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Heya,

I have an 04 Civic EX Coupe, The suspension is all stock, I don't want to lower the car yet or anything like that, but I wanted to know what would be the cheapest way to cut down on some of the stock body roll this car has?

I was looking at strut bars online but I read in the Suspension FAQ they only reduce body flex.

Al the strut bars I've been looking at claim to reduce body roll and strengthen body on turns.

What is correct and what should I get to improve body roll?

YES I'm a noob to all this

 
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are you trying to improve the cars handling? Because Body roll isnt really the primary thing you should be looking at if you are trying to make the car handle well.

basically there are 3 things you can change to reduce body roll (If thats all you want)

1. Springs, get a set of Higher spring rates.
2. Lower the car, there is a such a thing as too low though
3. Get larger anti-roll bars.


Strut bars, are simply chassis reinforcements and will not reduce body roll. Body Flex Yes, Body Roll no.



For cheep, I'd look at anti roll bars. You've got an 04, its got a 16mm front bar.... The 01 and 02 Coupes had a 25.4mm front bar, should run about 80$, for the rear, theres the RSX's 19mm rear bar. that should get rid of a good amount of body roll, but the car is still going to want to understeer. (I had my car set up like that for a while so I konw how it handles)

Me, I have an 01 EX, and in tuning my car, I droped the front 25.4mm bar down to the 16mm front bar you have now, and I upgraded the rear 13mm bar to a 19mm bar. car handles MUCH better then it use to, but it still has quite abit of body roll. and to help offset that, I Run a little extra negitive camber.

 
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^^Right on, put in a bigger rear sway bar and you'll notice a difference. I've heard of people using a type R 22mm rear sway bar but that seems to stiff for everyday driving

 
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I think the front is supposed to be smaller than stock and the rear is supposed to be larger than stock to help reduce roll. I have a 19mm on the rear and the stock 25mm front lowered on b&gs with f and r strut braces and I still get some roll. If you rode on -2 degrees camber youd have no roll, and also no tires. Ive done this, don't try it.

 
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I've got the progress front (27mm) and rear (22mm) and i enjoy the lack of body roll. I understeer more now with the larger front bar (stock was 25.4) but i enjoy the tight feeling the car has through corners. If you're looking to do it for cheap i'd recommend an rsx 19mm bar with the 25.4mm 01,02 stock bar

 
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get a X-brace, your front end will become so stiff,

i love the way my car handles

i got the
neuspeed front strut
neuspeed X-brace
Cusco rear upper strut
progress front and rear sways
Tein SS dampers
grey's endlinks

i admit its a little hard for daily driving but, its worth it, if you have spirited daily driving...

 
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Chck my setup in my profile or my ride, I hav ealmost no body roll and I do AutoX - I STICK to the freakin road!!! hit me up...

 
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Just get a rear Progress bar and you will be happy.

 
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I just install a Stock 2002 Ep3 rear sway bar. It is 15 mm instead of my 2k2 13mm. I could say that there is not obvious improvement, but I enjoyed installing it, it was pretty easy.

 
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I have an X-brace, RSX-S rear bar, front stock bar, and Neuspeed front strut bar. I like the way my car drives and handles so far, and it didn't cost much. I don't push my car that hard, so I have not done anything else. But the improvement from just the bars above makes driving MUCH better.

 
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Best mod: RSX rear sway bar! $85 with bushings and bolts. I feel it's immediately noticable, even under normal driving. Neuspeed and Progess will run about $200 and up. The cheapest way is the RSX bar. To totally eliminate body roll, it will cost WAY too much. Start with the RSX bar and go from there. Acura Carland

 
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Yup, sway bar!

 
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better tires because the first thing that flex is our soft sidewalls on shitty firestone...after i agree sway bars(rear one cause your front one is big enough) with a bigger rear sway bar your will be more neutral...less understeer...but keep in mind that stiffers springs will get rid of flex in your low oem springrate coils....

 
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bolt training wheels to the side of your car. no body roll.

 
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Have you found any information about "too low" on the MacStruts? Certain issues to deal w/ when lowering the MacStruts on the EM2/EP3/DC5 are bumpsteer, and camber loss (that's why our suspensions yearn for a lot of negative camber up front).

Bumpsteer seems to come alive when lowered on stock shocks as this raises the angle of the steering arms even at static height. All the more the angle increases during compression/decompression...causing unexpected toe angles.

I am trying to look for information however about the ride height. On previous Hondas, the concern for "too low" was shock stroke. I am wondering what the issue is for the MacStruts. Does anyone know?

 
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Shock stroke is a big concern, but there is also the concern of moving the Roll Center to the point where Loweing the car actually increases weight transfer rather then Decreasing it. Where that is, i'm not sure. as far as I konw no one has gotten out the level and measured the suspension to calculate it.

I have found this site to be Invaluable though.

http://www.teamassociated.com/racerh...ch_detail.html

 
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Does that mean only the 01 and 02 coupe civic have bigger sway bars?
Why would they do that?

 
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The 01 has the biggest front sway bar. 02-05 have the same sized front.

01-02 ex has a rear sway bar
01-02 lx/dx has NO rear sway
03-05 ex/lx/vp have rear sway

 
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It's already been mentioned here numerous times, but I'd like to re-emphasize the RSX-S rear sway bar. I have one (21mm) on my 05 and it is an unbelievable improvement and reduction in body roll. Just be cautious, because the sway bar will put much more stress on other suspension parts, especially end links. And it's cheap too! The cheapest way to get one is to dig around on an RSX Forum and look for part-outs. I found mine from an RSX-S for only $60 shipped. Great bang-for-the-buck upgrade!