Accordian47

I am on cut factory springs and leaking factory shocks at the moment. I took exactly 1.5" out, I'm happy with how 1.5" of drop looks and performs for the most part, although I get alot of front upper control arm-to-shock tower interference. I'm running Ingalls 35730 Adj. rear upper control arm mounts and SPC 67155 1.5° Adj sliding front upper control arm ball joints. My front upper arm/balljoint hits the top of the shock tower quite often (I live in Vermont). I'm hoping to remedy this with stiffer, actual purpose designed, lowering springs and a set of Tokico Illumina 5-way adj. shocks, on a stiff compression/rebound setting. Thing is I don't know what springs will have a 1.5" or less drop up front and will be stiff enough to prevent bottoming out (I want stiff springs for handling anyway). The other thing I might consider, (price dependent) is a set of coilovers since I could set at any ride height, set to a stiff shock valving and possibly find a set that includes a stiff spring. So any thoughts?

Lowering Spring Requirements:

• Have a 1.5" or less drop
• Be as stiff as possible (for both handling and enough to prevent bottoming out)
• Fit an '01 Base Prelude
• Not cost an absurd amount, though most don't

Coilover Requirements:

• Include a very stiff spring
• Fit an '01 Base Prelude
• Be somewhat affordable

Springs I've Looked into:

• TEIN S-Tech (Right amount of drop but I've heard theyre pretty soft)
• H&R Race (Too much drop @ 2" Front and 1.8" Rear but I've heard theyre the stiffest on the market)

Coilovers I've Looked Into:

• TEIN Street Flex Coilovers (Spring Rates: Front: 10kgf/mm Rear: 6kgf/mm)-$1,000 I've ran TEIN Super Streets on my '94 Accord and they were great, how do the spring rates on these Street Flex's compare to other coilovers you guys know of?
• TEIN Street Basis (Spring Rates: Front: 8kgf/mm Rear: 4kgf/mm)-$506
• Megan Racing EZ II (Spring Rates: Front: 10kgf/mm Rear: 5kgf/mm)-$750
• BC DR Type (Spring Rates: Front: 10kgf/mm Rear: 5kgf/mm)-$1,200
• Function and Form Type 1 (Spring Rates: Front: 12kgf/mm Rear: 6kgf/mm)-$634
• Ksport Kontrol Pro (Spring Rates: Front: 14kgf/mm Rear: 6.7kgf/mm)-$824
• D2 Racing RS-$850 (Anyone know spring rates?)
• Tanabe SUSTEC PRO S-0C (Spring Rates: Front: 8kgf/mm Rear: 4kgf/mm)-$940

If I can get the $ together, I'd prefer a nice set of coilovers, if not I think it's gonna be a set of Tokico Illuminas and whatever lowering spring has the right drop and spring rate. Coilover wise it'd probly be either the Ksport Kontrol Pros or the Function and Form Type 1's just for the high spring rates, adjustability wise, they'd all be the same to me, they are all simultaneous compression rebound adjustment and ~0-3" drop adjustable from what I can see. Anyone out there running either of these?

B serious

iTrader: (1)

The car's stock shocks will bottom out COMPLETELY about 0.5" before the UCA can hit the tower. However...the SPC joints add like 1" of height to the ball joint, and they also move the ball joint outward, effectively making the UCA longer. This causes a huge amount of geometric interference. Trying to solve that by using stiffer springs or dampers is futile.

To resolve it, you would either need to use full body coilovers with a shorter stroke than stock...and then set the height of the car high enough so that the UCA stays away from the tower...OR...get rid of the SPC joints. Use a camber kit that has a lower profile. The Skunk2 PRO plus is a good option. The ball joints aren't anywhere near as good as the factory joints...but..no news there.

I wouldn't recommend lowering springs. It's 2017. The only advantage that lowering springs have over coilovers is the absolute simplicity. You buy a decent spring with a stock length shock (Koni Yellow or Tokico Illumina, for example). You use prescribed bumpstop lengths and materials. And you never worry about UCA's hitting towers...unless you also have SPC joints or something else reckless.

