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Acura Integra GSR Customizing and Modifying
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I definitely have the old generation Comptech bar because I went up on their web site and they don't even sell it seperately now. Only comes with the tie bar now which also serves as a reinforcement to the subframe and there 's no drilling. Mine you have to drill out the wholes where the sway bar mounts on the subframe, and that's also where the Comptech backing plates go. It also says remove the muffler as step one in the instructions. The muffler was not removed when they installed the Neuspeed sway bar. I don't know why Comptech says remove the muffler. I wish the install was simpler but it seems to scare away these people around here that like to call themselves technicians or mechanics.
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
Is there a way for me to find out about the AutoX events in the NY area? I went to the SCCA website , but it is quite confusing. Someone on the Prelude Website says there's an even at the Palisades mall this weekend. When are most of these, Sasturday or Sunday?
And you definitely should have gone into the city to get that work done on your car. The only problem is you might have gotten it back with a 1.7L engine from a CIVIC:)
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
I won this Sat. too by only 2/10's of a sec. It was an M-Club event at Giants Stadium (Meadowlands). I was sweating bullets as I had 2-3 Miatas in my class again and 1 of them was beating me by 1/2 sec. by the time he was done with all his runs in the afternoon. But then came my turn for my last heat of 4 runs. I kept bring bringing my times down and by the last run I had him by .2s
BTW, my suspension is falling apart. 3yrs of auto-xing is taking its toll. I was rolling my tires more than usual and was riding on my sidewall on many of these turns. I kept putting in more air and kept making the front shocks stiffer but nothing helped. I could hear grinding noises when I 'd take a right turn. I 've always had trouble taking right turns because of my caster problem. The car turns left much better. This is because the right wheel is behind the left wheel by over 1deg. This means when I take a right turn the left wheel that 's further out handles more of the car's weight so I 'm rolling on that tire more. So now this grinding that only happens when I turn I think it's the wheel bearing or it could be a ball joint, not sure. I should 've gotten this suspension problem fixed sooner. Now the racing is making it worse and it's evolving into more secondary probelms as a result..
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
The Meadowlands events should be closer for you. The following weekend the Mclub has an auto-x event and NASA also races there too. Go to www.themclub.net or www.nasanortheast.com for a schedule and directions. Let me know if you 're going to any of them so we can meet. If this is your first time, you 'll need a lot of coaching :-)
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
Why'd they cancel the event at the Palidsades Center? That'd actually be the closest one to me as I keep my cars at my parents' house in Rockland County.
I'll check out the sites and let you know. Thanks for the info.
I see you're developing suspension problems, are you going to have to redo the entire suspension? Or are you going to try and sell your car and buy that ITR off of your brother?
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
I had to replace a total of 9 bearings (4 front, 5 rear) on my two 'tegs, but never a single ball joint. Then again, I wasn't dodging orange cones.
Anyway, Giants Stadium is only 35-40min. from say the Palisades Mall, at the most if you want to come and watch. Check out the Meadowlands MAP on the Mclub web site so you know which lot to go to and where to find us. The place is huge. We often reach 65-70mph in those parking lots and that's only a small stretch of the particular lot we race at.
When your Prelude reaches 3-4K mi. or so it'll be ready but that probably won't be till next season.
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
I grew up in New City also. I live (well, my parents' house) off of Old Rte 304 (I went to North). What about you?
If I make it out to the meadowlands (depending on traffic), then I'd definitely be an observer. I've also got to become a better driver (the prelude makes that very easy) before I even think about autocrossing. My Prelude is the first stick I've owned in my 10 years since I've had my liscense. I also fear that my little "Type SH" sticker (and ATTS) puts me in a higher class of cars to race against.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
In SCCA clubs or clubs that go by the SCCA rules, you 'll be racing in D Stock along with Type-Rs, WRXs, etc. Very hard to beat an ITR with a stock Prelude. In the Meadowlands where M-Club & NASA hold their events, you 'll also be in D class but they only use 7 car classes there so you 'll be up against a few others on top of ITRs, most 6cyl. BMWs (non-M3), Eclipse GT, etc. With a good driver behind the wheel, and all cars being pure stock, the Prelude can beat most Bimmers (328,330, etc.) in auto-x. My friend traded in his '98 SH for a 330 and doesn't like its handling as much as the Prelude's. His times are on the average 1sec. slower than what they used to be with the Lude. The 330 is 300+lbs heavier than the Prelude and seems to have a softer suspension with lots of body roll even though he has the sports package. He also cannot get any oversteer out of his RWD 330. He says the 330 feels a lot like a FWD car. Zero oversteer. You 'll be able to take most of those Bimmers after a while, but if they have aftermarket shocks or springs there 'll be no competition.
