Best three upgrades for suspension/handling

[Skeegle]

Hey guys, with the Si's hitting the street and the talk of how incredible the suspension is, could anyone make a list of what the three best suspension mods would be for an EX-T owner?

Ideally I would like to recreate the Si's ride, as it wasn't available when I picked up my civic.

The Progress rear sway bar is something I have found on here, I'll be picking that one up, but as far as figure 8 and lateral G accel, what would be my three best options?

Thanks in advance!

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[ikbenben]

Good tires + coilovers should do it.

 

[exyia]

Tires
Camber Plates (nobody makes any yet)
Quality shocks (not cheap taiwan crap)

In that order. People swap out rear sway bars because they're easy to make and easy to DIY - not necessarily because they're the best upgrade.

 

[BarracksSi]

There's Honda HPD camber plates shown here:
http://www.turnology.com/race-cover...y-in-white-program-makes-racing-startup-easy/
Availability? No clue.

 

[Mannyp93]

My set up on my 16 EX is
Ksport coils on level 7 of 10
Sirimoto front strut and rear sway bars
Enkei M52's which are lighter than factory and Dunlop Direzza summer performance tires
One track day thus far and i was able to take turns at 50mph. 55mph started to get some screech from the tires. Looking for stickier tires next summer. I was able to hang with Golfs, M2s and a few ST's in the turns. I'd get yarded on the straights.

 

[gtman]

I think upgrading to stickier tires and a thicker rear sway bar are the best bang for the buck suspension mods for a front wheel driver. Definite must do's IMO.

 

[Skeegle]

My set up on my 16 EX is
Ksport coils on level 7 of 10
Sirimoto front strut and rear sway bars
Enkei M52's which are lighter than factory and Dunlop Direzza summer performance tires
One track day thus far and i was able to take turns at 50mph. 55mph started to get some screech from the tires. Looking for stickier tires next summer. I was able to hang with Golfs, M2s and a few ST's in the turns. I'd get yarded on the straights.

Golfs meaning GTI's or vanilla golfs?

Thanks for the replies, I'm getting that tires are the single best thing, however would they help with the soggy swishing when going into a turn? That's my main concern. Feeling confident around mountain roads. I never screech or break loose traction because the car sloshes too much. Do I have to drop $1000 on coilovers for that?

Exyia are shocks coilovers or are they different? Could you recommend a pair?

Thanks guys!

 

[gtman]

If you get a combo of grippy tires, a beefier rear sway bar and a front strut bar I think you'll find the car feels vastly better. Better steering response, more solid feeling over bumps and less body roll in the corners. That's what I'm planning on doing down the road to my EX-L sedan. I've done that to some of my front drive cars and the improvement is amazing for not all that much money.

I've also added things in the past like under-body braces too. It just depends on if you want a better handling car or a balls to the wall corner carver.

If you have unlimited funds you have many many more options like coilovers and the like. I've always bought relatively inexpensive cars and have modded them to handle better without investing a ton in the mods. Matter of fact, I had a 2002 Elantra GT hatchback (not exactly a car known for handling), added ultra high performance tires, lighter wheels, a big rear sway bar, a rear strut bar and a front strut bar. After those five changes not many cars could keep up with me in corners believe it or not. It gave me a big smile when some fairly expensive car lost to my Elantra GT. They had to be pissed.

 

[Mannyp93]

Golfs meaning GTI's or vanilla golfs?

Thanks for the replies, I'm getting that tires are the single best thing, however would they help with the soggy swishing when going into a turn? That's my main concern. Feeling confident around mountain roads. I never screech or break loose traction because the car sloshes too much. Do I have to drop $1000 on coilovers for that?

Exyia are shocks coilovers or are they different? Could you recommend a pair?

Thanks guys!

GTI's there were 2 one was a real GTI and the other was a Golf that had work done to it.

 

[Skeegle]

If you get a combo of grippy tires, a beefier rear sway bar and a front strut bar I think you'll find the car feels vastly better. Better steering response, more solid feeling over bumps and less body roll in the corners. That's what I'm planning on doing down the road to my EX-L sedan. I've done that to some of my front drive cars and the improvement is amazing for not all that much money.

I've also added things in the past like under-body braces too. It just depends on if you want a better handling car or a balls to the wall corner carver.

That sounds great and very doable thanks!

 

[bendrich]

I'm unsure if the Sport trim suspension is different, or if the extra butt weight makes a noticeable impact on handling.

