ReplicaR

The suspension on the wagon seems really freaking soft to me for reason. I've had first generation TSX sedan before, and even with 200k miles on it, it felt a million times more sharp than my wagon does now with 34k miles on it. I was thinking of throwing thick sway bars, but it seems that you can only upgrade the rear bar on these cars. This being my wife's car, more rotation is not something I'm looking for. Stock balance of grip is fine, I just want it to ride more firm and be actually fun in the corners? Any suggestions? I've seen some springs already and a rear bar that could be paired for not much money, but I'm afraid that stock shocks won't be able to valve the more aggressive springs correctly, and that will result with a bouncy car.

BROlando

Buy a coilover set.

ST's are fairly firm without over doing it. They're made in Germany and come with a 5yr warranty. If you're in/near the Chicago burbs, I am selling an almost new set for cheap.

Or Tein Street Advance with the damping set on the stiff side. However....these kind of force you to drop the car semi agressively if you use them on a wagon. I had to custom make a spring spacer to raise the back of the car to where I wanted it for the winter. I am very happy with mine on my 1G and also on my wife's wagon.

Either one will greatly improve driving dynamic over stock.

ReplicaR

Anything else aside from the two suggestions above? I've seen Tein already for something around 560 new, ST is around 800 new as well. Didn't really plan on spending that much money, maybe a good set of shocks, and some stiffer springs?

BROlando

The only good set of sport shocks for the 2G is Koni Yellows. $600ish.

Plus a set of springs. All around $200ish.

And you're stuck with 1 height. The wagon invariably results in sagging buttocks due to dat big fat wagon rump...BOYY-EEE.

Koni FSDs or maybe yellows would probably improve the driving dynamic by themselves...even with stock springs. But FSD's are like $700something. And yellows are like $600something.

Which is why almost everyone uses Tein SA's, and a few people pony up for ST ST-X's.

H&R SP is another option....but they're $1K- ish. Monotube shocks that I believe are made by Bilstein...and progressive H&R springs. Mixed reviews on various vehicles...most people say they're a bit harsh (they're monotube...so it makes some sense)....but reasonable. I'm sure they'll last forever because Bilstein.

KW V1's are a stainless steel version of the ST. Same valving, but with a lifetime warranty. Unless you need stainless steel for driving in a shitty environment, I'd buy 2 sets of ST's for the cost of 1 set of V1's.

Koni yellow with GC collars is a great adjustable option that has high quality dampers. No idea if GC makes an OTS kit for the 2G TSX and/or what type of spring rates Konis of the TSX configuration can handle. Or how low stock length shocks can go without constantly mashing the bumpstop. Down for some guesswork? If so...you can get into this semi premium setup for $900-1k.

There's Megan racing and other rebranded Chinese options too. But...I wouldn't really recommend spending actual money on them. I may take a trade for a few cheeseburgers depending on how hungry I was. I'm usually pretty hungry.

Honestly, all things considered, the Tein SA is probably the overall winner when it comes to price, finish, longevity, ride quality, and features. Their downside is that you're forced to be a bit on the low side. Unless you know someone who has 4.5" diameter aluminum bars laying around to make your own spacer . Or if you're fine with riding low-ish. The smallest drop forces you into about 1.5" lower than stock. It only gets lower from there. You'll also need to use a damper setting that's on the stiff side to prevent the annoying floating that these are prone to. I have mine set to -4F and -5R and it rides very well. Controlled and refined...and only a tiny bit of harshness on rare bumps. If you set it to the -8F and -9R setting Tein recommends....get ready to feel like you're riding a marshmallow on an air mattress. Excellent finish and component quality, though. Expect them to last like 50K miles with normal driving...maybe longer in nicer environments like the West Coast. I have a 55K mile old set on my 1G TSX. They seem to be aging.

In comparison to the Tein, the ST rides more harshly...but has better dynamics for body control. It has the German feel for sure. More upward ride height availability on these. But...you really want to be like 1.25" lower than stock...or lower. To get it riding high, you'll need to compress the springs a bit...and it may get a little harsh. Judging by other KW's I've had in the past, these should last a long time. For salty roads (midwest, etc), remember that these are zinc plated...so...apply some organic coat on them. I clear coated mine.

Koni probably has a better damping curve than either...and will surely outlast either. If you're willing to experiment a little bit...maybe some Koni/GC would work well. Figure front rates of like 550LB to 600LB. Rear rates of like 250 to 330LB. Just a guess based on other setups that ride well.

xtcnrice

ReplicaR

Pretty comprehensive write up, thanks for that. Looks like ST coilovers might be something I'm after.

Puppetmaster

To this point, I had to use the lower spring perch on the Konis in front and higher spring perch for the rears. Didn't trial and error but it came out decently well the first go so I left it. I have Eibach springs.

Puppetmaster

In terms of cost, I bought the Konis from Excelerate during one of their sales and it was closer to $500ish shipped IIRC.

BROlando

Car looks fantastic, puppetmaster. And yes, Eibach and Koni are an excellent combo.

For the purposes of *MY* wagon...that's a bit too low. And I am curious how much travel is left on the front shocks. Accords/TSX's have lots of travel....but I think you're probably on the front bumpstops...or close to it, since Konis are as travel limited as the stock shocks.

The springs are also very soft, and are meant to be used at their given heights. By lowering the perches, you're using too soft of a spring on too low of a setting. The problem with that is that as the suspension compresses, the effective spring rates rise very quickly because the bumpstop is acting like a very stiff assist spring.