Just come and race for fun. You 'll have to spend your first season learning anyway. You can worry about trophies in your 2nd season.
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
Too bad the GS-R didn't ever get the Honda 5-lug hub with the stronger bearings.
I know. The 4 lug hub is nothing like the 5-lug one found on the Accord, Prelude & ITR. This is why I 'm definitely buying my brother's ITR. It 'll hold up better than the GSR as far as motor & suspension abuse. I was under his car (ITR) yesterday looking around and those control arms and bushings are almost twice the size of the GSR's. Prelude too, has very similar heavy duty suspension components as the ITR. I was told they also share the same brake rotors & calipers. Same diameter 22mm sway bar, wheel hubs, etc. If the Prelude were 200-300lbs lighter it would be an awesome car with its 156ft-lbs of torque. But they wanted it competing with the low end Bimmers so they had to make it sturdy & heavy.
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
I'd love to put my Prelude on a diet by practically gutting it, but I think I'd end up regretting pulling out the sound-deadening materials. At least I can still carry hella speed thru the corners.
BTW, have you driven an RSX Type S? What did you think about it compared to your car when it was stock (if you can remember) and your car with its modifications?
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
I also CANNOT remember what my car was like when stock. The only thing I remember was that it sucked compared to now because I was like "WOW, I can't believe this is my car!!" when I made the first suspension mods (and AEM CAI on the same day). All I kept thinking was that it felt like my brother's ITR when I had the mods done to it, and every time I drove his car when my GSR was stock, I could not wipe the grin off my face :-) His ITR is still a little faster but handling wise it's not really better than mine. Its LSD gives it a slight edge too though.
I only like the white ITR looks but would not back down from a great deal on a black one.
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
2/3-3/4 of the way into the installation they come and ask me for the FACTORY LCA bolts! The LCA bolts that were on the car were the Neuspeed bolts that came with the lower tie bar. They could not fit the tie bar back in because the Comptech brackets were too big and only milimeters away from the control arm holes on the subframe where the lca bolts go. They tried using the Neuspeed LCA bolts but they 're too long because they used to fit the over the tie bar which was about 1" thick. So now they tell me they need 1" shorter LCA bolts (2).
I walked over to Home Depot which is about 1/2mi. away. No good. They didn't have strengthened steel #8 bolts and all they had was American, not metric!!
Walk back to the shop. Make phone calls to 3 Acura dealerships. Noone has them. Everyone of them said it'll take up to a week to get them. Now I 'm cursing the time I didn't get the bolts back from the NYC race shop that installed the tie bar over a year ago.
The shop mechanics are telling me that there 's a Bolts & Fasteners specialized shop in Newburgh, 2-3mi. away and as far as they know they 're the only ones that carry metric hardened steel bolts.
They were too busy and couldn't drive me there. I ask for the ph#, noone has it. Look in the Yellow/White Pages, not listed under the name they gave me. Fine, I call a cab and they said they know how to get there. Cab picks me up, and we arrive at the shop to only see a big sign on the door that they 'll reopen Monday! The reason we couldn't find them in the Yellow pages was because they told me it's was "Hudson Valley Fasteners" but the real name was Hudson Auto Fasteners.
I have the cab drive me to a hardware store in town. No good. Cab drives me back to the garage. I pay the cabby $13 w/tip. The mechanic tries to fit the long LCA bolts again, no good. They 're thinking of cutting them. Manager says no, too dangerous.. His final decision was that te car will stay on the lift until Monday or when I can get the right bolts.