But I find the car is VERY neutral with only some crappy grippy tires (federal 595 240tw 235/45/17). And I can still get enough oversteer rotation out of it when I need it with some throttle or brake manipulation. I'll admit, I do not know what kind of tire pressures I'm running besides that they were set to 32psi cold 1400 miles ago.

I would be worried that a rear sway coupled with less aggressive tires would cause excessive oversteer. If you choose to go this route, definitely ease into pushing the car. It will be a drastic change.

As far as coilovers go, I highly recommend KW if you're going down that road. It's only my opinion, but KW is the only company that will give you a boost in performance and comfort. Yes, comfort too. It's an investment, but a worthwhile one.

Also, I feel like a strut bar on these chassis is only adding weight. Anything post 2014 is insanely rigid.

 

[totopo]

Golfs meaning GTI's or vanilla golfs?

Thanks for the replies, I'm getting that tires are the single best thing, however would they help with the soggy swishing when going into a turn? That's my main concern. Feeling confident around mountain roads. I never screech or break loose traction because the car sloshes too much. Do I have to drop $1000 on coilovers for that?

Exyia are shocks coilovers or are they different? Could you recommend a pair?

Thanks guys!

Roll is mostly driver preference. As a novice driver, roll is probably a good thing; it gives you more feedback so you know how close you are to the limit.

It would probably be best to gain more confidence in the car in a controlled setting, like autoX or the track to find out where the tire limits really are. The stock suspension on the car is plenty capable.

One thing that can help confidence is the ghetto seat-belt lock thing. Move your car seat back, suck in your gut, tighten the belt as much as you can and then lock it, then move your car seat back up to your driving position. The goal is to get the belt as tight as possible while still be able to breath and turn it into a pseudo-harness.

 

[BarracksSi]

One thing that can help confidence is the ghetto seat-belt lock thing. Move your car seat back, suck in your gut, tighten the belt as much as you can and then lock it, then move your car seat back up to your driving position. The goal is to get the belt as tight as possible while still be able to breath and turn it into a pseudo-harness.

This works SO well, yet I don't know why few, if any, of the Youtubers doing the CTR test drives didn't do this. They're barreling around the track, sometimes complaining about the seat bolsters (usually when the guy's too skinny and narrow to fit, or simply too fat and crushes the bolster foam), and the seat belts are as loose as if they were going to the mall. The stock seatbelt can cinch down really snugly with that trick (I'm strapped down like that in my avatar, too).

Back to tires and stuff --

Grippier tires will, in all likelihood, break away more sharply, and while you're at higher speed, too. It's like what they say about a 4x4 off-roader: You'll only get yourself stuck farther from help.

All of this is fine if you're planning on hooning around the track or autocross course, though. Good tires will help a lot to increase grip and response, and your lap times will drop. A quicker-responding suspension will help the car keep up with the quicker-responding tires (but go too stiff and you'll just bounce over the bumps, and airborne tires can't grip anything).

So, yeah, my own list of best three upgrades goes like this:

1. Race school
2. More race school
3. More race school



Oh, you mean parts to buy for the car?

1. Tires
2. Camber adjustment (in our cars, camber plates for the front and arms for the rear)
3. Full shock/strut/spring swap (match everything to everything)
3b. Just shocks, if you know what to get and can't pony up for changing everything out.

Funny... this is exactly the parts list that exyia recommended, too.

 

[bendrich]

So, yeah, my own list of best three upgrades goes like this:

1. Race school
2. More race school
3. More race school

This

 

[exyia]

Funny... this is exactly the parts list that exyia recommended, too.

In other words, upgrade the nut behind the steering wheel first.

We're trying to say this without being assholes about it, but 99% of owners try to improve the car before improving the driver. I just threw decent (not even best in market segment) tires on:

I felt no need for sway bars, especially not a rear one. A front one possibly, but that would just be a band-aid fix for fighting the lack of negative camber. The car doesn't even really need stiffer suspension. It doesn't need a lower ride height. It just needs some camber first.

As nice as the Si feels, I don't think it handles actually much better than a non-Si Civic. Owners will be quick to hate on that claim, but I don't see any of them doing any real driving with it so....

Drive and get experience. Hell, find some nationally competitive autox guys at the event (if you have any) and have them drive your car. Just when you think you need to upgrade your car, you'll learn something about your own driving that you can improve on instead.

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