Think about it… your stock control arms and bushings are nearly 20 years old.
New bushings from Honda run $25’ish a piece. Most people aren’t going to spend ~$150 for bushings, then la bor for someone to press out the old bushings and press in the new ones. Its considered easier to spennd that same money on something that is pre-assembled. Not to mention more lightweight, and as you said, flashy.
Not only that, but some models of car (Civic Si vs Civic Vx) don’t have mounting points for a rear-sway bar. Buying aftermarket LCAs resolves the issue. Rather than, again, spending money on used/oem parts.
As far as a sub-frame brace… Why do Integra Type-R’s come with upgraded rear subframes, additional/upgraded sway-bars and stiffer frame work? Because the LS/GSR models aren’t suited for high-performance track abuse.
Of course there is such a thing as overkill… Just use common sense and think things through. Does your daily driver absolutely need upgraded sways and stiffer frame? Probably not, but they do change handling characteristics of the vehicle.
I’m personally not a fan of aftermarket LCA’s. Generally they are just bling. They market them as being lighter than stock, and yes, that’s true. But who really needs to lose weight there? Pretty much only people with race cars. And even then it may be wiser to opt for a stock LCA due to their strength.
The other argument is bushings. That’s somewhat valid, but it depends on the brand of LCA you go with. Many of them come with bushings which are complete and utter crap (think, bushings that don’t last more than a year or so). If your goal is to get new bushings and you find an aftermarket LCA with the quality of bushing you need and it’s cheaper than other options, then yeah, maybe it’s the best route to go. But if your goal is bushings then you’re talking about the entire car anyway so it may be a better option to go with OEM, ES, Hardrace or Mugen. Anyone who uses bushings as an excuse and isn’t replacing every suspension bushing on the car is just fooling themselves. You gotta do them all, simply getting new LCA bushings isn’t going to do jack in the scheme of things.
As for the ASR brace, there may be some benefit there, but from what I gather the benefit is more the different bar options than the brace itself. 90% of the people running these are not getting significant benefit out of it. It’s a very nice part, but in no way necessary. I’m unsure of the rigidity it offers and only someone who seriously races their car would be able to answer that. There’s also the strength benefit. There have been stories of people tearing subframes due to larger sway bars - or at least that’s what has been talked about. I originally was worried about this with my Progress bar. But so far it’s been fine and it’s seen multiple track days this past year as well as track days and autocrosses when it was owned by another member. Anyone running a Beaks and an ASR is a complete Moron. It’s like getting a cast for a broken arm and then putting a bandaid on that cast for good measure.
I’m always tempted to get an ASR when they come up for sale, but then common sense kicks in and tells me that I really don’t need one, that other things are more important (most important of all - more seat time!). Eventually I probably will get one, but mainly because it’ll give me more options and a more convenient mounting setup. I’m not a huge fan of how my Progress bar is mounted and wouldn’t mind cleaning things up eventually. But for now it’s not a weak link. I would also be weary of going from a stock rear sway bar to an ASR if you’re not familiar w/ performance driving or car control. Depending on the rest of your setup, your ability, and how you drive the car, it could result in a car which isn’t the safest.
ok thats what i think that lcs are just for show they dont do anything just make its lighter i been looking at full race hondas in japan and dont dont even have the bullshit that is being sold here i always said that lca dont do anything but other people said they do and when i ask them what it does there just stuck. i mean the bolt up points are the same from the stock ones to the aftermarket ones so what are u getting out of it to me nothing i thing its straight bullshit
ok bushings yea i belive u there if ur ganna change some them change them all its like buying r comps and just mounting one on your car its like wtf i think the bushings thats come in the lcas are crap
i still thing the asr is nothing to, like its a solid peice in the middle idk if it is weak or not but i just see it as a solid peice on a solid peice BUT! IT MIGHT I STILL WANT TO KNOW MORE AND UNDERSTAND I JUST WANT THE TRUTH IS IT GOOD OR NOT HOW DOES IT WORK IT ONLY BOLTS UP IN 2 BOTTOM PLACES AND THATS IT IDK I THINK ITS NOTHING BUT IDK LETS SEE WHAT PEOPLE SAY
i agree yes more time behind the wheel is good its like this or correct me if im wrong you got to know ur car and take steps. i mean say u get in a full race car ur not ganna know how to drive it cuz u dont know the car and even if it’s ur car and u putt so many suspension parts its to it u cant just expect to jump in and be fast it take time
sorry if i dont really make sence or for bad spelling
I think the ASR piece is a great piece. Very high quality. But for the majority of people it’s overkill. Not that overkill is bad, everyone has to decide where they fit in that spectrum. Some people like to buy a Ferrari and just let it sit in the garage and look pretty, other people like to buy $500 crap cans and use them way past their full potential. Same goes for something like the ASR. There’s really no reason for most people to have one, but it’s nice and isn’t doing any harm by being there. For many who are budget conscious their money would be better spent on other things since you can get a good sway bar setup for less than half of what an ASR costs.
I’m in Long Beach. I posted a list of my suspension mods in THIS thread. But I’m planning on a decent overhaul over the next month. Nothing drastic as far as the main stuff but I’ll be getting all new bushings, wheel bearings… a bunch of stuff. Just hoping I can get it all done quick enough because the first HFF event is Feb 12th.
I believe aftermarket lcas, tie bars and rear subframe “braces” really don’t do a whole lot except for empty your wallet… lol I’ll admit they look hella nice though!
every person builds their car for different reasons… either illegally racing on the street or canyon or to try and preserve a car that is actually getting rarer and rarer or to just keep it stock… if everybody built their car for the same reason then that be gay… but i guess thats too hard like other things to understand for some… if you spent a couple thousand on restoring a car to how you like it, are you just going to risk it all by racing it?? potential impound, ticket, accident, or hitting somebody else… IM NOT but ey maybe you are…
i can justify destroying a car like a ef hatch or crx to become the ultimate experienced racer… but to do that too my DA that i cannot do… im thinking alot of people feel this way on here… they realize that DA’s are getting less and less so they better preserve what they got cuz in five or ten years itll be a different story… did you think about that?? before you started bashing on everybody saying that everybody builds their cars for other people and stuff?? uuunnnh no its called asking others who have the same car or even the same parts their opinions… not one thread is on here saying tell me how to build my car for others will like it… show me one. the only person alienating themselves and stirring the pot and thinks that only “Colin” can relate to them is you lol and it makes me laugh…
For the record, I am in no way endorsing ANY type of street racing. Every time I mention racing or performance driving it should be assumed I am talking about doing so with the proper safety equipment on a proper race track or autox course.