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I got to drive my car for about 5 minutes today. I loved it. So much nicer, so much lower. Much lower than I expected, which I am very happy about. I only got to drive it for 5 minutes because I had to drive it from the shop that put them on to an alignment shop that could align a lowered car. It handled great, but couldnt really find out yet, since I was on really really crappy old roads. But tomorrow, Ill let ya know how much I love them.

 
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Yeah I think tokico Hps are the way for me. Its winter here and its gonna start snowing pretty bad so I have some time to consider which kind I need. If I start racing I might want to get something adjustable like Zzyzx mentions, so Im still not 100% sure.

 
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Racing eh? Must be nice... I wish we had a track down here, but the closest one is 200 miles.
Oh well, I still got the road


There was something else that I wasn't able to accomplish though. The SPC Front Kit doesn't fit. At the shop, they said it was impossible to installed them without actually modifying the strut holes again. WTF?!!! I may have the wrong SPC kit. Damn it. The strut holes have to be oval in order for the plates to fit, according to the mechanics.

What is this plate for? First they sent me 14mm bolts, then this kit, now what??!! I don't understand its design. Couldn't it just be just like the first one they sent me, but 16mm and without that plate? It'd really suck if I can't install it.
I guess I have to search again.

 
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http://floridaregionscca.com/
http://www.cfrsolo2.com/

Theres plenty of racing Near Miami...

 
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on the way to school there is about 1/8mi of curvy road, its big enuf for 2 lanes but its one way and curves.. its fun... i havent gone above 50, but im sure i could, only prob is there is a stop, if that was blocked and i could blow thru it i'd feel safe goin 50, but i'd want like 2 ppl blockin both sides so i can go str8 thru

 
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I wouldn't advice that shmik1. Thanks Zzyzx. Moroso is 200 miles away I'd have to look into Homestead which is closer but I'm unsure of import races there.

 
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I think your shop mechanic is wrong. You see that eccentric on the cam bolt? That eccentric when inserted between the two bolt holes pushes the strut either in or out to correct camber. The holes on the strut do not need to be ovaled, if they were the eccentric wouldnt be able to do its job.

 
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Offtopic: A member: Mogwai has the same set up as mine, but I don't know which year vic he has.
I wonder if there's any 04 members with SPCs installed already.

 
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^^^I have an '02. Sorry I couldn't be of more help...

 
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Do you really need the camber kit? Will the wheel shop be able to align your car to factory settings without the camber kit?

 
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^^^I think they would.
Have you ever heard of a procedure where they bend the shocks to fix the camber once and for all? This sounded absurd to me, but according to the guy that installed my shocks, you would never have to worry about your camber again once this is done. This is what I had mentioned before. I thought it was done by bending the control arms, but it wasn't that, it's done bending the shocks. I don't know man, I don't want to mess with those babies any more. What Flotsam was saying makes sense(puting the plates on the inside of the holes. I have to look more into it.

 
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DO NOT HAVE THAT DONE.... its a hack trick, for when they cant get a car to align and there arnt any Crash bolts avalible.


nindoo, Do you really want a Factory alignment? because that setup is designed to make you understeer.... For the street, run -1 to -1.5 camber on the nose, and half that on the rear.. then have the toe set to 0 Front and rear. you'll have a better perfroming car then with the stock alignment, and you wont eat tires any quicker.

 
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Nice....... When I change my shocks and springs I'll get the alignment done with those specs.

what camber kit are you using Zzyzx? I wanted something not too expensive but at the same time something that wont give me any problems.

 
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I have the SPC kit from DansCreations, its a cambolt on the front and replacement upper arms on the rear.. I'm looking in to having some camberplates custom made though. (Cambolts tend to lose their settings under heavy loads.

 
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your mechanics are idiots... the cambolt has an ecentric lobe to allow you to adjust camber.... thats why its oval!! the washer with the tab goes in one way and that forces the eccentric lobe to either adjust for more or less camber, depending on the side the tab is on. they are a bit tough to get in, but they work. the only problem you may run in to is that they are simply the wrong size. (Remember Honda did change the bolt sizes..)

