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Suspension opinions ?

Andyjdmteg

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Hitchin
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Accord Type S
recently took re-ownership of my accord and before emigrating my friend decided to remove and sell the coilovers fitted and replaced with the old oem stuff.
I think it's safe to ***ume they are knackered - car likes to wander and the slightest bump in the road is excruciating with the steering wheel being knocked about etc. The body of the car noticeably dips and rises under braking/acceleration.
Now before anyone talks about bushes etc bear in mind it has new front upper mounts, steering rack, track rod ends, drop links, d bushes and complete lower arms (all in the last 3k miles). All the rear bushes are fine and some are even the stiffer poly eurothane type (not sure on make. they're blue?)
I've been looking at some budget solutions and quite surprised as to how pricey the oem stuff is.
I've narrowed it down to two choices and just need to know if anyone has any experience of using them.
The first being the Tein Street Basis kit and the other being the HeelToe "A spec" kit (there own version using koni/eibach stuff) the link for which is here -

https://www.heeltoeauto.com/shock-spring-kit/heeltoe-automotive-a-spec-hfp-evo-coil-over-damper-set-2004-08-acura-tsx-all-models-p-cl9-ase-hta.sp-cl9-ase.html

Anyone experienced these or can think of an alternative for the same kind of money? I'll be fitting them myself at a mates garage up on the ramp with access to air tools etc so won't need to factor in installation costs thank god.

This is something I plan to do - hopefully before July has been and gone although the car itself is surplus to requirements, I wouldn't want to sell it on knowing it's like this and I may even decide to do some other bits and perhaps keep and enjoy.

'Edit' I'm not looking for the last name in hardcore handling my track racing days are long behind me. Just like the car to be stable, comfortable and with a bit more of an eagerness to "turn in" (a little drop wouldn't hurt either!)
 
There are many options for our cars but as you mentioned you have to look that the car is for street use because many people made a mistake choosing the "right" suspension.
I bought my car with OEM coilovers and Eibach springs and i preety happy with the setup but still have a lot of body roll.
Now i'm planing to go with a combo of H&R which includes spring -50mm with higher spring rate compared to Eibach, sabiliser bars to prevent body roll and 15mm wheel spacers to improve lateral stability.

My advice is that avoid any racing stuff if you like a bit of driving experience which is not harming your back and the whole iteriors of your car.

If you want to change your coilovers check a bit for the dual spring setup like this one

http://www.vogtland-webshop.com/accord-cl7/vogtland/coilover-honda-accord-typ-cl7-cl9-cn1-limousine-sedan-vogt-p-75721.html?osCsid=n01rfbv5li5i0mbe7hn6lo3382

A friend have this setup on his Audi S3 8P and the drivig is incredible.
Normal driving trough some road holes etc. its realy confortable but when you need to push the car to the limit they do their job preety well.

You can still go with your renewed OEM coilovers and some decent springs.

If you have OEM Xenon headlights you can forget anything of aftermarket coilovers like in my case because from what i could find there are no options to attach the brackets of the height control for the healight to the coilover

Hope it helps :)
 
You didn't mention the front lower ball joints; these wear and cause the car to wander (sometimes they even come apart and cause a major suspension collapse). Often missed by MoT testers...
 
^^ if you have a decent mechanic you will never experience that.
However it's to keep in mind that and check the whole suspension system every regular service.
It takes maybe 1/2 hour but it's worth to prevent any surprises
 
I had tein super streets on my cl7 . replaced them with koni adjustable yellows from lark speed.with eibach springs.also reinforced dc5 top mount bushes..i really like this setup.best ive had.ive also had buddyclub n+ coilovers.

i wanted spoon springs but sadly discontinued

Also get progress rear anti roll bar
 
ukcl9 said:
I had tein super streets on my cl7 . replaced them with koni adjustable yellows from lark speed.with eibach springs.also reinforced dc5 top mount bushes..i really like this setup.best ive had.ive also had buddyclub n+ coilovers.

i wanted spoon springs but sadly discontinued

Also get progress rear anti roll bar
Were the tein not very good then..?

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Excellent feedback guys - thanks

Jon - no the car has been looked over but those ball joints have not been replaced. Is this something that can easily be missed on the accord? I've had a pry around with a bar myself and other than the d bushes on the front roll bar I couldn't see any play.

