Since I'm such a speed freak I'm thinking of holding off the coilovers (1000$cnd once it gets up here) till mid summer and doing my power mods first. Car is still sitting on stock suspension and I'm wondering what makes the most difference in handling?

Coilovers

or

Frame connectors going from lower tie bar to rear beam (all in one solid welded peice)
All polyurethane bushings available
Front and rear strut bars
New Control arms/ball joints

I'm thinking of doing all of the chassis stiffening first. Will this be as noticeable as coilovers (Or at least as noticeable as struts/springs)?

 

Not a chance in hell, IMO.

In short, the stock suspension is far too soft to cause enough bushing compression or chassis flex for those things to be significant limiters to your handling, let alone for them to be bigger limiters than the high center of gravity and soft springs.

For handling, you definitely want coilovers first. Either set them high to preserve suspension and steering geometry, or set them as low as possible to keep your center of gravity low.

 

Thanks for the answer. At least I'll have everything setup and ready to receive the coilovers when they go in June or so.

Also, have you had struts/springs on your car? How much better do coilovers handle than struts/springs? Big difference?

 

A friend of min told me that his strut strut and spring combos example like the D2s, handled about the same as his Ground Control Coilover Sleeve with AGX. He also said that the ride was awsome too though, and a nice improvement. I believe that the newest Progress/Cattmans handle very well, according to Cheston, which is an avid road racer. JICs are probably up there too but other also said they weren't worth the money and other say they are the greatest coilover the aftermarket has to offer for us....I need to get some coilovers too...

Chris

 

I went straight from stock SE springs with GR-2s to the Ksports, and obviously that was almost a shocking difference. Night-and-day doesn't quite cut it.... Let me just say that on worn 205-section Hankook summer tires, my car wasn't even stressing while following my brother around a highway ramp at speeds that had his (stock) '96 Integra LS almost lifting a wheel.

As for comparisons with spring/strut combos, I will have to repeat what I've heard, which is again overwhelmingly positive. My favorite review is from Spaniard, who said that the difference going to Ksports from Eibachs/Konis was bigger than the difference from SE stockers to Eibachs/Konis. That's a pretty grand statement considering that Eibach/Koni is arguably the best spring/strut combo you can buy for our cars.

Plus, there are other neat little benefits... for example, people who add RSBs to spring/strut setups give mixed reviews, whereas those who add them to coilover setups have nothing but good things to say (I suspect that has to do with handling balance due to the spring rates). Also, coilovers like the Ksports make it easy as hell to change out springs, adjust ride height, etc...

 

Which is why you should come out

DC vs. MD vs. PA auto-x showdown

there is a an event prior to that up at Warminster 3/18, I am planning to go, let me know if you want to go up there (practice for the 4/1 event). You've done this once, unlike some of the other guys, so you should be fine for 4/1.

 

Damn, what a dilemma. I really want that blower too.

 

Not to mention, JClaw, Coilovers usually allow for a wide variety of adjustments. Most decent ones come with upper pillow ball mounts that allow camber adjustment, which can allow you to tune your car to either your driving habits or the track you autocross at.

You can also do a four corner alignment and get the car really dialed in. Just make sure the shop puts some weights in the drivers seat equal to how much you weigh.

In short, get the coilovers and pickup some e-bay parts to replace any worn out suspension pieces (all joints, bushings, etc).

 

the ultimate combo KONI yellows and GC Custom rates.....but yea stock is too soft to handle anything

 

Hey I am from philly do you guys already go and practice, I plan on checking out the event, this will be my 1st
96 se auto
mods: injen cai, y-pipe, flower master muffler, front strut brace, lowered 1/6 f/r b and g springs, drop mod

 

make arrangements to meet up with John (97SEdriver) and come down....the Virginia group will be arriving there around 10am, most likely.

feel free to jump in on the thread in the DC section, linked above.

 

Here's my take on the situation. I had my SFC's installed before I was lowered, so I can't really comment on that. But I do know that every person who has ridden in my car (that owns a Maxima) comments on how smooth the ride is, and how controlled it is. With that said, I still think lowering should come first. If you don't care much about ride quality, you can skip the chassis stiffening. Even though my car is stiffer than 95% of Maximas here, I'm still looking to foam my chassis when I get some extra money. The stiffer the chassis the better. It just boils down to what your priorities are, and how much money you have.

 

Did the handling improve much on the stock suspension? I'd imagine it would have been steadier and more consistent, but did it actually react much quicker or grip much harder?

 

I think the handling did improve, but it was more of an improvement in the ride quality/feel of the car. After putting them on the suspension felt like it could do it's job more effectively. I don't remember it really reducing body roll, but that's not really what its supposed to do.

 

aftermarket suspension will help your launches in drags as well... i know that matters to you claw

edited: pWnd by irish

 

don't ever say "1/4 mile" in this forum again!!!