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Full-Race 06+ Traction balls!!!

12952 Views 319 Replies 69 Participants Last post by  Midknight
Need more traction? We got the solution.

2006+ Honda Civics that need increased traction, reduced wheelhop and better handling - the large rubber LCA bushing is your enemy. During acceleration, braking or turning, the Honda Lower control arm has a large rubber bushing that distorts under load. This distortion allows the lower arm to move back and forth as the forces from the tire and car compress and squish the bushing into different shapes.




**Highly worn bushings will develop a "thump/pop" sound coming from the suspension pivots during low speed bumps.

The soft bushing was designed to give a smooth cushioned ride, but the downside of this smooth ride is low precision and low accuracy of the suspension components. This movement known as "Deflection" of the Lower Control Arm (LCA) allows the wheel to shift forwards, backwards, up and down, completely out of the geometrically intended location. This is due to the fact that the stock Honda suspension was not designed to handle the forces introduced from a high power/high speed vehicle with wide wheels and sticky tires. Because of this deflection, the alignment settings of the car become useless, and the wheel actually moves forwards into the fender well (on high power cars, the tire can actually hit the bumper cover). As the suspension geometry and alignment move around, the car toes out and caster changes erratically. The available traction of the vehicle decreases as overall traction is reduced and wheelhop can result - repeatedly doing this on a high power car can mean damaging axles and gears in your transmission.





The concept of the Traction Ball is very simple. If the suspension does not have any inaccurate or sloppy movement (due to bushing flex) the suspension geometry will be correct. By eliminating the big rubber compliance bushing in the 2006+ Honda Civic front suspension, we are able to eliminate slop in the LCA and significantly improve handling. Traction balls stop deflection because bushings cannot flex/move/change with the solid-mounted heim joints.




With traction balls installed, the LCA does not flex at all - it is completely rigid. The steering and suspension is immediately and drastically improved; you can new feel every input and change in the road surface. Steering is now very sensitive and a lot lighter. The durability of these units is superior to the stock units and they are perfectly suited to both street and track use. This design is not uncomfortably harsh during driving and really an improvement in all regards. This product requires no maintenance, however it is a good idea to inspect them everytime you change your oil. Tap the LCA with a rubber mallet and listen for any noises. Bearings can easily be replaced if needed, however we have not had to replace one yet.

********

For installation info please take a look a this thread.

http://www.8thcivic.com/forums/suspension/242952-diy-full-race-traction-ball-install-7.html

Full-Race would like to thank everyone who participated in the introductory sale on the traction balls. We have officially ended our introductory pricing and is now set at the suggested retail price of 299 shipped anywhere in the continental U.S. Thanks to all the 8thgen members for all of your support, build threads and reviews! Like always, please feel free to PM me or email me at [email protected] if you have any tech questions, concerns, and inquiries.


If you like to place an order you can email me at [email protected], send payment via pay pal to [email protected] and entering screen name in notes field, or by giving us a call @ 602-437-2101 ext:20

Thanks for looking!

[email protected]
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Good stuff Raffi. I'll be calling tomorrow to talk about ordering.
Just ordered my set. Gonna be the best $210 I've spent at least in the suspension department. My car is so unpredictable at WOT in 4th and 5th gear from the LCA deflection that it will literally change entire lanes with the steering wheel locked straight with both my hands on the wheel. With these traction balls that will be completely eliminated.

I will also do a DIY install using the Snap-On Honda Compliance bushing tool. This will show you guys that this can be done in the driveway without the need for a press.
Can't wait Mike. I'm waiting to hear more reviews before I pull the trigger and place my order.
Don't even wait man. These are a MUST HAVE for high HP turbo Civics. The difference in the way the car feels, responds and tracks overall is like night and day. Just pull the trigger now. Trust me.
lol at the rear traction balls.

Buy a sway bar, reinforce the linkage to the sway. Rear= done.

