Supporting Mods: Grip and Control

I often think of and speak of this project as an engine build up and swap. This is where it started of course. A free engine? Sure, why not. There's a kit that fits it into my car? That'll help! But we all know there's more to a car than the engine. And those other parts must cooperate and work in harmony with the type of engine and it's particular performance characteristics.

First priority: Tires/wheels. Any sense of control and all of the driver's inputs are nothing without them. I spent a lot of time weighing my options, comparing specs, exploring alternatives before I chose the tire I wanted. As it turns out the best fit for me wasn't available in the right size... but it was available at a deal for a wheel one inch in diameter larger. To add to that though I liked them fine on a red DX coupe with some dark metallic paint, I didn't necessarily care for the "steelies" on the sedan. Especially with the factory wheel covers.

{Original Image}

So when the need for new rubber coincided with adequate funding for a set of slightly larger wheels, I put my plan into action. Of course style was important too since wheels would be the only major modification to the look of the car. I wanted something conservative and factory original to keep a low profile, ensure a perfect fit and meet my expectations of quality. So this...

I went with the OE '99-'00 Si coupe equipment. The same basic chassis and styling as my sedan. They suit it really well in my opinion. But the important part is that they allow me to use the tire I wanted; Yokohama Avid ENVigors. So far it seems I made the right choice. I have to stop myself from turning this into a review of these tires. Maybe I'll come back and do that after I get some more wear on them. 

Fun fact: I weighed the old wheel/tire combo and compared to the new... identical! to the tenth of a pound! Wider, stronger and with shorter sidewall/larger wheel OD/better aspect ratio but no weight penalty. 

But there's a problem still. It's visible in the picture above. They make the car look like it's been lifted! If only there were something I could do to fix that... oh yeah!

Lowering springs. At 150k miles they say you should replace shocks. Now is as good a time as any- I've got about 155k on the clock. So if you're curious, these are Tein S.Techs on KYB GR-2/Excel-G shocks. They advertise about 1.5" drop. It's a little closer to 2" once they settle. I replaced the bump stops with OE bits cut down as prescribed by Tein in the included documentation. 

I couldn't stop there of course... new spring mount rubber and new "top hat" bushings from Honda were installed. Like new, just lower. They are also stiffer and the handling benefits greatly. How much stiffer? Not as much as others. The spring rate is only a hair higher than factory Civic Type-R springs. 

The result:

And to cover all of my bases in supporting the added power to come, capable brakes. With the new tires and relatively low curb weight the standard size seems to be more than adequate at slowing the car safely from highway speeds. For the moment then I've just put high quality replacement parts on. There are a number of "factory parts" upgrade options if I decide later the current set up isn't holding up to the big, bad F. Most of them include swapping the knuckles to ones from the EX trim level. Not a hard job, but I know I wouldn't let myself install them without new bearings, and stainless hoses, and new calipers... costs add up quickly so I really need to justify the upgrade before pulling the trigger.

Ok, so far tires, wheels, suspension, brakes... what's left? 

Since the car still has the merely adequate for a 100hp 1.6l factory exhaust is still on the car that will need attention too. There's enough there for an entirely new post. So I'll save it for the next one.