[evotec1]

So I'm putting in new ucas lcas bushings basically everything but tie rod ends (which I did last year) and pressed in new lower ball joints.

The shocks are trashed. I have ZERO CLUE about rates for the springs but theyre blue, generic, and about 7 inches high uncompressed. They are thinner in the back which I take to mean their advertised rates weren't all the same. The perches are adjusted to full high and give us about stock ride height. They work fine, came on the car, and are holding up well after 4 years of use.

The back bounces over certain road conditions but I'm willing to bet those shocks are trash too, and perhaps the rear spring rates are a little high. It rides super soft though so I dunno if we have barely different from stock ebay springs or the 400lb ones people say they get. I have a hard time believing 400lb linear springs ride better than my blue car's hr touring cup kit though.

Being that I'm headed out of town I had the parts store come up with some gr2's that are a day out just to get the car back together in time for an alignment before I leave the wife and kids for 2 weeks.

Being that the back bounces now I doubt gr2 was the correct damper even for the fronts but they should give me an idea of where to go next. Or hell if they really are super soft ebay lowering only springs they might feel great! Lol we'll see after my compliance bushings come in Wednesday.

Any ideas of how I might test the springs though or does anyone have experience with similar generic ebay springs with no rate markings? What shocks worked well for daily driving in your own non race ebay sprung setup?

I know... Ppl are gonna be like throw it all away but cmon. It's not a performance application and they've survived some pretty bad roads and major use. My blue car has good stuff so I know to PURCHASE quality. I'm a believer in leaving well enough alone and the pre existing white civic stuff has never given me reason to doubt.

 

[mattliston]

so, what car is this?

Might be easier to just go grab new OEM struts at a honda dealership. They ride so much better than any repalcement on the market outside of true coilovers

 

[evotec1]

92 lx the car in my pic. Other car has mods in sig.

Honda dealer is back on the west side and she needs it going before I leave. The touring cup kit on the blue car rides great btw but this thing feels SOFT.

We run a taller tire too so idk if stock would work out. 185/65 15. We have about two fingers to the fenders as is.

 

[mattliston]

Well, if you think the taller tire is playing with it, pump them up 10psi or so, and see if it is a major difference.

Might jsut be soft sidewalls!

 

[evotec1]

Oh it came on 45 series sidewall cheapies. It rolls on michelin grand touring tires now and yeah it made it feel even softer for sure. I actually really like em. They are stiff enough they handle great despite the quiet, almost luxury ride.

The new shocks and fresh everything added 1 finger to the wheel gap after indexing everything and holy cow did a beefier pair of snap ring pliers make the lower ball joint a smoother task.

Some parts were installed in the wrong order previously (a big flat rubber insulator was just flopping around for one) and I added a...now that I think about it a FINGER SIZED coil spacer to get the flat spring to sit right in the stepped seat. It was just thrown on there before. Now I'm gonna have to do something with the back because the increased gap is noticable. Jessica isnt gonna dig it when she sees it... Maybe it'll settle?

I'll report back once its aligned. Still waiting for the compliance bushing to come in and internally debating whether to get koni str.t shocks for the rear to try minimizing bouncing. Thoughts on that?

 

[Oldcivicjoe]

Konis are nice units, had to switch from kyb agx to koni reds in the rear when I switched from 2 door to 4 door, took the poly trailing arm bushing harshness out of it.

 

[evotec1]

Well it feels better. The front definitely needed ball joints and bushings, ended up doing outer tie rod ends since it was getting aligned anyway.

The back still makes noise and bounces, but the dealership that did the alignment says the rear pads are down to under 3 mil, theres weeping/minor leakage (assuming slave cylinder) and that the shocks are toast. So the rear is definitely getting attention next.

Im just hoping bushings look ok enough to put off breaking bolts replacing that stuff. Does anyone ever knock off those weldnuts and just drill em out to use a beefier nut and bolt as a precaution? Lol... Ive broken 3 lca bolts out of 6 attempts. One on INSTALL. Only ever had one time go flawlessly.

 

[Henry44]

Im just hoping bushings look ok enough to put off breaking bolts replacing that stuff. Does anyone ever knock off those weldnuts and just drill em out to use a beefier nut and bolt as a precaution? Lol... Ive broken 3 lca bolts out of 6 attempts. One on INSTALL. Only ever had one time go flawlessly.

We often end up cutting of the captured nuts and using a nut/bolt combo, mostly due to the rear LCA bolts getting blasted with gravel spray. This trashes bolt heads and exposed threads. A nut/bolt system is easier to remove with a cutoff wheel than the bolt/captured nut system. We use the same diameter bolts as oem.

 

[evotec1]

Well now that im six hours out of town shes telling me its pulling pretty hard to the left on the highway. Im worrying myself out of sleep that I overlooked torquing something and maybe something is loose.

Ive asked her to get the tires set to 35 psi and if that doesnt fix it to drag the brake lightly at speed to see if that changes anything.

Doubt ill get much sleep til i figure out whats up

 

[mattliston]

Is this pulling AFTER an alignment?
Alignment shop might have left a tie rod sleeve loose and it is tightening itself with road vibration.


Ask to see two pictures of the front wheels with the rear wheel in the background. CHeck toe roughly