My only guess is the the seals are shot. I'm sorry, but I don't really know for sure. What kind of mileage is on the car and when was the last service done by the dealership?
It says Access Forbidden.. Are you allowing access to your album?
Actually I have not worn the jacket outside the house at all. It's a light jacket, like for Fall or Spring and it's too cold out now to go out with it. Then again I could wear a couple of undershirts, a T-shirt on top of that, buttoned down heavy duty flanel shirt with a wool sweater on top of it and then the jacket. That might work Good thing I got an XL so it should fit over all those other garments :-)
'99 Integra GSR '06 Civic LX coupe '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
Good move on the rear sway bar! Until now, I had no idea it would have fit on a Civic like yours, but glad to hear it does and that you've been able to install it on your car. I know I've said it before, but the ITR rear sway bar is the best and most effective suspension mod for the $$ on cars like ours. And for VTEC motors, the best and most effective performance bolt-on mod is the AEM CAI. After that, you're getting into the pricier mods and the actual performance and/or handling improvements become more debatable... kind of the law of diminishing returns. But, it's all good clean fun. Now I've got to figure out where to get the best price on custom spring rate Ground Control coilovers. Any suggestions, gentlemen?
I've seen you posting a few times on H-T.com. Good job! Glad to see that you're "braving the waters" over there. That place can be a real jungle, so I understand why you were hesitant to get involved. But soon you'll figure out which members are the knowledgable/helpful type, and which ones are full of crap. BTW, my username over there is "Neo" and I believe Harry's is "VTEConly" See you around...
I 've been looking for about a year now and I have not been able to find a 3d party vendor that sells custom rate ones for less than GC. They also tell you that it will take 4-8 weeks to get them because they would order them from GC first, probably have them shipped to them and then to you. But they 're the same price, $339. Unless the price has gone up. I haven't checked the GC website in a few months. So I 'll most likely be ordering directly from GC this year. I feel more comfortable this way. Now I 've read that some paid a little extra for the threaded sleeves and hardware that fits the Koni Yellows and others said there was no extra charge so I 'm curious to see if they try charging more. If they do I 'll just tell them that I know many people that paid nothing extra. I think it's a gimmick so they can make more money. How many people buy GCs to put them on with their factory shocks? A very small percentage.
Garados will be busy for the next few months getting hooked to this whole new Honda/Acura world of modding and processing all the info from H-T.com I posted something there a week or so ago (yes I 'm VTEConly) and saw that I had about 1,100 posts. I had not posted anything in about 6mos and have not been very active in about 1yr. Imagine if I kept posting at the same rate I was the year before that ('00 was my most active year, in '99 there was no H-T so I was on H-A.net where I was approaching 1k posts). I 'd have 2-3,000 posts and it 'd look like I have no life :-)
'99 Integra GSR '06 Civic LX coupe '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
You are right, the link doesn't work but if you right click on the X I posted before and find out the website, I think you can see this. Wow, so much trouble for one pic . Try this link, which I think will let you into all of my photos:
Mmmm...custom-valved GCs...sometimes the normal spring rates are on GB but for the custom rates, it seems like it would cost the same/be better just to order from GC. BTW, I am "kent, clark" on H-T.com...I don't post much but I do IM people and use the Search function for hours on end . Yeah, nice knowing you Garados LOL.
Placed the order for 205 50 15 RE730's. Its' $354 plus tax for installation,life time balancing, rotataion etc. There is a deal going on in Costco. $50 off for a set of 4 tires. Re730's are priced at $101.
I am trying to choose between ITR sway+BSQ kit and Comptech kit. Comptech 22mm sway bar plus kit is listed for $234 in most of the places. ITR plus BSQ kit should also cost the same
Harry I remeber seeing one of your old posts where you were talking about the polyurethene bushings of the Comptech??
Which one is best for day to day driving? Which one is easier to install?
Harry, thanks for the info. I guess I never knew you could order directly from GC. I'll have to check out their website. Also, have you noticed that we haven't seen Garados posting around here lately? ;-) Looks like another brother has succumbed to the allure of Honda Tech! Will we ever hear from him again? :-D
Wow, what a great price on the RE730s!!! I'm not a member of Costco (currently I'm a member of Sam's club) but I might have to become one soon. Whether you go with the ITR sway and BSQ kit, or Comptech, you can't really go wrong. Most folks believe that the Comptech bar is essentially the same as the OE ITR bar. You should be able to get the ITR rear sway and kit for about $150, which is why opted for that one over the Comptech bar. The main difference between the two is that the Comptech bar uses different end links to attach to the lower control arm. As I understand it, the Comptech bar has solid end links (uses no rubber bushings) that replace the OE end links. If you're getting an ITR rear bar then you would take the end links off the GSR sway bar and use those with the new one. The only beef I've heard with the Comptech bar is that because the end links are solid, they wear out over time. And you'll know when that happens by an obnoxious rattling that comes from the rear of the car as you go over bumps in the road ;-)
Been a while since I posted here. I'm glad to see that you guys haven't forgotten me. It makes me so happy *wipes tear from eye*. I've been too busy and intrigued by the people at h-t. I have noticed the full of crap people and the knowledgeable people. As for the people who will remain nameless *coughcjhannencough* I still visit here and as you can probably tell, I am still posting here. Don't had much to say though.
Oh, yeah that's right. I do have a question for y'all. I have been reading about having camber problems when dropping a car over 1.5". Is this true? Also, I'm planning on getting some lowering springs from Eibach and I want to have some other opinions about the prokit and the sportline springs. Which ones will give me less dive in braking and less body roll in turns? Well, there is hardly any body roll anymore due to the upgraded sway bars =D, but that's not the point to this question. Anyway, what I'm trying to ask is which set will give me the best handling? Thanks.
Don't worry, I won't forget to check in on all of you and make sure this forum isn't getting out of hand. =P
Garados~ off the top of my head, I can't remember the differences between the Eibach prokit or sportlines, but I believe the prokit has a more drastic drop (1.75-2.0"). The springs that will give you the least dive under hard braking is the one with the stiffest spring rate. Rule of thumb seems to be that if you drop your car ~1.5-1.75" or more, then you're likely to encounter camber problems (i.e., too much negative camber). My springs (Comptech sports) advertise the drop at 1.25" and when I got new tires and an alignment after that my front camber was -1.4 left and -1.9 right. In the rear, it was -.4 left and -.9 right. Anything beyond -2 degrees camber and you'll really start wearing out your tires quickly. Since camber is not adjustable on our cars, you need to buy a camber kit if you want to adjust that aspect of the alignment. Also, keep in mind that if you lower you car more than 1.5-1.75" you will lose valuable suspension travel, and that will make your car handle worse, not better. Occasionally, I see these totally slammed Civics and what not come to autocrosses, and when they come flying into a sharp turn where you need to brake hard before the turn in, they just plow straight ahead because they bottom out in the front suspension. It ain't pretty. Anyway, I'm not sure who make a good camber kit but others here might. And, try to learn what the spring rates are of any set you're interested in and that'll give you an idea of how much of a difference you'll see over the stock springs.
I mean Thomas, :-) Nice Boxter! They 're very capable auto-xers as well as road racing cars. A guy in my club is the '00 SCCA auto-x A Stock champion. He drives a '99 Boxter with custom valved double adjustable Konis. He usually gets FTD when there are no high end go-karts (A or B mod). BTW, my PAX (in DSP) is about the same as AS which means I should be getting the same times as him, but hey, if the CSP, SM and CP guys can't beat him, why should I? It just goes to show you how a National Champ can kick people's butt that are in much higher classes than him/her. The same with Ken Fry who is also in my club and was this year's C Stock Champ with his MR2 (double-adjustable Konis again). He usually comes in the top 5%. But then again we shouldn't forget that these people have spent several thousands of $$ in their "stock" cars for the high end shocks, custom alignment, custom cat-back exhausts and the very expensive Hoosier auto-x tires (about 60-70% more than Kumhos cost) that don't last too long.
'99 Integra GSR '06 Civic LX coupe '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
I 'd get the Prokit over the Sportline like CJ said. It has a a more modest drop, about 1.7" after they settle. It's a decent spring. If you don't want to worry about a camber kit, you can get the H&R OE Sports (that I have). H&R is another German company that make really good springs comparable to the Eibach ones. They advertise .75" drop which is correct. Mine after a couple of weeks dropped to 1". And after many months or if you auto-x, your drop will be 1.3" like mine is now, but that 's probably more because the Koni shocks also settled. I think that's a perfect drop. If you rear earlier post of mine (1-2mos ago) you 'll see pics of my car. Although all of them were taking while I was racing, you 'll get a good idea of the drop. My camber readings in the front from the last alignment I had last June-July, were -1.6 and -1.5 which are pretty much borderline but I like that because I get better handling. My rear were like -1.0 and -1.2 I think which is fine. Negative camber is good for handling but excessive negative camber will wear your tires quicker. I think on the print out I got, -1.6 was the limit in the front (don't remember the rear) so it was good for me because I auto-x. So anything over -1.7 or -1.8 might not be beneficial if you want your tires to last a long time, although not it's not bad. -2.0+ you should definitely worry about. I would recommend getting some aftermarket shocks with them though. Don't keep your stock shocks because they 're not going to last long, the car will be bouncy, and won't handle as good as if you had heavy duty shocks. Adjustable shocks are the best. The cheapest are KYB AGX ($330-340), the middle of the line Tokiko Illuminas ($420-440) and the higher end street/race are the Koni Sports ($500-550). If you 're not looking to spend much and won't be doing any auto-xing or any type of formal racing, go with the KYB. Anything is better than the stock shocks and will improve the handling. What kind of rear sway bar do you have?
