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Old 02-09-2004
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Starting off small

im wanting to start to get my car to handle better, but i want to start off small.(not springs or coilovers)
what would you do first?

thanks in advance for the input
Old 02-09-2004
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Bigger Diameter rear sway bar.
Old 02-09-2004
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Originally posted by civicvtec1ps
Bigger Diameter rear sway bar.
i havent a clue on how to pick any of this out. any brand names better than others, places to get them, and better prices


Old 02-09-2004
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I'd say driver but that takes time... Otherwise


alignment..... you can do alot with a good alignment.
of course you need to find a good alignment shop first....
Basically you'd want as much negitive camber as you can get (Front should have more then the rear). as much positive caster (within stock specks) and possibly 1/8 inch toe out on the front (Maybe the rear if too) otherwise 0 toe out.

larger Rear anti-roll bar is a good choice too. the RSX 19mm one is good for starters.

other wise if you have abit more $$$ shocks (Koni) would do wonders, even with stock springs.
Old 02-09-2004
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2 biggest things (well, besides coilovers) that I found help...
Neuspeed upper front bar- helps remove cornering hop and some understeer
RSX rear sway bar- helps bring the *** end around when the front wants to turn

Grand total... maybe $200 if you buy both new.
Old 02-09-2004
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^^ thats good too^^^

also, Tires. the right tires will help your handling probably more then any other single mod.
Old 02-09-2004
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Originally posted by Boilermaker1

Neuspeed upper front bar- helps remove cornering hop and some understeer
RSX rear sway bar- helps bring the *** end around when the front wants to turn

those 2 were the 2 things that i was mostly worried about right now. ill worry about the actual suspension later

is there a different rear sway bar that anyone would get or is this one the best one for the best price?
Old 02-09-2004
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can anyone give me links to these?
are they one ebay?
Old 02-09-2004
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Depends if you are use to a car that will want to oversteer alot.... Seriously. For a mostly stock suspension with a relitively inexperianced driver (as in inexperianced at driving at the limit) I wouldnt go bigger then the 19mm RSX bar right now. Later when you get use to the less understeer and ocational oversteer you may want to go with a 22mm rear bar. or you could pick up a 22mm rear bar, and test it out. if it oversteers more then you like then you could always buy the OEM 01 Front anti roll bar (25.4mm) to offset the rear bar.

Prices:
OEM RSX (RSX-S) 19mm bar new $80
Progress, Eibach, Comptech, Hotchkis, Neuspeed and Suspension Techneiques all make various Rear anti roll bars (16mm-27mm) and range from $160 to $600 in price.
Old 02-09-2004
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Good solid advice here. I agree 100%, from a cost vs. benefit perspective. Invest in a thicker diameter rear sway bar. The RSX type-S on is good from what I hear and incredibly cheap.

A front upper bar would be a good investment too, to stiffen up the front end of the car.

But, IMO, getting a good set of tires would be an excellent investment. You don't need to get fancy 17" rims (although they look nice). Pretty much ANYTHING is better than the stock Firestones. To give you an idea of how crappy these are, I get better dry pavement handling out of my SNOW tires. And they aren't spectacular snow tires either, IceTraks (made by Michelin).

Keep in mind that your tires are what give you grip around corners. You need two things - good tires and a good suspension to keep those tires on the ground, with good weight distribution through corners.
Old 02-09-2004
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great advice you guys, thank you alot!!
Old 02-10-2004
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I have the rsx rear bar also. It's definately one of the best things you can get for the money. Strut bars help too, but new tires are a MUST!!
Old 02-10-2004
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well all i can say is better to do it right the first time....or ur gonna end up spending more on better stuff....so just research what u wanna do then go about aquiring the parts....dont jump into anything to quickly
Old 02-10-2004
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i have the neuspeed upper front strut bar with the progress rear anti sway bar. the progress rear sway is 22mm and the rsx i believe is 24mm. If you decide to get exhaust you will run into problems with it hitting the exhaust but you can have it modified to where it wont cause problems by hitting the sway bar.

i have those and my car lowered with eibach sportlines and eibach camber kit and 17inch wheels and the handling is amazing.

Injen
Old 02-10-2004
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no the RSX is 19mm, the RSX-R is 22mm, progress and neuspeed are both 22mm, and i think the Mugen CTR bar is 25mm.

You have an 03 which means you have a 16mm front sway. If you do not plan on racing then then 16mm front with the rsx 19mm rear will do just fine.
Old 02-10-2004
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Originally posted by robbclark1
no the RSX is 19mm, the RSX-R is 22mm, progress and neuspeed are both 22mm, and i think the Mugen CTR bar is 25mm.

