Over the years I upgraded the
suspension to increase the handling of the car. I did the following
modifications to make the suspension perform the way I would like it
best.
* Skunk2 Pro-C Coilovers.
* Front upper and rear upper strutbar.
* Energy suspension master bushing kit
* Suspension Techniques swaybar front and rear 22mm
* Full-race traction bar
* Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres
* Front brake ITR 282mm upgrade
* Rota Slipstream 15" lightweight wheels
One of the first modifications
I did to the suspension was the installation of set Koni adjustable coilovers.
The Koni coilovers are adjustable in height and hardness. So you can
experiment with the setup of the car by changing this. An advantage of
lowering the car is that the centre of gravity moves down too, witch
will increase the handling and response of the car.Also you will decrease
understeer, one of the first problems you have to suffer when running
the original Honda Crx suspension.
After running the Koni coilovers for more than 7 years without any problems it was time to swap them
for a set of Skunk2 Pro-C Coilovers. To most important reason is that u can adjust the ride height
and the spring's preload separate from each other. So now I can lower my car to the level I want and
than adjust the springs to give it some preload. The Skunk2 Pro-C set is equipped with a 10kg/mm spring
at the front and a 8 kg/mm spring at the rear. U might think this is pritty hard and 'bumpy' on the
streets, but I think it is just perfect. (I come from the Netherlands, and we have good roads but a lot
of speedbumps!) If u live in a country like Belgium with bumpy roads ans holes in it I would still
recommend them because u can adjust the shocks on top at 12 different levels. U can really feel the
difference per level, so that is perfect.
After a while I decided to buy
some cheap strut bars. Because the car was lowered for about 4 inch I
decided only to buy the front and rear upper strut bars. Even though the
car was lowered and stiff as hell I could still feel the advantage of
installing these strut bars. When cornering u can feel the extra
stiffness and better balance of the car. This is a real good and not to
expensive modification.
The Energy Suspension master bushing kit is a real good upgrade for the suspension. After removing the old
OEM suspension busings the car feel like it keeps a better contact to the grond. And it response better in
the fast corners. Please keep in mind that it can make your car a bit more bumpy, but I was really happy
with this upgrade. After I installed the busings i had to do a full alignment to the car.
Because of my turbo project I had to use the Full-Race traction bar to gain enough space for the downpipe.
At first I did some study about how a traction bar works. It's main purpose is to eliminate wheel hop and
increase traction. Wheel hop basicly means that your wheel is moving up and down a bit when it's suffering
under the power of the acceleration. So your car losers traction, and this movement will also damage your
drivetrain components. So when we realize this it's not such an expensive investment anymore..
After I installed the Full-Race traction bar wheel hop was complete gone. It is a real good improvement
for the suspension when running a turbocharged Honda.
Currentley I'm running Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres (195/50/15"). This is a good street performance tyre.
It is a rather soft tyre and performs good also good in the rain. And it rains a lot in the Netherlands.
With my current turbo setup I should possibly change it for a pair of semi slicks. Because when I use
my launch control I have a lot of wheel spin.