EM2 Rookie

Ive been looking at getting the neuspeed front strut tower bar because of its one piece design but for the rear on EM2s all the strut tower bars have multiple piece design
I was wondering what strut tower bars have the best quality, stiffness, and overall performance.

maxtierney

iTrader: (5)

I believe SDAIDOJI has a good thread on this topic. If I'm not mistaken, Carbing and Mugen offer a quality one piece rear upper bar. I've got a multi-piece Cusco installed. J's Racing makes a sweet multi-piece bar too. To be truthful, rears are more eye candy, than functional, due to the close proximity to the trunk frame brace.

Carbing


Mugen


Quality for these two are UNMATCHED, but you will pay for it. If money is an issue, go the Type R route.

MindBomber

Incorrect, oem and replica DC5-R rear tower bars are a one peice design. There's someone on clubrsx that offers aluminum or steel ones that he makes for under $40 for either material.

You want the best front tower bar, well they're basically cosmetic so the $500 titanium comptech bar is nice when you pop the hood. Regardless of whether you buy that one or a used neuspeed one for $50 the difference in actual lap times will be in the hundreths of seconds, just don't buy a pos flimsy one off ebay and you'll be fine.

If you want pure performance then spend your money on dampers, springs and sway bars.

lowlife9

yeah i would upgrade my sway bar before i wasted money on just a rear tie bar progress technology is the way to go in my opinion it comes with upgraded sway bar poly bushings and comes with a tie bar for 184 bucks you can't beat that
http://www.corsportusa.com/store/cat...roducts_id=324

EM2 Rookie

well i already have D2 coilovers
and progress rear sway is bout to be ordered
and getting rear omni LCA
and i have megan racing rear camber kits
and ingalls front camber bolts
so im trying to tweek it out a bit moree

MindBomber

In that case just go with the neuspeed front and type-r rear bar.

The LCAs won't have any performance benefit, they're completely cosmetic. If you do decide to go with them though the only ones I would even consider putting on my car are function 7, do some googling and you'll find I'm not alone in that view.

I would highly recommend you make your next mod energy suspension LCA and motor mount bushings.

maxtierney

iTrader: (5)

I would get a front underbrace before I would get the rear upper. There is a lot more slop in the front that can be tidied up (BIG opening for the engine and tranny - means FLEX). You've taken care of the upper, but you've neglected the bottom.

Carbing, Neuspeed and Tanabe are three off the top of my head. I've had the Neuspeed X and currently run the Tanabe Sustec. I was going to try out the Carbing, but didn't like the fact that it was made of steel (like the Neuspeed) - on top of the fact that it is painted white (Road Grime and Rust stand out more).



Being lowered, all the underbraces scrape, but at least the Sustec won't rust. Youl'll feel less steering and rebound slop, for sure.

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

This is turning out to be an awesome thread. Make a build thread and add tons of pictures as you progress EM2.

maxtierney

iTrader: (5)

I think he should.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

if you goin to get the progress rears, they already come with the stiffeners for the rear. The uppers will just take your trunk space - lots of sheet metal in between.
The front lower bracing sounds good, as pointed by Max. I never drove a car with it so not sure how much improvements. front top improved steering feel, not performance. Made me more confident by knowing what the fronts were actually trying to do, so i could be better prepared for what was coming (not that it did improve performance at all, again. Rather avoided me doing the wrong move when i did not know if i needed to push more or stay or slow down - very subtle, to tell the truth - you need to drive it in autoX/road track to make use of that).
Hey Max, talking about that, did you install a engine oil cooler? Mine did overheat only when i hit the track and slowed down - good insurance

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

Oh, yeh, we were nice enough to not to close the thread right away like in the other forum

But Max's input in here is simply... great too Thanks a lot!

MindBomber

I'm not going to go into this to far, because there is an unofficial peace between the two forums finally, but the difference between this forum and that one is the moderators.

They close threads they don't like, flame people for opinions they don't agree with and are not welcoming to noobs imho. Just the other day I saw an admin tell someone you can't use 03-05 coilovers on an 01-02, umm hello, Tein only makes on design of coilover for 01-05.. you just need to order the reducing washers.

Anyways.. Back on topic.