I have my wife pick me up. Now it's like 2pm. I get in my Civic and drive to 3 more garages. 2 of them went through a bucket full of similar bolts, none were the same size which seemed to be 10mm. The 3d one, a MIDAS shop, didn't even look but told me to go this really big hardware store about a mile down the road on the other side of town. I now remember seeing it once or twice. I walk in and the guy says 4 beautiful words after I showed him the Neuspeed long LCA bolt in my hand: "yes, we have those"!! Nice beautiful gold hardened steel 3" bolts with the #8 on them! I drive back to the shop. It's now 3:15. They fit! Everything is almost on and now they try to push the muffler back into the right place. No good. The sway bar is above the exhaust pipe and we can't push the muffler back up!
They installed the sway bar upside down which is what I was worried about that they might do, because I 've seen others install it backwards (thanks to old H-T posts). Now they had to take it down and flip it around. Undo the LCAs again too.. Took an extra 25min. to put it back the right way. Everything is in. Bill was more than expected says the manager because they had to remount it (so I gotta pay for that?). At this point I just wanted my car and get the hek out of there. Bill came to almost $200! 2.5hrs labor and the Comptech web site says 2. Did I mention my favorite race shop in NYC is no longer there? Otherwise I 'd be down there in a heart beat and only pay $75 to people that know what they 're doing. That shop also would 've had about 100 Integra LCA bolts laying around too..
Anyway, I drive home and empty everything out of the car. I take it back out again and pushed it pretty hard in the twisties behind my house. I noticed a very slight difference. Could be because I don't have the tie bar anymore between the control arms. That was a heavy solid steel piece between the two control arm mounts. I 'm sure I have more flex at those spots now. I 'm definitely ordering the Comptech tie bar. It also reinforces the subframe so the sway bar doesn't tear it out.
I was surprised to see the old Neuspeed 19mm sway bar's mouting brackets. The had 4 bolts each, on either side and they are wider than Comptech's. I remember the race shop drilling those holes now.. I had totally forgotten about that. The Comptech only has 2 bolts on each bracket although they had to be drilled out from the original size.
Another thing that scares me a little is that Comptech no longer sells the 22mm sway bar alone. It only comes with their Tie bar now which means there might have been problems with subframe tear outs. So next week I 'll order the tie bar which they sell seperately for those with the "old" sway bar.
I 'm not disappointed but I 'm not thrilled either. I believe I did notice a very slight improvement in flat cornering. I think the tie bar will make a difference too. It's a very nice piece and looks pretty strong. Sunday will be the real test on the auto-x track.
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
History: When I acquired my '97 GSR two years ago, it was fitted with a CatBack exhaust system, which had been installed two months before I got the car. One year later, a buzzing developed from underneath the car. It was intermittent, and varied in intensity. I discovered that the exhaust pipe from the resonator was cracked nearly the whole way around. It actually looked like it had been cut with a cutting torch. Comptech replaced the resonator under warranty. All seemed well until exactly one year later, when the buzzing returned. This time, the pipe from the resonator was loose around the gusset.
Comptech explained that, yes, they were having problems with the aluminized systems, which is what I had, and they offered me a chance to replace the entire exhaust system with the stainless steel version. I purchased (with a discount for the defective resonator) an entire new stainless system, which was installed 6 weeks ago. Three weeks after installation, the noise returned. This time it is more limited, and occurs mostly during warmup.
I had the car to an Acura dealer for the recall on the catalytic converter, at which time they determined there is something loose inside the resonator. So, the big questions are, why is this happening (is the problem with the exhaust system or the car)? And what can be done about it? I'm not comfortable driving around with something loose inside the resonator. Besides, the noise is a nuisance, the exhaust note is slightly affected, and when the problem becomes more chronic, there's a performance drop-off.
Anyone else experienced anything like this? Any ideas about a solution? I'm all ears.
It took me a little while to get used to driving with it, but now that I've learned how to use it, I'm taking corners at hella stupid speeds. It's a brilliant piece!
http://community.webshots.com/album/26554808AWupEwlVdL
And, before I forget, here are some pictures from the my first track event and autocross:
http://mars.drw.net/search/saadeh/community.html
See my post on H-T in the roadracing/auto-x Forum for more details. I was about 3/4 sec. slower than before (by watching others' times). For the first time in 2yrs or so I ran over more than 1 or 2 cones. I couldn't control the car and couldn't go as fast as before because the tail would come around and I 'd be sideways.. I have to forget everything I know, and start all over with new Konis settings and different driving techniques. I think the mounts kind of suck for this bar. The Neuspeed 19 actually had like 4-5 holes and bolts for every side on the subframe. With the Comptech there are only 2 bolts per side. I think the bar moves a lot from side to side under hard cornering so I ordered the Comptech tie bar which the sway bar will mount on to. This should minimize a lot of the flex and I won't have to ever worry about subframe tear outs.
