New Brakes and New Control Arms .. now I'm Bouncing?

[PakaloloHonda]

Ooii .. I had a brake job done today, and we changed out the upper control arms.
They were OEM and we replaced them with after-market ones .. We also installed
a new pair of ingalls camber kit .. the car wasn't bouncing before I took it in,
but on the way home, I can hear (and feel) the front struts hitting.

I have KYB's on Eibach Sports .. they were installed like 8 years ago.
The guy at the alignment place said my front struts were fine .. he said he'd do coilovers instead.

Could changing from OEM upper control arms make me bounce like this?
And could my KYB's be shot after 8 years? I don't wanna believe that it's my Eibach's!

Thanks guys ..
Tomi

[jimy]

8 years are long on suspension. I'd change them out.

[PakaloloHonda]

8 years are long on suspension. I'd change them out.

Hmmm .. kina weird how the original suspension lasted about 15 years before replacing.
I'm kina bummed about buying such good quality suspesion parts that don't last half that time.

Grrrr .. I guess I'll start looking around for a good used set of coilovers ..
When I went in for the alignment today, we also did the rear, and I told the guy,
that I'd bet the back is hardly even out .. sure enough, it was right on the money
I've never used a camber kit on the rear since I installed the Eibach's .. and the wear on the tires,
is practically non-existent .. seriously perfect rear end ..

But the front end of this bitch, seems like I've nevvver ever had it just .. quite right.
How could Mr Honda have built such an incredible car in so many other ways ..
but managed to just epic fail on the front suspension?

Sorry for the rant .. I really love my accord .. I do .. but I'd like to stick a piece of dynamite
right under the rack n pinion ..

If I had all the money back from my front suspesion parts list in the last 10 years .. sheeesh!

Thanks jimy .. welp, time to dig deeper in the ole pockets ..

[mndude07]

Its your shocks, they're likely blown. Also, OEM shocks are much better than many performance shocks in terms of longevity....they just aren't strong enough to handle increased spring rates.

Check out Neuspeed.com and get a set of Koni str.t's. You'll be very happy with them and they will work nicely with your Eibach springs.

Also, the camber kit has moved your upper control arms outward more to correct the camber. What you're hearing isn't the shocks, you're hearing the upper control arm slamming into the top of the wheel well. This is a common, difficult-to-correct issue with the CB7. It shouldn't cause any damage though. There isn't any real safety issue there other than the horrible noise it makes lol.

[PakaloloHonda]

Its your shocks, they're likely blown. Also, OEM shocks are much better than many performance shocks in terms of longevity....they just aren't strong enough to handle increased spring rates.

Check out Neuspeed.com and get a set of Koni str.t's. You'll be very happy with them and they will work nicely with your Eibach springs.

Also, the camber kit has moved your upper control arms outward more to correct the camber. What you're hearing isn't the shocks, you're hearing the upper control arm slamming into the top of the wheel well. This is a common, difficult-to-correct issue with the CB7. It shouldn't cause any damage though. There isn't any real safety issue there other than the horrible noise it makes lol.

Oh great .. thanks lol!

Damnn that's a good price too man ..
http://neuspeed.com/products/product...port&p_id=2156

I can actually afford more then that also, I wonder if I can do a bit better?
I really wanna believe it's something else lol! But I fear it is indeed the ole struts?
I mean, the top bushing on both control arms were .. well, almost completely gone!

The ball-joint camber kit I had in the arms were quite worn also.
Matter a fact, the passenger side stud was bent .. so much so that it tweaked the camber.
You could actually see the wheel sitting slanted ..

And if I replace one side, I'ma replace both sides at once .. just the way I've always done it.
If anyone else thinks it could be something other then my struts causing this shit,
please .. give me your feedback .. Not that I certainly don't appreciate your response and link mndude07,
cause I really do .. and in regards to my "upper control arm slamming into the top of the wheel well,"
I've heard and read alot about *cutting bump stops?* What would you (or anyone) say?

And thanks again .. really do appreciate the help here ..

Tomi

[PakaloloHonda]

Just doing some Research ...

Would this be a consideration?
I just found this in a search .. here's the link .. http://www.tirerack.com/suspension/s...058&perfCode=P




Tomi

[PakaloloHonda]

Ok .. I just found this right here at CB7T .. Could this actually be causing me issues?

you need to cut down the factory bump stop, if you don't and you are really low chances are you are sitting on the bump stop which means your springs might not be under much tension

That's kina scary ..

[PakaloloHonda]

bumpin in Up ... c'mon guys .. help me figure this out ..

[mndude07]

You should always cut your bump stop proportionally to how much of a drop you'll be gaining, but never remove the entire thing! Its difficult to determine how much to cut, but a good rule of thumb would be to cut off about an inch and a half for a 2 inch drop.

Also, that KYB upper mount isn't going to fix anything. Its just a stock style replacement, and it isn't necessary.

If you can spend more on shocks, The Neuspeed Koni yellows and Bilstiens are the best shocks you can get for the cb7 without a custom fitment.

Also, if the bushings were worn badly enough, they may have been absorbing too much impact from suspension movement, and you got used to it. Now that you have new bushings, the suspension may be showing you that the springs and shocks aren't matched to each other. This is only true if the shocks aren't blown though.

