Looking for Close to OEM ride, but much better handling

[mndude07]

Well, after doing some research I've decided.

Koni str.t's
Eibach prolines (same rate as sportlines, but ~1" less drop)
Progress rear sway bar
Polyurethane bushing kit (either prothane or energy, depending on what I can get cheaper)

Thanks for the help guys.

I think you will enjoy the car very much once all these parts are installed.

[accordztech]

prez707 runs prokits and bilsteins and the handing is excellent. Very smooth and very stable in turns. We also did his front bushings then he put in a rear sway bar and its such a beutiful ride.

Dont forget a camber kit.

[KB7]

I have a new rack, just never bothered to install it yet.

I had to replace my rack and pinion twice, cuz the first rebuilt one i put on, blew 2 months later. I HATE doing that job. Now i have to pull it off my totalled car, cuz I have a lifetime warranty, at least im putting it up for now

Well, after doing some research I've decided.

Koni str.t's
Eibach pro kit (same rate as sportlines, but ~1" less drop)
Progress rear sway bar
Polyurethane bushing kit (either prothane or energy, depending on what I can get cheaper)

Thanks for the help guys.

excellent choices,
are you going to get a camber kit before your alignment?

[owequitit]

Ok, my 92 ex is great. Coming up on our 2 year anniversary, lol. It's been boosted, swapped, boosted again, and now in limbo... waiting on the short block to be built and boosted yet again.

The kicker is, I don't really care for how it handles. No, I'm not auto-x'ng the car on the highway, or driving like a jackass at all times, but it really feels unstable around turns. It's a 100% OE suspension, aside from traction bars, and has an lsd transmission. (that does change the way the car turns)

The car just feels way heavy. It wants to push through a turn under acceleration (not burning out, but just wants to keep going straight)

The second I let out of it, it seems to settle, but way too quickly. Once when it was boosted, I let up from a hard accell around a turn on the on ramp (I was up to speed) I had the rear end kick out on me pretty good.

Since then,I just do not trust my car, and that is not a good thing. I've just been babying my car, only trying to accelerate in a straight line... but my heart is in the twisties.

I used to be a civic guy, hatches especially. I used to really push my eg hatch and my crx to the point of no return, and I'd always feel stable and in control.

Ride quality is very important to me, and I cannot make up my mind. That's why the car is still on OE suspension, after 2 years. I've been in the game long enough to know to only buy parts once.

I'm thinking H&R OE springs, Gr2's, and a set of sway bars will help me get some control back, but I'm nervous when it comes to the sway bars. I know that in an optimally set up suspension, you kind of want to match the sway bars to the springs, and to the weight of the car, or else you could be worse off than when you started. The thing is, I do not have any way to get custom sway bars, and off the shelf options are limited.

Does anyone have any suspension setup suggestions? I want to be in complete control of my car, if something happens on the road (truck tire blow outs, animals, idiots), but I don't want to have to wince at every set of rail road tracks I come across... I'm getting too old for that shit.

Having a CB that rides AND handles decently, this is what I would do:

1) Replace all of your bushings with OEM ones. I know you have TB's on the front, but the rear could probably stand some new ones. I would stick with OEM, as the durometer is softer, and thus it will ride over bumps better. It is also a little bit hard to find rear bushings for this car, and I wish ES made some, but they don't.

2) Progress rear sway bar. It is easy to install (I have a DIY on here for it), and makes a huge difference with the way the rear follows the front. It will still come out on you, but it is a LOT more predictable and controllable. This bar in combination with the LSD makes the car super neutral, super progressive, and thus, super fun. It improves stability and makes the corner set more predictable and enjoyable as well. I no longer have too many complaints about understeer at anything resembling not a retarded corner speed. Even up the limits of adhesion, it remains really neutral.

3) I have been around most spring/shock combos, as well as a few sets of coilovers. Frankly, I have found all of the kids that think riding on a skateboard is "soft" to be retarded. I think you can get nearly all of the handling prowess with very little of the trade, if you know what you are doing and don't spring for cheap crap.