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
My problem is I can't make up my mind between buying 15x7 Koseis (13.5 lbs, almost $600) or 15x6.5 Konig Heliums (11.3 lbs, $325). With either wheel, I will probably go with Azenis. What would you guys go with? I am in this "dilemma" because I am selling my 16x7.5 Koseis to my brother. Also looking into a possible EX swap for the head and tranny or maybe even 300F/400R Ground Controls and a front sway (Si or ST). Any thoughts or suggestions into any of these ideas are welcomed.
The good thing is that the M-club which I signed up for a membership this year, and have made almost all the events, allows you to take 10 runs. One of them is a practice run at full speed, and they throw out your worst one, so 8 runs are what count. 10 runs is twice as many runs as the SCCA clubs have time for (they get over 100 participants), so hopefully I 'll be able to solve some of my problems quicker.
I know in steady state cornering, the car holds the pavement a little better now with the 22mm bar. It's the quick transitions from side to side and primarily the slaloms I have to work on.
If the Konigs are only 300 and change and lighter then I 'd go for those. Keep in mind 11lb wheels are not as easy to balance as 13lb ones, and often go out of balance when your treadwear goes down a little.
The good thing about the K1 15x7" (mine are 12.98lbs on my friend's digital scale but another racer told me his are 13.1lbs) is that they look like a 16" rim when they 're on the car. This is because the spokes go all the way to the edge of the rim. My Rota Attacks 15x6.5" have like 1" rim/lip and the spokes stop there on the inside of that lip. So it looks like I have 14" rims on my Civic! The K1s look almost look like at least 15" if not 16" because the spokes go from end of the rim to the other. People always assume I have 16" wheels when they see them or they ask what kind of tires I have on. When I tell them 205-50's they say that they didn't know they make that size tire for 16" wheels (it's usually 205-45).
Anyway it sounds like a great deal on the Konigs and if I were you I 'd make sure to avoid pot holes at ALL costs with 11.x lb rims. Who is the vendor that's selling them so cheap (not that Konigs are considered expensive or anything, they 're average rims like the Rotas)? Or are they slightly used?
If you 're going to auto-x, stick with 15". Falken Azenis is considered the best "street" tire out there now and about once a month they go on back order and noone can get them for another 3 weeks. I think Casey has those tires. He 'd have more input on that than me. Speaking of Casey, he should be making an appearance here soon.. it's been a while.
I just remembered.. Did anyone help the guy out with the exhaust questions? I 'll go back and check but I don't have an aftermarket exhaust so I 'll do my best
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
I don't have ZR summer rubber now (they 're HR) but the wheel/tire combo looks much skinnier than a 15x7" wheel and the tires barely look like they 're 195s. If you plan on auto-xing or if you ever get serious about auto-xing I think you 'll benefit more from a 15x7" rim. For auto-x and street handling, the wider the better.
No doubt the wider rims have helped Casey too who seems to be doing much better in auto-x this year. I think he went from the stock 6" GSR rim to 6.5 or 7" with that super deal he got on the used SSR wheels. Now doubt the weight reduction helped a little too but it's not as crucial in auto-x as it is in drag racing and road racing. I mean a pound or 1.5lbs won't make a big difference in auto-x but it does in the Motorolla cup and similar races where most Bimmers and ITRs have similar weight to power ratio and weight reduction is very important.
Hey did anyone see that pic of the Realtime RSX-S on H-T? Realtime said it's not as fast as the ITRs yet, but when they make it faster, they 'll start racing it. Some think that the RSX-R won't be coming to the US because Realtime decided to use an RSX-S. They see this as a sign that we may not get the RSX-R here, because Realtime didn't wait for the R and instead used the S..
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
I 'm not having as much fun only because there are numerous things going on with my GSR and they 're not good.
