Hey all,

I'm starting to do minor mods to my car. I'm not a big fan of ground effects or anything else that does very little for the performance of the car. My interest is simply performance - handling and acceleration. The first thing I did to this car was install 205/40-16 Kumho Supra's all the way around. I couldn't believe I was driving the same car, it made that much difference. The speedo reads about 4% faster from stock, but a) it's well worth it, and b) the speedo can be calibrated if it's an issue for anyone.

The next thing I've done is install a 19mm rear sway bar. I was astounded to find that this car has NO rear sway bar. I was looking at kits that included a rear bar and larger than stock front sway bars. My largest complaint with this car has always been severe understeer and I was calculating the difference between adding a rear where there was none and adding a rear with a larger front and the conclusion I came to is that the rear bar will probably make enough difference on it's own that adding larger front will counter the effect of the rear. My conclusion was dead on. This car now handles more like a rear-wheel drive car than many RWD cars I've driven.

For the record, I also put a set of H&R OE Sport springs all around as well, but I did not notice any difference from stock. I have ordered a cup kit that should be here by the end of next week, so I'll post back then and let you all know how it does.

Until then.

 

what rims did you get with the tires?

 

They're nothing special. Brand is Ronal and they're 16x7.5.

I forgot to mention that I installed a set of crossdrilled rotors last week as well. I haven't had a chance to notice a huge difference in braking performance yet, but I'll post those results after the next time I head out to Tortilla Flatts.

 

X-drilled rotors will help dissipate heat better. You want better braking get different pads or bigger brakes.
Maybe some shocks. Koni Yellows if you can afford them, KYB's if your a broke foo.

 

You should have just gotten some blank rotors from Autozone, then bought some AEM brake pads (or the like.)

I doubt you do enough hardcore racing (which needs a lot of repeated brake use) to even need cross drilled or slotted rotors. Then again, not many people do ...

If you want the looks, then by all means.

If you want bigger, then just get GSR components. The expensive stuff is overkill for a non-drag Civic.

 

The plan for this car is Autocross Solo II. So while I don't need cross drilled rotors to go to Albertson's to get milk, it's the big picture I'm taking into consideration.

The rotors that I replaced last week were genuine Honda rotors that the dealer installed when I bought the car 18 months ago. Since they were warped, stock rotors apparently don't meet my current driving habits/needs as it is - let alone when I get the car on the track.

 

Upgraded rotors probably bump you up to the higher classes.