Suspension Upgrade / Mainly Daily Driver

[dlo253]

Okay, good haha. I have a few buddies who are very happy with their Skunk2 setup.
Don't sweat it man, once you get in there you will do just fine. It's a big job, but honestly it is pretty simple. Function7 is just about the best you can get for LCAs. ES bushings also, can't comment on how well they do because I haven't installed mine but most of the people I know have been happy with their kit.

 

[OneFastGSR]

I got full energy suspension bushing master kit on my integra and love it. I would put the kit on my civic to but It just needs suspension parts in general which most come with bushings. Function 7 LCA's are pretty much the best. Also come with lifetime warranty for bushings and they use energy suspension bushings in their parts. Only LCA's i'd say can compete with F7 is ASR LCA's because of the swaybar endlink mounting point is different than others and suppose to help.

 

[cpeehler7]

Alright, so my Skunk2 Coilovers came in yesterday. Look great, real excited to get them on the car in a few weeks. The Buddy Club camber kits are going to be here in a few days. I'm looking to order everything else that I will need for the front suspension. I'm probably going to do that first, since it's in worse shape than the rear. Also, I don't think I'll be able to finish front and rear in a day or two. I need a car to get to work and back...

So I just wanted to figure out exactly what I should be ordering. I don't want to forget anything, then need to wait for parts to finish. I also don't want to buy anything I don't need...

So for the front LCA bushings, I see on the Energy Suspension site that the Front control arm bushings are $44.99, BUT they don't include Front shock mount bushings. Which are apparently also in the center of the Front LCA. So do I need to order these as well? I'm reusing my stock lca, so this is the only part that will not come with its own bushings. The shock mount bushings are $18, so no huge deal if I need them. I just wanted to ask first...

I also found out that Acura lower ball joints are very expensive... On the ES site, they have MOOG lower ball joints $47.75 each, which is cheaper than the OEM ball joints. Is that overkill for my setup? I've read the cheap ball joints from autozone squeak after a year, so I'd prefer to avoid those.

I honestly don't know exactly what about the tie rod needs to be replaced. What do I need to look at? I think I found a thread on here earlier that said, if the inner tie rod can't support it's own weight it should be replaced. I mean after 150,000 miles would it just be smart to replace it? If I'm putting new everything around it, I imagine having one old part in there wouldn't be the smartest. Basically I'm asking, how much of it should I replace? Do I need the inner and outer/ what should I check? I can take some pictures if that would help.

Huge thanks again everyone. I'm getting close to having everything I need. Installation should be a little tough, but with all the tutorials here I'm sure I can figure it out. Now all I really need is for it to not be under 20 degrees...

 

[cpeehler7]

Hey again everyone. So I've just received the last box of parts for my suspension build, and will probably start working on it in a week or two. Whenever I have a weekend off. I just have a few questions about what things to look out for a novice might overlook.

I know I have to preload the suspension, which from what I've read on here basically means jacking the car to ride height before torqueing everything down. Is there anything else I should keep in mind when doing this work?

Also, I don't think I'll be able to get the front and rear done at once. So I sort of planned on doing the rear first, then the next week working on the front. I'm assuming it would be fine to take to and from work with the rear not perfectly aligned/setup for that short period of time, but doesn't hurt to ask.

I have talked to a local mechanic who is also an autocrosser. I'm going to have him align the car, and give my work a quick once over, and tighten the steering rack. I figured it would be better to get a local mechanic/racer to do the setup, rather than a random firestone. He'll probably know more about Hondas/Integras than some random guy at an alignment shop.

Pretty much all I'll have to do later on is replace he rear swaybar/subframe brace, and the trail arm bushings. Besides that, everything should be all good to go!

Once again, all advice on the build is greatly appreciated. Looking forward to testing the new setup out in a couple months come autocross season. Thanks a lot everyone.

 

[OneFastGSR]

I didn't see the first post till now, So i'm not sure if you got your questions answered there or not, As far as preloading the suspension, You can put a jack with a 2x4 under the brake rotor and raise it until it barely lifts off the jackstand and than tighten everything up, Or you can stack some 2x4's and lower the car down until the rotors sit on the 2x4's. I prefer the first way. As far as the inner and outer tie rods, To check the outer tie rod grab it by hand and push up and down if there's any free play in the joint than it needs replaced, If there's no freeplay but your boot is cracked, or corroded, You can buy a replacement boot if you don't want to replace the entire tie rod. To check the inner tie rod do it the same way but instead of push up or down, push it front to rear, If there's any free play at joints than replace. If there's no freeplay but the boot is corroded or broke, etc, Than you can remove the old boot, clean it up, and regrease, and install new boot.

