Pardon me if this is off-topic, also I don't lurk this particular forum often, so be nice...

I got my car in january, and I've only been serious about tuning it for maybe 4-5 months.

I've put it off the road twice in the pass two weeks. I'm talking to the kid I bought it off of, and he shows me pics of him auto-crossing it, and I'm thinking maybe the suspension has been wailed on.

I wouldn't notice a soft/bad suspension cause I don't have any experience to compare it to...


Here is a shot of him autoXing

http://community.webshots.com/photo/...33987576VMywIZ

so, I was looking into some suspension tweaks, and need some tips

I think I've decided on tokico iluminas and an eibach pro kit, for cost/performance considerations.

I'm looking for some OEM rims, I can get 15s, but 16s are hard to come by. will I see a difference going from my 14s to 15s? Is it absolutely worth it to go with 16s?

I'm going to put some good rubber on them, honda-tech reccomended:

Yokohama AVS ES100's 205/50/15
Falken Azenis 205/50/15
Kumho Ecsta Supras 205/50/15

What I really want is reccomendations for rims and tires.

My goals/application, are a fair amount of highway driving, stoplight dragging, and backroads handling.

Oh, also probably getting: front/rear sways (suspension tech. or ITR), front camber kit. and maybe a rear lower tie, cause that's where hondas, need the most reinforcement, correct? factory understeer? And maybe in a month or two, a LSD, which I realize isn't strictly a suspension component, but I think it'll help the handling.

-PHiZ

 

OEM/OE Honda/Acura rims wrapped in 205/50 Falken Azweeeeeeeeeeeeeeines :exnbp:

 

If you want to do street racing this is not the forum for you.

 

good call civicsiracer, i can answer your question but i choose not to because of street racing. later

 

If you can offer advice, do so. If you're going to harangue me over being a "street racer" It's not helpful.

when I said "stoplight draggin" basically, I meant straight line, dead acceleration, I don't intend to literally drag anybody, I much prefer backroads driving.

I needed to give some application notes, because someone would have asked what my suspension "goals" were et al.

Thanks

-PHiZ

 

You miss the point. Anyone who has been off-road twice in a short amount of time with a new car is not going to benefit from any car modifications. When you lose it next time, you will just be going faster.

We would give you advice if we knew that you would use it wisely, i.e. drive fast in a controlled environment like an autocross, an hpde or even at the drag strip.

Some of us are nervous about giving you a car that is more neutral and therefore more likely to spin. Going with a larger rear bar like the ITR bar will do just that. So I urge you to not modify the car, go out to an autocross or two, and then when you have matured a bit about your own safety and the safety of others come back and ask the questions. You will live longer!

BTW the photo does not show the car's suspension being abused. And actually for a dead stock car it looks ok.

 

thank you, that post had a much better tone, instead of becoming defensive, i'm much more likely to listen to the advice... That's kinda how people work, right?

(btw, I edited MY first reply, cause it was too .. heated..)

I thought I was under the impression that hondas came factory equipped exhibiting understeer. And likely to spin. Now you're saying bringing the car more neutral, would make it more likely to understter OR oversteer? Like reducing the margin for error more? Is that what you mean?

Yeah, I had it kinda understood that you don't want to OVER-stiffen the rear. That's why I was kinda considering NOT getting a rear strut-tower bar, and just the rear sway.

usually I would do exhaustive research on the subject, like I would do with anything else, but I kinda have a time critical situation here. so I'm asking for a little jumpstart on the situation.

And the picture I was just highlighting that the car has been wailed on, and the suspension to other people seems to be pretty hurt.

Also, I'm beginning to think that my tires are cheapos too, casue they will squeal with VERY little provocation.

-PHiZ

 

Ok, I've revised my attitude on this. There are a lot of topics I'm clueless about, you're all probably laughing at my comprehension of under/over steer. and other miscelaneous tidbits.

I think I'll leave the chassis rigidity stuff alone for right now, until I can make more informed decisions, I have a ton of research to do.

so can I get some reccomendations, for a good "learner" tuned suspension? Until I can make informed suspension changes...

I just started browsing the forums, and I realize there are topics I need to really comprehend.

So, for what I described, auto-cross classing not considered.

Should I got to a larger than the 14s stock rim, I'm thinking maybe some OEM 15s, what rubber, I think I'm leaning towards the ecstas.

I tihnk I'd like stiffer suspension to improve road feel, and a little drop to lower the center of gravity, and I still think the illuminas are a good comprimise with price/performance.

forgot to add, I've got a rear disk conversion from an integra that's going on, I want to do all the suspension work at once, I kinda wanted to do the sways while I was under there.

speak you peace guys, whatever your opinions are...

-PHiZ

 

Be carefull with the backroads... I've nearly killed myself twice, and have learned to keep the real driving to the autocross course.

Wheels wise, if you've got steel wheels you should probably chuck 'em. Crx, integra, delslo are all decent factory 14" alloys. I think the thinner 5-spoke found on delslos and integras was the lightest of those. For a factory 15", integra LS, gs-r, and civic SI wheels are good options. Of those, the LS (mesh style) is the lightest, then gs-r(blades), then gsr(5 spoke), then Si.

If you get 14s, I would definitely get falken azenis 195/60/14.

With 15s, kumhos are nice an cheap (what I'm running right now), and AVS ES100 are pretty good too. Azenis will still offer more grip than either of these.

Dont bother with 16s.

As far as suspension... The only thing that would really be damaged by lots of autocrossing is the bushings. If you replace them, I'd go with polyurethane, as its much better for performance, and usually cheaper than OEM.

 

PHiZ,

The message that I would like to give you is:

You should spend some time learning high-performance, precision driving in a safe environment BEFORE you modify your car.

The reason is pretty simple. If you modify first how will you know you did the right thing? Your butt is not educated enough to know what makes a good handling car, yet. But, spend some time autocrossing and hanging out with people who really know performance and YOU will LEARN what makes a good handling car. YOU will become the EXPERT that newbies ask for advice.

If setting up a car was just a matter of buying and installing some off the shelf parts everyone would have race cars that kicked a**. But setting up a car is a matter of thousands of compromises between power, handling, weight, money, safety, driver ability, driveablity, ride comfort, noise, tire wear, rain adhesion, ground clearance etc, etc, etc. No one on this board can give you hard and fast answers about the best parts to buy.

It's something that you are going to have to decide for yourself. You can do that by rushing out and pissing away money and time on poorly thought out parts combinations that you end up tossing out in a year or you can put your wallet away and open your eyes and ears, learn about the car you want to modify and make informed econimical decisions later.

It's the smart way; it's the safe way; it's the least expensive way; and it's the most personally satisfying way. But it's your choice. Whatever you decide, I wish you luck and hope that you will be safe.

Regards,
Alan