I lost to a guy Sunday that I used to beat by .2-.75sec! And I lost good. By over 1sec! The guy also got new tires so I 'm sure that had something to do with it too..
The 22mm sway is not working out too well and gives me tons of oversteer or tons of pushing. I can't seem to find a middle ground with the Konis and I have the worst of both worlds, oversteer and understeer at the same time which has me baffled.
Prior to installing the 22mm bar though, the last two auto-x events before the install, I had developed some other problems:
1. I had noticed that I was rolling over the front tires a LOT even at 40psi. Front left tire had excessive roll while the right had moderate but still not normal. The V700s were getting chewed up very rapidly and not like last year when I drove on them all season and did 21 events on them - I figured it was time for an alignment again since it's been over a year..
2. Would occasionally hear a grinding noise - I figured probably wheel bearing.
3. The car had excessive body roll when making right turns but not left turns - result of the caster problem I 've had since hitting a big pothole in May '01 which has been magnified because problem has not been taken care of.
4. Problem that appeared immediately after 22mm sway bar install is a big THUMP coming from the rear passenger side when racing or NOT, usually when taking left turns.
All this started appearing the last few events or last 4 weeks and things have deteriorated quickly which I 'm glad they did, because if they were very slow and gradual I may have not noticed them for a long time. My times though were very evident of a problem(s) because I know exactly how I 'm supposed to do compared to many other racers..
The car at last Sunday's event had excessive oversteer, loss of rear tire grip, excessive body roll even at the stiffest Koni settings (I used all 9 runs as test & tune), excessive push, banging/thumping sounds, you name it. It finally occured to me something is WRONG with my car!
From talking to numerous people there and PROs, the main consensus was that the caster problem in the front of the car should have been taken care of right after it happened (ie: replace LCA or whatever is bent) and that may have caused things to loosen up a lot, or something else to bend/get pulled and partially damaging bushings, as well as well as bending the left Koni shock (left side gives me the most body roll) due to the car being so unbalanced and more forces being exerted on the left side of the car since that wheel is ahead of the right wheel and does more work than ever now when turning right.
The theory with the back noise/thump, looseness and premature loss of grip could be attributed to a few things: A spring that has been possibly displaced or moved from the cuff/base because of the extra forces of the 22mm bar keeping the wheels and control arms from flexing. Sort of partially popped out, because I also get it when I slowly go forward from a complete stop. Like something is popping back into place or out of place. Another theory is also a bad sagging spring in the back but I don't see any less wheel well gap. Another one is that I have to adjust my driving because of the bigger sway back there and get used to controlling the additional oversteer, etc (doesn't explain the noise).
What sucks is that I only have about 10 events on the tires and made an effort to keep them off the car and only use them when I race. I have rarely driven the Kumhos on the street and they 're pretty much shot.
Anyway, I think the course of action I 'll take is to buy some GC coilovers and upon taking everything down to replace them, check the springs for damage, inspect the Konis, etc. This way when putting the new springs & Konis back on, everything will be tightened down all over again including LCAs and such. I will then drive around for a few days for the springs to settle and then go get a wheel alignment. If the caster problem in the front still exists I will have it fixed even if it means replacing a couple of things and I think I 'll start with the front right LCA. I was also thinking of ordering some control arm bushings for the front and the rear because I think after 60 racing events and 30k mi. they 've been abused enough and might be cracked but not to the point where the problem is audible. I will be getting OEM ones because too many people have complained about the rough ride of the Urethane ones.
Most seemed to agree with me that the H&R OEs were also a very good match for the 19mm sway bar where it made the car more neutral and stable. This would explain why many bought this setup and raved about it (like I did) in the pre-BSQ 22mm sway bar kit days when I bought it. Everything simply worked well together.
Oh another theory is that things may have also changed, or feel different because the Neuspeed rear lower tie bar is no longer there. This mod believe it or not had made a noticeable difference and I noticed my times improving immediately after it was installed. The car just held the sweepers better and it seemed to rotate better than before. This was a very solid piece of steel between the 2 LCAs with extra long LCA bolts and large washers. Not only that, the bar itself came fitted with its own bushing on each end which explained the extra long LCA bolts (4") that replaced the stock short ones (3").
