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April 25th, 2000, 01:01 AM
#1
Inactive Member
I am a happy puppy. I just got H&R OE Sport springs, KYB AGX adjustable shocks and a Suspension Techniques rear sway bar installed today.
I haven't driven it much yet, but I have plenty of comments already.
With the shocks on 1 front and 2 rear, the ride was comfortable. Like stock on good roads. Bad roads felt much worse thsn stock. These settings seem to control the springs. i.e. No oscilation. I am sure 2f/3r will be more appropriate at an autocross. Maybe stiffer even on really smoothe courses.
The car still rolls a bit. Much less than stock, but not like my brother's 240SX with beefier springs and ST swaybars front and rear.
Turning feels much improved. The front tires seem to want to turn more than you do, like when you're turning in reverse and the wheels want to go into a steeper turn. Not as strong, of course!
When I cut an imaginary slalom at 50mph, I got a feeling that reminded me of skiing slalom. By the time you get to the gate, you should be more than half done with your turn.
This is how the car feels. Like it carved one turn and then launched right into the next turn.
All four adjusters on the shocks are perfectly reachable.
The mechanic said it was one of the few appropriate sets of spring he's ever seen brought in and that most people lowered too much. Both guys were worried that I wouldn't be happy with the look. They both said, "How much were those springs supposed to lower?". Hah!
You can see a difference if you own an Integra, but most other people would not notice the minimal lowering.
Unfortunately, it took them 5.5 hours labor to so everything and an autocross alignment. The bill was about $380. Ouch.
The alignment wasn't as exact as I wanted. I don't know if it was because I wasn't there when they did it or what. It's good, but my brother got them to ream out mounting holes to get both sides exactly equal at -1.5 degrees camber. On my car they didn't push it past what the car wanted to give stock, so even though I have negative camber on all wheels, some are less than the others.
One pisser: Why can't mechanics tighten lug nuts properly? I mean, sheeiit, use a freaking torque wrench. I checked mine and they were all over the map, from way too tight to almost loose on the McGuard nuts.
These guys were great in every other aspect, and then they send the lug nuts out like that. I don't get it. Is this something taught at mechanics school?
I'll shut up now.
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Greg Holden
96 GSR, JSRC, I/H/E, yada yada yada...
My JRSC Install Site
[This message has been edited by Holden (edited April 24, 2000).]
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April 25th, 2000, 02:27 AM
#2
Phantom
Guest
That labor cost seems a bit high, but I'd rather pay extra to make absolutely sure it's done right rather than have some idiot mess my shit up.
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April 25th, 2000, 04:48 AM
#3
Inactive Member
Actually, I believe that the ST bar is 19 mm, which is suppose to be a good complement to the GSR's 25mm front bar. In their full sway bar kit, ST replaces the front bar with one the exact same size, maybe just a bit stiffer. They seem to know what they are doing though, because their products perform pretty well. With a bar this size, it probably allows for just a little bit of understeer left which is much safer than having a neutral or oversteering car that you cannot handle. I was also thinking about going with this bar because it has a nice mounting bracket also to prevent tears such as been happening with the skunk2 and thicker bars.
Jon
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97 GSR, JRSC...of course, RSR Header, Tanabe G power Medallion, AEM Intake, 17" Advan RG's, MSD BTM, CRV Crank Pulleyy(Soon), J&S(soon)
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April 25th, 2000, 05:40 AM
#4
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April 25th, 2000, 10:52 AM
#5
Inactive Member
I went with the 19mm ST bar for a few reasons:
1) I didn't want an enormous bar that would threaten to rip out of the unibody. The mechanic even thought the way the ST bar mounted was a little wimpy.
2) I didn't want the car to get too "loose". I'm not a professional driver, and I have a family, so I tend towards safety in my mods.
Based on bombing the parking lot this morning, I would say that the car is neutral, not oversteering. In a hard circle turn, the rear tires were sliding more than the front, but I didn't feel like I was anywhere near spinning it.
The labor may have been high because of one shock that refused to come out. He ended up destroying it to remove it. I live in road-salt central, so everything was pretty corroded. I'm very happy to have not tried this myself!
They were cool though. They even stuck labels on the springs and shocks telling where they came from. And don't forget that $380 included an alignment.
Greg
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April 25th, 2000, 03:17 PM
#6
Inactive Member
Greg - why did you get a ST sway bar? I thought the ST rear was only 18mm, while the Type R ws 22mm(JDM '98+ 23mm)? I know you probably already know this, just curious on your selection.
http://hybrid.honda-perf.org/tech/ITRon5G.html
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'95 Civic EX w/ JRSC(6psi)& Nos 25 shot,JG TB, Stillen 4-1 header, HKS 2 1/4 exh., '93 Lude VTEC fuel pump,MSD 6 BTM w/ Blaster SS Coil,APEXi SAFC, Autometer Boost/ Air-Fuel gauges, Centerforce D/F clutch, Act lighten flywheel, Eibach Pro's,Tokico Illuminas,Tenzo Front/ Rear Strut tower braces Best et: 13.98@101mph w/NOS
IN PROCESS:1992 5g VX Hatch w/ 93 Prelude 2.2L Vtec(donor)
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Oh well, guess I will now better the next time. I did the install on my car and also on his in a little over 4 hours. I am glad you like your set up, I have nothing but complements from mine as well.
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