I have had the best luck with Neuspeed springs. They are progressive rate, so they ride really nice for the first 1-2" of travel, and then they firm up very well. The Sports are not as aggressive as the race for various reasons, and it does show up as a touch of extra body roll at initial turn in. However, beyond that point, they firm up predictably and nicely, and IMO they don't lower the car to the point of being ridiculous. They have a nice stance, and a nice rake, but they preserve a lot of the suspension travel. They also leave camber at a reasonably managable level. As for shocks, it depends what you want. I absolutely DO NOT like AGX's as they seem to ride shitty and not lower the car as much. I have had good luck with Tockico, but I think unless you are going to change configuration, blue's would be the way to go. They ride better and are cheaper. The illuminas allow adjustment, but I can't seem to find a damping curve that agrees exactly with the spring rate. I have heard that Koni's work well also, though I have not experienced them with Neuspeed springs. Cisco (Hondafan81) has that setup on his car though. I also thought the OEM shocks and Neuspeed Sports were incredibly well matched with each other. The ride was just like stock, and it handled about the same as with the Illuminas. IIRC, the blues use the same damping rate as stock, but don't quote me on that.

I have also experienced the Race springs on several different car with several different setups, and they will also ride about like stock, although they will have firmer damping due to less travel and a higher rate (they are still progressive, so it is not jarring). These can and will lower the car with a fantastic stance, but are a little impractical if your roads are made of dream dust. Ray Ray had these on his first Accord coupe, if you want relative pictures of what it looked like.

The key to getting these springs to work beautifully though is to make sure you trim the bump stops to match the amount you are lowering the car. Don't do this, and you will cruise around on those, and the car will feel like the suspension is shitty.

4) Obviously, healthy ball joints, tie rods and a good alignment are also essential.

5) I also HIGHLY recommend a good set of strut tower bars, I am partial to ESP's because they are stiff as shit and look good, for a reasonable price. Neuspeed's was also very effective, and is cheaper, but won't clear an H series (not sure which engine you are building). The difference this made in chassis flex was really incredible and surprised me quite a bit. I was REALLY surprised how effective a good rear bar could be. The also serve to make the car more neutral, and predictable, but most importantly, they really reduce that initial moment of settling, as the chassis is much stiffer and thus flexes less and sets faster on corner entry.

Frankly, even though most people refuse to listen to me around here (or anybody for that matter), if you follow the above guidelines, I assure that you will have a good handling, reasonable riding car that is a shit ton of fun to take in the curves.

[HondaBob]

owequitit, Thanks for replying.

A lot of good info there.

Ride height is important to me, I want to lower the car as little as possible. The car is a sleeper. Oe corroded wheels, rust, etc. It will be powered by a 400+ whp f22. I just want to keep the power and handling in balance. Sometimes things can get out of hand fast with that kind of power, and I want to have my best odds of pulling out of it.

All of my tie rods/ball joints have been replaced within this past year with MOOG parts. Rear trailing arm bushings have also been replaced.

I'm looking into the megan rear tow bars, mainly because I want the adjustment, but I'm weary of the bushings in them. Many years ago, anything megan was garbage, and it was a death wish to install their parts, especially their rear control arms for civic/integra.

I originally wanted to replace my bushings with OE replacements, however they end up being more expensive, and slightly more annoying to install over energy suspension or prothane... unless you know of a place that offers OE bushing kits (that aren't chinese pieces of trash like most aftermarket oe parts).

The bump stops will defiantly be trimmed, but I don't want a drop that will require me to take more than one "nub" off of them.

I can weld, and have access to tubing benders, plasma cutter, etc. I was already planning on making my own strut tower braces that will be 3 point. I may even sacrifice some trunk space for a 3 point rear bar. I haven't measured anything or even looked in my trunk in a while, but I'm thinking I could tie the rear strut towers into the rear package tray. If I get motivated enough, I may go crazy with it. I will have pics of every thing in my build thread as I do it.

As for the alignment, I want to get it on the rack after lowering it to see where exactly the camber sits. I wouldn't mind a little bonus camber, but if it's something silly I will look into control arms.



Again, thanks guys for some solid info.

[owequitit]

owequitit, Thanks for replying.

A lot of good info there.

