MtnBikeAZ1
Senior Member
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2018
- Threads
- 4
- Messages
- 55
- Reaction score
- 80
- Location
- Tucson AZ
- Vehicle(s)
- 2018 Civic Si Coupe
- Thread starter
- #1
When I bought my Si Coupe, I wanted to add the Honda Factory Performance package for the upgraded suspension and wheels. My goal is the best handling Si Coupe that Honda can design. I want to try autocross in a stock Si—all Honda parts (except for the shift knob)! The Honda website lists all the HFP parts and a suspension upgrade as part of the kit. The dealer wanted $4,946 to install the "kit". However, when I asked about the suspension components, they said their parts guy couldn't find the part number so it was just wheels/tires and the body pieces for the almost $5K. I asked why Honda listed it if it didn't exist and got "maybe it will be out in a few months". The other Honda dealership had the same response.
Google to the rescue: College Hills Honda (Ohio) sells the complete kit including 19" wheels (made by Enkei), front & rear upgraded active dampeners and new control unit, front spoiler, side underbody spoilers, black lug nuts, floor mats, 3 HFP badges (everyone knows stickers add HP) with free delivery. Most importantly, four new dampeners with a new dampener control module. So I figured the kit plus tires for the new wheels and I'm good to go if I do the work myself.
Wrong! There are some other costs involved, so: (all costs rounded up to the next dollar)
$3,539 Kit
$1,127 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S (Costco: complete, out-the-door price)
$ 102 4 Wheel Alignment
$ 61 A HONDA DEALER HAS TO TELL YOUR CAR THAT IT HAS 19 in WHEELS w/SUMMER TIRES!
Total: $4,829 which is $117 less than the dealer; so its like I got the upgraded suspension for free which is ~$1,600 by itself, uninstalled.
Install went well, the side underbody spoilers are amazingly easy to install. The College Hills Honda website has great installation instructions. I had asked a local shop how much to install the two front dampeners because I didn't want to mess with the ball joints, they wanted $370 just to replace the two dampeners. When I did it myself, I found that you don't have to press out the ball joints, just take the 3 nuts off the bottom of the ball joint and continue with the install. The rear dampeners are easy to install. The real pain is taking out the interior driver's side panels and rear seat to get to the dampener control module.
Between the suspension install and shelling out the $$$ for new tires, several weeks went by so I took my car for a 4 wheel alignment with the new suspension but stock wheels. I went to a really good shop that specializes in autocross and race car alignments. The alignment made a noticeable difference in the handling of my car. Even though it didn't pull to one side, both front wheels where toed out so it would track to the side that had the pothole or bump. However, that went away with the alignment. My car only had 2,500 miles, but I wish I had done the alignment before the install just for the improvement and to catch the rear wheel issue. My wheel was tilted in but they found that my left rear wheel couldn't be adjusted to spec since the rear control arm isn't adjustable. Since I had installed the suspension myself, there was no going back to Honda on warranty (even though there is pretty much no way to install the rear dampener incorrectly as long as you put weight on the suspension to torque). The shop wanted $260 for an adjustable control arm and the install, plus pay some charge to check the alignment again. I ordered the same part from Amazon for $100 and installed myself. I have an appointment for this Friday for another 4 wheel alignment so my actual price is $202 over what's listed above since I had the rear wheel issue.
The Good:
- Great grip with the new wheels/tires
- The wheels are made by Enkei for Honda
- The 19 inch wheels weigh about 25.5 lbs without the tire which doesn't seem bad for the size
- In Sport mode, the car stays flat in the turns, even better than before. In regular mode, its a better daily driver. It's really good with the new suspension and the stock 18 inch wheels. For someone who wants to improve their ride comfort, that's a good combo.
The Bad:
- A couple of less miles per gallon with the new tires.
- It takes a Honda computer to tell your car's computer that it has 19 inch wheels with summer tires. When I called the dealer, they didn't know what I was talking about. So I took them the instructions. The tech came back saying "wow, the car will let you go all the way up to 22 inch rims". I wanted to skip this step, but after installing the new wheels/tires, I would get wheel hop on hard accelerations. There has been no wheel hop since I've had it done.
