Suspension build

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SolPWR

Senior Member
ok my engine is weak and my suspension is soft. I know what to do wqith the engine work but the suspension im not sure. all I can think of is sway, strut bars and new wheels. I already have springs with shocks. I have been looking into a bushing set. would this help?

another question is that G-Tech meter thingy, it measures G-force, how accurate is it? And what is a good goal to reach for my sol? 1.00G, .95G, 1.02G?
 
Polyurethane bushings definitely help- they really help to renew your chassis by stiffening up all your pivot points. I'm sure that your stock rubber bushings are pretty tired by now.

As for everything else- how much money do you have to spend? I'm a believer that the suspension setup is every bit as important (if not more) than the drivetrain on a car, so do your research. This is what I have and it works well:

Tein FLEX coilovers: 9kg/mm front, 6kg/mm rear (spring rates)
Eibach sway bars: 26mm front, 17mm rear
Neuspeed upper front strut brace
Energy Suspension bushings all around
JimFab traction bars

The handling on my sedan is very neutral, and behavior at the limit can either go towards understeer or oversteer depending on what I do with the gas pedal. It's pretty nice. I'm still looking to maybe get a thicker rear sway bar, more braces (damn lower fronts won't clear the 2.5" collector on the header) and a back half cage.

As for the G-Tech, who knows. Lots of people say that it's pretty good, but I've never used one- and I'm skeptical of a device that claims to measure quarter mile times and estimate power without ever reading vehicle or engine speed directly. I have an Apex'i RSM (Rev Speed Meter) with the optional G sensor. It wires directly into the ECU harness to read both engine and vehicle speed, so it can make real estimates about power and acceleration- it even compensates for wheelspin since it knows when it's happening. The G sensor is pretty responsive, and you can calibrate it to zero when your car is on a perfectly level surface.

On my setup, the highest lateral acceleration numbers I've seen while mildly pushing the car are 0.85G sustained through a tight turn and 0.6G through a sweeper (both around 50mph). Keep in mind that it's pretty hard to look at the meter while I'm trying to concentrate about not going off the edge of a cliff... I don't know what other numbers I've spiked up to. I need to get to a skidpad and try it out. Hopefully I can get close to 1.0G on the circle.

Just for kicks, I made a braking run from 70-10 and pulled off 0.88G of braking force. I know I could have gone higher too- my rotors aren't in such great shape, and I wasn't quite at impending lockup on the front tires.

Hope that helps some. :)
 
cool thanks that helps a lot

im looking to spend about $1500 bulk being the new wheels and tires
 
mike im not doubting what you say but im curious to how your car will be nuetral. from everything ive read, ive gotten the impression that the higher the front spring rates are, the more you will understeer, and if the rears are higher you will tend to over steer. same basic principle with sway bars. bigger in the front = understeer, and bigger in the rear = oversteer. by looking at your setup with higher front rates and a larger front sway bar, the information ive recieved would indicate that you would understeer substantially. im interested in what you have to say about this. cause with my car im running 400 front rates and 250 rear rates. and my car feels like it understeers, i can feel it. thats why i planned to get a 22mm rear sway to counter this and help balance things out. is this a bad idea? again im not questioning the validity of what you are saying im just looking for the right information :)
 
I don't know. My car honestly it pretty neutral- if it scrubs at all in a turn, it's hardly noticeable. I have gotten the rear end to come out from under me a few times running through a corner, and believe me- it's not fun. I still want a bigger rear sway bar, but I'm pretty happy with what I have so far. The Comptech bar is adjustable, so I can always dial it back if I want (if I get that one).

If you want to get the 22mm rear, I think you'll be fine- lots of people use that setup on their Civics and are happy with it. The weight distribution in the sedan is also a bit more rear biased than 2 doors, hatches and CRXs, so that might have something to do with it. The Japanese do frequently choose the EG sedan for road course racing you know.

:)
 
im running energy suspension bushings and omnipower coils (10k/6k), and the handling is very good. im no expert as calesta is, but i spent 800 bucks total and can say i have a hell of a setup. its not exactly the most comfy ride in the world though. thank god for daily drivers.
 
I'm no expert either. :)

If you match the damping force to the springs, the ride is actually pretty smooth... at least it is for me. It's more comfortable than my old roommate's stock suspension on his STi. I'm running 9k/6k on mine, and it's comfortable enough to be a daily driver through downtown Houston, even driving 1000 miles a week.
 
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