Question about tightening suspension around turns
Thread Starter
Registered!!
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 273
Likes: 0
From: Arlington Heights, IL
Rep Power: 0 
Question about tightening suspension around turns
Hey im looking for the best (cheapest but not crappiest) way to tighten the handling on the car any thoughts on this i allready have a strut tower bar and it helped but now im addicted to the turning at high speeds.
get an RSX-S rear sway bar. Go to the RSX forum, and you can get it easily for $60 shipped. I haggled and got it for $55 shipped (including bushings). You can check out the thread I started there in the Sales section. Civic's have a bit of understeer, and the rear sway bar will help make it more neutral. Also, a front strut bar (dont know if you have one or not) helps a lot from what I've heard. And if you still have the stock tires, get rid of thos POS. They suck. Go with some Bridgestone Potenza RE950's. Cheap (like $70 a piece) and very good performance wise. And long tread life.
Yes, it's an Acura EL
iTrader: (23)
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 8,248
Likes: 0
From: 416-905, Ontario, Canada
Rep Power: 369 






Front upper strut bar
Rear upper strut bar
Rear lower tie bar
RSX-S rear sway
You're laughin.
But if ur ambitious, Neuspeed front lower x-brace too. There is debate as to whether there is any point upgrading the front sway bar. Myself, I'm lazy to get under the front and futz with it, so along with my springs (and soon struts/shocks), the 4 mods above will give you very noticably improved handling.
Rear upper strut bar
Rear lower tie bar
RSX-S rear sway
You're laughin.
But if ur ambitious, Neuspeed front lower x-brace too. There is debate as to whether there is any point upgrading the front sway bar. Myself, I'm lazy to get under the front and futz with it, so along with my springs (and soon struts/shocks), the 4 mods above will give you very noticably improved handling.
Autocross Junky
Hey! Look At Me!! I'm a Supporting Member!!
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 7,211
Likes: 0
From: Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Rep Power: 381 










You need to find out what the car is doing right now. Does it understeer alot? Is it because of the car or the driver? What kind of tires are you running? what springs do you have and what are their rates? how about shocks? you'll need to do a bit more research before you just start slapping on parts. what condition of the roads you drive on in? alot of bumps or smooth? how about you, are you quick and jerky whith the wheel? brakes and gas? All of this affects handling....... but for a quick handling boost, a sticky set of tires will give you more cornering traction then any other single part. For the street I'd suggest either Falken Azenis Sports or Kumho MXs.
Give us a bit more info on what the car is doing and well do our best to point you twards the right parts.
Give us a bit more info on what the car is doing and well do our best to point you twards the right parts.
Thread Starter
Registered!!
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 273
Likes: 0
From: Arlington Heights, IL
Rep Power: 0 
i have a stock civic dx with a 5sp and im not saying that it has bad handling i just want real tight handling is all im wondering what the best upgrades are for a stock car like my own
Autocross Junky
Hey! Look At Me!! I'm a Supporting Member!!
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 7,211
Likes: 0
From: Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Rep Power: 381 










ok, well basic improvements in handling can be had very easily with our cars.
I believe boilermaker is running on stock springs with the RSX sway bar, so he could probably tell you how that handles. he autocrosses with that set up so I'd trust him over some one whos just driven on the street like that.
as far as other things..... some sport springs would do wonders, as well as having Higher valved shocks (Koni?). getting sticky tires is also a big improvement in handling. Probably the biggest single improvement.
It really depends on how far you want to sacrifice ride comfort for performance.
Personally I have H&R sport springs with the RSX rear bar and from autocrossing with that setup, the car still pushes in the tighter corners. also my stock shocks are pretty weak now, and thats not helping my corner entry and exit at all, but If I had some Konis I bet this set up would be pretty good. Right now It underseers in the tighter corners, but if I enter it right I can lift off the throttle and get the *** end to rotate. For me I think I'll get a larger rear bar eventulally, but I can say for the street its pretty damn good.
I believe boilermaker is running on stock springs with the RSX sway bar, so he could probably tell you how that handles. he autocrosses with that set up so I'd trust him over some one whos just driven on the street like that.
as far as other things..... some sport springs would do wonders, as well as having Higher valved shocks (Koni?). getting sticky tires is also a big improvement in handling. Probably the biggest single improvement.
It really depends on how far you want to sacrifice ride comfort for performance.
Personally I have H&R sport springs with the RSX rear bar and from autocrossing with that setup, the car still pushes in the tighter corners. also my stock shocks are pretty weak now, and thats not helping my corner entry and exit at all, but If I had some Konis I bet this set up would be pretty good. Right now It underseers in the tighter corners, but if I enter it right I can lift off the throttle and get the *** end to rotate. For me I think I'll get a larger rear bar eventulally, but I can say for the street its pretty damn good.
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 13,151
Likes: 3
From: Washington DC
Rep Power: 424 