 
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TrueHonda has the camber kit is so expensive. The front are just bolts and there 22$ I was like its ok, the dude has to make some money and rears are 138! Seems and awful lot for something that looks so simple. i mean the rear looks more complex but man 138 bucks!

http://truehonda.com/inventory.php?a...ctdetail&id=46

 
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Any idea what that rectangular/ square washer with the studs is for ?

 
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That's what I'm refering to GaryC17. Where does that go? Back when I was sent the wrong kit(for 01-02/ 14mm), it was only the bolt, the washer & the nut. Shouldn't the ones for 03-04 be the same but simply 16mm? I'll look at the instructions tonight. I think it mentions something about installing this kit only on struts that are modified.

 
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Great news!! I talked to a rep. at SPC and he said that rectangular piece only applies for GM vehicles.
Well, that's a relief. I guess I should have called them first and would have solved this problem a long time ago. So like I said, that piece with the tabs is not nedded for our civics.

 
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GM vehicles? Why would they ship that with a Honda part? I'd call back and double check..

 
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The SPC kits work with a wide range of cars, so they include those plates for our cars too.

 
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I got my car back today, and I LOVE the tokicos. So much firmer, so much smoother. Even on bumpier roads it feels much better, just very stiff at times. Only prob is I need a rear camber kit. I knew I would, but damn, -3 degree camber. I feel like my tires will wear very fast. I cant even spend 140 until after christmas. this sucks. But I love the shocks, and the goldlines sit perfect. I had compliments from people I didnt know within 20 minutes of getting my car back. anybody running any neg camber like that in the rear? how many miles approx. do your tires last you?

 
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2k1, Don't worry about the rear tires wearing out so fast. I had my car without the rear camber kit for almost 4 months, and my rear stock tires are still almost brand new, and I had very close to or even more than -3 degrees in the back. The front tires on the other hand were almost wasted. As the big suspenssion guys here mentioned, negative camber doesn't affect tire wear as much as toe in/out does. But do get your camber kit whenever possible. I used to hate how my car looked in tha back, but now it's all straight.

On another note, yesterday I was looking at the OEM shocks and to my surprise I was able to push the pistons all the way in on all four of them. What the hell?? The Tokico pistons wouldn't even move. Is this the way the OEM shocks are supposed to be or does that mean they are alreday blown?

 
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If they dont rebound, then theyre either blown or worn out.

 
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I bought my camber kit from TrueHonda too, but I got it in a group buy. $137 front & rear.

 
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I woudln't know if they rebound or not. I pushed the pistons in when I had them off the car. By then, The Tokicos had been alreday installed.

 
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did the rear fit alright?

 
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just wondering what happened to your bumpstops and dust covers for the front shocks?

also how did the machine shop enlarge the holes? drill press? and how did you get it to 16mm? ive only been able to find one 5/8th in. drill bit to get it close to 16mm and then id have the grid the rest myself.

 
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Nindoo, the rear camber kit fits in just like the stock one does. To install them, I measured the distance (from the center of the holes where it attaches to the wheel drum to the center of the holes where it goes bolted on to the frame of the car), then I added about 1/16" to each side of the adjustable center piece on the SPC arms to eliminate the negative camber a little, and so it did. I haven't taken my car for an alingment yet, but if you look at my rear tires, now they look almost straight. I'll get the alignment done once I'll install the cambolts.

Goy091, I'm unaware if they cut or somehow modified the bumpstops since I wasn't present at the time of install, but I think they don't need to do it with the Tokicos, they should be a perfect bolt on. To resize them, I took the shocks to an aviation place I used to work for and they did it using a bushing & hone drill. A tool specifcally used on landing gears for this type of stuff. Kind of cool, they came out super straight.

 
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when you take a car for an alignment the wheel shop guys adjust your camber bolts and arms? What's wrong with the stock camber kits? are they non-adjustable?(Please bear with me I develop software and don't have really any experience around cars except for recently where I changed some shocks, sway bar....)