Going through this on my civic atm to, Just got new front wheel bearings and wheel studs, About to get new outer tie rods and clean, regrease, and install new boot on inner tie rods.

 

[cpeehler7]

Thanks man, I found some Beck/Arnley tie rods, inner and outer pretty cheap. So I just ended up getting them, along with the same brand lower ball joints. They should be alright, the lower ball joint and the front lca bushings seem like they're going to be the only real hard part, aside from some welded on bolts that are bound the be there. I still haven't looked at the trail arm bushing, I saw you can do them without disassembling everything else. I figured if I need it I can do that later on.

Thanks for the info on preloading though, I think that's really all I needed to know. The rest I'll figure out as I go, and probably watch more diy videos too.

 

[dlo253]

I just got Moog lower ball joints from rockauto for 14.99 each. Had a few closeout ones in stock, then the regular price is like 22.99.

 

[cpeehler7]

I just got Moog lower ball joints from rockauto for 14.99 each. Had a few closeout ones in stock, then the regular price is like 22.99.

Wow, that's real cheap. The Moog for the 3rd gen when I looked were $28. That's what I ended up paying for the Becks as well. Fortunately they came with the 555 Made In Japan stamp on them. I've read that sometimes you get Korean ones, which aren't as good. I'm happy either way but, $15 is extremely cheap. Wish that deal was there when I bought mine hah.

 

[dlo253]

Yeah, I jumped on it haha. Trying to buy the rest of my parts for a total suspension overhaul as well. Almost done, lol.

 

[cpeehler7]

Yeah, I jumped on it haha. Trying to buy the rest of my parts for a total suspension overhaul as well. Almost done, lol.

It feels nice to be done googling for parts and deals. I was such a slave to my computer the last month, trying to figure out what I should get lol...

What stuff are you putting on it? Autocross car, or just daily?

 

[OneFastGSR]

dlo I wish I checked rock auto, They had the moog outer tie rods I just bought from summit for $20 pce + $10 shipping, Rockauto was $18/pce + $5 shipping. I bought parts for the teg on same order so I got free shipping so it's whatever. But I guess I should check rock auto more when looking for stock replacement parts. Lol

 

[FauxTypeR]

It feels nice to be done googling for parts and deals. I was such a slave to my computer the last month, trying to figure out what I should get lol...

What stuff are you putting on it? Autocross car, or just daily?

hey man how are those Skunk 2 coils? stiff? comfy?

 

[cpeehler7]

hey man how are those Skunk 2 coils? stiff? comfy?

I would read what OneFast posted on the last page, I haven't installed them yet. I'm looking to get it all done this month, but that's quite a while to wait. Also I'm probably going to be extremely biased once I get them on, because my current setup is very bad haha. It's real worn out, lots of creaks, and very "stiff" but not in a good way. Also, I'm changing just about everything all at once (bushings control arms ball joints tie rods etc...) so the improvements will probably be a combo of everything.

All I can really say at this point is that they look/feel like quality parts. I think if you can't afford the Koni / GC setup, or just want a coilover to install easily, the skunk2 is the way to go.

That said, if you're still in the market when I get my car finished I'll let you know how they feel.

 

[cpeehler7]

Alright so, I'm going to be doing the rear suspension this weekend. I just bought a nice impact driver/gun, couldn't break any bolts the other day when I tried... Also I'm going to pick up a torque wrench tomorrow morning.

I saw that there are torque specs for all of the suspension parts. Downloaded the Integra repair manual, so I have all the specs. Just curious, what would happen if I didn't pay attention to them and just did the work like an idiot? haha. I'm not asking if I should do it, I just haven't found any legit answers regarding suspension on google.

Wish me luck, the rear end of the car seems extremely straight forward. Now that I have the impact gun, it should be simple.

 

[Ryan659]

Your car could swerve out of control and you could DIE!!

:lol: if you don't know what you're doing, then stop doing it until you find the right way to do it