'99 Integra GSR '06 Civic LX coupe '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
That's a good deal you got on the RE730s with unlimited balancing. I paid $86 ea. plus about $7 shipping ea. from Tirerack (ordered them on line, tirerack.com) when they first came out in the spring '00. I got about 11k mi. on my RE730s and they look fine with lots of tread even though I did 17 auto-x events with them in '00. The only thing I 'm worried now is that they might get hard after I take them off in Mar-April (to put R tires on) and they sit in the garage for another 7mos hardening up and loosing their composition. They already sat there from May-Dec. '01 while I was racing on Kumho R tires. Tires need to have regular heat cycles to keep their original composition and perform well. Anyway, like CJ said the Comptech bar comes with its own end links which are actually better and more heavy duty. My Acura dealer charges $210 for Comptech one plus 1hr labor to install. I like that because that means for 12mos if anything happens they 're responsible and will take care of it. Although nothing usually goes wrong because the installation is not complex. The only problem is that you need 2 people to put the Lower Control Arms back in place. My Neuspeed 19mm has lasted 2yrs of constant racing and it's still holding up well. It also came with its own polyurethane bushings. Although I know at least 10 people I auto-x with that have the 22mm Comptech bar on their Integras, I have not heard them say anything about the endlinks breaking or falling apart like CJ said, so I 'll have to ask them this spring because I know some of them have had them for 2-3yrs. The ITR bar + BSQ kit is a little cheaper but involves a little bit more labor. Both bars are equally good and Acura recongizes both of them as OEM parts and don't void your warranty. My Acura dealer sells the whole Comptech line and stock many of their parts. They also give everyone 15% off list on all of them. I will be upgrading from the 19mm to the 22mm Comptech this spring only because I don't want to go through the extra hassle of ordering the bar and then all the parts from BSQ and then finding someone to install it. My dealer already told me they won't install aftermarkt parts on my car unless they 're Comptech. I 'm not as patient as I used to be.. All I have to do is make an appointment with the dealer which charges $210 for the bar, and pay them $73 to install it. That way I don't have to pay shipping charges or wait for the parts, or anything. 1 phone call, 1 visit and it's all done. Now I 've called another Acura dealer and they said 1.5-2hrs to install, so I 'm hoping this dealer doesn't go back on their word because I know the service mgr. told me 1hr labor. I know they 'll probably use the full hour or close to it, which sounds weird, because dealerships usually charge you twice the labor of what they actually work. No dealership today charges you for the exact amount of time they worked on your car. They go by what the book says. So I 'm a little suspicious of that. One other thing about the poly bushings is that they all squeak in the winter or in cold temps. When it's 40 or higher I don't hear mine at all. Even when it's 30 out, they 'll squeak a little until the car has been moving for 5-10min. So it looks like they need to lubricate themselves or move around a little and then they stop. When it's 20deg. or less, they 'll squeak almost every time your suspension travels up&dn a lot or on bumps, but not that bad once you 've been on the road for 10-15 min. or have reached highway speeds. If I have the radio on, I don't hear anything at all. For me it's not really an issue at all. Under normal driving and regular roads I rarely hear them squeking. It's under severely uneven roads and VERY cold temps that they squeak, but it's not loud at all, and not there when the radio is on.
'99 Integra GSR '06 Civic LX coupe '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
Sad to see the spring and sway questions cleared up before I got to them . Anyway, I am contemplating using $300 that I have saved up for a rear disc conversion (no labor $) or for a driving school. Basically, I am not sure if my brakes can take the abuse of autox/road racing. Eventually, I will be upgrading to 11" rotors front and rear with some nice pads (Carbotech Panthers and AXXIS Ultimates...will switch out the Panthers to only use them at the track). So, do I need to work on my brakes before my first time on a course or not?
11" rotors all around? Wow, your brake upgrades are definitely for road racing. The Carbotech pads or Axxis Ultimates will definitely give you the braking power you need for the track. For auto-x it's a little overkill but a definite advantage over someone who doesn't have them. I assume the $300 for "driving school", is for a road racing school. I wouldn't do it with stock Civic DX brakes. They 'll be severely worn and you 'll need money immediately afterwards to replace them. Road racing is an expensive hobby. I 'd recommend starting with auto-x this season. It's much cheaper and enables you to learn your car's limits at certain speeds, and improve your driving skills. Since the brake mods will probably put you in SM, making the car lighter like you had suggested, would be a really good idea. I 'm sorry to say though, you have picked a really tough class to go into. If I were you, I 'd get some Brembo blanks with aftermarket pads and do the suspension like you have done already. This should put you in FSP with VW golfs & Cabrios and you can still take out the back seat. You 'd do a lot better in that class than SM. Unless you 're planning for a motor swap in the future, in which case SM is where you want to be.
'99 Integra GSR '06 Civic LX coupe '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
You are right, I really cannot afford to road race right now. I was just kinda dreaming, I guess. Okay, I'm back. When you start out with autoxing, don't you just start out in the "amateur" class, or do you actually start out in the class you are supposed to be in? As far as brakes, shouldn't my stock rotors be fine (only 50K mi)? Actually, could I autox a couple of times on stock brakes to see how I like it or would that be crazy? Aren't Brembo blanks pretty much cheap OE rotors? Would it be a good idea to go with SS lines (wouldn't I be able to use them later if I upgrade the brakes?)? What pad do you recommend? AXXIS Ultimate? Should I change out my pads before every autox (OEM to AXXIS and then back afterwards)? I am also thinking about either the ST or Si front sway along with the Z10 radius arms. What do you think?
Whether or not you compete in a "rookie or novice" solo II class all depends on your local SCCA region, and they all tend to do things differently. In Atlanta, for example, they have a very nice novice program and there are usually 25+ cars there at each event! Twice a day (a.m. and p.m.) they have a novice "walk through" where one of the region's more experienced drivers will lead a course walk with all interested novice drivers. The person leading the walk will provide pointers and tips about the particular course and what the novice drivers need to look out for. In our region, you can compete in the novice class until you "trophy" (i.e., get one of the top 5 or 6 times of all novices who compete that day). When you do, then they ask that you go compete in the "regular" class for your car given it's prep level (e.g., STS, SM, FSP, etc.). You can probably contact someone at your regional SCCA office and get the low down there. Please know that once you get started, there's no turning back -- it's a totally exhilirating and addicting experience.
The lower rear tie bar is not needed, it's a purely optional mod, but I've heard very good things from people who have the Comptech sway/tie bar combo. It will help strenghten and stiffen the rear suspension geometry a bit. You'll probably be able to notice a slight difference, but it won't be a huge one. I believe Harry has one (not the Comptech version, but a different lower tie bar). I've toyed around with the idea of getting one but I've decided that I'm going to get an upper strut tower bar for the rear to help stiffen the top end of rear suspension because I believe the ITR rear sway I have is probably enough for the lower end. Either way, you can't go wrong.
1)can I fit 205 tires on my stock GSR rims? 2)My tuner said that I can buy a perf. muffler, take it to a muffler shop, and have them install it with all new bigger piping from the catalytic converter back to have a "cat-back exhaust system" for cheaper. Sounds good... true? 3)I have to replace my hood (damaged)... is OEM quality carbon fiber a good idea? 4)After exhaust, would ya'll do CAI or Header first?
answers: 1: yes, 205s fit fine 2: yes, that can be done, but be sure they use a good tube material (like aluminized steel) or it'll rust in a couple of years. Also, make sure they use mandrel bending, as opposed to crush bending. Crush bending will seriously impede exhaust flow, and you don't want that. You'll also have to figure out what to do with your resonator (keep, toss, replace), especially if you go up to 2" or 2.25" diameter tubing. 3: there are good quality carbon fiber hoods out there, but getting it to fit and close properly can be a pain. Also, they are A LOT more fragile than the OE hoods and can break if you close/latch the hood too harshly. Some folks will tell you that you also need hood pins to prevent the hood from flying open at highway speeds (>70mph), but I don't know too much about that. One more thing, if you plan on autocrossing your car replacing body panels will move you to SM or some prepared class where the competition and level of car prep is very stiff. 4: I'd go with an AEM cold air intake -- it's much cheaper and you'll get more whp and torque from that than you would a header. Have fun!