I've been wanting a neuspeed x brace for awhile, I like the simple rigid design and since it's steel it won't crack easily when it grinds on a speed bump. Just spray truck bed lining on it and you won't have rust issues.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

I meant H-T
i have not really read about the reducing washers, really not sure about them. Am curious about them, though, but since i have not real interest on them at the time, did not search into them yet, to tell the truth.

MindBomber

h-t is even worse about closing threads, but at least they're mature and knowledgeable.

I have some reducing washers in the mail from k-sport, I'll post some pics when they arrive.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

Oh, great! I am not sure how they work, so one more piece of info for all to share

maxtierney

iTrader: (5)

Here's the deal with the TEIN reducing washers. The 01-05 Civic and 02-05 EP3 coilovers come with the washers attached. You pop them out for the later models. Sometimes you can pick 'em up from guys who haven't tossed 'em. It's been wishy-washy on whether or not you can order them from TEIN directly.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

this thread IS actually turning out veeery interesting
if they do use the reducers in their kits, they ARE reliable!
thanks again!

maxtierney

iTrader: (5)

The front end needs the most bracing. You're dealing with a box/cube with (basically) an open top and bottom. Most of the weight is here. Compound that with suspension movement, steering, braking forces, engine torque, transmission forces, etc, ad nauseum...

There is enough flex in the engine compartment that those of us with moonroofs should find a telltale dent in the roof panel when lowered and unbraced. Some more than others. I had one.

Bottoms should be braced too, using the same logic as bracing for the top. Your upper brace cannot alleviate bottom flexing two feet away.

No oil cooler. I've only tracked my Integra, 510 and Sentra. Civic is strictly a canyon carver (for now anyways).

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

right on! (mindreaders... )

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

how much did they run you?

MindBomber

$2 each.

maxtierney

iTrader: (5)

Sdaidoji - You're absolutely right. There is LITTLE or NO performance gains with bracing, per se, but...

You are able to eliminate a lot of the slop. With that, you can better determinie what the car, tires, brakes and the road are actually "communicating" back to you. Steering and pedal "feel" is everything, in my book. That's why I took out my P/S Pump. No artificial feedback. One with the road...

EM2 Rookie

^^^
yeah lol
it was like 3 hrs n then locked
i like hearing others opinions
and every car has its own variables that just cant be generically read about


^^^
and ill be buying the tanabe sustec 4point underbrace


so should i post pics of my suspension build here or new thread?
but as i learned through moding suspension
its always good to add one piece of mod ex: (coilovers, then camber kit, then 1 sway bar, rather than buying all at once and throwing it all on at once)
it allows you to feel the difference with each mod, determining if its for the better or worst
and
^^^
what did you mean??

EM2 Rookie

^^^^^
and isnt that under brace from carbring from an ep3/dc5?
i know most suspension is compatible from dc5-ep3-em2
but is this one?

^^^^^
http://d5otzd52uv6zz.cloudfront.net/...c265c9-800.jpg
is this the neuspeed underbrace?

maxtierney

iTrader: (5)

I've seen a handful of Civics in San Diego / L.A. with the Carbings.

Yes, thats the Neuspeed X Brace.

maxtierney

iTrader: (5)

1) Good Practice. One piece at a time.

2) I think he was talking about the front control arm bushings. Kind of a pain to do it yourself (even if you own your own press), but well worth it. The OEM bushings have a lot of play (which isn't a good thing when you are talking about dynamic camber/toe). They are also very prone to wearing out.

MindBomber

Yup, I was referring to the control arm bushings.

The install is a bit of a pain, because you need to have a shop press them into the lower control arms but otherwise it's a pretty simple job. Like Max said, they stiffen up the front end nicely and replace the flimsy oem ones. They're around $45.

The es motor mount bushings won't make as significant a difference, but like the control arm bushings the motor mount bushings are junk and prone to failure. Replacing them will stiffen up the front end a bit and help put power to the ground better. They're only $20 iirc.

If you want an ongoing thread to show off and discus your mods create a build thread in member rides.

EM2 Rookie

pressing them wont be the probblem
the problem is having time to do it lol
at honda we're busy all day lol

MindBomber

Oh, you work at a dealership?

Thats sweet, you get to use some of the nice honda specific tools that the rest of us are to cheap to buy lol. Like the ball joint puller.

EM2 Rookie

yeah but sadly many honda specific tools are missing
but it is nice when you need to use them and they're actually there
Like the rear lca's on em2's, we dont have the socket to remove it, we have to order it