**Can some of you smart mechanical folks chime in on this issue? My plan was to daily drive the 18 inch wheels and use the 19 inch wheels for autocross/sport driving, but that doesn't look doable since there doesn't seem to be a way for the owner to change these settings. I've included a pic of the first step of the instructions which state, "Connect the i-HDS/DST-i to the data link connector..."
Long write-up, but I wanted to share my experience in case others are interested in these additions.
Google to the rescue: College Hills Honda (Ohio) sells the complete kit including 19" wheels (made by Enkei), front & rear upgraded active dampeners and new control unit, front spoiler, side underbody spoilers, black lug nuts, floor mats, 3 HFP badges (everyone knows stickers add HP) with free delivery. Most importantly, four new dampeners with a new dampener control module. So I figured the kit plus tires for the new wheels and I'm good to go if I do the work myself.
Wrong! There are some other costs involved, so: (all costs rounded up to the next dollar)
$3,539 Kit
$1,127 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S (Costco: complete, out-the-door price)
$ 102 4 Wheel Alignment
$ 61 A HONDA DEALER HAS TO TELL YOUR CAR THAT IT HAS 19 in WHEELS w/SUMMER TIRES!
Total: $4,829 which is $117 less than the dealer; so its like I got the upgraded suspension for free which is ~$1,600 by itself, uninstalled.
Install went well, the side underbody spoilers are amazingly easy to install. The College Hills Honda website has great installation instructions. I had asked a local shop how much to install the two front dampeners because I didn't want to mess with the ball joints, they wanted $370 just to replace the two dampeners. When I did it myself, I found that you don't have to press out the ball joints, just take the 3 nuts off the bottom of the ball joint and continue with the install. The rear dampeners are easy to install. The real pain is taking out the interior driver's side panels and rear seat to get to the dampener control module.
Between the suspension install and shelling out the $$$ for new tires, several weeks went by so I took my car for a 4 wheel alignment with the new suspension but stock wheels. I went to a really good shop that specializes in autocross and race car alignments. The alignment made a noticeable difference in the handling of my car. Even though it didn't pull to one side, both front wheels where toed out so it would track to the side that had the pothole or bump. However, that went away with the alignment. My car only had 2,500 miles, but I wish I had done the alignment before the install just for the improvement and to catch the rear wheel issue. My wheel was tilted in but they found that my left rear wheel couldn't be adjusted to spec since the rear control arm isn't adjustable. Since I had installed the suspension myself, there was no going back to Honda on warranty (even though there is pretty much no way to install the rear dampener incorrectly as long as you put weight on the suspension to torque). The shop wanted $260 for an adjustable control arm and the install, plus pay some charge to check the alignment again. I ordered the same part from Amazon for $100 and installed myself. I have an appointment for this Friday for another 4 wheel alignment so my actual price is $202 over what's listed above since I had the rear wheel issue.
The Good:
- Great grip with the new wheels/tires
- The wheels are made by Enkei for Honda
- The 19 inch wheels weigh about 25.5 lbs without the tire which doesn't seem bad for the size
- In Sport mode, the car stays flat in the turns, even better than before. In regular mode, its a better daily driver. It's really good with the new suspension and the stock 18 inch wheels. For someone who wants to improve their ride comfort, that's a good combo.
The Bad:
- A couple of less miles per gallon with the new tires.
- It takes a Honda computer to tell your car's computer that it has 19 inch wheels with summer tires. When I called the dealer, they didn't know what I was talking about. So I took them the instructions. The tech came back saying "wow, the car will let you go all the way up to 22 inch rims". I wanted to skip this step, but after installing the new wheels/tires, I would get wheel hop on hard accelerations. There has been no wheel hop since I've had it done.
**Can some of you smart mechanical folks chime in on this issue? My plan was to daily drive the 18 inch wheels and use the 19 inch wheels for autocross/sport driving, but that doesn't look doable since there doesn't seem to be a way for the owner to change these settings. I've included a pic of the first step of the instructions which state, "Connect the i-HDS/DST-i to the data link connector..."
Long write-up, but I wanted to share my experience in case others are interested in these additions.
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