Yes, the Brembo rotors are OE diameter (so you don't get kicked out of your SCCA class if you auto-x) but they seem to be stronger and last longer than the factory rotors when used under severe conditions like road racing or auto-xing. G6 Civics have very week rotors. Mine would warp every 30k mi. no matter how hard I tried to go easy on them. I tried everything, rolling slowly to a full stop, not keeping my foot on the brakes, or equally dissipating the heat from the rotors, not using the brakes from high speeds or highway speeds, etc. Those crappy rotors just warped every time. Many other DX/LX owners will tell you the same thing. The g6 rotors were just horrible. I 've talked to many road racers and auto-xers and they 'll tell you that the Brembo rotors are hard to kill no matter what pads you throw at them and they can handle several road racing events with speeds of 120+mph. Now the Axxis Ultimates are a road racing pad and just like the Hawk (HP+?) and Porterfield R4 they 're tougher on your rotors. They also dust a LOT more. I have the Axxis Metal Masters (or MM for short) which is the middle of the Axxis line. It's a street/race pad comparable to the R4S. I have comments from 11 users of this pad and they all told me they 're easy on the rotors with a life span of at least 20k mi. with some auto-xing. They do dust like all the others though. If a pad doesn't dust then it won't give you the grip you want, and it shouldn't be called a "performance" pad IMO. The SS lines don't help very much with stopping power but give you better and stiffer brake pedal feel. I like that my brake pedal doesn't travel half way down anymore before the brakes start working. All I have to do is touch the pedal a little and they grab very close to the top. This also helped me with my times in auto-x. It shaves milliseconds and even 1/10's of a second because the brakes respond quicker to your foot with less pedal travel. I don't think you should do any of these changes until you start auto-xing. Your stock brakes will be fine for the first few events. After that you 'll notice some degredation. I auto-xed the GSR on stock brakes for more than 1 season (a few events in '99 and the full '00 season, about 22 events). The GSR rotors are more heavy duty than the Civic's though. After about 10-12 events I started noticing the brakes going down hill. I think this is because I was doing a lot of Porsche & BMW events then, and their fast courses are harder on the brakes. The local SCCA clubs don't design their courses to be as fast because they incorporate more turns and slaloms and try to get as many transitions as they can in that space, where as the above clubs design theirs to be like mini road courses with a couple of 90 & 120deg. turns. It sucks going 60-65mph and then having to stand of the brakes to make a 90 deg. turn. These type of courses quickly take their toll on factory brakes. Like Casey said, you 'll be in a Novice class probably most of your first season (and you should be). The way they rate you though, is by an index according to what class you 're in. For example: An Audi A4 2.8 (novice) in A Stock has an index of .79 and if you 're in FSP you probably have something like .84 (or .81, can't remember). The Audi has a best time of 41sec. and you 're best time is 40sec. The Audi has done better than you and gets the trophy, because 41 x.79=32.39 Your "indexed" time is 40 x .84 = 33.6 Lower # wins. This # is also called PAX. All cars are paxed in the Novice classes. Well in most SCCA clubs anyway. I doubt there are clubs out there that let you run against Novice Corvettes & Porsches and the guy with the best times wins. They have to use an index or handicap..
'99 Integra GSR '06 Civic LX coupe '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
1. Listen to Casey [I 've taught him well :-)] 2. The tie bar helps strengthen the subframe points where the control arms mount. It actually mounts at the same points (holes) where the control arms mount on the subframe (the tie bar comes with big washers & longer screws because they have to go through both tie bar & lower control arm). This reduces flexing at those points where the control arms usually pull on, when your car makes a turn. So in essense the tie bar "ties" the 2 lower control amrs (LCAs) together, thus called the "tie bar". This also decreases camber changes and reduces the forces on the control arms, all resulting in more rubber on the ground. With an aftermarket rear sway bar it's barely noticeable though but it still helps. I have a Neuspeed lower tie bar BTW (it was only $69 for the black one w/yellow letters "neuspeed" on it - looks good). The Neuspeed rear upper tie bar (ties the 2 shock towers together in your trunk) was a little bit more noticeable, but again, nothing spectacular. It gives you slight oversteer characteristics. My dealer charges $320 for the set but I know someone that got it for $295 through EBAY (new). If you got the money and don't mind, get the Comptech set with both sway & tie bars. The Comptech tie bar is bigger (wider) and most likely more sturdy than my Neuspeed which is basically a 3/4" (approximately) round bar. The Comptech one looks more rectangular with a larger surface (looks like a DCSports one without those annoying holes).
'99 Integra GSR '06 Civic LX coupe '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
Casey, I agree that a rear upper strut bar will help more than a lower tie bar, especially on hatchbacks (Civic HBs, GS-Rs, etc.) where stiffness in the upper rear area is a precious commodity because a hatch is built to encompass a larger volume--not be especially stiff. If you've seen the pictures of mine, you have seen how I had to dremel out a section to reach the strut assembly. You won't have to b/c you have those nifty pop-out panels so install for you is even more of a breeze.
Integraguy16, you are correct that a cat-back system can be made that is cheaper than a pre-made one. Two things to consider before you make your own: buy a muffler (ES Oval and Magnaflow seem to be the most popular, research honda-tech.com) that has a decent baffle/silencer system built into it if you care at all about having a quiet exhaust = less cops, less annoying, more sleeperish. Also, when getting the piping done by the muffler shop, have them mandrel bend it and make sure they aren't using some cheap material. It's more expensive, but you will get a better-flowing, longer-lasting exhaust as a result. As far as diameter of piping, it all depends on what you plan to do with the car. I would suggest something between 2"-2.3". My GReddy SP is something like 2.27".
Harry, thanks for the really nice info! So you know of many people that like the AXXIS MM? For some reason, I have heard many on H-T bash them (they said that they would rather stick with OE pads). I will need to look into them more. That's some horrible luck you were having with your Civic rotors! OT but, have you ever noticed your clutch squeaking the day after you drive the car hard? This seems to happen every once in a while and I do not think it has anything to do with me driving the car improperly. Wow! That is really interesting how the index numbers work between classes and within the novice class. Oh yeah, three topics up for grabs for you:
1) autox-oriented wheel alignment (worth it, or better to just stay within stock specs?)
2) Brake fluid (Valvoline Syn any good?)
3) Are SS lines something I can install myself (and how often do you bleed your brakes)?
Harry said: "1. Listen to Casey [I 've taught him well :-)]" Casey's response: Mwahahahhaha...
Truth be told, Harry has indeed "learned me good." Like Garados said a little while ago, this was the first place anyone ever answered my questions, too. Back then, Harry and guy named Stephen were the only regulars on this board. (btw, what ever happened to Stephen?!? He's been MIA for almost a year now...) This place has be a great refuge for me, especially b/c H-T.com and others boards can be so full of b.s. and other noise. The other benefit of coming here is that my main interest (other than Integra issues) is autocrossing, and Harry has provided me some great 1-on-1 Solo II advice. He's seen me go from a struggling autocross novice newbie to a trophy winning (2nd place is my best finish so far) STS regular, who still has a LONG way to go... Harry, you must be so proud.
I was planning to have aluminized steel with mandrel bends. I'm not planning on auto-x on anything like that (just 16) but am looking for something lighter, better looks, and I need a replacement anyway, cuz mine's all dented up. And I can get one installed for less than $500 with hood pins. And it's the "less thin" kind, so it hold up better.
1: the only adjustable aspect of our alignment is "toe" (unless you get camber kits for the camber adjustment), and it just so happens that the toe is a very important issue in how well your car handles. Specifically, having some toe out in the front wheels will really help with the car's turn-in abilities. The down side is that having toe out can really cause your tires to wear out quickly b/c it causes them to "cup." There was just a great thread in the competition forum on H-T.com where David Fauth (an ITR driver and Solo II GS national champ in 2001) and the guy who won STS this year weighed with their perspective on toe. Most autocrossers who also daily drive their cars have the toe set at zero (front and back) -- that's what I have right now -- or they run a little toe out (~1/32-1/64") in the front, and zero in the rear. Now mind you that's total toe, so if you total toe out is at 1/32", then you're running about 1/64" toe out at each wheel. Now, Fauth and other national level drivers who all trailer their cars to events have some pretty unbelievable toe specs. Fauth uses 1/8" total toe out in the front AND rear!! Tom Smith uses 1/8" up front and zero in the rear. That's really a huge amount of toe and would totally kill your tires if your car is a daily driver. These guys don't have to worry about it given that they drive dedicated race vehicles. Please be warned that having any toe out in the rear of your car can make it very twitchy and unstable at highway speeds and has been known to induce spin outs!
