1998 civic ex coupe stock with MT.

I am somewhat tall 6'. Somewhat old 46. Somewhat, well definitely fat 230 lbs.
Looking for ways to reduce roll without lowering ride. Yes, I know that if I lost 50 lbs. that would be a good place to start and the car would maneuver better and get better 1/4 mile times .But, I know I am not the only fat-*** wanting to reduce body roll (get it?)

The tire size 195/75/14 (4 for $120 used 90% tread) I have on is one issue, but before them I had Falken P185/65/R14 (stock size) tires and while it was less roll than now it was still significant. Besides tires what else can be done?

 

Let me be the first in with the HT standard responses:

1. Search.
2. Koni/GC.

Now that's out of the way... :p

Lowering doesn't reduce body roll. You might have lowered the CG, which reduce load transfer, but in doing so you also lower the roll centers by a larger amount, which increases the roll couple. Result, less load transfer, but less geometric anti-roll, so roll angles do not decrease.

The only way is to either not corner so fast or increase roll stiffness. This is done either with springs or sway bars.

Increasing spring rate will reduce body roll as well as squat and dive under braking and acceleration. Downside is that you need uprated dampers to handle them, and it WILL affect the ride quality negatively. Buy decent parts and you can still have a compliant ride, but it will be firmer than stock and there is no avoiding that.

Sway bars will offer a big reduction in body roll, but none on squat and dive. They won't have a noticeable effect on ride quality, but can reduce grip over bumpy surfaces as they reduce independence in the suspension. Generally cheaper than springs and dampers, however a sway bar is another spring and a large one will require additional damping.

Really, the best approach is a bit of both. Unfortunately not readily available over there, but in the UK a set of EK9 springs and dampers is about $300 and does the job fantastically. I'm not sure on the spec of your car, but you could perhaps start off by fitting it up to Si spec and see how it feels.

Also, get some 195/50/15s under there. You'll be getting a lot of additional roll just in the deflection on those sidewalls.

Have a look here to see how much spring and bar you need to get the car where you want it. It's set up for a DC2-R but the setups are interchangeable between the Integra and Civic.

http://blackartracing.zxq.net/Chassi...ransferDC2.php

Unfortunately I have no idea on your standard bar and spring rates for a baseline however I think the Si is knocking around 220lb/156lb springs and a 26mm/15mm rear sway bar.

 

Kozy, thanks for that great reply. I read some post on HT and other civic sites concerning anti-sway bars and seems like most responders didn't notice a difference in roll until the got over the 22 mm range.

 

Junk the 14in wheels get 15s with 195/50/15 it will handle better and not roll as much.

 

By definition a sway bar will get you less body roll.

I've got a 22mm on the rear and 19mm on the front with stock springs. It helps a lot.

Also helps is a good set of shocks to better control and damp the motion. I'm a tokico illumina fan. Best value, especially with oem style perches and seat height.

You wont ever get the same ride height as stock with ground control springs kit. The physics just don't work, but you can get acceptably high. You'd have to play with custom springs tho than the default size. Not recommended.

Eibach pro kits are a very modest drop and totally livable in my opinion. Might be worth considering even tho its a little stiffer.

Having done all of the above, I'm ok with my stock springs on illuminas and later sway bars. And 14" wheels.

There's a point to get made for larger wheels and smaller side walls tho. Another thing to consider.

 

No one, so far from what I've seen in this discussion has mentioned "rally set ups" I have some experience and yes many did talk about sway bars and koni/gc. I've ridden along my friend who has Bilstein with Eibach pro kit and the ride is absolutely amazing. Bilstein is a brand you cannot go wrong with. Very rarely do JDM enthusiast or Honda guys talk about these German brands that put to shame Tokico and any other 1000 way adjustable coil overs (Function and Form or whatever those purple shocks are called). Regular Bilstein shocks with stock springs will give you an amazing ride with minimal body roll and STOCK HEIGHT which seems to be what you are looking for.

I personally ride with KYB AGX and Eibach pro kit. Daily driver here on a super budget. My next shocks will be Bilstein. LASTLY I AM NOT LIKE MOST HONDA GUYS SORRY FOR THE INFERENCE: who are INTO DRAG RACING/HELLAFLUSH/DUMPED and anything else that doesn't have to do with performance. 100% CANYON ENTHUSIAST whose seen it all.

hopefully this is information is of some help. no hating but I love my inexpensive and cheap to maintain Honda civic

 

 

OP - the shortest and most direct answer to your question is - Swaybars.

 

You got to get rid of the 75 series tires the sidewalls are way to soft and mushy, atleast
get some oem size tires then do suspension upgrades.

 

-switch your tires to 60 series

- run sway bars

-upgrade bushings

-run heavy duty shocks
or
-run adjustable dampen shocks

-run gsr or type r springs.