My friend and I installed the Cusco lower arm on my car over the weekend. Impressions? The front is noticeable stiffer. For awhile now, I've removed my Neuspeed Strut Bar and the car had seemed somewhat lacking as far as handling. But after the Cusco lower arm was installed, I noticed I could take highway on and off ramps a little quicker with more stability. The lower arm does seem rather low with my drop and everything, hadn't had much chance to measure exactly how much ground clearance though. Pics below...

 

get better tires and you would corner way better... 235/40/18 on light weight rims would kick some ass ...

 

That’s great if it helps on the handling, but my opinion is that bar is WAY too low and is gonna scrape and grind until it finally breaks off.

Why did you take off the upper Neuspeed bar ???

Shawn S

 

agreed with Shawn...sucker sits really really low. Hope you don't run into any sewer covers like I did with my Integra

 

Nice, just a couple of questions:

1. Are those lower tie bars for both front and rear?
2. I notice that you also have front upper strut bar too, and that is why you removed your Neuspeed bar, right? If so, than what you are saying is that the cusco upper tie bar is not as good as the neuspeed one?

Thanks for your help, I've been very interested in getting some lower tie bars too.

Thanks!

btw, I was always told that if I have headers, than the cusco lower front tie bar was not an option? But you have both right?

 

as you can see in the first picture.. he has a CT headers installed.

 

Can you post the part number for that bar?? When I call the local Cuso dealer, they sware to me that they don't carry any applications for our cars..

 

I used a skunk bar it doesnt hang low

 

Nice...How much did u pay for that?

 

I want the TE37 in black in 235/40/18

 

The bar is low...I gotta keep checking it to ensure that it doesn't come loose or anything like that, but the roads here in San Jose, CA aren't as bad as other places I've heard here on the forum.

As far as taking off the Neuspeed bar, I had sold it to my friend so I could get the Cusco upper bar, but he wanted it right away. Also I guess you can say the Neuspeed does work...and yes i know my car is dirty...

 

Yea...I'm praying...

 

1. Front only.
2. I don't have the Cusco bar as of yet...it's on it's way to me. I'm not saying which or what is better...that is up to each person. I wanted something that looked a lil nicer than the Neuspeed and since Cusco is a well known company for suspension...I figured I couldn't go wrong with them.

The Cusco lower front arm does fit with the Comptech headers...still have decent clearance.

 

The Cusco bar is for the Honda Inspire.

 

Any pics?

 

$80 for the bar + $30 shipping from Mike at Value-caraudio

 

Yea, I bet you are.

Another thing to watch for.....
If you take a steep "curb cut" on an angle to minimize hitting of the front end, it’s gonna be even worse for this bar as you have one front tire above and one below the angle.

It’s hard to explain, but anyone who drives a lowered car knows what I’m talking about.
You know when you take an incline on an angle one tire at a time to minimize rubbing.

Shawn S

 

We call it "angling"...street ricer talk ...i'm asian...it's in my blood to angle all cars . Yea...since I've lowered my car to the height i'm at now, I usually do one tire at a time or angle off steep driveways.

 

And do you realize how close your undercarriage gets when you do this ???
I’ve seen Header pipes and frame rails scrape and it looks like you’re 2” BELOW your Header pipe.

Shawn S

 

Yea I've already seen some scrape damage. My front bumper on both sides have suffered some scratches and the driver side undercarriage has a slight scratch...I'm afraid of hitting the tranny. So far no damage to the headers and I hope that the Cusco bar will prevent that. My height is 2.1 or 2.2 inches below stock...I don't think anyone with CT springs will have ground clearance issues. Especially if you have 18s or larger rims. The pics are somewhat deceiving as far as how low it really is. From the ground to the Cusco bar...I have about almost 2inchs clearance.

 

Hey does anyone know if the Neuspeed one is the same way?

 

that would last about a day on my car.

 

Is our chassis actually flexible enough that this is necessary? Seems hard to believe given the Honda/Acura reputation for stiff chassis. I would think where you'd really feel this is when you 'angle' up a driveway. It should feel solid as a rock if in fact we have that much flex to begin with. Could there be some placebo effect with this part? I am equally suspicious of aftermarket strut tower bars. Hard to believe the factory one is allowing enough chassis flex to feel just driving around corners. I drive race cars and have added STB's to other cars and barely noticed the difference.

 

Our frames are fairly stiff...since this is the Type S model...but the extra strut and sways do make a difference. Do a search on the Comptech sways and you'll see how many people recommend you to buy them. I don't even recall anyone who bought them, ever regret getting them. The struts and front lower arm may not be as necessary, but there is a difference...more confidence in hitting the corners.

 

I agree the sways make a big difference. On my other car, (93 tbird 5.0) I could tighten the sway bar end links 1 turn and feel the difference! I'm just questioning the feel with just the brace. By the way, I'm all about stiffening the chassis as much as possible, I'm just looking for feedback that says you can feel just the brace. At 45,000 miles, I'm starting to hear creaks angling up driveways and I would add a lower brace if it helps the problem.

You mentioned it feeling tighter. Was that just the brace or with the sways installed at the same time?

thanks,
Dave