A 1.5" drop from a lowering spring is a lot to ask for. Eibach Prokits are the only lowering springs I'd consistently recommend. Pair them up with Koni yellows or Tokico Illuminas.

Don't bother with H&R race or Eibach Sportline. Those aren't actually for driving on. Eibach and H&R have some very soft recommendations basically totaling up to "these are for show...don't plan on driving an actual car on actual streets with them".

Single height adjustment coilovers have the advantage of simplicity. But sometimes, they come with shortened bodies. So you need to make sure that your drop won't cause interference. MOST of the reputable brands have their lengths and bumpstops tuned so that this is either unlikely or impossible, however.

Noteable brands of single height adjustment coilovers for a reasonable cost would be Tein SA, ST ST-X, H&R SP, Bilstein PSS/PSS9/PSS10, and Koni/GC or Tokico/GC. Some come with damper adjustments too.

Fully body adjustable coilovers (the type that adjust height independently of preload/stroke) can be your best friends or your worst enemies. To get their full potential, you do need to spend some time on setup. I always encourage people to set them up instead of just taking them out of the box, slapping them on, and adjusting the height. What a waste. Setup takes some time and learning/expertise. But pays off in terms of ride dynamic and handling. I don't understand the point of having all the adjustment if all you're going to do is turn them down/up for height.

Noteable, reasonable budget full body setups are PIC, Fortune Auto, and AMR. I mention these first because you can order them with customized rates and valving. They're built to order in the USA. Some feature monotube construction, which offers WAY better feedback and response.

Ohlins DFV's are getting to be very reasonable in cost also (around $2000)...but you may have a hard time finding them or getting them for preludes.

Stance seems to be another up and coming company for full body adjustment coils. I haven't tried any of their setups yet. But they seem to have a huge following.

Buddy Club N+ (now Buddy Club Sport Spec) were better than I thought they would be in terms of ride comfort. People also have success with them at the track...and they can take a shitload of spring variation without a revalve (or so buddy club claims).

Tein Flex...MEH. I'd skip these. There are some applications that are better than others...but they're hit or miss.

I would also skip TF out of Function Forms. Nope.

Don't plan on buying a full body coilover for under $1k for street use.

Get rid of your SPC joints. They're causing your issues.

Accordian47

Dude you sound like you know suspension.

Id agree that the SPC balljoints add about a 1/2" of height to the upper control arm and they are the reason Im having problems bottoming out. I'd say it is the height thats the problem, the added length tothe upper control arm, not so much really. Obviously ride height is the true contributor to the interference. Problem is a sliding adjustable ball joint is the only available camber correction solution on the market for the front. Adjustable control arm mounts arent available due to the oem mount design and nobody makes a complete camber adjustable arm for the 5th gen Prelude, like say the Skunk2 for Civics/Integras. My solution is keep the ride height high enough with a set of coilovers or run a set of lowering springs that wont bring it too low.

Im probly gonna go with a set of BC Type BR coilovers, they have the threaded shock body for ride height adjustment seperate of spring perch, spring preload adjustment. They also offer custom order spring rates, Im thinkin a 14kg/mm front and a 6kg/mm rear. 14kg/mm is pretty much race stiff but itd be that stiff biased sweet spot that would have the front ends upper arms nicely within a safe distance from the shock tower. They run right around $1000 for a set.

B serious

iTrader: (1)

I think you'll still hit the shock tower, unfortunately.

Especially since you're changing ride height independently of stroke. The height will be low with a relatively long stroke....so the suspension will have room to move. And you'll still hit the tower...albeit not as often.

Why not just ditch the camber joints and use a stock UCA? Preludes use geometry similar to Accords. So you shouldn't gain *that* much front camber when lowering. You'll gain a ton of rear camber, though. Fix the toe and you'll be good.