What kind of KYB's are they? If they are AGX, turn the adjuster to full stiff, drive around a bit, then go to full soft and drive again. If you don't feel a difference, they are likely blown.

[PakaloloHonda]

You should always cut your bump stop proportionally to how much of a drop you'll be gaining, but never remove the entire thing! Its difficult to determine how much to cut, but a good rule of thumb would be to cut off about an inch and a half for a 2 inch drop.

Also, that KYB upper mount isn't going to fix anything. Its just a stock style replacement, and it isn't necessary.

If you can spend more on shocks, The Neuspeed Koni yellows and Bilstiens are the best shocks you can get for the cb7 without a custom fitment.

Also, if the bushings were worn badly enough, they may have been absorbing too much impact from suspension movement, and you got used to it. Now that you have new bushings, the suspension may be showing you that the springs and shocks aren't matched to each other. This is only true if the shocks aren't blown though.

What kind of KYB's are they? If they are AGX, turn the adjuster to full stiff, drive around a bit, then go to full soft and drive again. If you don't feel a difference, they are likely blown.

They are GR-2 KYB's .. when I installed the springs, some years ago, we did everything at once.

I tend to wanna believe you about the new bushings .. with the new Upper Control Arms ..
So if the shocks aren't blown .. I'll need another set of springs? That would suck ..

[mndude07]

They are GR-2 KYB's .. when I installed the springs, some years ago, we did everything at once.

I tend to wanna believe you about the new bushings .. with the new Upper Control Arms ..
So if the shocks aren't blown .. I'll need another set of springs? That would suck ..

No, Eibach makes a quality spring and I highly doubt anything is wrong with them. Its most likely the shocks are blown. This is a weird situation you're describing lol. Too bad I can't ride in the car and look at the suspension, I could tell quickly then. Since they're GR-2s, you can take all 4 of them off the car and push down on the piston rods with your hands. The two fronts and the two rears should feel the same. If they are significantly different(you'll know if they are), then one is blown...probably whichever one is easier to push in. If you do this, then check your bump-stops while they're all apart. They only need to be an inch or inch and a half long.

Are you sure the ride is actually bouncy? You need to be sure, because that is a description of blown shocks, or shocks that are too weak for your springs....but you also said that you can "hear the shocks hitting" This is the upper control arm hitting the fender. You have the ingall's front camber kit right? The one that replaces the mounting bolts on the upper control arms? If so, I have that exact same camber kit and I too have the issue of the control arms hitting the inside of the fenders...but my ride is not bouncy. Those are two different issues.

[PakaloloHonda]

No, Eibach makes a quality spring and I highly doubt anything is wrong with them. Its most likely the shocks are blown. This is a weird situation you're describing lol. Too bad I can't ride in the car and look at the suspension, I could tell quickly then. Since they're GR-2s, you can take all 4 of them off the car and push down on the piston rods with your hands. The two fronts and the two rears should feel the same. If they are significantly different(you'll know if they are), then one is blown...probably whichever one is easier to push in. If you do this, then check your bump-stops while they're all apart. They only need to be an inch or inch and a half long.

Are you sure the ride is actually bouncy? You need to be sure, because that is a description of blown shocks, or shocks that are too weak for your springs....but you also said that you can "hear the shocks hitting" This is the upper control arm hitting the fender. You have the ingall's front camber kit right? The one that replaces the mounting bolts on the upper control arms? If so, I have that exact same camber kit and I too have the issue of the control arms hitting the inside of the fenders...but my ride is not bouncy. Those are two different issues.

Well, I don't have the tools to take everything apart to check ..

And yes, the Ingalls kit I have replaces the mounting bolts on the upper control arms.

I just went outside and tried pushing down on the front-end (both sides)
You know .. how you can do that with some cars and they'll bounce a little?
I couldn't budge either side ..

And yeah, no matter how small the bump in the road .. I can hear (and feel) the top of the UCA hitting.

I wonder if I take it in and have them just cut the bump-stops .. ?
I dunno man .. this is really bumming me out .. I don't care about the back ..
The back has never given me any issues what-so-ever ..

The front though .. is a whole nother story ..
I wish you could not only ride it, but I wish you coudl drive it .. very bouncy .. VERY!

[PakaloloHonda]

I just talked with Dave at Eibach in Cali ...

He asked me if we "pre-loaded" the install of the new UPC with the Ingalls kit ..

He said that they should be pre-loaded .. if the car was in the air during the whole install
it would cause the bushings to twist and wear out prematurely, and could be what I'm dealing with.

O sheeesh .. my head is gonna splode ..

[PR CB7]

what hes probably referring is, like on the OEM UCA the bushings stay still
the only thing i can come up w preloading is, making sure that the suspension is as has a load on and then tighten the anchors, because if you do it in the air the suspension will be all the way down whenever the car drops to the floor, being that the anchors are tight, it'll twist them and make them wear prematurely

as for the shock, gr-2s aint nothing special, not even konis i would think they would last that long

[GhostAccord]

If your suspension is very bouncy your struts are blown.

And Yes your suspension needs to be preloaded. Point 2 under the Caution heading in the shop manual.



GR-2's are AGX's lower model OEM replacement. Your lucky to have gotten 8 years out of them with a dropped spring. However Eibach is only a 1.5" drop so that would have saved you I guess.