So I think once I put the Comptech tie bar on this Saturday (I just got it today) things may improve. Once thing is for sure. The car is ready for a suspension make over and many suspension components will have to be checked when they 're off the car to install the GCs.
Another major problem I 'm having is that the car's paint has started to fade. I know this is because the car has been sitting in the driveway a lot and baking in the sun for 3yrs and mainly driven to the racing events. Another mistake I made was not getting a car cover for it. I wonder if Acura would cover this under the warranty. The spoiler is totally faded and has no more shine or luster even after it's been waxed! The hood is almost as bad. Only the doors and the fenders maintain some shine, nothing close to what the car looked like last year or over the winter after a good wash. Well I 'll get back to you guys with an update after the tie bar and then after the GCs are on the car which I 'm ordering this week. Probably 475F/425R. After seeing how much the car can oversteer with the 22mm bar, I don't think I want to go with higher spring rates in the rear. I spoke to 2 different people at Ground Control and they 're saying that the Konis can easily handle 400-450 but the max should be no more than 500lbs. Who knows, maybe the Konis need rebuilding/revalving.. I hope to know more when
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
1) Valve adjustment (my first, wish me luck)
2) Use all the good detail stuff I bought from carcareonline.com ($100)
2) Bleed brakes
3) Change oil
4) Change tranny fluid
5) Fix exhaust (bolt tightening, not done right the first time)
Things my car deserves:
1) Heliums and Azenis (giving Koseis to my brother)
2) Rollbar
3) 300F/400R Ground Controls
Things I wonder about:
1) After not driving my car for a week, I noticed the brakes have gained a "spongier" feel that was not apparent after a track weekend and one autocross. Interesting...
2) How does one bolt for the exhaust (one of the two spring-loaded ones) get a little loose all of sudden)? It must be my mad driving skillz...
3) Why was it so hard to unscrew my tranny fill plug but so easy to strip it?
4) Why do I prefer driving my brother's car to mine?
5) If I had a midget for a dad, would I still look up to him?
1. Excessive rollover/wear on front tires, especially on front left -- Could be alignment is way out of whack (due to pot hole/caster problem), or problem with front sway bar (bushing, end links, etc.), or possible front shocks have weakened or are totally gone.
2. Grinding noise -- obviously gotta rule out the wheel bearing. Other than that, I don't have a clue.
3. Excessive body roll -- possibly sway bar problems (bushings, endlinks), worn or blown shocks, suspension bushings throughout the car, bent front lower control arm
4. Thumping noise -- check mounting bolts on strut assembly (top and bottom), rear sway bar endlinks and bushings (possibly damaged when installed) worn bushings on control or trailing arms, unseating spring from perch...
With so many bad things going on, it might be hard to identify one or two big things that are causing all of this. Short of a major remove-inspect-fix-and/or-replace overhaul, I don't know what other options you have.
But I think by replacing the springs, many suspension components can be checked and will be off the car in the process.
I checked the top shock bolts and seemed ok. The front right/passenger shock I can tell is leaning forward by the position of the adjusting screw and nuts around it. It's almost 1/8" more towards the front of the car, than the left shock is, which verifies that the right wheel went back when I hit the pot hole and pushed the top to lean forward..
Anyway, I think I 'll be spending some serious $$ in the next few weeks trying to get the car back to normal. I don't really mind that, I just want to fix what's broken by people that know what they 're doing. That's the hard part..
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
Do any of you have any other recommendations for maintenance items other than what the manual calls for? This car has been absolutely trouble free, and all I have done is to change oil and filters. I recently put on a set of Dunlop SP Sport 5000 tires, size 205/50-15. They are a dramatic improvement over the original Michelin XGTs.
Have any of you purchased parts from A&H Motorsports? Please let me know your experience if you have.
Just don't forget about them, though. Integra valves aren't cheap.
Again, thanks for the helpon the tires. I am quite pleased with the Dunlops. Even my wife said she can tell the difference.
Someone caught a really great pic of me at our last autocross:
http://home.att.net/~soloII/j0244/
This one is suitable for framing!