Basically this is my suspension set up right now....
Factory Shocks and Springs
Neuspeed Upper Front SB
Cusco Upper Rear SB w/ body mounts attached
Spoon Sports Lower TB
RSX 19mm Rear Sway w/ Energy Suspension 3/4" Greasable Bushings.
17x7" OZ Superleggeras w/ 215/45/17 Yokohama AVS ES100s (Yes, tires are part of your suspension handling set up).
The stock tires are the weakest link. Get rid of them. If you need all season functionality, then go with the Potenza RE950. If you want 2 sets, one for summer, one for winter, which is pretty common, then invest in some rims and get some decient summer tires.
Then you gotta get rid of the rear sway bar. Its like a friggin pencil, I can bend it with my bare hands. Depending on how stiff you want it and how controllably you can drive you can either go with the 19mm RSX bar or a 22 mm aftermarket bar. I recommend the 19 for a stock suspension... it does a pretty good job of balancing out the 2 ends. The rear tie bar is something that should go with it. Its a precautionary measure, it serves no real purpose, but should the sway bar stress the lower suspension mounts too much, it can rip it apart... the tie bar just adds a little extra strength to the area. The Upper Front is almost a must, if for nothing else, preventing wheel hop. It actually does a decient job of firming the car up, the front of the car seems to be a little flexible. The Rear SB isn't going to do much unless you're throwing it hard enough to flex the whole body. It does help keep the car flatter in corners, but since the rear struts bolt into the trunk floor, its pretty stiff back there. Shocks and springs help, but I don't have them yet, so I don't know how much.
My set up is working pretty good for me on the track... the car still understeers in hard corners, 1/2 of the fight is knowing how to drive with it... you need to enter and give your tires enough time to "set" into the corner. They're going to roll a little, so let them get set in, then the car becomes much easier to turn. Gradually easing in will be much faster. Direct, jerky cornering will just produce understeer because you'll create a big angle between the direction the car is traveling and direction the tires are rotating... that'll break them loose. Easing the car in so the car maintains traction is important... its not going to make a 90degree corner on a dime at high speeds.
Factory Shocks and Springs
Neuspeed Upper Front SB
Cusco Upper Rear SB w/ body mounts attached
Spoon Sports Lower TB
RSX 19mm Rear Sway w/ Energy Suspension 3/4" Greasable Bushings.
17x7" OZ Superleggeras w/ 215/45/17 Yokohama AVS ES100s (Yes, tires are part of your suspension handling set up).
The stock tires are the weakest link. Get rid of them. If you need all season functionality, then go with the Potenza RE950. If you want 2 sets, one for summer, one for winter, which is pretty common, then invest in some rims and get some decient summer tires.
Then you gotta get rid of the rear sway bar. Its like a friggin pencil, I can bend it with my bare hands. Depending on how stiff you want it and how controllably you can drive you can either go with the 19mm RSX bar or a 22 mm aftermarket bar. I recommend the 19 for a stock suspension... it does a pretty good job of balancing out the 2 ends. The rear tie bar is something that should go with it. Its a precautionary measure, it serves no real purpose, but should the sway bar stress the lower suspension mounts too much, it can rip it apart... the tie bar just adds a little extra strength to the area. The Upper Front is almost a must, if for nothing else, preventing wheel hop. It actually does a decient job of firming the car up, the front of the car seems to be a little flexible. The Rear SB isn't going to do much unless you're throwing it hard enough to flex the whole body. It does help keep the car flatter in corners, but since the rear struts bolt into the trunk floor, its pretty stiff back there. Shocks and springs help, but I don't have them yet, so I don't know how much.
My set up is working pretty good for me on the track... the car still understeers in hard corners, 1/2 of the fight is knowing how to drive with it... you need to enter and give your tires enough time to "set" into the corner. They're going to roll a little, so let them get set in, then the car becomes much easier to turn. Gradually easing in will be much faster. Direct, jerky cornering will just produce understeer because you'll create a big angle between the direction the car is traveling and direction the tires are rotating... that'll break them loose. Easing the car in so the car maintains traction is important... its not going to make a 90degree corner on a dime at high speeds.
Autocross Junky
Hey! Look At Me!! I'm a Supporting Member!!
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 7,211
Likes: 0
From: Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Rep Power: 381 










word ^^^^ how you drive has as much importance to how your car handles as what springs Tires and shocks you have..... Learn to be smooth and you will greatly enhance your turning ability.
Thread Starter
Registered!!
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 273
Likes: 0
From: Arlington Heights, IL
Rep Power: 0 
thanks for all the help, its nice to have a place where its not all arguing all the time and people dont take everything so personally its all about the car for once. thanks
Thread
Thread Starter
Honda Civic Forum
Replies
Last Post
oneheadlight
Mechanical Problems/Vehicle Issues and Fix-it Forum
3
Apr 29, 2015 11:30 PM
GH04si
Mechanical Problems/Vehicle Issues and Fix-it Forum
3
Apr 15, 2015 08:13 PM




