I woke up yesterday at about 7 in the morning. Dazed and untrusting of my car, thinking clearly of the small road trip ahead of me. I was going to have to go through the canyons again. It was scary last time the excessive roll of the body even at speed limit and under speed limit.

So I caved and pulled my coilovers out the box, looked up a quick DIY. And off to work I went. Equipped with a jack, jack stands and hand tools I went to work.

The old suspensions removed fairly easily. I took the old suspension and did some measuring. From the top hat to where the lower body met the fork. Designated a 1" drop from that point and moved on to the other side. With the front finished a quick test drive and settle. Pulled back into the drive tightened up the bolts. The rears were simple and after finishing install a quick bounce and test drive settle was in order. Pulled in and torqued it all down. It's hard to reach under the car and tighten those lca bolts.

The car was signicantly better though the height was not changed drastically it was well balanced in the corners.

So off to the canyon. I went with cautiously optimistic. Sweeping through the turns was nice and could definitely feel the difference. What had got to me was that some turns I would start to roll ever so slightly. My first thought was to slow down let the car bite in a bit. But instinct told me press the gas the car flattened out and railed the turn even more so.

So my cousin hopped in he knew the canyons far better than myself I thought I was going fast nope and the oh **** bar was getting grabbed at constantly until I realized we just took that 35 mph turn at 80 with out breaking a sweat.

So that's it for now guys. Oh and this was all done in a 1995 Honda civic CX stock 70hp. With 15x6.5 rims and kumho ecsta tires.

If you have any questions about the install please ask.

Thanks

 

Nice story. What coilovers?

 

AMR Engineering 550fr/650rr Spring Rates. The ride is surprisingly comfortable. Big bumps are well felt too.

 

The 650 in the rear is what is giving you that oversteer.

 

Yah I had figured as much, but with it being my first ever coilover experience it's hard to believe that it's such a difference. I'm thinking I should get my camber kits on and take it to get dialed in with an alignment and possible corner balance.

As far as sway bars I think I will hold off until I understand the car in its current position.

So down the line is swaybars, traction bars, all new bushings.

 

In laymans terms when dealing with swaybars and springs, bigger in the back=oversteer. Bigger in the front=understeer. This is an oversimplified explanation.

 

I'm looking forward to owning a similar setup.

My good friend and autocross confidant has the AMR 550/650 setup and it handles like a dream. Smoother on the road than my Progress CS-II 350/350 setup.

AMR is hands down the best suspension short of the $3,000+ setups out there.

And yes, the oversteer is a result of the rear bias rates. If you want some neutrality add a beefier front swaybar.

 

Well there are no sway bars as of yet but looking into it. Bushings and the installation of my camber kits will be next.

The rear of the car is about 3/4" higher than the font right now so going to aim to even that out soon.

Now I had a question my front now sits only at about three finger gaps. In long sweeping turns I feel the roll increasing unless I begin to accelerate and it smooths out push to hard I feel the push again.

Will swaybars help to alleviate that situation?

 

Yes, they will cut down on roll.

 

Awesome. Now to decide 32mm hollow or 24mm rear. Front 21mm perhaps.

Looking for neutral with controlled oversteer. Hmmmm what to do.

Opinions?

 

If you get a bigger rear bar you will get more oversteer. If you think it's scary to drive now...

 

Perhaps some track time after the suspension is better dialed in is in order? Maybe hit up Adams Racepark for some small bits of fun and education.

 

Maybe I missed it, but I didn't see "get the car aligned" anywhere in there. Was that even done after installing the suspension? If not, don't bother trying to diagnose anything about the handling until you do.

 

Great point perhaps I should hop on the bushings and make an appointment and have it all installed and done sooner rather than later.

 

indeed. Get your bushings in, get it aligned, then start figuring out what you want to do with swaybars.

With 550F rates you may not need a front bar at all. You can buy an adjustable swaybar for the rear, too.

 

You could always look at Progress for a sway bar. I have their coilovers and their craftsmanship is excellent IMO.

 

Indeed, the progress rear adjustable swaybar was the one I was thinking of. Noisy but very functional for the track day driver.

 

Let me put up a parts list of what I'd like to get going.

*AMR Engineering Front UCA's
*King Motorsports Rear Camber Kit
Hardrace Bushings
New Lower Ball Joints( wish they made like 1/4" extended)
Full-Race Traction Bars
F7 Rear Subframe Brace

Wonder what else. Simple being best.

Thanks for all the insight guys.

*In Possession

 

Sounds like a plan to me. You could hold off on the F7 brace till you decide which swaybar you'd like.

 

You more than doubled your corner speed without changing the tyres? Impressive.

 

Well yes. I guess? The 195/50/R15 Kumho Ecsta were on the car second time I had gone through the canyon which allowed me to do the posted speed limit. So the coilovers have helped immensely.

But just because the coilovers have helped to increase cornering speed does not mean its increased my confidence in my driving ability. For now I remain modest.

 

If you're going to keep driving like that you should probably get some summer tires.

 

Yah especially being in So. Cal. Z1 Star Specs, or Yokohama S. Drive perhaps.

 

Star specs are amazing. I enjoyed my Yokohama S. Drives.

I'd put the S. Drives on anything I didn't plan on pushing to the limits but wanted a quiet/safe summer tire with good road manners. I autocrossed a season on S. Drives and they were great, not nearly as good as my KDWs though. Totally different animal.

Star specs or RE-11's would be my recommendation. I wish star specs were made in a 205/45/16

 

12k miles (5k or so "canyon driving" from my old commute) and 4 autocrosses on my RE-11s, and they're 2/3s worn. Don't expect super long life, but do expect incredible grip, if you decide to go that path.