I'm wondering if I should suck it up and drive my new 2001 Prelude SH to and from work every day, or should I (or should I say could I) find a used (high mileage) late 3rd ('92 or '93) or early 4th ('94) generation Integra GS or LS for the $2,000 mark. I'm just looking for one that runs, has A/C, a sunroof, abd of course a stick! My other option is to find a high mileage 1992 Prelude Si (Stick).
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
Aside from the high probability of theft, the old Integra idea is a good one, but you might have to drop some $$ to get the AC working correctly, depending upon what kind of life it's led.
My kid sister is driving my old '96 LS 5-spd with 253,000 miles on it. It got a top-end rebuild at 220,000 (fried valves, worn rings), and now the AC is going wonky because the radiator needs replacing (bent fins make the AC condenser line overheat slightly, causing the compressor to automatically switch off in an act of self-preservation).
Another thing that commonly breaks is the spring-loaded mechanism (on the throwout bearing) that controls the release of the pressure plate in the clutch. I know this because it happened to my sis. They just eventually wear out, requiring the tranny to be opened. However, I suspect that her *ahem* shifting technique may have contributed to the problem. Not a cheap job to replace it, but while you're in there, you could always put in a grippier clutch and a light-weight flywheel...
Darn thing still pulls like a champ, though, and she pounds the car relentlessly.
You might also consider an older Civic or a beat-up Accord, as they should be easier to locate.
Anyway, I just got back from a month-long excursion to Laos. To those that do not know, Laos is next to Thailand, Vietnam, and China.
In my short time in Thailand, I saw some of the coolest cars I have ever seen. I saw two Subaru Impreza STI's, one white, and one blue, and I saw a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI. All three cars were beautiful. Also, there were alot of cars there that were "slammed" to within 3 inches of the ground. I thought that this was impressive because they looked like they had no camber problems. Also, I saw an earlier M5, the sports sedan, that had an intercooler the size of my radiator =\ Kinda freaky, but it was cool lookin.
Anyway, I missed my car and I was so glad to come home and drive it back from the airport. It was great. It's nice to hear a larger 4 stroke engine again. The sound of 50-200 cc 2 stroke scooters 24-7 is annoying after a month.
Alright, on to my questions.
1) should I get 215/40/17's or use that money to get 15's with 205/50/15 712's or azenis?
2) what are some other things to do to improve handling after new swaybars, shocks, and springs?
Alright, I've had a lot of time to think, and I don't know what my next mod should be. Should I do another suspension mod? or an engine mod?
Oh, just an update, I love the illuminas and gc's. The only thing to worry about now are the tires. I'm slippin and slidin around all of the time now and the tire is rolling onto the side wall. Could this be because of low tire pressure or just because it's a crappy tire? Thanks.
How effective is the crossbar that can be installed between the front shock towers? What brand is good? Does the front end require realignment when one is installed?
No re-alignment is required after installing a tower brace, and you've got dozens of brands to chose from. I chose a Neuspeed brace for my Prelude, only because the Spoon brace is $$ and the one from DC Sports is not very well made. You could always order the one that's used in the GS-R.
You also have a number of options to minimize (but never truly eliminate) understeer, including different toe and camber settings for the car's alignment, the addition of a stiffer rear stabilizer bar and/or aftermarket shock/spring setups, and the installation of a limited-slip differential, to suggest a few.
I went the LSD route, and am very pleased with the results.
1) ITR 22mm rear sway bar
2) Koni Sport Shocks
3) Ground Control sleeve-overs (custom rates)
4) Decent tires with possibly lighter, wider wheels
5) LSD
6) Z10 radius arms
7) Alignment
8) possibly the "other bars": front and rear upper strut bars, rear lower tie bar
Now, one of the things that I figured out was that the swaybar stiffness goes up like the fourth power. So, the stock gsr rear sway bar is 13 mm thick. I upgraded to a 20 mm sway bar, so that small upgrade gave me about 560% more stiffness in the back. That got rid of most of the understeer and body roll. With an integra type r rear sway bar(22 mm), the increase will be about 818% more stiffness.
The next thing I did was a new spring/shock combo. If you want to get some oversteer, get springs that have a higer spring rate in back than in front. I would not do this because oversteer is dangerous on a public road because you can spin out and run into something. I just got tokiko illuminas and the standard ground-control coilovers. This upgrade got rid of the rest of the body roll (there was hardly any left to get rid of) and there was a little less understeer.
