Hey Guys,
For a bit of background, I have a 2001 Honda Civic, the derpiest of all of the McStrut generation of Hondas/Acuras, but it was my first car and for better or worse I am emotionally stuck with it. It has come a long was since I was 16 and is currently K swapped with a K24A1, RSX 5 speed, and 06+ Si LSD. Basically, I've built the most expensive base model RSX ever, but *shrug* it happens.
On the suspension side, I am running Konis and Ground Controls with camber plates, Comptech rear sway bar, ES front LCA bushings, Buddy Club RCA ball joints, and some other basic stuff. The primary purpose of the car (outside of being my DD), and the motivation for any more upgrades is autocross. The car has served me well, but after 5 years of autocross I am looking to improve some of the inherent problems of the EM2/RSX/EP3 suspension.
The biggest problem that I am currently facing is the lack of camber that I can get up front. I am lowered and like many RSXs, I run out of tie rod well before I reach the desired amount of camber. I am currently at ~1.2 degrees of camber while maintaining proper toe. This is no bueno as I am destroying Hoosiers almost as fast as I can get them on the car due to tire roll over and tearing up the outside 1-2" of the tire. (Run em to the cords right?) Fortunately, I survive on SM6/7 205/50/15 Miata take offs so the cost hasn't been huge, but I am considering upgrading to a "real" SMF autocross setup next year with 245/40/15 up front and 225/45/15 in the rear. I would really like to make one set last the season if I do so.
With all that being said, I would like to lay out my current plan to fix the front of my car and get some opinions/clarification from some of the folks around here. I have done a lot of reading on the forum over the years and believe I have found a reasonable path forward, but there is some conflicting info out there on some of the stuff so any additional input is welcome.
My current plan for this offseason to add camber (and caster) is:
DC5R front LCAs (already purchased)
SuperPro poly caster bushings
HardRace/K-Tuned adjustable inner tie rods
Hardrace/Buddy Club/Other 05-06 RCA ball joints
My goal is to reach -3 degrees of static camber with proper toe and have some modest increase in caster. I have a few specific questions about this setup though.
1. There is conflicting information about the DC5R control arms adding or removing caster and I am inclined to lean towards them actually reducing caster looking at a side by side with the OEM arms, yet I have heard anecdotal accounts of gaining caster with this change alone. Any expert/first had experience is welcome.
2. Does anybody have any experience with the SuperPro caster bushings? I have seen a few people with the HardRace/PCI spherical bushings, but I'm not really keen on $300 for a set of bushings when the SuperPro kit is less than half the cost.
3. Does anybody have any experience with the HardRace/K-tuned adjustable tie rods? As far as I know, both of these are fairly new to the market. For the longest time, Todd's tie rods have been the only product available to fix this problem and I am not a fan of them for several reasons, biggest among them is the price. The HardRace units are much more reasonable price wise and appear to be ground up designed to be adjustable rather than being modified OEM units.
4. Are the upper diameters (where the ball joints presses into the HUB) of the 02-04 and 05-06 ball joints the same? I know that the lower shank diameter of the 05-06 ball joints is larger and will fit the DC5R LCA, but I want to know if these will fit into my current hubs. I know King Motorsport makes (or at least has made) reducer bushings to run 02-04 ball joints with the DC5R LCAs, but if I'm going to spend $75 on those, I figure I might as well spend $150 and have brand new ball joints.
Bonus Pics from a track day at Oregon Raceway Park and from my first SCCA National Tour autocross event:
For a bit of background, I have a 2001 Honda Civic, the derpiest of all of the McStrut generation of Hondas/Acuras, but it was my first car and for better or worse I am emotionally stuck with it. It has come a long was since I was 16 and is currently K swapped with a K24A1, RSX 5 speed, and 06+ Si LSD. Basically, I've built the most expensive base model RSX ever, but *shrug* it happens.
On the suspension side, I am running Konis and Ground Controls with camber plates, Comptech rear sway bar, ES front LCA bushings, Buddy Club RCA ball joints, and some other basic stuff. The primary purpose of the car (outside of being my DD), and the motivation for any more upgrades is autocross. The car has served me well, but after 5 years of autocross I am looking to improve some of the inherent problems of the EM2/RSX/EP3 suspension.
The biggest problem that I am currently facing is the lack of camber that I can get up front. I am lowered and like many RSXs, I run out of tie rod well before I reach the desired amount of camber. I am currently at ~1.2 degrees of camber while maintaining proper toe. This is no bueno as I am destroying Hoosiers almost as fast as I can get them on the car due to tire roll over and tearing up the outside 1-2" of the tire. (Run em to the cords right?) Fortunately, I survive on SM6/7 205/50/15 Miata take offs so the cost hasn't been huge, but I am considering upgrading to a "real" SMF autocross setup next year with 245/40/15 up front and 225/45/15 in the rear. I would really like to make one set last the season if I do so.
With all that being said, I would like to lay out my current plan to fix the front of my car and get some opinions/clarification from some of the folks around here. I have done a lot of reading on the forum over the years and believe I have found a reasonable path forward, but there is some conflicting info out there on some of the stuff so any additional input is welcome.
My current plan for this offseason to add camber (and caster) is:
DC5R front LCAs (already purchased)
SuperPro poly caster bushings
HardRace/K-Tuned adjustable inner tie rods
Hardrace/Buddy Club/Other 05-06 RCA ball joints
My goal is to reach -3 degrees of static camber with proper toe and have some modest increase in caster. I have a few specific questions about this setup though.
1. There is conflicting information about the DC5R control arms adding or removing caster and I am inclined to lean towards them actually reducing caster looking at a side by side with the OEM arms, yet I have heard anecdotal accounts of gaining caster with this change alone. Any expert/first had experience is welcome.
2. Does anybody have any experience with the SuperPro caster bushings? I have seen a few people with the HardRace/PCI spherical bushings, but I'm not really keen on $300 for a set of bushings when the SuperPro kit is less than half the cost.
3. Does anybody have any experience with the HardRace/K-tuned adjustable tie rods? As far as I know, both of these are fairly new to the market. For the longest time, Todd's tie rods have been the only product available to fix this problem and I am not a fan of them for several reasons, biggest among them is the price. The HardRace units are much more reasonable price wise and appear to be ground up designed to be adjustable rather than being modified OEM units.
4. Are the upper diameters (where the ball joints presses into the HUB) of the 02-04 and 05-06 ball joints the same? I know that the lower shank diameter of the 05-06 ball joints is larger and will fit the DC5R LCA, but I want to know if these will fit into my current hubs. I know King Motorsport makes (or at least has made) reducer bushings to run 02-04 ball joints with the DC5R LCAs, but if I'm going to spend $75 on those, I figure I might as well spend $150 and have brand new ball joints.
Bonus Pics from a track day at Oregon Raceway Park and from my first SCCA National Tour autocross event:
The Search for Moar Camber on My Derpy EM2 (AutoX/Track)
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