2: I don't know much about synthetic brake fluids. Harry swears by Honda brake fluid (I believe it's rated at DOT3) and I use ATE Super Blue fluid (which is DOT4). The ATE stuff is expensive and is probably over-kill for autocrossing, but I plan on doing a few track events this year (first one's in March -- woo hoo!) and you really want to have good quality brake fluid for track events because your brakes take an unbelievable beating there and get totally cooked! For autocrossing, you can get away with bleeding your brakes once or twice a year. For doing track events, most guys I talk to bleed them before each event, and at the end of each day if the next day is another track day. 3: S/S brakelines: You can do it yourself but it's a challenging job. I asked my Atlanta region DSP buddy to help me with mine b/c he had done his car and one other already. So I'd recommend finding a friend who has done it before. I also recommend having a service manual (Haynes or otherwise), a flare nut wrench (forget what size) so you don't strip the nuts holding the brake lines in place, a good/heavy duty pair of long-nosed plyers to remove and replace the small metal brackets that hold the brake lines in place (where the flexible line meets the hard line), lots of rags to wipe up all the spilled fluid, small baggies to tape over the ends of the brake lines to prevent dripping when you pull the old ones off the car, and plenty of brake fluid to top off the master cylinder (you'll be surprise how much fluid you lose in this process). Oh yea, and a brake bleeding kit is helpful, too. Hope that helps.
Yep, like Casey said when you 're talking road racing you have to bleed your brakes VERY OFTEN. So yes ATE Blue at the minimum should be used when road racing or Motul 600 brake fluid. Now the ATE Blue is a DOT 3/4. I did buy it and when the race shop broke my Master Cylinder I took it to the Acura dealer to have it replaced but they wouldn't put the ATE back in, so I settle for the Honda fluid. The service mgr made a good point though. If it's good enough for the NSX, why not for the Integra? For auto-x the Honda fluid works fine. My brakes performed flawlessly the whole auto-x season and they still work fine. You don't boil up your brake fluid when auto-xing and most people use OEM brake fluid. Oh and another thing, the reason that I don't mind using the Honda fluid, is because everyone on H-T said back then that you have change it more often when using the ATE or Motul. This is something I 'd rather not do too often so I 'm content with the OEM fluid. Anyway, it's the pads you want to upgrade more than anything. As far as the AXXIS MM go, back in '00 I had spoken to about 12-13 people that used them. 1 guy had bad things to say, another said they were so & so and 10-11 other people said it was a very good pad and gave them little or no trouble. I will admit the only "problem" if you can call that, is that they don't bite right away when they 're cold but I 've heard the same thing about the Porterfields and others so I think that 's a regular trait in a performance pad. What I do is tap them a little once the car is warmed up and I 'm moving after I leave the house. Under normal braking or on the street, the brakes will feel normal, unless it was early in the morning, cold out, and you had to make a panic/emergency stop blocks away from your house before you had a chance to use them at all. Where I noticed it first, was on a cold morning (~55-60 deg) auto-xing. The car seemed to travel a bit further, very slight difference, but I felt it. I can feel the slightest difference in my car especially when braking hard. I have a pretty good idea how the car should behave. Now that was only on the first pedal depression. After that the brakes were fine throughout the run. In warm/hot days I don't notice any difference on the auto-x course even though I get in the car after it's been sitting there for 2 hrs and line up at the start line. Anyway, I don't doubt for a sec. that there are better pads out there. Afterall these only cost $55 for the front & $35 rear, $90 total. There are others out there that are twice as much, but lets not forget the Axxis MM is a middle of the line pad, or a middle performer. It doesn't compare to the Ultimates or the Porterfield R4 as far as stopping power goes. These are road racing pads. I didn't want anything extreme because auto-x is not as demanding on the brakes since you 're braking from lower speeds, and I didn't want to chew up the rotors with these other road racing pads. So I feel the MM is an excellent pad for me and for my car's purpose which is auto-x. I found them to be an improvement over the stock pads and that's all that counts. If I find out I gotta replace my fronts lets say tomorrow, I would still buy these again because $55 is not a lot and I 'm happy they lasted the whole auto-x season plus another 5k mi. of hard street driving. Now if I drove the car daily and had to change the pads after 5k I 'd probably be upset but with 20 auto-x events in between I 'm happy.. My next pad will probably be the R4 since I want to do 1 or 2 track events, but I doubt the R4's performance will be relative to its price (double that of Axxis, about $200 for all 4). If it is, then I 'll get whiplash for sure I brother drove my car and said it stops almost as good as his Type-R and was surprised how it different it was than the last time he drove it when I had the OEM pads on. I 'm not sure if the Brembos helped or not, because I put them on at the same time along with the Goodridge SS lines. So that's 3 changes I made all in the same day: Rotors, pads & SS lines. I imagine it made a greater difference than if I did one thing at a time.
'99 Integra GSR '06 Civic LX coupe '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
You 've been an outstanding student and I 'm very proud of you :-) Many have come and gone, but you are #1 in my book!
Now I 'm not selfish, and wanted you to be the most you can be, which is why I directed you to H-T.com back when you first came here, to complete your education, as I did with Thomas and many others before you & him. The Integra Adv/Opin.#2 (which I started, as well as this one) had over 1,000 posts before the Edmunds black hole (software bug) swallowed it. The #1 topic before that had almost 2,000 posts and I was there almost from the beginning (Feb-March '99)! So you can imagine how many people I 've advised. But you Casey have greatly developed into the most well rounded Integra owner/modder/auto-xer & mentor to others, that has ever come to this thread, so I salute you and if I lived close to you I would present you with the Edmunds/Harry "faithful Integra topic" Award! Just kidding, I would 've at least paid you a visit and meet you in person. It's probably because you 're one of the very few people here that 's about my age and believe me there 's not that many of us! I used to know more people in their 30's owning Integras but a lot of them have sold them in the last 1 or 2 yrs and got sedans or family cars. So we 're a dying breed. Long live Integra owners! :-) Next time this thread falls in the Edmunds abyss, you can start the next one Casey!
'99 Integra GSR '06 Civic LX coupe '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
It's probably because you 're one of the very few people here that 's about my age and believe me there 's not that many of us! I used to know more people in their 30's owning Integras but a lot of them have sold them in the last 1 or 2 yrs and got sedans or family cars. So we 're a dying breed. Long live Integra owners! :-) *end Quote*
They should've gotten the GSR Sedan like me and bemathew! = )
Wow! Not only paragraphs upon paragraphs of answers for my questions--but also a touching mentor-pupil relationship. This forum is amazing. And what did happen to Stephen? I remember him being very helpful and knowledgeable also.
I think that I need an alignment soon because of the combination of rear upper strut, rear sway, and rear camber kit throwing off my toe in the back. I think I may experiment with 1/64" toe on each front wheel (and zero in the back). The thing is, I was going to have the alignment done by my friend in auto-tech at the school but someone broke into the school garage and took (among other things) the alignment equipment.
I think I will research the differences between the Valvoline Syn and Honda fluid but will probably end up going with the OE brake fluid.
Today my modified suspension came in handy on the street when I had to avoid a sudden accident involving one of those big ole' Club Wagons ramming a Camry from behind. A little braking at the limit, engine braking, and a quick swerve were all it took but I did scratch my right front wheel very minorly on the lip of it (approx 2") when I skimmed the curb ever so slightly. Car still drives very straight and stable so I'm pretty sure nothing went wrong. I didn't even hear the wheel scrape at all. That was the drama for today.
Quick OT question:
I have heard good things about the SSR Competitions being very light and durable (as well as expensive). These are the wheels that the Realtime ITRs run. Someone else told me that they are really basically track only wheels because they are made for rotational durability (autox, RR) not impact durability (everyday street driving--potholes, etc.) Is this possible and/or true?
Oh yeah, and does anyone notice that clutch squeak after hard driving like I do?
Yeah you should get an alignment soon. My toe was messed up in the front & rear after about a month when the springs had settled well. The car handled pretty good though! The toe setting were about 1/32" in the front and I forget what they were in the back but they were way off. After the alignment I noticed I couldn't change lanes as fast as before (slight difference, nothing major but noticeable to me) and the car was not as stable or didn't handle as good as before at speeds over 110mph. The alignment shop had set it to about 1/64" (because I asked them) in the front and 0 in the rear. So the previous toe out did help but it wasn't good for the tires. Squeaking clutch noise: Had the same thing in my '97 HB! It came and went, but after about 100k mi. it was always there but to a lesser degree. The cable probably needed some greasing. I now get it once in a while right after I come back from an auto-x run with my GSR! I 've noticed it as I drive back into the pit area. It only does that after the car has been aggressively driven (shifting at redline). Maybe the clutch fluid needs to be replaced. But wait, doesn't that feed off the brake fluid?
'99 Integra GSR '06 Civic LX coupe '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
You 're one of the few people to own a stock GSR. A few weeks ago your car was "half stock" :-) The RE730s is probably a start to more things to come though If I remember correctly you 're in your 30's or 40's arent' you?
'99 Integra GSR '06 Civic LX coupe '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
"I'd like to thank the Academy, Edmunds and Only1Harry for bestowing this prestigious award... All I can say is, "ah shucks, guys..." This place is great to come to for good discussions and witty banter. If we all live closer to each other, I'd buy us a round or two of beers (except for Chem and Integraguy -- you guyz aren't of age yet!). From what I recall, I could be referred to as the "tribal elder" here 'cause I think I've got ~5 or so yrs. on you, Harry. No, I don't need a walker to get around (yet!) so y'all need to remember to respect your elders! ;-) It's also nice to have the recent influx of new and returning members to liven the place up a bit. Keep the questions and the good topics coming.