What does FR have to say about the rear end of this car? I think with those ^ mods, the rear is perfect.
LOL actually the rear is a disaster on this car. I can't even keep the rear toe in spec since I added the stiffer coilovers. There is too much slop with the large rubber bushings and the rear cam bolt area for toe adjustment.
Look what showed up today!! Woohoo!!! No more lane changes without warning at WOT for me.

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Ok Guys, Installed my Full-Race traction balls today and all I can say is WoW!!!! The entire car feels completely different. Now I have a CC stage 4 clutch and Half Boomba mounts and a Lower Hasport mount. First thing I noticed was when starting off in 1st gear there is now ZERO vibration in the cabin and almost zero chatter from the clutch through the chassis. Before these were installed the car would vibrate a bit when taking off in 1st. Also at a slow roll in 2nd gear in traffic at a low RPM and you accelerate there is no more vibration through the drivetrain. It's just amazing.

Now I'll get to the stuff while at speed. My car was one of those Si's that had that ridiculous pull to the right at slower speeds and that slight drift to the right at medium speeds. The Full-Race traction balls eliminated that COMPLETELY!! Now I tried every possible alignment setup previously to try and eliminate that pull and nothing worked. I do alignments every day all day with an $80k HD laser alignment machine and using that it didn't fix that issue. Now I installed the traction balls and just used the Honda factory specs for the Mugen Si (only because I have 18" wheels) and the car tracks perfectly straight. It's just awesome!!

Now for the review for the guys with big power. Wheel hop?? What's that? lol..The torque steer is all but eliminated. I have lower offset wheels which will increase the scrub radius which is why my torque steer is still there a little but these improved it IMMENSELY!! High speed sweepers the car is just planted like glue. The steering response is extremely quick and precise and steering feel is much improved. Also the front coilovers seem to be taking the bumps with much better control as well.

So for any of you guys that are on the fence about buying these, jump that fence and buy them. They're the best mod I've done to this car yet to date. Besides the Full-Race turbo kit of course. I mean for just over $200 you improve the cars feel and control by leaps and bounds. And there is no difference in comfort at all and no increase in road noise either. It's awesome!
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I want you to know how much I hate you right now.


......................this review makes me want to get these and then promptly reinstall my turbo kit.


I hate you so much.
No you don't. You hate yourself for not having your turbo on your new FA yet and these traction balls installed. LMAO!! What are you waiting for? I can't believe how much of a difference it actually made. The suspension operates like it should up front now. Especially with a good set of coilovers with a pillow ball upper mount. I was not expecting it to improve this much and in so many areas. Full-Race does it again for the 8th gen. Thanks Geoff!!
thanks mike for that great review it seems mine n ur car along with countless other civics have that horrible pull to the right. ive been thur countless alignments with nothing helping it. ive tried alot of different things nothing worked glad to hear they workd that great i cant wait to get mine (hopefully tmrw) and get them installed. as for vibrations hopefully they help me out alil also but im also running 95a's lol so its not that big of concern i just want that annoying pull to stop! lol

so i do have one question since you installed them how would you rate the install of these? ive installed everything i have/had on the car in my garage so im sure im am able to install these no problem but on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the worse wut would u say these were and what if any was the worse part (if there is any trouble spots)
Glad my review helped you man. Now it is IMPERATIVE that you have the car aligned by someone that actually cares and will set it up correctly.

I installed mine in a total of 15 minutes. But you will need a press unless you have the Snap-On Honda compliance bushing tool. It's a tool that has 2 cups that fit on each side of the bushing. One rests on the LCA and the other fits right into the bushing outer rim and then a long bolt runs through both. Then you tighten the bolt until the bushing gets pushed right out into the lower cup. That didn't work for me because of the rust built up from our winters. I did use the 2 cups with my press though and I had both installed in about 5 minutes. The other 10 minutes was removing the control arms from the car.
I was told putting these on my car would be a bad idea for a dd car as sand and salt will get in them and wreak havoc. A very knowledgeable car guy told me this, so what's your take on that?
The bearing is sealed from the elements. And even if it did cause problems the bearing part is replaceable. All you have to do is call Full-Race and have them get you a set of replacement bearings. Pop the old ones out and pop the new ones in. Done! Any part you put on your car is open to wear and tear from the elements. Why would these be any different. And the pros of these things FAR outweigh the one possible con of sand and salt possibly wearing them prematurely. Which I doubt will even happen since they are sealed. Just keep them clean and you will be fine.