The SPC joint adds height to the top AND bottom of the joint. Its probably close to 0.75 to 1" of added total height. The joint itself is taller, and there's a nut on top.

I think BC's use a standard length cartridge for all their setups? no? So with 14K springs...even with "0" preload, you'll have a lot of compression
stroke before reaching the bumpstops. I wouldn't be surprised if you ended up with more stroke than stock. Do they come with helper springs to "eat up" some compression stroke?

Bumpstops are typically harder than 14K springs. Its not unusual to see a 16-20KG/mm bumpstop. So...your 14KG/mm springs that give you a ton of stroke aren't necessarily going to keep your UCA off your tower. The shock also has a short body. So...there's a much better chance of the UCA actually bashing THROUGH the tower.

Stiff springs aren't the answer, bruv.

I've ridden on 1 set of BC's. They were OK. Not something I'd buy. But not like...junk or anything.

I'd be more likely to use Stance, PIC, or Fortune Auto for that price range (though IDK if PIC makes prelude setups). Stance/BC/Fortune/PIC and a lot of other guys *probably* use the same cartridges. But they all obviously use different internal/external components. They likely share cartridge and piston rod geometry. I could be wrong. I haven't actually measured.

My recommendation:
-Buy a set of factory Honda UCA's new or used.
-Sell or ditch your SPC'd arms.
-Buy coilovers with more streetable rates. Measure. Measure. Measure.
-Set up properly.

I was planning on making a thread to help people setting up coilovers because I just installed a set. But...time escapes me like a MF.

Accordian47

I know the SPC ball joints are kinda...well...not the greatest option for correcting camber but I really don't know of another product out there for the 5th gen Preludes that isn't an adjustable ball joint, I've searched like crazy. There are no sliding a-arm mounts, adjustable aftermarket arms etc. I can't run negative camber on my car, I just can't deal with the tire wear. @ a 1.5" drop the Preludes geometry yields about 1 degree of negative camber up front and despite how little that is, I just can't have it. I need 0 degrees.

I like the BC type BR coilovers, choice of custom spring rate is nice and they have really nice design features for the price but I kinda like the idea of a set of TEIN Street Flex coilovers too since I had a set of Super Streets on my CD5 and they were great. I think my best bet is to measure my car like crazy and get the geometry all figured out and blueprinted like you have said, then shop and compare what will work best for a coilover set for the car. Anyone running BC Type BR's or TEIN Street Flex's on their car?

B serious

iTrader: (1)

But... -1 or -1.5 degrees of camber would yield virtually NO uneven tire wear.

Unless you're doing burnouts daily...in which case, you might see like a 1/16" tread difference from inside to outside.

Camber doesn't wear tires like you think it does. You would just need to have the car aligned so that toe is within spec.

Also...
The SPC joints cause the UCA to hit the shock tower. That seems slightly more detrimental than adverse tire wear....

Tein Flexes ride absolutely nothing like the SS or SA does, BTW. Its hard to find a full body coilover that doesn't ride like absolute ****. There are a couple out there. Unfortunately, not many for ~$1K.

I found that Buddy Club N+ ride surprisingly well, though. They're called 'Sport Spec' or something now.

If you don't want to keep smashing your tower:
To keep your SPC joints, you'll need a coilover that has less shock stroke than stock, combined with stock ride height.

Or a coilover that keeps the same shock stroke as stock...but a ride height higher than stock.

You cannot lower the car and keep those joints. Nor can you keep the stock travel and use those joints (as demonstrated by your current problem....the UCA hits the tower before your stock shock completely bottoms out)

Sorry for all this **** news bruv.

Needing 0 camber is crazy. Using a setup that smashes the towers is crazier.

Your options open up so far if you just ditch the stupid camber joints that you don't even need....

You can even use coilovers that aren't terrible.

Think of what lunatic things you're doing here. Considering 16KG springs?? Why are you beating yourself up for the sake of 1 degree of camber???

BUT...its your car. Give it a go how you'd like.