Well I bought some Coilover kits, Maxspeed, Pretty Good deal on them so I bought On a small budget.

The Back of my Car Drops and Slightly Tucks but the front doesnt.
I think this is the problem , Can Anyone give me their opinions , Is this the Problem?
How do I fix? Those arent New Cambers! I paid for new! I never checked till i got home Any Help Please!

Heres the Car Dropped all the way and it wont tuck in the front , its about 1/2 inch taller.

The Jack is sitting under the Car .
(I put the jack on the back and then with the Same height put it under the front, There Was a GAP!!)

I dont know much about my Car. They were supposed to install new cambers on the front. Thats an old camber. Any Help Please I dont know much

 

I'll try to help you as much as possible.. I can tell you dont know much about your car. I think you might be referring to your upper control arm as a "camber". Camber is a setting, its not an actual item you can find anywhere on your car. It sounds to me like they put camber kits on your car, and alot of times when you do that it'll push that upper control arm out far enough to hit on the inner fender, which is why you see that torn peice that u were pulling down on in the first pic.

Now to fix it, alot of people cut off the inner fenders somehow, I just decided to raise my car a little and re adjust the kits so that they wouldnt touch the inner fenders.

Hope this helped u..

 

Ok, So where is the Camber kit. On the bottom? Because I know Camber isnt an item, its when the car swamps. Where do the Cambers go? (Camber Kit) Im trying to find it . And I can fix that how? I didnt understand you quite well.
How do I readjust the kit?


[Modified by Diegolude, 3:42 PM 2/22/2003]

 

hehe. the camber kits would ethier be a adjustable control arm. or one the open end of the control arm which connects to the frame. as its shaped like an A it would be on the bottoms of the A the 2 points. it would be some sorta system. such as ingalls or something. u could see em. and they'd stick out and look new. if u did git a camber kit installed. on teh front there is no camber kit for the bottom. as its a control arm. and from what i know no honda camber kits go down there.

 

Ok, if you can't determine whether you have a camber kit or not, just take a picture for us then. We need pictures of one of these places. There is a bushing type thing where that control arm pivots by the body. That is what the picture needs to be taken of.


let us know

 

Best shot I could Take.

I dont see anything New installed Just the Bushing Thing. Thats not the whole kit.
HELP. Im going to the shop Monday And I need to know what Im talking about, they installed it. and they should correct any errors... eek

 

(just in case the pict doesn't show up...) http://www.modacar.com/Merchant2/gra...02/gsr3572.jpg
Actually, it does look as if you have a camber kit installed on the front. You can probably get a better look at your car and see if the peice installed looks similar to that. What it does is move the pivot point outward from the body. When adjusted, the bolt is then tightened up to keep the adjustment.

As far as your original concern about not being able to tuck your wheels, there are multiple possibilities. First, the entirely wrong coilover kit could be in the car, however a Prelude is a heavy car, and I would think that anything else would have a softer springrate and would compress more, but it could also have a longer spring. Maybe if you post up the part number, we can determine whether this is the right kit or not. according to http://www.whalentire.com/accessoryd...um=CO-HP572482 it should be 572482, but then again...I don't know if the front and back have the same part number or not. That brings me to the next issue.

The front and back springs could have gotten mixed up. Here again, I don't know preludes very well, let alone the legnths of CRX springs. If you have the stock springs still, take a look at which is the longer one. The reason I suggest this is IF the longer one is supposed to be the rear, it is possible that it accidently got put in the front. While suspension setups vary, it is suggested that the spring with the highest springrate go in the front of the car. (the spring that is hardest to compress goes where most of the weight is: on the end of the car with the engine)

Another thing is that it isn't THAT big of a problem if you can't slam your car that low. It is not in best intrest of performance, ride quality, or shock life to have your car slammed to the max.

The first thing I'd try to do is spot some numbers on the springs and do some research to find out if these are the right pieces. If you need any more help, post it up and we'll do the best we can. I'll try to check this post tomorrow morning.

And just so you know, maxspeed really isn't that bad of a coilover. The administrator of another site that I visit just happens to have maxspeed coilovers on her car. FYI, she does some kind of roadracing and was appointed the assistant race director by the USTCC.
Get back to us.

 

oh, and according to this guy's pictures, it looks like the front is usually the longer spring anyway, so the back would be jacked up if anything got switched.

 

Ok, after some more thought, it is possible that the front strut wasn't inserted all the way into the dampener fork before the pinch bolt was tightened, I think. You might want to check that out. Here's how:... Follow the strut downward. It will then go into this round circle with two prongs that go down. Check and see if the key thingy on the shock body is all the way down in the groove in the dampener fork. Also, see if the bottom or some part of the shock is resting securely on part of that fork. I doubt that the difference could be that large, but it is worth a look.

and just to make sure we already went through the obvious, you already made sure that you screwed down the threaded sleeve perch all the way, right?

