Strut tower braces

[AccordWarrior]

Wasn't your stock suspension completely blown when we took it off, Mike?

The ESP front bar is very likely better than the Neuspeed bar, though most drivers would never push hard enough to see the difference. Most street tires would probably give out before chassis flex came into play with either bar. The front bar is by far the most significant. Other useful handling upgrades include front and rear sway bars (some people prefer to forgo the rear, as I believe it increases understeer...) and a traction bar (also available from ESP, very well made.)


Suspension is one thing that you DEFINITELY get what you pay for. However, don't buy more than you need. If you're not going to be racing on a track, you don't need a race-spec suspension. That will just make street driving rather unpleasant. I'm getting way ahead of things here, though.

Well, yeah. The blown struts and screwy alignment cambered two tires in the process. Just shows how much the bar upgraded the suspension.

[super sox]

Suspension is one thing that you DEFINITELY get what you pay for. However, don't buy more than you need. If you're not going to be racing on a track, you don't need a race-spec suspension. That will just make street driving rather unpleasant. I'm getting way ahead of things here, though.[/QUOTE]

I remember us haveing this conversationwhen I first joined here and from finding a used set of DNX coil overs & springs the handing is much improved over stock but I can tell there its alot of room for improvement . I love the ride height of my car , the ride is not too pleasant but not terrible ,if a cb is lowered on just springs and koni strs will she still hit bumps hard? I mean like realy hard to the point that its bottoming out! that its the only thing I dont like about the ride of my baby . Is there a set of lowering springs that will put my front end down as low as it is now? I'm pretty sure with a set of good shocks all the way around and better springs I will have what I'm looking for what do you think deev. Sound like I'm on the right track to bliss?

[mr_naler]

Other useful handling upgrades include front and rear sway bars (some people prefer to forgo the rear, as I believe it increases understeer...)

I thought it was the other way around with the sway bars. From what I read( can't remember where) people said to only upgrade the rear sway bar

[deevergote]

I may be wrong... I don't have a rear bar on mine (LX... never upgraded... )


super sox, Koni's STR.T and a good set of springs shouldn't bottom out unless you really slam into a bump. That's the point of the shocks being able to handle a drop. Koni Yellows would be even better.
If you don't want a harsh ride, and you don't do any serious racing (road or auto-x), then don't get really stiff springs. You can get plenty of good street performance from a mild set of springs.

[mndude07]

I would almost say the Neuspeed bar offers better overall "performance" than the ESP bar. The ESP bar is steel, so it is obviously stronger in terms of torsional rigidity, however, the Neuspeed bar is significantly lighter, at a relatively high point of the car. The Neuspeed bar will never rust either.

Also, here's a quick way to determine if you need a chassis brace:

Tie a string between the two points in question(both front strut towers for example) very tightly. Then, jack up one corner and see if any slack appears in the string. If its a visible difference, you REALLY need a brace. Also, especially on CB coupes, when you have one corner or side jacked up, notice the doors are significantly more difficult to open and close. That's another indicator. Cars like the RX8 and S2000, their doors will close and open as smooth as normal when the car is at a 30 degree sideways angle.

Also, on a front wheel drive car, you want alot of rear bar and not much front bar. The larger rear bar decreases understeer, or adds oversteer. On a FWD, you want as much lateral load transfer in the rear as possible. The reason is because then you're shifting all the weight to the outside rear tire, and thanks to diagonal weight transfer (physics just says it happens), this puts more load on your inside front tire as well. On your FWD, the outside front has the most grip in the turn, but since your front wheels are also the drive wheels, you want max grip on both, so you increase lateral load transfer(a big rear sway bar) in the rear to load the inside front as well. This is why you also want as much forward weight distribution on a FWD as possible. It hurts braking, but it helps everything else. Its also why the type of differential you have helps or hurts handling so much too. You'd be surprised how much of an effect the diff has on handling.

[mr_naler]

I may be wrong... I don't have a rear bar on mine (LX... never upgraded... )

Ha, I guess I should have said upgrading to having a rear sway. (as I don't have one either.)

Anyways, found where I heard that. In the "CB7 Feature on High-Performance Handling Handbook" thread under a picture of the Progress rear sway it says this:

"The Progress rear antiroll bar is much more substantial that the stock unit (black), increasing rear roll resistance and improving the handling balance dramatically."

...

Or... mndude07 can ninja me and edit his post explaining, in detail, as to why rear stiffness is a good thing.

[AccordWarrior]

I would almost say the Neuspeed bar offers better overall "performance" than the ESP bar. The ESP bar is steel, so it is obviously stronger in terms of torsional rigidity, however, the Neuspeed bar is significantly lighter, at a relatively high point of the car. The Neuspeed bar will never rust either.

My bar had some surface rust where the powdercoating was chipping off at the mounts. It was fairly minimal all things considered.

[deevergote]

Ha, I guess I should have said upgrading to having a rear sway. (as I don't have one either.)

Anyways, found where I heard that. In the "CB7 Feature on High-Performance Handling Handbook" thread under a picture of the Progress rear sway it says this:

"The Progress rear antiroll bar is much more substantial that the stock unit (black), increasing rear roll resistance and improving the handling balance dramatically."

...

Or... mndude07 can ninja me and edit his post explaining, in detail, as to why rear stiffness is a good thing.

I had that book for about 36 hours... then my boss threw it out thinking it was a magazine. I made her pay me back for it, but I never bought it again!

[mr_naler]

Ha I think I might have been slightly perturbed by this, to say the least. lol. I think I've read that thread like 3-4 times now all the way through. The more I read it, the more I realize I have so much to learn ha.

[19dabeast85]

Deev, if you install a Progress rear sway on your LX you WILL fall in love with your cb7 again. It completely changes handling behavior for the better, MUCh better!

Does your rear end ever get quirky when going over bumps at high speeds (bridges on the interstate)? The rear sway will cure that....plus improve on everything mndude said.

[super sox]

Deev, if you install a Progress rear sway on your LX you WILL fall in love with your cb7 again. It completely changes handling behavior for the better, MUCh better!

Does your rear end ever get quirky when going over bumps at high speeds (bridges on the interstate)? The rear sway will cure that....plus improve on everything mndude said.

Mine kicks out on back road s (rual) @ med. Speeds 65 70 so a buger reast sway will fix this problem any one interested in buying my stock ex rear sway ?

[mndude07]

Mine kicks out on back road s (rual) @ med. Speeds 65 70 so a buger reast sway will fix this problem any one interested in buying my stock ex rear sway ?

If you're saying a bigger rear sway will keep the back end from kicking out, you have it wrong. A sway bar is a compromise between lateral load transfer and mechanical grip. A larger bar will reduce rear overall grip. On a FWD car though, that's a good thing because you're doing everything with the front tires. You can over-do it though.

[alb_accord]

first i would change all the bushings in the car. stiffer bushings will give you more feel from the road. you will feel everything to the point you don't want those bushings ever again. some people like them some don't(me)

strut tower braces.
i felt a difference when i installed the front 2 point one from esp. i felt a difference when i installed the read one too.

rear sway bare makes a big difference. when i installed mine it felt like the back was following the front wheels without a problem in turns.

the car feels like it has less body roll. you just have to find the settings you want if you buy the koni yellow shocks.