Hey everyone, just picked up a 94' DX 5-spd 92k miles the other day for a steal and my friend pointed me to this board for some good info...Ive already done a basic tune up so i have a benchmark for how the car should perform; oil, filter, plugs, wires, cap, rotor, air filter, fuel filter, bleed brakes, manual tranny flush/fill...all the basic stuff you can do in a few hours.

Now my question is, the car really handles like arse when you get it up to speed, it floats around everywhere and it just doesnt feel stable at all. I looked at the tires and they're some crazy high milage 185/70/R14 on the stock steelies that the old guy that had the car before me had on their, and im sure the suspension is probably original as well.

Being in college, i dont have the scratch for rims, so im going to have to do either better tires on the stock steelies, or a new spring/shock setup. Im not really going for looks, i just want a well handling car....what should i do first and any ideas on what to get?????

Thank in advanced...

Strax

 

Congrats and welcome to the board. If handling is your priority, I'd say do the suspension first...springs/shocks (or complete system) and sways, and new rubber at least. Since money is tight, I'd get some Prelude SI alloys (93-96 I think) or some Accord EX alloys. They will be an inch bigger at least, and you can get some better rubber for them. I have the Prelude wheels for winter...they work. They are also .5 inches wider than accord alloys so they could handle a little wider tire for more grip.

 

thanks for the reply....so i was searching around the board and it seems the KYB AGXs are fairly popular (cant afford the koni yellows) but i guess springs seem to be a bit more personal, I was thinking the neuspeed sofsports? or the eibach ?(whatever is a minimal drop). whats the though on either of those setups? Like i said, i dont really care if its dropped, i just want better handling while keeping as comfortable as a ride as possible. Also, would the handling still suck after i did the suspension if i kept the stock wheels? (ie, should i do wheels first or would it really matter?) Thanks again..

STrax

 

Well tires can't be overlooked. That's the only thing connecting your car to the road. New tires would help...and I suggested buying some OEM alloys because they usually look good, and you can get them used cheap and that will give you a 15 inch wheel to start off. I'd lose those 14" wheels... They are just too small. 15" minimum.

If you are set on keeping your wheels, you can do that, but you'll have better options I would assume with a 15" inch wheel, and the performance would increase a little.

I'd say do a sport drop with some good shocks, some sway bars, new 15" alloys with new rubber. 17" wheels and tires would give you more options for performance tires, and wider tires for more grip, and shorter sidewall will reduce roll, give more handling, but I brought up the 15" OEM alloys because you said money is tight and you can find them pretty cheap.

 

You just answerd your own question there. Drop it and when you do so, you'll have to swap out the struts. I did Neuspeed matched with Tokicos. Works well for less $$. But if you do come into a wad, then there are more better setups that are more $$ will work perfectly for what you want.

 

Welcome to an addiction.

I would definitley trade up to at least 15" rims if not 16s the reason being is you get a better contact patch 17s are great but 18s are too much really.

I would look into a good set of coilovers but if not the H&R springs are a high recommendation (I run em and I am a corner junkie). Struts are a definite must and are the one major spot you shouldn't go cheap. They can make or break the handling of your ride in many ways.

Good luck

 

if you really don't want it drop that much try the eibach pro-kit. But if you want it lower then that, go with what these guys say. H&Rsport spings/KYB AGX/sway bars. Since you a college student like me, get some 15's. but if you get enough money up, go to www.wheelmax.com The fellas on this board say there pretty good.