Jan - no thankfully it does not have xenon lamps

All good options though folks I'll look into them. Just dont want to throw heaps of cash on top end suspension for a car that's barely used and in reality not really worth that much in the first place (plus it would be wasted as it will never see a track).
 
interesting, I don't like the thought of suspension collapse! I might look into getting them changed for peace of mind.
 
I think the Vogtlands will be too pricey - 770 euro comes in at 669 gbp before postage.
The street basis kit I've found for 444gbp posted and the a spec kit from heel toe comes to 414gbp (minus shipping)
 
Andyjdmteg said:
Excellent feedback guys - thanks
Jon - no the car has been looked over but those ball joints have not been replaced. Is this something that can easily be missed on the accord? I've had a pry around with a bar myself and other than the d bushes on the front roll bar I couldn't see any play...
I had no idea my front lower ball joints were worn until I got an MOT failure. Only a year earlier I'd replaced the lower arms and thought the ball joints were ok.

I followed Goodluckmonkey's excellent guide on replacing these ball joints, to which I added additional advice in respect of protecting the ABS sensors, etc...http://typeaccord.co.uk/forum/topic/21333-front-lower-ball-joint-replacement/?view=findpost&p=226031&hl=ball+joints
 
Just read the excellent guide there but damnit - I don't have a blowtorch/ plumbers torch. Looks like I'll be booking some ramp (and tool) time. This just might push me into getting the suspension quicker now so I can get it all done in a day. I will likely have to book a Friday off so I can get the car re-aligned on the Saturday.
And as a bonus, my local Bosch centre has a new hunter machine in.
 
I didn't need to use my blowtorch. Ball joints came out fairly easily with a few firm taps from a club hammer and the new ones slid in with mild hammering (but had circlips that were a pig to fit). My problem was wrecking both ABS sensors whilst removing them... Leave them in place and instead disconnect the electrical connector on the inner wings!
 
Is it worth getting a second opinion first on whether there is anything wrong with your ball joints?
 
Good info Jon thanks for the replys. I think it's time to wade in and get these jobs done at the same time. Luckily the car doesn't have to be used in the meantime as it's surplus to requirements.
Just got to decide on suspension, I may go with the tein street basis kit or possibly fit some bilstein b4's along with h&r or eibach springs. decisions to be made I guess.

Incidentally, I bought the ball joints online this evening from Euro car parts - the pair came in at 43 quid delivered with their 30 percent discount code.

Sorry cliffirdski - just saw the reply. Your correct in saying that and would be the sensible thing to do but I might as well swap them out. Other than the suspension and the actual anti roll bar itself they're the only things that have never been changed.
At least I can have a bit more confidence in the car and if I do shift it on the new owner can take comfort that it's been cared for I guess.

Plus the paranoia !
 
Are the eibach any better? Had some fitted to an Astra years ago and they felt ok on the stock damper.
I'm not going down the anti roll bar route for now anyway, just extra cash that's not needed really. If the the old oem suspension wasn't on its way out the car would be staying stock.
 
Bilstein B12 kit.
It's B8 struts (which are a short B6)
and Eibach aprings.

More importantly, the damper cartridges are valved specifically to suit each particular car model, unlike most generic coilover kits.

From experience, you get both better performance and ride quality.

Having had 2 kits in the past, I'd never put anything else on my road cars now.
 
Had them on my Gen 6 and my civic can't fault them...

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ukcl9 said:
Yep eibach are great.ive never heard of anyone who owns a honda complain about them
I'm complaining about Eibach.
The springs was nounted on the car about 3 years ago and the last service i made on the car i checked the whole suspension system as always and i found both front springs broken and now i'm moving to H&R
 
B12 kit does have some good reviews but is still just too pricey for the car.
Having a quick glance I should be able to get some b4's and the eibach pro kit for under 400 quid delivered.
The b4's are it seems cheaper than oem, unless anyone here knows differently?
 
ukcl9 said:
There is always one
Of course it is. And after a bit of research i found a lot of them having the same issue.
I'm not trying to say that Eibach springs are not good because the ride with them is very satisfying when you need them and still confortable but in my case they are not what i was hoping for
 
Quick update - fitted the ball joints which was an absolute pig and something I don't intend to do again anytime soon but was thanks in part to the excellent guide on here.
The car no longer attempts to fire you off into a bush when travelling over rough surface/cats eyes etc which is great.
ive ordered oem dampers due to the trade price I obtained and eibach pro-kit springs.
On another note it appears the exhaust may have developed a bit of a blow probably at the twin pipe joint thingy which is just awesome considering the recent outlay so will be looking to see if this can be welded up.
 
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