suspension theories and ideas (2007 civic si track car)

[tylerb]

i want to try and set my civic up for some auto-x nad track duty. seeing as how i now drive 3-4 miles a day it wont be a problem.

i think that the new civics use the same type of rear suspension that cobalts do but i dont know. i know its a multi-link and i want to try and modify somethings and tweak somethings to try and get better performance out of it then i will do koni shocks and GC coil overs. i got rid of my massive heavy wheels and will run stockies or something 17 for track use and then 18" ssr's for the street.

i guess what i really am concerned with is the rear end. the front is a mcphereson strut assembly the rear is strange to me as the sprin is not over the shock. so im looking for tips and tricks for it. what works and what doesnt, etc.

really hoping for John or Maven to chime in as they know their ♠♠♠♠ really well. also if someone could provide me links to read up on i will do that. i dont want to have to buy any books or anything tho. also i have access to welders and better than average welding skills. and pretty good fabrication skills.



couple of easy questions.

1. how do i decide what spring rates i need for the car?

2. how do i figure out how low i can go before i start to negatively effect handling.

3. how do i stiffen up the rear of the car? and what are some tips and not "off-the-shelf" things i can do the the rear end to help with turn in and behavior.


couple of other things. whenever i drop the car i will be measuring front tie rod angles and figuring out a rack spacer to compensate.

if you need any other info from me just let me know and i will get it for you. thanks for helping me out.

[BLAZIN07SS]

the shock and spring are separate on the civic si but it is not a solid twisting beam like the cobalt. it is independent rear suspension

[TTMR]

Yeah, and for specifics a Civic forum is going to be the ticket, there's just too much difference.

As far as theory, well stiff chassis and low friction suspention joints are going to be among the few constants chassis to chassis

[tylerb]

O ok. Well that clears that up for me. Thanks Josh. Now what all do I need to do and what all tips and tricks are there for this that aren't off the shelf that I can do with a welder and Fab tools? I'm probably going to try and find a way to replace all the bushings with solid delrin or something. Then what. Lol.

[tylerb]

I would love to check civic forums but hellaflush is too in and that seems to be all the suspension segments focus on. :/ guess I will do the constants first them just trial and error the rest. And do my own r&d

[Omiotek]

My best advice is go on the track with a bone stock suspension and learn to drive the car as is and then move up from there. Feel what it needs and where it needs the most improvement. A lot of suspension is based off of the driver and how far they want to take the car and also I recommend looking into a class u wanna race as some classes limit what u can and can't do. So those are things you want to figure out. Attend some hpde events to get your licsense to drive.

You don't want too much car and not enough driver

[F_Imports_09tc]

Check out autox/ road racing forums. Civic Si is a pretty popular platform. You should be able to get some pretty good tech advice there.

[F_Imports_09tc]

My best advice is go on the track with a bone stock suspension and learn to drive the car as is and then move up from there. Feel what it needs and where it needs the most improvement. A lot of suspension is based off of the driver and how far they want to take the car and also I recommend looking into a class u wanna race as some classes limit what u can and can't do. So those are things you want to figure out. Attend some hpde events to get your licsense to drive.

You don't want too much car and not enough driver

This too^^

[tylerb]

Ill do that. I can just tell from everyday driving that the bushings are sloppy and I have like 85k miles because it use to be 100 miles a day for work. Now its like 6.

[F_Imports_09tc]

Bushings will definatly help. I just installed the PRS t-cabs monday, and with onky 24k miles on the stock bushings i noticed a large difference.

[tylerb]

Exactly. I wish john had a civic. Haha. He contributes so much to these community. All we have are people that slam or people that don't offer anybelp. :/

[qwikredline]

well thanks tyler. Duncan said it right the first thing is to eliminate friction. I have a close friend who races them in grand am i will chat with him and see what they are doing. cheers. ps try email I forget to do things often.

thanks for the invite.
o
wait
this is not an invite.

what was the question?

[tylerb]

john whats your email? i will shoot you an email and i would love to talk about suspension theories and all with you.

and if you would talk to you friend i would appreciate it greatly. i might be buying a front hook from you guys soon and making it work on my car.

[qwikredline]

we can make a plate to fit a civic...hooks are all the same. I got crazy today and only left work at 5, then had to finish the rail fence at home and ran out of 8 inch nails.
o
wait
thats a group.
anyway. will get onto it this w/end and get back to u I got ur email tx

[Omiotek]

9" nails is the group lol

[qwikredline]

inch short. story of my life

[Steddy]

[loki141]

There was a civic SI, @mosport with HPF or hFP or w/e the fock it's called coilovers and a progress rear bar, car rode pritty good, a LOT less understeer.

That's like 2nd Honda I've sat in, lol

[tylerb]

Really Loki? That's strange the hfp is nearly stock suspension rates just lowered 3/4" but regardless that's the shocked I was planning on going with at for now. And then some gc coil overs set to near stock heigth.

I trust your judgement tho Loki I have seen what john says about you and I have seen your posts. Did it have any kind of rear bar. I'm probably going to not get a rear bar and down grade to base model front bar and just run stiff springs. Car barely gets driven on the road.

John thanks. I will appreciate anything at all I can get. And ill let you j ow about the hook.

[montecarloman]

May want to think twice about the coilovers. I know the post says track car but you also said your drive to work was only 3 or 4 miles. Coilovers on any DD can get to be a lot of work to keep them clean and functional. I'm not saying don't get them. A good set of coilovers with give you the ability to fiddle to your hearts content and truly set the car up. Just make sure you know exactly what your getting in to.