Don't give up....Maxspeed really isn't that bad, so I hear, so you should be able to find out why it is so. Get back to us!

Uno mas.......you can probably prolong the life of your shocks by raising the car up some for the time being.


[Modified by CRXSi90, 11:49 PM 2/24/2003]

 

Ok, heres what I got so Far, I went to the shop. They readjusted the Camber kit and pulled in the arm. Then, They lowered it and nada.
As you can see here
The Arm hits but it continues upward after the arm curves into the body.
The Arm is completely nudged against the top of my fender, And I have no TRAVEL, Whatsoever.
The guy at the shop Doesnt know and Im bringing in the car tommorow at 5am, and theyre taking apart my front End. I dont know whats going on! But the obvious is, I have no Travel Space.
Theyre going to take apart the front end. I just bought the Car in November of Last year. What if my front end was Wrecked, Im wondering now. Can Anyone run a Carfax if I need it?

 

Ok, I'm taking a wild *** guess which is probably ******* wrong, but your control arms could be on the wrong sides. The shop that did my car when the previous owner had it (I think that is when it was) had springs and a camber kit put in and the ******* got the control arms on the wrong sides. There is a R and a L printed (paint) on the arms, so see if that is there and right. However, this lowered the car more if anything, but the suspension geometry on the Lude could be different and make it sit higher. You can check this yourself...just go wipe it off and look. a mirror might help some. BTW, these letters should be right and left as if you are sitting in the car, not standing infront of the car as a mechanic would. Let us know, this sounds pretty F*cked up. maybe not, though.
BTW2, does it drive all f-ed up and pull to the sides? that is what mine did cause the caster was all messed up. I'll tell ya what my caster was and is now....edit in a min...


[Modified by CRXSi90, 2:50 AM 2/26/2003]

 

Well they didnt Take out the Control arm, They Just put on CoilOvers. I dont think they completley removed the arm from the Wheel Weld . Just put in the camber kit. taking it in tommorow.

 

did some looking in my manual, and it appeared as if the ball joint should be shifted more rearward, but then I saw this pict of a camero...

and then I saw this!!!! (which is related to honda, although passport)

http://www.4x4wire.com/isuzu/reviews/calmini/3in2ndgen/
then this.....

which indicates that the front is that way and the balljoint is closer to the front...
I think the last pict is right.

 

I got it back. and They told me that I NEED new Shocks.
They said my Shocks are dead. They are dead.
He said that is the reason the Car is sitting on the Arm.
Is that true?
Doesnt sound right, The Coilovers hold the car up not the shocks.
He said the reason the it wont drop is because A) the Arm is hitting the Top of the Wheel Weld. B) my Shocks Are dead.
Can someone explain this to me?


If the shocks are dead, Does that cause the Arm to hit the top of the Wheel weld

 

I doubt that shocks would make it do that. Infact, the only improvement I could see from new shocks is that they themselves would be holding up the car some, especially if you got new, high pressure ones. That isn't really the issue, though. I am surprised that the upper arm is already contacting the body at that height. Where is it making contact? Does it actually hit the metal up there? There is this guy on H-T that has an 88-91 civ/crx...not sure...that has his car slammed, and had to cut out a spot in his wheel well so the arm could travel.

You have verified that the suspension has ZERO travel, right. (can be done as simply as pushing down on the car, and ensuring that there is nothing besides the squish of the tire)

The largest problem may be the combination of your desire to lower the car so much in combination with the 'lude's suspension geometry. Maybe it just can't be done, but I doubt it.

The other thing that I am still suspicious of is if the control arms are on the right sides. I can see why they would take them out to install the camber kit. So tell us, is the ball joint closer to the front, or closer to the rear?


[Modified by CRXSi90, 6:56 AM 2/28/2003]

 

I have no Travel. None Whatsoever. So the Arm is Up against the Metal.
Its at the bottom of the Arm Right...
If not where? So I can snap a picture. Because I know Buying shocks isnt going to help. IF, The Car is Already Hitting at the height it is now.
Something is obviously either, Holding the Arm up, or something I dont know. The Coilovers were made to Fit the Prelude so Why would they make the Car hit at such a height.
Heres pics of my Car before the Drop. and After

Notice the Room between the Wheel on my Front Wheel Weld as compared to when it is Lowered
Before


The Difference is probably 3/4 of Inch, Maybe Less.
Theres no Valid reason for the Car to fit after 3/4 Inch Drop. If the arms are on Backwards, could that Cause this.....??