Konis have quite a bit of rebound adjustment...and rebound is isolated, so you may be able to cure some of the harshness of being thrown upward by increasing the damping (counter intuitive...but it works).

Not knocking your setup at all. Just pointing to my concerns. Adjustable (matched) coilovers have shortened case lengths to aid travel, and the height can be set "on the fly", rather than requiring disassembly.

For those reasons, I usually recommend matched coilovers over seperate spring/shock setups. Pricing really isn't far off...and in a lot of cases, matched coilovers are cheaper.

Puppetmaster

Totally valid concerns. I did not factor in suspension travel as much as I should have admittedly. There is definitely less but it's enough for me, either way, not ideal but this is a daily driver. To your point, I do have the Koni settings essentially maxed out front and rear to stabilize it. And yes, Eibach springs are a nice ride, but softer than I expected too. I looked into GC springs and IIRC there were a few part numbers (and spring rates) that could have worked.

BROlando

Right on. The car looks exquisite, however. Probably the best looking wagon I've seen.

If you ever did want to go down the path of changing things for the sake of function or comfort, GC sleeves and springs are a great way to go. And you can buy extended tophats or have the shocks shortened to increase travel if needed.

I've never measured TSX shocks to determine travel, given a height. But...maybe I will...for the sake of info.

ReplicaR

So, I'm not very keen in dropping the car 1.5 inches, since it's already pretty low and doesn't require the drop in my opinion. What are some of the thoughts on just replacing stock dampers with Koni Sports, and keeping oem springs? Is the spring rate super soft on the wagon too? I know that firmer valving on the Koni sports will give me better chassis control, however it won't necessarily reduce the body roll, but rather slow it down.

BROlando

Konis will work on stock springs. You'll probably ride around fully soft at all times. They only adjust rebound. So they can be used to tune out some body roll...but over-doing it will cause the suspension to pack down over sucessive bumps.

I don't know what the TSX damper curve is like. Honda usually uses a lot of bump damping...hence the jitters over small or high speed bumps. Not sure if Koni uses more bump than stock. Usually, yellows use a pretty "soft" bump curve.

So...theoretically, the ride dyanamic should improve. But...idk if it'll do what you're expecting. I wasn't a fan of the stock suspension. Too rolly...but too crashy at the same time.

The wagon's rear weighs like 130LB more than a sedan. So they come with stiffer rear springs. IIRC, the same front springs.

Koni FSD's are rumoured to work really well. But they're not externally adjustable. Apparently, they dynamically adjust mechanically, but automatically . But...all shocks kinda do that.

Try out the yellows. If its not enough, you can always buy GC coilovers to use on the konis later.

ReplicaR

I've had some experience with Koni on a different car, but with way stiffer springs. If you say that wagon springs are stiffer in the back than sedan springs, then I think I should have no problem. Honestly, I don't even think that roll is as much of a problem for me, as much as the poor valving of the factory shocks. They feel like they do very little, and I think that with better valving I might not have to do anything about the springs at all. It would have been nice to throw some thicker sway bars, but unfortunately, only the rear upgrade is available for these cars, which is a shame really for those who want less body roll, but also like to keep their kidneys in good health. As far as jacking goes (lifting wheel due to slow rebound), I don't think it will be much of an issue even in medium firmness for this car. BTW, this is my track car on the weekends, I'm running Koni on that.



A bit of a side note: Where is the best place to buy Koni Sports? HeelToe has them on there for around 600, however someone mentioned that there was another website that had them on sale for 500.

xtcnrice

Heeltoe also does price matching. I don't work for them by any means, but I can vouch for their great customer service. If you can find said site with lower price, put in a price match request with HT and see if they bite. They're great people and if something goes wrong, they will personally call you to make things right.

Nice mustang btw. Never seen that model look so clean!

ReplicaR

Cool, I'll keep an eye out. I think someone above said that they bought the Konis on sale. Mustang has been with me for 10 years, bought it completely stock to the point where it is right now a full track car. It's got 245k miles on it, believe it or not.

ExcelerateRep

They got their Koni's from us! Feel free to check us out anytime, and PM me if there's something you cant find or want help with!

Check us out here: Suspension - Excelerate Performance - European, Exotic and Japanese Performance Specialists!!

Mustang looks great by the way, love the RPF1's!

ReplicaR

Thanks for the comment. I saw that you have Konis on the page, but at 185.22 a shock, that's 740 for a set of 4, which is a far cry from 500 dollars that someone else claimed. Maybe I'll wait for a sale or something.

ExcelerateRep

I'm not sure what you're after, but Koni is pretty sporadic with their sales so that could become a lengthy process.

If you're looking for something around the $500 price range, we do have the TEIN Street Basis kit ready to ship. Those are a solid setup, especially compared to other coilovers in the same price range. They offer from 1 inch to approximately 3.5 inches of drop along with a great balance of comfort and handling. These could save you some money in the long run since you don't have to buy the shock and spring separately.

Feel free to PM me if there is something you need, or wanted help finding. The kit can be found here: GSB90-1USS2 - TEIN Dampers - Street Basis - Excelerate's Honda & Acura Store - Japanese Performance Specialist

ReplicaR

Honestly, I don't think I need to drop the car any further than it already is. I was just looking for better damping, not necessarily more spring rate. Stock Honda shocks are terrible, they feel like they are blown at 34k miles, which is ridiculous in my opinion. It's not a priority to me, so I can definitely wait for the Koni said, if there is one any time soon.