About SSR wheels~ yes, those babies are very nice -- about the same weight and price ($299/wheel - ouch!)as my dream wheel, the Volk TE-37s. A guy at the solo II divisional event this past August had them on his Civic Si, and I was very, very jealous. As I understand it, they only come in gun metal color, which does me no good cause I want my next set of wheels to be white. And Chem, you're correct in that these wheels would not hold up as well in everyday driving because they're really not made to withstand the abuse our roads dish out. A good sized pot hole, one that our stock wheels would sneer at, can cause these types of wheels to crack or otherwise break apart. And at that price, you really don't want to replace a wheel very often, if at all Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go buy a case for the trophy/award that Harry is going to give me
after I finished my award ceremony speech, I said "just kidding"! :-) You 'll have to earn your trophies battling the cones buddy I doubt your 're 5yrs older than me because that would put you in your early 40's. I just turned 36 in Dec! When you first came here (almost 1.5yrs ago?) I was 34. I think you 're 1-2 yrs older. But if I 'm not mistaken, Bemathew may be the winner in that department.. So now since you have undoubtedly earned your position in the "Acura Integra GSR - Advice & Opinions" board of directors (Hall of Fame sounds better), the next step for me, is to carefully watch your auto-x racing career and inspire you to be as successful as I was in '00 & maybe '01. Bruce Bellom (Evolution School instructor and Nationally ranked driver) at my award ceremony gave a small speech about everyone that received a regional class championship award. About me he said (I thought he gave a pretty long speed about me compared to others) that I had improved by 200% from the previous year and that I have the makings of a higher level champ (divisional?) and that this year ('01) I was recognized throughout the region as the class leader in other non-SCCA clubs, etc. He also said that I had surpassed my brother! among other things.. So now set these as your goals Casey :-) I know you can do it! I did it in only 2 1/2 auto-x seasons (I started late '99). Ok, your next semi-annual review will be in July 1st :-) Oh btw, I just finished doing my goals at work and had my review so that explains the above They brainwash you so much here about your personal goals & company goals that it's hard not relate everything to achieving "goals"!
'99 Integra GSR '06 Civic LX coupe '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
A word of advice. Don't go higher than 32psi in the front and 31 in the rear with the RE730s for the first few weeks. They have a very hard compound and tend to slide when they 're new and not broken in. After 600-700mi. you can pump up the pressure a bit, but what works best on the street is about 33F/31-32R. Do not go to 34-35psi if it gets cold where you live. They get slippery on cold roads. These tires are primarily summer tires, so I assume you have mild winters where you live. You can pump them up to 35F/33R if you like after you 've had 1-2K mi. on them but do that in relatively nice weather. In 50+ deg. weather don't be afraid to step on it. These tires grip the road nicely. You might notice a bit of ride "roughness". That's because you now have lower profile tires than before plus they 're wider.
'99 Integra GSR '06 Civic LX coupe '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
Harry, looks like your memory is going bad, as is mine... So, yes, I am in my early 40's -- actually turned 42 in Dec. My bday is the 6th, so when's yours? And I agree, the only trophies I'd like to receive are the ones I earn. And, believe me, earning trophies in STS here in Hotlanta is not a walk in the park. I'm encouraged by the steady, incremental progress I made last year, and I'm going stir crazy waiting for the first event of the year. We've got a "tune-up" day (i.e., non-points event) scheduled for mid February, with the first points event on March 10th. And that's not going to happen soon enough for me. Great that you got such kudos from Bellom at your awards banquet. That's pretty high praise from a solo II guru. Here's to wishing you continued success and improvement for 2002 and beyond. We'll be watching you from afar...
I have to wait till April 14th for the "test & tune" event! February & March is much better.. but then again around here it could be snowing so we never start that early. Most of the time there 's an auto-x event in late March I can go to, but most clubs have not posted their '02 schedules yet. I 'm very confident that you 'll improve a lot more and do very well this year, so good luck to you and have a successful '02 season! 2nd place in a competitive class like STS is a great accomplishment especially in your first season. 41 eh? gosh you 're old :-) For some reason the number 37 stuck in my head. Oh well I 'm glad I 'm not the oldest
'99 Integra GSR '06 Civic LX coupe '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
Harry, you mentioned that you had your front toe out 1/64". That's 1/128" on each side, right (not 1/64" on each side)? Do you recommend that I do likewise or to go with zero toe all around?
Harry and Casey, what have you guys heard/experienced with the Falken Azeni? I have heard that they are a pretty nice street tire, cheap, STIFF sidewalls, weigh a little above average, and have low treadwear (to be expected). If I do get into autox like I think I will, I think I will get a set when my Kumhos wear out.
1/64 was total toe because back then I was driving the GSR more regularly since I had the street tires on. It was higher before the alignment which is why I noticed a slight decrease in handling performance after the wheel alignment. Too much toe out can really do a number on your tires though. That was in June '00. My last wheel alignment was May '01 at the dealer who didn't adjust anything because the caster was way off. I have that printout somewhere and I 'll look for it tomorrow. The toe had gone out a bit more front & rear. The front was about .019" or something close to that (which is slightly over 1/64", like 1/52"), and I was satisfied with that. The rear was less, like .008 which is very close to 1/128" so that wasn't bad either. These are total toe #s. Now I know the suspension has settled more since, so after I replace the control arm which will hopefully fix my caster problem (from the big pot hole I hit in May last year), I 'll get it checked again. I would like to try 1/32" toe out in the front next time around since I don't drive the car that much. I do put on 3-4k mi. driving to the events though. This time around I m' going to put the wheels w/R tires in the trunk though and put them on when I get there and then take them off again. This means I 'll have to get there earlier and do some extra work (god forbid I work out a little..) but I can't drive on the R tires back and forth to these events. I 'm sure I had some irregular tire wear on the Kumhos but it's very hard to tell because after 4-5 events, the tread is almost non-existent. Plus all those extra heat cycles driving back & forth on them doesn't help either. They wear out much faster.. So I gotta go to Home Depot and buy a nice jack now. The Falken Azenis are really good tires from what I hear and great for auto-x. Can't beat the price. I saw a few guys using them on the last 2 events of the season and they did pretty well with them and good things to say about them. So I would say, that if you really want to auto-x, go with 1/128-1/64" of toe in the front and 0 in the back, and get the Falken tires. I have been driving on my RE730's for the last 8 weeks (a couple of days/week) and I don't see any additional wear yet with my 1/52-3" toe. I don't think you get any serious tire wear anomalies until you go higher than 1/32". I 'm not saying that 1/32" won't take 2k mi. out of your tire life either, but that's not bad. Stick with 0 or 1/128" in the rear because right after I put the springs on, my toe was too high in the rear. This caused the tail to snap out a little too soon (I was on stock shocks then, but had the H&R springs) and one time when I changed lanes really fast doing about 90mph, I almost lost it when the tail started dancing. I thought it was the new RE730s, but later found out about the consequences of too much toe out in the rear and put 2 & 2 together. I think the rear toe was almost 1/32" before I got the 1st alignment! So stick with the lowest #s in the rear. From my experience, fast transitions at high speeds, and high toe out in the rear, don't mix well.
'99 Integra GSR '06 Civic LX coupe '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
I am 31 only with a 2 year old daughter. right age for a van or SUV?? I am planning for some mods in the near future. Now that my 99 GSR (22K miles)is in Salvage-Restore title I don't have to worry about my warranty!!!!
I have fixed everything in the last two to three months. Complete Leather interior from a 98 four door GSR, Trunk lid with spoiler from 96 GSR. Wiper, seat belts, floor mats, stereo everything fixed.
Only thing to be fixed is one part of the dash board. The place where glove box is attached is broken. Buying a used dash and uninstalling the existing one and installing the new dash could be expensive. A used dash (without air bags, vents, cluster) can be bought for less than $150. But I think insllation could be expensive. Any thoughts or ideas?
go to some body shops because they usually do this kind of stuff. I wouldn't go to the dealer because they don't usually restore interiors and stuff and they could charge you for many hours of labor trying to figure out how to do it. Shop around and get some quotes on putting in a used dash. I don't think it would be more than 4-5hrs labor. Body shop labor rates are much less than mechanic's shops. They usually charge $35-40/hr. Tell the body shop owner that this is not covered through the insurance and that you 're paying out of your pocket. They 'll give you a better deal. You were lucky those thieves didn't go under the hood.. but it looks like the interior can be just as expensive. Nevertheless I 'd rather have to restore the interior than get a new motor. I would 've put Sparco racing seats (probably red, <$1K) but I 'm sure you got a good deal on the used leather ones.
'99 Integra GSR '06 Civic LX coupe '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
Sorry about your age! 3 people over 30 in an Integra thread is pretty rare. Hey I just realized I 'm twice Chem's age! :-) How did your car get stolen in the first place? Are you taking extra precautions now? Is insurance the same for a salvage-titled car or lower?
