Hey, my front strut bar is going on tomorrow and I am getting sway bars for X-mas. Should I order a rear strut bar too? With only a front strut bar and sway bars, will my suspension be all out of whack. I’m not going to lower my car, so what would be a good solid set-up for suspension? I’m not real knowledgeable on this suspension stuff as you can tell?
i think you’re going in the right direction, but you should really get some quality shocks and springs if you really want your suspension to be complete. and in answer of your initial question, a rear strut brace will stiffen up the rear part of the chassis. i have the spoon bar on mine, and anything to increase chassis rigidity will improve overall handling feel. it’s a plus in my book.
G2Integrity check out this thread if you havent already. im trying to find out which bars are actually worthwhile too
it will stiffen up the rear and improve cornering if you get the rear one mind as well get the rear lower one too.
How hard is the install of a rear strut bar? Are the struts behind those two plastic panels in the hatch that look like they come off? Anyone here with one that can give me a review?
installation should be easy. remove trunk panels, unscrew top two nuts on each strut mount, put bar on then screw nuts back
Of course the rear bar will make a difference, but anyone who tells you it “makes a world of difference” is lying through their teeth. The effects will be very subtle.
here is the order i would go in:
-springs/coilovers
-shocks
-sway bar(s)
-sticky tires
-rear lower tie bar
-front strut tower bar
-rear lower tie bar
after that your suspension is pretty much as done as it can be. I’ve got the first 4 things on that list, and I know there is NO WAY IN HELL i would trade any of those 4 parts for any or even all of the last 3 on the list. I say definitely work on the main ones first, it will be money better spent.
oh, and from what i hear, the rear lower tie bar makes the biggest difference out of the 3 (front strut, rear strut, and lower tie), and the rear strut bar makes the least difference.
thanks im gonna follow that and it does make the most sense. archivethis
Actually on our cars compared to other Hondas the lower rear is pretty stiff. The rear lower is the last thing you want to do. Springs, Shocks, Torsion (Sway) bars, Upper front, Upper Rear, Lower Front, Lower Rear. That’s an ok order. Here’s what they do to car feel.
Shocks - Brake dive, absorb shock.
Springs - Help reduce body roll, Help cushion ride only use higer compression (lower) springs with good shocks, otherwise your ride will be bouncy.
For performance a car with stiffer shocks and stock springs will handle much better than a car with stiffer springs and stock shocks.
Upper tie bar (a good one) - helps steering response, prevents upper stut towers from flexing towards or away from each other. noticable difference with wider tires.
Rear upper - stiffens rear, helps (a little) with our understeer.
Sway bars - Help with body roll a lot, helps transfer your cornering momentum to the tires instead of the suspension.
Don’t know what lower front does other than help stifen chasis, would notice more difference with poly-urathane bushings IMO.
My personal order, as far as difference, with time lag for budget.
Wheels/Tires
Front Upper
Bushings (time)
Sway Bars
Upper Rear
Shocks (Koni Yellows)
Springs
Another set of tires
Front Lower
Headers
Intake
Exhaust
Rear Lower
Mr. Integrity… you might want to check out Eibach’s Drag Launch springs since you are such the ‘street racer’. Make sure when you put on your strut bars to torque down the bolts to the proper specs, k?
If you don’t get good shock/springs you will not fully benefit from all the other components you want to put on. So, save your money and get some engine work done…IMO
gah i know its important but torque wrenches are expensive. the only torque i use is a lug wrench hehe maybe i should go look for a used one…
burnmysoul: i’ve talked to at least 2 or 3 people who have told me that on their G2 the rear lower bar made the biggest difference out of the 3 bars. And they are all good guys here, not just lame wanna-be racers from my area.
i’m not sure if you’re going from personal experience or what you’ve heard or comparing to other cars or what. If you’re going off of personal experience maybe your rear lower isn’t as good as theirs? I’m not sure.
and personally, I’d never put any of the strut bars or lower tie bar before springs/coilovers or shocks. Care to divuldge on why you’d choose those bars first?
Mainly price, but I think for the most part it’s personal preference. My Integra only has 85,000 on it so the springs and shocks are still in really good shape, so for me it was more benificial to add things that the car didn’t come with (tie bars) and then stiffen everything else. I put the front upper on first to compensate for having 205s. Also, I’m not going to get a really high rated spring H&R OE, so there won’t be a drastic difference in ride. I’m hoping to compensate for that on the track by getting Koni Yellows (which isn’t technically how you are supposed to do it), I may regret not getting stiffer springs down the line, but I had a stiff ride on my prelude, and was in heaven after buying the Integra, so I don’t want to make the same mistake again. The prelude only had springs/shocks, and was still sluggish around the corners. Most of that was chasis flex and stock torsion bars.
The only reason I say that about the rear lower is because I asked member .J. about what I wanted to do a while back, and he told me it should be last on the suspension list. I buy into that though, I think if I have poly bushings back there then it should be pretty stiff.
Again, I think order is a personal thing, all cars feel a little different (ie my teg doesn’t have that much understeer compared to most) and everybody wants different things. ( I want a car with a very small drop that has a soft ride over bumps but corners like crazy.) Maybe my logic is flawed, maybe it won’t work, but I wasn’t trying to give an imperical list on how to do it, but on how I would/am doing it. And it is highly motivated by my personal finances.
As for order here is mine:
Tires
Nuespeed Race Springs
Tires again (bad camber)
Ingalls Camber kit
Nuespeed Front Strut Bar
Energy Suspension PolyUrethane Bushing kit (all new bushings everywhere)
Rear Upper Tie Bar
(waiting on the list as next mods when money comes in)
Suspension Techniques Sway Bar (front and rear even though many say we don’t need front I still think we do)
Rear lower Tie bar
New Koni Shocks
New tires, again
And then I think I’m done for the upcoming Autoxing season!
did you think you made the right choices? anything you’d change?
NOt getting the camber kit sooner after lowering the car. And wishing that Nuespeed would make the rest of the bars for our g2 cars (rear upper and lower bars, front lower bar, and front and rear sway bars. There no love for our cars!)
The front lower for the CRX should work for our cars. Cusco claims their front lower works on the CRX and our tegs, I know for sure the front upper is the same part.
The lower rear for the EG is supposed to fit our cars also. Guess we just have to put down some cash for the spoon rear upper.
I’m really suprised your car is enjoyable to auto-x without some stiff shocks. Isn’t it really bouncy??
Actually it does really good on the autox track. NOt bouncy that I know of. But Then again it might be cuz I’m so use to it now. Its pretty firm when hitting pot holes and the responsiveness is greatly improved especially with the bushings.
ARCHIVETHIS