Performance Dynamics Reviewed: EX Coupe

[jdm8thgen]

Originally Posted by iVTEC

Yes, 225's will bulge a bit on the 6.5 inch wide 16" rims. I've read some authors who are strongly opposed to mounting 225's on 6.5" wide rims for that reason. However, I put some Goodyear Eagle F1 Gs-D3's on my old RSX-S with the stock 16 x 6.5" rims. They worked fine and I never had any problems. Per the TireRack.com website, 6.5 was the minimum rim width for the 225 tire size, so I just went with it and not once did I regret my decision.

This would be a truly stealth mod.

Good luck.

you could always try 215/50/16 if they even make that size.

[aodmisery]

ok i really want to get rid of this so its a sales bonanza the oem si suspension (no sway bars, just rear shocks and springs and front struts) for only 150 plus shipping which might be another 50 bucks cause there so heavy. anyone interested pm me.

[iVTEC]

Originally Posted by jdm8thgen

u wanting the progress rear sway only to upgrade ur si swayn is the same as an si owner upgrading his/her rear sway only. exactly like when i upgrade mine with just the rear si. ur in reality doing the same thing. exactly what im telling this guy. dont waste money on si front sway. itll cause more push than he has now. just do hfp wheels and si rear swaybar.

Ah, but you forget that a thicker front sway bar will decrease the sway from the front suspension. So the overall sway will be less, even if the ratio of front to rear over/understeer ends up being the same for both the EX front/Si rear and Si front/Progress rear sway combos. Try it yourself and we'll talk.

When I had my RSX-S, I did what you're talking about with the Si rear sway and HFP stuff. I got a 22mm rear sway bar and the A-spec suspension. I was happy with it. I believed what people on the Club RSX website said about not upgrading the front sway bar. Exactly what you're saying here about the Civic. Comparing the my old RSX-S and my new Civic's handling, I can honestly say that I prefer the way my Civic turns-in and stays flat in the turns more than in my old RSX-S.

To me, the Si front sway is a great upgrade for someone who just wants a daily driver that carves the turns and isn't as concerned with max neutral handling at the limit. Now if you auto-x and want that max neutral handling, then this may not be for you. But since I don't auto-x in my daily driver, it's perfect for me.

Of course this is just my opinion based on my own experience and driving style. That's why I recommend that you try it for yourself before deciding.

[gbae007]

Originally Posted by iVTEC

Or instead of upsizing the wheel size, you might consider just getting wider, lower profile tires (225/50-16) and keeping the stock rims. You might run into problems with the sidewalls bulging out though, since the stock rims are only six or six and a half inches wide.

Here's an update since I first posted this.

Still haven't upgraded anything, suspension wise. Like iVtec said, the tires might definately be a huge factor.

Tonight I took the Civic to a industrial area road that I used to go to with my 350z to drift. I'm happy to report that I didn't get tons of understeer. Again, that's really manageable with the throttle. The real issue is that the tires have such a low grip threshold that I can simply feint (e.g. flick) and the car will start sliding. Throw in a little bit of tug on the e-brake and we got a car going sideways, ladies and gentlemen.

Of course, it's good clean fun when you want you tires to lose grip but not so much when do that on an off ramp.

Anyways, who has used Yokohama Parada V before? It's summer tire that's suppose to have a good threadwear rating that I'm interested in. [For 16" stock size]

[CMByrd]

I daily drive and AutoX a Si, and overall have been very impressed with the handeling of it. The car tends to be more than behaved even on 100mph + backroad twisties with blind hills type driving. This with the crap-tastic allseason tires.

I recently bought a set of Sparco wheels, and put some Hankook Ventus R-S2s on them, put the wheels on my car and there were times I was honestly astounded that a $20k car could hold the road half as well as it was. This with reasonably cheap tires ($104 each for 215/45/17, including shipping from Discount Tire.)

If you were to change to the Si suspension, and add some really nice summer tires, I think you'd have a winner, even without the LSD. (edit: and downforce from underbody spoiler in the front? This may be only in HFP kits for the Si) For what its worth though, I've read here that the Si wheels WON'T fit on a non-Si coupe, so if your looking at switching to bigger wheels I'd definatly look into that before buying (=


Clay

[gbae007]

Originally Posted by CMByrd

I daily drive and AutoX a Si, and overall have been very impressed with the handeling of it. The car tends to be more than behaved even on 100mph + backroad twisties with blind hills type driving. This with the crap-tastic allseason tires.

I recently bought a set of Sparco wheels, and put some Hankook Ventus R-S2s on them, put the wheels on my car and there were times I was honestly astounded that a $20k car could hold the road half as well as it was. This with reasonably cheap tires ($104 each for 215/45/17, including shipping from Discount Tire.)

If you were to change to the Si suspension, and add some really nice summer tires, I think you'd have a winner, even without the LSD. (edit: and downforce from underbody spoiler in the front? This may be only in HFP kits for the Si) For what its worth though, I've read here that the Si wheels WON'T fit on a non-Si coupe, so if your looking at switching to bigger wheels I'd definatly look into that before buying (=


Clay

Thanks for the input! Si wheels don't fit on the EX coupe properly without spacers. Plus, they are heavy so I have no incentive to buy them.

Regardingly the HFP body kit, they certainly fit on the EX coupe as well as the Si (remember, they look the same!?!) but I highly doubt that it would add meaningful downforce. Have you seen official claims regarding that? I have not...

[CMByrd]

The HFP kits all mention an 'underbody spoler' I dont know how much meaningful downforce it produces, or at what speeds you have to go to produce it. What I /do/ know is that theres a ramp not far from my house, I would it in my Saturn and get 4 wheels of air at about 50, in my Si, I hit it about 80, with CONSIDERABLY stiffer suspension, and I lift enough to chirp tires, but not actualy get any air. Im guessing the Si is putting some downforce from somewhere, though I dont have a HFP kit on mine (frowny face)