'99 Integra GSR '06 Civic LX coupe '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
Comments
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
http://community.webshots.com/storage/1/v3/2/50/89/29725089SoQhrlcgvt_ph.jpg
On his GS-R he has 400F/500R GC on ITR Bilstein Sports.
Harry, have you been sporting the jacket everywhere yet?
Actually I have not worn the jacket outside the house at all. It's a light jacket, like for Fall or Spring and it's too cold out now to go out with it. Then again I could wear a couple of undershirts, a T-shirt on top of that, buttoned down heavy duty flanel shirt with a wool sweater on top of it and then the jacket. That might work
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
Garados will be busy for the next few months getting hooked to this whole new Honda/Acura world of modding and processing all the info from H-T.com
I posted something there a week or so ago (yes I 'm VTEConly) and saw that I had about 1,100 posts. I had not posted anything in about 6mos and have not been very active in about 1yr. Imagine if I kept posting at the same rate I was the year before that ('00 was my most active year, in '99 there was no H-T so I was on H-A.net where I was approaching 1k posts). I 'd have 2-3,000 posts and it 'd look like I have no life :-)
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
http://community.webshots.com/user/chem123
Mmmm...custom-valved GCs...sometimes the normal spring rates are on GB but for the custom rates, it seems like it would cost the same/be better just to order from GC. BTW, I am "kent, clark" on H-T.com...I don't post much but I do IM people and use the Search function for hours on end
Its' $354 plus tax for installation,life time balancing, rotataion etc.
There is a deal going on in Costco. $50 off for a set of 4 tires. Re730's are priced at $101.
I am trying to choose between ITR sway+BSQ kit and
Comptech kit. Comptech 22mm sway bar plus kit is listed for $234 in most of the places. ITR plus BSQ kit should also cost the same
Harry I remeber seeing one of your old posts where you were talking about the polyurethene bushings of the Comptech??
Which one is best for day to day driving?
Which one is easier to install?
Btw I have 99 GSR Sedan
Oh, yeah that's right. I do have a question for y'all. I have been reading about having camber problems when dropping a car over 1.5". Is this true? Also, I'm planning on getting some lowering springs from Eibach and I want to have some other opinions about the prokit and the sportline springs. Which ones will give me less dive in braking and less body roll in turns? Well, there is hardly any body roll anymore due to the upgraded sway bars =D, but that's not the point to this question. Anyway, what I'm trying to ask is which set will give me the best handling? Thanks.
Don't worry, I won't forget to check in on all of you and make sure this forum isn't getting out of hand. =P
Nice Boxter! They 're very capable auto-xers as well as road racing cars.
A guy in my club is the '00 SCCA auto-x A Stock champion. He drives a '99 Boxter with custom valved double adjustable Konis. He usually gets FTD when there are no high end go-karts (A or B mod). BTW, my PAX (in DSP) is about the same as AS which means I should be getting the same times as him, but hey, if the CSP, SM and CP guys can't beat him, why should I? It just goes to show you how a National Champ can kick people's butt that are in much higher classes than him/her. The same with Ken Fry who is also in my club and was this year's C Stock Champ with his MR2 (double-adjustable Konis again). He usually comes in the top 5%. But then again we shouldn't forget that these people have spent several thousands of $$ in their "stock" cars for the high end shocks, custom alignment, custom cat-back exhausts and the very expensive Hoosier auto-x tires (about 60-70% more than Kumhos cost) that don't last too long.
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
My camber readings in the front from the last alignment I had last June-July, were -1.6 and -1.5 which are pretty much borderline but I like that because I get better handling. My rear were like -1.0 and -1.2 I think which is fine. Negative camber is good for handling but excessive negative camber will wear your tires quicker. I think on the print out I got, -1.6 was the limit in the front (don't remember the rear) so it was good for me because I auto-x. So anything over -1.7 or -1.8 might not be beneficial if you want your tires to last a long time, although not it's not bad. -2.0+ you should definitely worry about. I would recommend getting some aftermarket shocks with them though. Don't keep your stock shocks because they 're not going to last long, the car will be bouncy, and won't handle as good as if you had heavy duty shocks. Adjustable shocks are the best. The cheapest are KYB AGX ($330-340), the middle of the line Tokiko Illuminas ($420-440) and the higher end street/race are the Koni Sports ($500-550). If you 're not looking to spend much and won't be doing any auto-xing or any type of formal racing, go with the KYB. Anything is better than the stock shocks and will improve the handling.
What kind of rear sway bar do you have?
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
I got about 11k mi. on my RE730s and they look fine with lots of tread even though I did 17 auto-x events with them in '00. The only thing I 'm worried now is that they might get hard after I take them off in Mar-April (to put R tires on) and they sit in the garage for another 7mos hardening up and loosing their composition. They already sat there from May-Dec. '01 while I was racing on Kumho R tires.
Tires need to have regular heat cycles to keep their original composition and perform well.
Anyway, like CJ said the Comptech bar comes with its own end links which are actually better and more heavy duty. My Acura dealer charges $210 for Comptech one plus 1hr labor to install. I like that because that means for 12mos if anything happens they 're responsible and will take care of it. Although nothing usually goes wrong because the installation is not complex. The only problem is that you need 2 people to put the Lower Control Arms back in place. My Neuspeed 19mm has lasted 2yrs of constant racing and it's still holding up well. It also came with its own polyurethane bushings. Although I know at least 10 people I auto-x with that have the 22mm Comptech bar on their Integras, I have not heard them say anything about the endlinks breaking or falling apart like CJ said, so I 'll have to ask them this spring because I know some of them have had them for 2-3yrs.
The ITR bar + BSQ kit is a little cheaper but involves a little bit more labor. Both bars are equally good and Acura recongizes both of them as OEM parts and don't void your warranty. My Acura dealer sells the whole Comptech line and stock many of their parts. They also give everyone 15% off list on all of them. I will be upgrading from the 19mm to the 22mm Comptech this spring only because I don't want to go through the extra hassle of ordering the bar and then all the parts from BSQ and then finding someone to install it. My dealer already told me they won't install aftermarkt parts on my car unless they 're Comptech. I 'm not as patient as I used to be.. All I have to do is make an appointment with the dealer which charges $210 for the bar, and pay them $73 to install it. That way I don't have to pay shipping charges or wait for the parts, or anything. 1 phone call, 1 visit and it's all done. Now I 've called another Acura dealer and they said 1.5-2hrs to install, so I 'm hoping this dealer doesn't go back on their word because I know the service mgr. told me 1hr labor. I know they 'll probably use the full hour or close to it, which sounds weird, because dealerships usually charge you twice the labor of what they actually work. No dealership today charges you for the exact amount of time they worked on your car. They go by what the book says. So I 'm a little suspicious of that.
One other thing about the poly bushings is that they all squeak in the winter or in cold temps. When it's 40 or higher I don't hear mine at all. Even when it's 30 out, they 'll squeak a little until the car has been moving for 5-10min. So it looks like they need to lubricate themselves or move around a little and then they stop. When it's 20deg. or less, they 'll squeak almost every time your suspension travels up&dn a lot or on bumps, but not that bad once you 've been on the road for 10-15 min. or have reached highway speeds. If I have the radio on, I don't hear anything at all. For me it's not really an issue at all. Under normal driving and regular roads I rarely hear them squeking. It's under severely uneven roads and VERY cold temps that they squeak, but it's not loud at all, and not there when the radio is on.
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
If I were you, I 'd get some Brembo blanks with aftermarket pads and do the suspension like you have done already. This should put you in FSP with VW golfs & Cabrios and you can still take out the back seat. You 'd do a lot better in that class than SM. Unless you 're planning for a motor swap in the future, in which case SM is where you want to be.
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
2)My tuner said that I can buy a perf. muffler, take it to a muffler shop, and have them install it with all new bigger piping from the catalytic converter back to have a "cat-back exhaust system" for cheaper. Sounds good... true?
3)I have to replace my hood (damaged)... is OEM quality carbon fiber a good idea?
4)After exhaust, would ya'll do CAI or Header first?
Thanks alot
1: yes, 205s fit fine
2: yes, that can be done, but be sure they use a good tube material (like aluminized steel) or it'll rust in a couple of years. Also, make sure they use mandrel bending, as opposed to crush bending. Crush bending will seriously impede exhaust flow, and you don't want that. You'll also have to figure out what to do with your resonator (keep, toss, replace), especially if you go up to 2" or 2.25" diameter tubing.
3: there are good quality carbon fiber hoods out there, but getting it to fit and close properly can be a pain. Also, they are A LOT more fragile than the OE hoods and can break if you close/latch the hood too harshly. Some folks will tell you that you also need hood pins to prevent the hood from flying open at highway speeds (>70mph), but I don't know too much about that. One more thing, if you plan on autocrossing your car replacing body panels will move you to SM or some prepared class where the competition and level of car prep is very stiff.