With adjustable shocks, you can make the back stiffer than the front, and you'll get more oversteer. You can also make the front stiffer than the back, just in case you have too much oversteer. In my opinion, adjustable shocks are great, but I can't stop fiddling around with teh settings. The real autocrossers and road racers, like Casey and Harry, will tell you that koni yellow's are the way to go, but I think that's overkill for the street drivers, but do whatever you want to do.
Also, an easy way to get more/less oversteer is to mess around with your tire pressure. I don't remember what how this works, whether or not making the front have less pressure than the back will give more or less oversteer. I guess you could always play around with it.
As for the strut tower brace, and all other braces for that matter, they don't help with cornering. Just like himiler said, they just keeps the chassis from flexing. I would say that any brand is good, just as long as it is stiff and it comes with beefy mounting hardware.
I believe that the only circumstance that an alignment would be needed is if you lower your car or mess up your suspension by hitting something. Oh, thinking about that now, you could need an alignment done to get as much negative camber as possible, but this is only good around turns, I think. It's not good for tire wear, but I think it should help with cornering. I hope that what I say here is true, and if it's not, hopefully somebody will correct me ^_^
BTW, it seems like Kosei K1s are being discountinued as Kosei plans to introduce a new wheel. That's the word on the street, anyway.
Regarding the rear sway bar, do they come in different sizes? If so, what size should I get for the car? It is a '97 GS model, not a GS-R.
I see lots of really cheap
"theft recovery" integra GSRs for sale from junk yards in Brooklyn & Queens that say the car needs motor, transmission, & seats. I guess there are lots of civics riding around with GSR motors, transmissions, & seats. Honda building the Integra on the civic platform is a great engineering move, but car theives found it too easy to swap.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
The best kit out there is probably the Comptech 22mm sway bar/tie bar combo which comes with 2 bars. The sway bar itself and a rear lower tie bar which ties the lower control arms together to reduce flexing and take off loads of forces from the subframe so it doesn't rip. The 22mm sway bar also mounts on this tie bar as well as the subframe. Retail is $399 but you can get it 10-15% cheaper either at EBAY or other Comptech vendors.
There's a cheaper way that Casey and others have taken advantage of. There is a guy that sells a Type-R 22mm sway bar kit which is basically reinforcement plates so that the bigger bar doesn't rip and damage the weaker Integra (non-TypeR) subframe. The cost is around $135 (no tie bar included) and you have to get the Type-R sway bar yourself along with other necessary hardware.
The Comptech bar also comes with its own top quality end links and there 's no drilling involved (like there used to be) because you can only buy it with the tie bar. In the past when Comptech sold the tie bar by itself you had to drill out bigger holes in the subframe to install larger bolts (like I did w/mine).
This mod alone will make a big difference in your car's handling. Will not eliminate understeer but it will reduce it. And to give you an idea of how big 22mm is, the RSX-S comes with a 19mm rear sway, the WRX wagon with a 17mm one, and the WRX sedan with a 20mm one which I believe is an option when ordering the car. My '01 EX coupe comes with a 12mm! The stiffness and flex resistance goes up exponentially with each milimeter as garados was explaining.
Sway bar is step #1. After 6mos or so when you get used to your car's handling, you can go to the #2 step which is springs & shocks. The selection and decision process is a little more complex than choosing a sway bar when it comes to that but we 'll make it almost painless for you :=)
BTW, do you have a 5-sp or auto GS? If you have an auto you 'll probably be the first one on this board for a very long time (then again GSRs are all 5-sp, which is probably why)
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
The car has the 5-speed manual trans. It is my wife's car, and she didn't want an automatic. She says automatics are boring.
Also, I would like to get some replacements. I am thinking of getting some 15's with either falken azenis or ecsta 712's, or sticking with the 17's and going with ecsta 712's, yokohama a520, Dunlop SP Sport FM901, or sumitomo htr z II. The 15" tires would be in 205/50/15 and the 17" would be 215/40/17. I would like to go with a 15" setup, but my dad says he'll let me only if I can find 15" wheels with tires for about the same price as getting the 17" wheels alone. hehe, any suggestions? Thanks again.