Ride height is important to me, I want to lower the car as little as possible. The car is a sleeper. Oe corroded wheels, rust, etc. It will be powered by a 400+ whp f22. I just want to keep the power and handling in balance. Sometimes things can get out of hand fast with that kind of power, and I want to have my best odds of pulling out of it.

All of my tie rods/ball joints have been replaced within this past year with MOOG parts. Rear trailing arm bushings have also been replaced.

I'm looking into the megan rear tow bars, mainly because I want the adjustment, but I'm weary of the bushings in them. Many years ago, anything megan was garbage, and it was a death wish to install their parts, especially their rear control arms for civic/integra.

I originally wanted to replace my bushings with OE replacements, however they end up being more expensive, and slightly more annoying to install over energy suspension or prothane... unless you know of a place that offers OE bushing kits (that aren't chinese pieces of trash like most aftermarket oe parts).

The bump stops will defiantly be trimmed, but I don't want a drop that will require me to take more than one "nub" off of them.

I can weld, and have access to tubing benders, plasma cutter, etc. I was already planning on making my own strut tower braces that will be 3 point. I may even sacrifice some trunk space for a 3 point rear bar. I haven't measured anything or even looked in my trunk in a while, but I'm thinking I could tie the rear strut towers into the rear package tray. If I get motivated enough, I may go crazy with it. I will have pics of every thing in my build thread as I do it.

As for the alignment, I want to get it on the rack after lowering it to see where exactly the camber sits. I wouldn't mind a little bonus camber, but if it's something silly I will look into control arms.



Again, thanks guys for some solid info.

Using online Honda dealers, you can replace all of the rest of your rear bushing for less than about $200. You aren't going to beat OEM quality on a Honda car, period.

I think prothane makes rear bushings for our cars, but ES does not. I am not sure about the durometer of those. If you look at Hondafan81's white Accord build thread, he has some rear bushings that are poly on there, but I don't remeber who made them.

[19dabeast85]

Using online Honda dealers, you can replace all of the rest of your rear bushing for less than about $200. You aren't going to beat OEM quality on a Honda car, period.

I think prothane makes rear bushings for our cars, but ES does not. I am not sure about the durometer of those. If you look at Hondafan81's white Accord build thread, he has some rear bushings that are poly on there, but I don't remeber who made them.

Cisco used the Prothane rear bushings. I installed the rear Prothane bushings on my cb7 too and they are GREAT. IMO the bushing material is a better quality than ES (seems a little more rubbery = longer life, while still really solid). The downside of the Prothane rear LCA kit is the steel sleeves have to be tack welded after they are pressed into the LCA's to prevent side-to-side movement. Since the OP can weld this should be a non-issue though.

OP: Check out energysuspensionparts.com for your bushings. They have the best prices I've seen and also sell Prothane bushings so it's a one-stop shop. They have universal greasable sway bar brackets if you choose to go with poly on the front sway, I recommend black graphite poly bushings to lower bushing squeaks. You may be able to purchase separate bushing sets for cheaper than the master kit since you won't be needing the ball&tierod joint covers or spring seats. If you want poly bump stops, purchase the ones on there for the 99 Prelude......buy 2 "front" kits....you'll put the whole bump stops on the rear and cut the fronts in half.

For the rear lower shock mount, get either OEM or MOOG, none of the poly-makers make this bushing.

Finally, LOAD UP the poly grease (buy extra off the site) on every surface where bushing meets metal. This will help prevent squeaks, I didn't use enough and it drives me crazy.

[DJ metadelic]

Lots of good information here, probably more than a lot of the other threads I've searched through. I estimate to run a good suspension setup takes between $600 and $800, which really isn't that bad for quality and a good ride. $200 for Neuspeed sports, $320 for STR.T's, and the remaining for oem bushings, a good camber kit from say progress or the like, and any needed extras.

[Prez808]

prez707 runs prokits and bilsteins and the handing is excellent. Very smooth and very stable in turns. We also did his front bushings then he put in a rear sway bar and its such a beutiful ride.

Dont forget a camber kit.

Who is that? lol

Yes I would describe my setup as an OEM Plus setup. Rides practically stock, but the handling is incredible. So many people think my car isn't even lowered. Good.