You have an 03 which means you have a 16mm front sway. If you do not plan on racing then then 16mm front with the rsx 19mm rear will do just fine.
sorry i was 2mm off please forgive me

Injen
Old 02-10-2004
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start out with upper bars, then sway bars, then lower bars, and a x brace or something simular, then when ur finished with the bars... get dampers....


but i think the first thing you should do is get some nice 16's such as rota slipstreems and buy some falken azenis (215/45/16)
Old 02-10-2004
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i have the neuspeed upper front strut bar with the progress rear anti sway bar. the progress rear sway is 22mm and the rsx i believe is 24mm.

no you quoted the RSX/RSX-S bar as being 24mm. It is not 24mm, it is 19mm. The RSX-R bar is 22mm but you have to get that from a japanese distributor here. I was not trying to be an ***, but you spoke incorrect information.
Old 02-10-2004
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Originally posted by HondaLuver
start out with upper bars, then sway bars, then lower bars, and a x brace or something simular, then when ur finished with the bars... get dampers....


but i think the first thing you should do is get some nice 16's such as rota slipstreems and buy some falken azenis (215/45/16)
You know Azenis are nice, but they don't make the best street tires. They are sticky and provide good dry traction, but they may not work so well in the rain/snow/ice. They also wear quickly ~20k miles. Get something with a higher tread rating, probably around 250, and make sure they are a good brand, Falkens, Yokohamas, Kumhos, etc.
Old 02-10-2004
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my friend had falkens on his eclipse and the inside of the tire tore apart causing major problems.

I am a fan of sumitomo or toyo

Injen
Old 02-10-2004
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Originally posted by robbclark1
You know Azenis are nice, but they don't make the best street tires. They are sticky and provide good dry traction, but they may not work so well in the rain/snow/ice. They also wear quickly ~20k miles. Get something with a higher tread rating, probably around 250, and make sure they are a good brand, Falkens, Yokohamas, Kumhos, etc.

My experiance with Azenis in the rain is this: they grip phenomenaly when its wet out, almost as well as they grab when its dry. their only problem with rain is with standing water (puddles). they cant evacuate water from under the tire quick enough so they tend to hydroplane when you hit puddles at speed. This is coming from my experiance at the national tour last month.


if you want absolut top notch dry traction in a streetable tire, they are hard to beat. how ever that traction come at a cost of low milage (as stated by Robclark). on the street you would probably get around 20,000 miles out of them. if you autocross or do track days.... under 10,000.

and dont take them any where near snow/ice.... you may as well have bald tires if you do.
Old 02-10-2004
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its all been said so far but ill just add my vote to this anyway. RSX rear bar, Neuspeed front stut bar, better tires, alignment. Im lookin into a rear Neuspeed strut bar when they come out but for cheap easy starters, those 4 things will make a world of differance in your car.
Old 02-11-2004
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tires, its the only part of the car that is in contact with the road
Old 02-11-2004
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Old 02-11-2004
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wow this is more info than what i thought i was gonna get. so whats the one thing that is gonna take care of body roll?(i know it;s probabnly more than one thing, i just mean the one major thing)
Old 02-11-2004
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Originally posted by INCivic
wow this is more info than what i thought i was gonna get. so whats the one thing that is gonna take care of body roll?(i know it;s probabnly more than one thing, i just mean the one major thing)
best thing for body roll is anti-sway bars, preferablly rear. Either the RSX or the PROGRESS

Injen
Old 02-11-2004
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Well, Body roll isnt really the problem. What you ought to be looking for is how to adjust whats called Roll Couple Distribution. and thats done by changing the rates of your springs and Anti-roll bars. Since you dont want to dip in to springs yet, that leaves anti-roll bars.

From your profile it looks like you have an 03 Coupe, so that means you have a 15.9mm front anti-roll bar and a 12mm rear bar.

Heres a quick reccomendation, if you dont want to spend any $$$ but still want less understeer..... Disconnect the front anti-roll bar. Or if you do have about $80 bucks to spend pick up the RSX rear anti-roll bar (19mm).
Old 02-14-2004
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Don't put a progress rear bar on an otherwise stock suspension. You will get seriously sideways.
Old 02-25-2004
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Should I need front sway bar too? I have a 03 and 15mm i think....
Old 02-25-2004
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not really but if you want one I have an RSX type s one for sale


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