Now to prevent any excessive damage from the elements just when you wash your car spray them with some water and clean the crap out of them.
Keep them clean? It's not exactly easy to get to the LCA bushings for a cleaning when you do a regular car wash. Maybe your perspective is skewed since you live with a lift every day.
Dude all you have to do is cut your wheel all the way to lock in one direction, spray down the bushing then cut your wheel to the other direction all the way and spray the bushing down. I don't wash my car on a lift. lmao!
Oh come on, we all know you eat, sleep, and drink that lift.
LOl..Actually I can't wait to get away from it as soon as possible and for as many times and for as long as possible. Work sucks!
I think you missed my point. I'm not saying the stock bushings are better suited for the power, I was merely asking if they're better suited for a daily driver in general.

Now, if what sox said is right and it's sealed, perfect. I live in MN where we heavily salt/sand roads.. if these are gonna go to crap in one winter, then nah, these are not better suited for (my) turbo'd car.
I live in MA where we have just as much sand and salt as you guys and I went with these. The advantage is so huge over the stock bushings that even having to replace the bearing once a year it's worth it. Trust me. When you drive the car after you take those crappy rubber bushings out you will understand. Like I said all you have to do is spray them down with water to clean them off. You can do it at one of those self service car wash bays.
Mike, I think you forget that what is easy for you is not easy for most of us lol. I don't have access to a press, a lift, years of mechanical experience, nor do I want to do an alignment every year when I take these off if these things did wear out yearly. It's not worth it to me to pay someone to replace stuff yearly, nor is it worth it to me to invest in tools to do it myself. I'm just going to see what my mechanic says, if he puts the kabosh on it, I'll just sell them. Hopefully he looks them over and thinks they'll be ok, but we'll see.
Dude you are making way too much of a big deal out of this. Keeping them clean has nothing to do with my mechanical ability or access to presses or lifts. lol..These things will last the life of your car if you keep them clean.

Second of all you should align your car every year anyway. 9 out of 10 cars on the road are out of alignment. So I don't understand that argument. The advantages of these things is so immense that I can't understand your hesitation because some mechanic said it's not a good idea. I already looked at them and own them. Trust me when I say that as long as you keep them clean in the winter they will last forever. You have big power now. These things will save your tranny so much dude. If you are so worried about this then keep the crappy stock ones and have fun. lol..
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Ok ok, but if these things start squealing after a year I'm coming for you lol
Lol..Fair enough. But you HAVE to keep them clean in the winter. Wait till you feel the difference when you install them. It's amazing.
I've had mine on my car since the first batch was released and mine are NOT the SS ones. The bearing is SS and is working 100% perfectly. Mine is rusted like everyone else but that's only the frame and bushings. They have no effect on the operation of the bearing at all. As long as the bearing itself is Stainless you should not have an issue. Mine still work perfectly. Not really sure why everyone is all bent because of a little cosmetic rust. Try living in MA near the ocean. Every single steel part on my car is rusted to hell. I need an an air hammer and 3 lb sledge just to remove my brake rotors every year. LOL!! You have to expect rust on some parts of you car guys. And it's not like your LCA bushing is in plain sight or is a show piece.

This type of crap is why I never really come on this site anymore. So many people whining about crap they really shouldn't be whining about and not having real expectations for stuff and just plain not knowing anything. If Geoff made these all out of SS from the start and the price was $500 everyone would be screaming that FR is a rip off. So ridiculous!!! But he made them as cost efficient as possible and now everyone is all bent that there is some cosmetic rust?? GET REAL!!
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