4: I'd go with an AEM cold air intake -- it's much cheaper and you'll get more whp and torque from that than you would a header. Have fun!
Now the Axxis Ultimates are a road racing pad and just like the Hawk (HP+?) and Porterfield R4 they 're tougher on your rotors. They also dust a LOT more. I have the Axxis Metal Masters (or MM for short) which is the middle of the Axxis line. It's a street/race pad comparable to the R4S. I have comments from 11 users of this pad and they all told me they 're easy on the rotors with a life span of at least 20k mi. with some auto-xing. They do dust like all the others though. If a pad doesn't dust then it won't give you the grip you want, and it shouldn't be called a "performance" pad IMO.
The SS lines don't help very much with stopping power but give you better and stiffer brake pedal feel. I like that my brake pedal doesn't travel half way down anymore before the brakes start working. All I have to do is touch the pedal a little and they grab very close to the top. This also helped me with my times in auto-x. It shaves milliseconds and even 1/10's of a second because the brakes respond quicker to your foot with less pedal travel. I don't think you should do any of these changes until you start auto-xing. Your stock brakes will be fine for the first few events. After that you 'll notice some degredation. I auto-xed the GSR on stock brakes for more than 1 season (a few events in '99 and the full '00 season, about 22 events). The GSR rotors are more heavy duty than the Civic's though. After about 10-12 events I started noticing the brakes going down hill. I think this is because I was doing a lot of Porsche & BMW events then, and their fast courses are harder on the brakes. The local SCCA clubs don't design their courses to be as fast because they incorporate more turns and slaloms and try to get as many transitions as they can in that space, where as the above clubs design theirs to be like mini road courses with a couple of 90 & 120deg. turns. It sucks going 60-65mph and then having to stand of the brakes to make a 90 deg. turn. These type of courses quickly take their toll on factory brakes.
Like Casey said, you 'll be in a Novice class probably most of your first season (and you should be). The way they rate you though, is by an index according to what class you 're in.
For example: An Audi A4 2.8 (novice) in A Stock has an index of .79 and if you 're in FSP you probably have something like .84 (or .81, can't remember). The Audi has a best time of 41sec. and you 're best time is 40sec. The Audi has done better than you and gets the trophy, because 41 x.79=32.39
Your "indexed" time is 40 x .84 = 33.6 Lower # wins. This # is also called PAX. All cars are paxed in the Novice classes. Well in most SCCA clubs anyway. I doubt there are clubs out there that let you run against Novice Corvettes & Porsches and the guy with the best times wins. They have to use an index or handicap..
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
2. The tie bar helps strengthen the subframe points where the control arms mount. It actually mounts at the same points (holes) where the control arms mount on the subframe (the tie bar comes with big washers & longer screws because they have to go through both tie bar & lower control arm). This reduces flexing at those points where the control arms usually pull on, when your car makes a turn. So in essense the tie bar "ties" the 2 lower control amrs (LCAs) together, thus called the "tie bar". This also decreases camber changes and reduces the forces on the control arms, all resulting in more rubber on the ground. With an aftermarket rear sway bar it's barely noticeable though but it still helps. I have a Neuspeed lower tie bar BTW (it was only $69 for the black one w/yellow letters "neuspeed" on it - looks good).
The Neuspeed rear upper tie bar (ties the 2 shock towers together in your trunk) was a little bit more noticeable, but again, nothing spectacular. It gives you slight oversteer characteristics.
My dealer charges $320 for the set but I know someone that got it for $295 through EBAY (new). If you got the money and don't mind, get the Comptech set with both sway & tie bars. The Comptech tie bar is bigger (wider) and most likely more sturdy than my Neuspeed which is basically a 3/4" (approximately) round bar. The Comptech one looks more rectangular with a larger surface (looks like a DCSports one without those annoying holes).
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
Integraguy16, you are correct that a cat-back system can be made that is cheaper than a pre-made one. Two things to consider before you make your own: buy a muffler (ES Oval and Magnaflow seem to be the most popular, research honda-tech.com) that has a decent baffle/silencer system built into it if you care at all about having a quiet exhaust = less cops, less annoying, more sleeperish. Also, when getting the piping done by the muffler shop, have them mandrel bend it and make sure they aren't using some cheap material. It's more expensive, but you will get a better-flowing, longer-lasting exhaust as a result. As far as diameter of piping, it all depends on what you plan to do with the car. I would suggest something between 2"-2.3". My GReddy SP is something like 2.27".
Harry, thanks for the really nice info! So you know of many people that like the AXXIS MM? For some reason, I have heard many on H-T bash them (they said that they would rather stick with OE pads). I will need to look into them more. That's some horrible luck you were having with your Civic rotors! OT but, have you ever noticed your clutch squeaking the day after you drive the car hard? This seems to happen every once in a while and I do not think it has anything to do with me driving the car improperly. Wow! That is really interesting how the index numbers work between classes and within the novice class. Oh yeah, three topics up for grabs for you:
1) autox-oriented wheel alignment (worth it, or better to just stay within stock specs?)
2) Brake fluid (Valvoline Syn any good?)
3) Are SS lines something I can install myself (and how often do you bleed your brakes)?
Truth be told, Harry has indeed "learned me good." Like Garados said a little while ago, this was the first place anyone ever answered my questions, too. Back then, Harry and guy named Stephen were the only regulars on this board. (btw, what ever happened to Stephen?!? He's been MIA for almost a year now...) This place has be a great refuge for me, especially b/c H-T.com and others boards can be so full of b.s. and other noise. The other benefit of coming here is that my main interest (other than Integra issues) is autocrossing, and Harry has provided me some great 1-on-1 Solo II advice. He's seen me go from a struggling autocross novice newbie to a trophy winning (2nd place is my best finish so far) STS regular, who still has a LONG way to go... Harry, you must be so proud.
2: I don't know much about synthetic brake fluids. Harry swears by Honda brake fluid (I believe it's rated at DOT3) and I use ATE Super Blue fluid (which is DOT4). The ATE stuff is expensive and is probably over-kill for autocrossing, but I plan on doing a few track events this year (first one's in March -- woo hoo!) and you really want to have good quality brake fluid for track events because your brakes take an unbelievable beating there and get totally cooked! For autocrossing, you can get away with bleeding your brakes once or twice a year. For doing track events, most guys I talk to bleed them before each event, and at the end of each day if the next day is another track day.
3: S/S brakelines: You can do it yourself but it's a challenging job. I asked my Atlanta region DSP buddy to help me with mine b/c he had done his car and one other already. So I'd recommend finding a friend who has done it before. I also recommend having a service manual (Haynes or otherwise), a flare nut wrench (forget what size) so you don't strip the nuts holding the brake lines in place, a good/heavy duty pair of long-nosed plyers to remove and replace the small metal brackets that hold the brake lines in place (where the flexible line meets the hard line), lots of rags to wipe up all the spilled fluid, small baggies to tape over the ends of the brake lines to prevent dripping when you pull the old ones off the car, and plenty of brake fluid to top off the master cylinder (you'll be surprise how much fluid you lose in this process). Oh yea, and a brake bleeding kit is helpful, too. Hope that helps.
Anyway, it's the pads you want to upgrade more than anything. As far as the AXXIS MM go, back in '00 I had spoken to about 12-13 people that used them. 1 guy had bad things to say, another said they were so & so and 10-11 other people said it was a very good pad and gave them little or no trouble. I will admit the only "problem" if you can call that, is that they don't bite right away when they 're cold but I 've heard the same thing about the Porterfields and others so I think that 's a regular trait in a performance pad. What I do is tap them a little once the car is warmed up and I 'm moving after I leave the house. Under normal braking or on the street, the brakes will feel normal, unless it was early in the morning, cold out, and you had to make a panic/emergency stop blocks away from your house before you had a chance to use them at all. Where I noticed it first, was on a cold morning (~55-60 deg) auto-xing. The car seemed to travel a bit further, very slight difference, but I felt it. I can feel the slightest difference in my car especially when braking hard. I have a pretty good idea how the car should behave. Now that was only on the first pedal depression. After that the brakes were fine throughout the run. In warm/hot days I don't notice any difference on the auto-x course even though I get in the car after it's been sitting there for 2 hrs and line up at the start line. Anyway, I don't doubt for a sec. that there are better pads out there. Afterall these only cost $55 for the front & $35 rear, $90 total. There are others out there that are twice as much, but lets not forget the Axxis MM is a middle of the line pad, or a middle performer. It doesn't compare to the Ultimates or the Porterfield R4 as far as stopping power goes. These are road racing pads. I didn't want anything extreme because auto-x is not as demanding on the brakes since you 're braking from lower speeds, and I didn't want to chew up the rotors with these other road racing pads. So I feel the MM is an excellent pad for me and for my car's purpose which is auto-x. I found them to be an improvement over the stock pads and that's all that counts. If I find out I gotta replace my fronts lets say tomorrow, I would still buy these again because $55 is not a lot and I 'm happy they lasted the whole auto-x season plus another 5k mi. of hard street driving. Now if I drove the car daily and had to change the pads after 5k I 'd probably be upset but with 20 auto-x events in between I 'm happy.. My next pad will probably be the R4 since I want to do 1 or 2 track events, but I doubt the R4's performance will be relative to its price (double that of Axxis, about $200 for all 4). If it is, then I 'll get whiplash for sure
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
Now I 'm not selfish, and wanted you to be the most you can be, which is why I directed you to H-T.com back when you first came here, to complete your education, as I did with Thomas and many others before you & him.
