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Nov. 13, 2010 4:36 a.m. 1967cutlass New Reader

Back after a bit of a hiatus. Haven't autocrossed in a while, but drove a friends' mr2 spyder and want to get back into the action. I used to race a FWD car and kind of miss it, not to mention having a car to really abuse. So...

Getting a 1994 integra LS 5 speed tomorrow for really cheap. Pretty sure the master and or slave cylinder is going out, the clutch doesn't actuate most of the time. Nonetheless my friend is driving it out here, and I will have to get that fixed soon.

Anyway, My girlfriend says I can do whatever I want to it ;) The car is dark grey with black interior. Interior is clean but the exterior is trashed. I want to get an ITR wing (replica?) and front bumper, then respray the car the stock grey.

Then, I need a suspension setup fit for autocrossing and street driving. I want it to handle as good or better than an ITR (my friend just drove one and won't stop talking about it). I know it's not really possible because it doesn't have an LSD, but I'd like to at least be competitive locally in street touring or whatever.

So, I would like to know if there is a good place to buy reproduction rice parts, and secondly I'd love to hear some suggestions for a good suspension setup (shocks, springs, swaybars, braces, what have you)

Keep in mind I know absolutely nothing about hondas :) I went on honda-tech but I don't think they speak English there, so I got scared and left.
Nov. 13, 2010 6:29 a.m. DaveEstey Reader

Koni yellows and ground control coils, spring rates around 400lbs front 450-500lbs rear. 22mm rear sway, find a GSR front sway.

With decent tires you will easily outhandle a stock ITR.
Nov. 13, 2010 1:21 p.m. unevolved HalfDork

Yeah, the signal to noise ratio on H-T is pretty low. There's a lot of Honda knowledge on here, though. I'm not familiar enough with DC2s to offer much product-specific insight.
Nov. 13, 2010 1:29 p.m. Matt B HalfDork

You don't need the whole front bumper from the type-r, just a (edit)pre-98(/edit) lower lip (I did the same on my previous '95).

I second DaveEstey's suspension suggestion. Might be a little harsh for a DD, but if it's a fun car go for it. If you're on a tight budget, just get a used type-r setup for around $200 plus the rear control arms ($80ish?).

I like the Neuspeed front brace since it doesn't have any pivot points.

If you'll be in a class that allows update/backdate then swapping out the LS tranny for a 99-01 Si unit will get you Type-R gearing for cheap, sans LSD and dual-cone synchros. GSR trans falls between the LS and R units in gearing.
Nov. 13, 2010 1:33 p.m. poopshovel SuperDork

Paging Scott Lear? Yeah, I'm not super-familiar with the third gens, but the recipe for "make my honda rotate" is pretty much as daveestey stated. Coilovers, stiffer springs, larger (though I'd go adjustable) rear sway. You won't get an opinion from me on the front bar....other than maybe try disconnecting one end between runs and see what the times say.

I will say that in my very humble opinion, 400 front and (up to) 500 rear might be a little harsh on the street, and I'd stick with a 50lb. split front to rear to start, and be sure you've got struts that can handle whatever rates you decide on. Springs are cheap, and you can often find local honda guys to swap with. Also, a lot of guys have good success with "drop-zone" and similar type ebay coilover kits that cost a fraction of the price of ground controls. Can't go wrong with Konis. I really love a big, fat, adjustable rear bar on a FWD car. DILYSI Dave and I are of the same opinion that the things that make a FWD car handle amazingly on an auto-x course are the same things that can make it downright dangerous on the street.

Hope that's helpful. I'm not claiming to be a guru, but we've put a few hondas together. IMHO, lots of adjustability is key.
Nov. 13, 2010 3:23 p.m. 1967cutlass New Reader

Thanks for all the input. I agree that once you get the car rotating easily enough, the snap oversteer can become an issue. Been there before!

I wouldn't mind a stock ITR suspension if I can actually get one for $200, however konis and stiffer springs will certainly be better for autocrossing.

Do I need to reinforce the rear swaybar mounts? I thought I rear that somewhere. What about dialing in camber? Are there any cheap LSD's?

Matt B what do you mean by you just need the lower lip?

Sorry for all the questions lol
Nov. 13, 2010 6:41 p.m. DaveEstey Reader

The rear subframe sometimes has issues with tearing out when a large sway is used.

Camber comes from lowering the car, that's the great thing about these things.
Nov. 14, 2010 8:25 a.m. Matt B HalfDork

You can get a bolt-on front lip that will give you the type-r look. It's the only difference between the front ends, just make sure you get one for the 94-97 models, as they changed the bumper/air dam design in 98. The early version had a horizontal bar through the air dam.

94-97 Front end + lip

98-01 Front end + lip (type-r wasn't imported until 98, so this is what most are familiar with)[edit - I'm wrong, my bad. they were imported first in 97]

Yes, reinforce the rear-swaybar mounts or get something like the adjustable Comptech bar that has a built-in lower brace that serves as the reinforcement.

Probably the cheapest LSD would be the stock unit. If you have to pay someone to install it you might as well consider the the type-r tranny. To be honest, the LS trans is a dog. Swapping to a B16 transmission totally transformed our old LS.
Nov. 14, 2010 4:34 p.m. 1967cutlass New Reader

Thanks for all the input.

So on the suspension, I've been reading and it sounds like the way to go is konis, ground controls (or something), ITR or similar RSB, and -3 degrees of camber up front.

Sound right? I want to do well in STS with this car so I want to do it right. I'm having a hard time figuring out what spring rates to use. Some people are saying 500/350 and some are saying you really need more rear rate than front. Not sure what to believe here.
Nov. 15, 2010 12:27 a.m. pimpm3 New Reader

You defenitely want the higher spring rate in the rear. I had a 1996 GS-R that I auto-xed for a few years. (Actually it was part of a GRM article back in the late 90's). I ran a 22 mm Type-R rear bar ($80 new from Honda), I reinforced the rear shock mounts with a braket thing I made out of a piece of flat steel. The car aslo had Ground controls and Koni yellows. I can't remember the spring rates off the top of my head but 400/500 sounds about right..

They made the Type-R integra in 1997 for the US but they are pretty rare.
Nov. 15, 2010 8:00 a.m. Matt B HalfDork

pimpm3 wrote:

They made the Type-R integra in 1997 for the US but they are pretty rare.

doh! you're right. Those were the white ones.