Im trying to get you the Ball Joint pics but Where are they located?
AFTER

 

This is an excelent picture of your upper control arm and the ball joint. However, I can't tell which side of the car this is on.
as viewed from the top...

basically, I want to know which figure your car resembles.
from looking at this picture from hondaautomotiveparts.com, it looks like your car should resemble figure B, but I can't be sure. Maybe we can get some of your fellow preluders involved. (no, I don't even really know which way my car is)

Now do you understand what I mean by the location of the ball joint? it is that 5, 7, 9, 10 group in the picture and connects, yet pivots with the vertical piece in the picture.

How long can you go straight without making corrections on the steering wheel? (don't kill yourself)

 

I dont go Straight, I swerve to the left,
I Slowly began to turn, yet When I tested it on the Freeway. It swerved almost as if I was Changing Lanes. Its a pretty Strong Pull to the Left. And When I turn Fast On my stock springs I would Peel. But Now If I make a sharp turn going 30-40 or Higher the Wheels Lose Traction and Begin to Peel and Skid. The Arm Cannot Pivot.

Im going to Repost in the Lude Forum... I appreciate your Help, Your the Only Reason So Far That Im actually Getting somewhere. Its obviously not the Coils, The Car is Obviously not hitting because its too low, THe shocks arent causing it, THose are ruled out. Something is obviously Installed Wrong. But WHAT , Could it be that Arm?"

 

My guess is the control arm is on the wrong side. But maybe I'm just supersticious to that. Did you understand the diagram I made and posted? It shows the upper control arm in the picture took, and is looking from the top of the car. You can see how that little pivot thing with the boot that is connected to the outward-most part of the control arm is shifted foreward or backward. This is the only real difference and is how you can determine if the arms are on correctly or not.

Tell us, is the ball joint front or back?

 

Drive the front of the car up on a set of car ramps... Make sure weight is on the front tires, roll underneith the car and reach up for the spring, if it is loose, then yes, the car will sit on that control arm, but there should be damage to the frame/control arm by now if that is the case..

BTW, I have swapped my upper control arms before, with no clearance issue, but I also run -2 degrees plus on my racecar..

Also, to be able to tell if your upper control arm is swapped, jack the car up, and look at it from the side.. The upper balljoint should be twards the front of the car, not leaning twards the back on the prelude..

 

Ill try Thanks Brb with Results later on

 

so is your spring tight and your ball joint towards the front? There ya go, ya heard some more in-depth info that I could give you from a fellow 'Luder.

Here is that link to the slammed dude with the cut inner fender.

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=399992

Aww, I just saw that you mentioned me as helping me in your other thread. Thanks.

One little bit of help more about spring rates...I just emailed Intrax, the maker of the springs that aren't in my car, but I have, and the spring rates are 243 pounds per inch of compression and 200 in the rear. Not an incredible amount of difference. But still, some. A popular setup seems to be 350/450 or somewhere around that according to people around that. They are looking at coilovers like yours, not springs like mine, though. It's hard for me to say what Exospeed chose. Email them, and maybe you'll find out. Anyway, my point is that some people even put the stiffer springs in the rear and were fairly happy with the results. This supposedly stiffened the rear for less understeer. So I guess it would work either way.

question....do the front and rear coils and sleve/perch combo look any different than each other?


[Modified by CRXSi90, 5:20 AM 3/4/2003]

 

I got pissed off today, I called the guy and Said I was taking it Back.
Im taking it back.
**** that, Im just going to get some H&R springs.

Thanks a bunch ... I appreciate the Help and your patience.

 

Yeah, probably a good move. I think the H&R springs will satisfy your ride and performance needs better, although they will not be adjustable. I've contemplated springs or coilovers and decided that since you end up with more suspension travel with springs, that is what I would want. You wouldn't even really have to lower it that much to see improvements. I remember some race car I was reading about was only lowered like 1 1/2 inches or so. But maybe it is the performance and look that you are going for.

Enough with my current ramblings, did you decide how low you are going to go?

 

I dont Know, Im really Scared still..
I mean, What if I get the Springs and the Car still hits. the Front dropped about 1 inch at most in front before the Arm hit, But I dont understand, STILL.
What would make it do that, And I dont understand about the Ball Joint stuff you were talking about, but I have pictures.

But this is what Im worrying about.

H&R Race Springs will give a 1.9 Inch Drop Front, Rear 1.6
H&R Sport Springs will give 1.3/1.3inch F&R Drop.

What worries me is that even a 1.3" Drop will make the Arm hit, because, As the pictures in this thread show, I Didnt drop more then 1 " or maybe a little more.
Something is obviously WRONG, And Products are made to fit without Bottoming out a Car.

As of Now, My wheels on the front are Eaten! from the Negative Camber, Because I couldnt get the car aligned with this problem, so I need new tires, first.