The Integra Adv/Opin.#2 (which I started, as well as this one) had over 1,000 posts before the Edmunds black hole (software bug) swallowed it. The #1 topic before that had almost 2,000 posts and I was there almost from the beginning (Feb-March '99)! So you can imagine how many people I 've advised. But you Casey have greatly developed into the most well rounded Integra owner/modder/auto-xer & mentor to others, that has ever come to this thread, so I salute you and if I lived close to you I would present you with the Edmunds/Harry "faithful Integra topic" Award! Just kidding, I would 've at least paid you a visit and meet you in person. It's probably because you 're one of the very few people here that 's about my age and believe me there 's not that many of us! I used to know more people in their 30's owning Integras but a lot of them have sold them in the last 1 or 2 yrs and got sedans or family cars. So we 're a dying breed. Long live Integra owners! :-)
Next time this thread falls in the Edmunds abyss, you can start the next one Casey!
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
They should've gotten the GSR Sedan like me and bemathew! = )
I think that I need an alignment soon because of the combination of rear upper strut, rear sway, and rear camber kit throwing off my toe in the back. I think I may experiment with 1/64" toe on each front wheel (and zero in the back). The thing is, I was going to have the alignment done by my friend in auto-tech at the school but someone broke into the school garage and took (among other things) the alignment equipment.
I think I will research the differences between the Valvoline Syn and Honda fluid but will probably end up going with the OE brake fluid.
Today my modified suspension came in handy on the street when I had to avoid a sudden accident involving one of those big ole' Club Wagons ramming a Camry from behind. A little braking at the limit, engine braking, and a quick swerve were all it took but I did scratch my right front wheel very minorly on the lip of it (approx 2") when I skimmed the curb ever so slightly. Car still drives very straight and stable so I'm pretty sure nothing went wrong. I didn't even hear the wheel scrape at all. That was the drama for today.
Quick OT question:
I have heard good things about the SSR Competitions being very light and durable (as well as expensive). These are the wheels that the Realtime ITRs run. Someone else told me that they are really basically track only wheels because they are made for rotational durability (autox, RR) not impact durability (everyday street driving--potholes, etc.) Is this possible and/or true?
Oh yeah, and does anyone notice that clutch squeak after hard driving like I do?
I got my RE 730's today. Not yet installed.
Probably I am the only one around who is having a Stock GSR here.
Squeaking clutch noise: Had the same thing in my '97 HB! It came and went, but after about 100k mi. it was always there but to a lesser degree. The cable probably needed some greasing.
I now get it once in a while right after I come back from an auto-x run with my GSR! I 've noticed it as I drive back into the pit area. It only does that after the car has been aggressively driven (shifting at redline). Maybe the clutch fluid needs to be replaced. But wait, doesn't that feed off the brake fluid?
'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)
About SSR wheels~ yes, those babies are very nice -- about the same weight and price ($299/wheel - ouch!)as my dream wheel, the Volk TE-37s. A guy at the solo II divisional event this past August had them on his Civic Si, and I was very, very jealous. As I understand it, they only come in gun metal color, which does me no good cause I want my next set of wheels to be white. And Chem, you're correct in that these wheels would not hold up as well in everyday driving because they're really not made to withstand the abuse our roads dish out. A good sized pot hole, one that our stock wheels would sneer at, can cause these types of wheels to crack or otherwise break apart. And at that price, you really don't want to replace a wheel very often, if at all
I doubt your 're 5yrs older than me because that would put you in your early 40's. I just turned 36 in Dec! When you first came here (almost 1.5yrs ago?) I was 34. I think you 're 1-2 yrs older. But if I 'm not mistaken, Bemathew may be the winner in that department..
So now since you have undoubtedly earned your position in the "Acura Integra GSR - Advice & Opinions" board of directors (Hall of Fame sounds better), the next step for me, is to carefully watch your auto-x racing career and inspire you to be as successful as I was in '00 & maybe '01.
Bruce Bellom (Evolution School instructor and Nationally ranked driver) at my award ceremony gave a small speech about everyone that received a regional class championship award. About me he said (I thought he gave a pretty long speed about me compared to others) that I had improved by 200% from the previous year and that I have the makings of a higher level champ (divisional?) and that this year ('01) I was recognized throughout the region as the class leader in other non-SCCA clubs, etc. He also said that I had surpassed my brother! among other things..
So now set these as your goals Casey :-) I know you can do it! I did it in only 2 1/2 auto-x seasons (I started late '99). Ok, your next semi-annual review will be in July 1st :-)
Oh btw, I just finished doing my goals at work and had my review so that explains the above
'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 'm very confident that you 'll improve a lot more and do very well this year, so good luck to you and have a successful '02 season! 2nd place in a competitive class like STS is a great accomplishment especially in your first season.
41 eh? gosh you 're old :-)
For some reason the number 37 stuck in my head. Oh well I 'm glad I 'm not the oldest
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
Harry and Casey, what have you guys heard/experienced with the Falken Azeni? I have heard that they are a pretty nice street tire, cheap, STIFF sidewalls, weigh a little above average, and have low treadwear (to be expected). If I do get into autox like I think I will, I think I will get a set when my Kumhos wear out.
My last wheel alignment was May '01 at the dealer who didn't adjust anything because the caster was way off. I have that printout somewhere and I 'll look for it tomorrow. The toe had gone out a bit more front & rear. The front was about .019" or something close to that (which is slightly over 1/64", like 1/52"), and I was satisfied with that. The rear was less, like .008 which is very close to 1/128" so that wasn't bad either. These are total toe #s. Now I know the suspension has settled more since, so after I replace the control arm which will hopefully fix my caster problem (from the big pot hole I hit in May last year), I 'll get it checked again. I would like to try 1/32" toe out in the front next time around since I don't drive the car that much. I do put on 3-4k mi. driving to the events though. This time around I m' going to put the wheels w/R tires in the trunk though and put them on when I get there and then take them off again. This means I 'll have to get there earlier and do some extra work (god forbid I work out a little..) but I can't drive on the R tires back and forth to these events. I 'm sure I had some irregular tire wear on the Kumhos but it's very hard to tell because after 4-5 events, the tread is almost non-existent. Plus all those extra heat cycles driving back & forth on them doesn't help either. They wear out much faster..
So I gotta go to Home Depot and buy a nice jack now.
The Falken Azenis are really good tires from what I hear and great for auto-x. Can't beat the price. I saw a few guys using them on the last 2 events of the season and they did pretty well with them and good things to say about them.
So I would say, that if you really want to auto-x, go with 1/128-1/64" of toe in the front and 0 in the back, and get the Falken tires. I have been driving on my RE730's for the last 8 weeks (a couple of days/week) and I don't see any additional wear yet with my 1/52-3" toe. I don't think you get any serious tire wear anomalies until you go higher than 1/32". I 'm not saying that 1/32" won't take 2k mi. out of your tire life either, but that's not bad. Stick with 0 or 1/128" in the rear because right after I put the springs on, my toe was too high in the rear. This caused the tail to snap out a little too soon (I was on stock shocks then, but had the H&R springs) and one time when I changed lanes really fast doing about 90mph, I almost lost it when the tail started dancing. I thought it was the new RE730s, but later found out about the consequences of too much toe out in the rear and put 2 & 2 together. I think the rear toe was almost 1/32" before I got the 1st alignment! So stick with the lowest #s in the rear. From my experience, fast transitions at high speeds, and high toe out in the rear, don't mix well.
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
right age for a van or SUV?? I am planning for some mods in the near future. Now that my 99 GSR
(22K miles)is in Salvage-Restore title I don't have to worry about my warranty!!!!
I have fixed everything in the last two to three months. Complete Leather interior from a 98
four door GSR, Trunk lid with spoiler from 96 GSR.
Wiper, seat belts, floor mats, stereo everything fixed.
Only thing to be fixed is one part of the dash board. The place where glove box is attached is broken. Buying a used dash and uninstalling the existing one and installing the new dash could be expensive. A used dash (without air bags, vents, cluster) can be bought for less than $150. But I think insllation could be expensive. Any thoughts or ideas?
You were lucky those thieves didn't go under the hood.. but it looks like the interior can be just as expensive. Nevertheless I 'd rather have to restore the interior than get a new motor. I would 've put Sparco racing seats (probably red, <$1K) but I 'm sure you got a good deal on the used leather ones.
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
How did your car get stolen in the first place? Are you taking extra precautions now? Is insurance the same for a salvage-titled car or lower?
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)