></TR></TABLE>
I would around there personally, -1.5 all around on the street gives ever so slight wear.
I would around there personally, -1.5 all around on the street gives ever so slight wear.
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From: Kteller, USA
Re: (Mr.Saturn)
good thing for this thread.. also ill have my personal big order of the 88-89 ef's here i think monday/tuesday..
for those who cant do this.. now we got the ef good to go
for those who cant do this.. now we got the ef good to go
