StonedCL

iTrader: (1)

I just got my B@G suspention in Today and ordered it at 10PM tuesday nights WOW..Thanks Excelerate... And I'm gonna install it with some co-workers prob saterday..(maybee if they have time).
My car makes alot of noise (skreecking clunking) so im replacing the shocks/struts(B@G) and stabalizer bar links (moog).
My ? is what else should I replace with the shocks struts?
The techs said I can reuse all the other parts but I dont wanna finnish and ends up a strut mount or bellow making the noise. I wanna get everything I need and do it once but dont want to replace something that does not need to be replaced cuz my cash flow is zilch right now, but dont wanna do the job twice!
What else should i replace and not reuse with the shocks struts?
Strut Bellow?
Strut mount?
Strut rod bushing?
I prob will order the rest of the stuff from
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/raca...&parttype=7592

So can u guys tell me what else I SHOULD get b4 tackaling the job?
THANKS!

gnuts

iTrader: (1)

You don't need anything. Clunking sounds like it would be the struts. Upgrading the end links is a good idea too. Everything else from your setup should be fine. Start with installing what you got. Maybe check your sway bar while you're under there, make sure it's bolted on tight.

StonedCL

iTrader: (1)

So I should just use the old Strut bellow and strut mount from the strut that I am taking off? If the strut mounts on top of the strut are rubber i want to change those out also cuz rubber deteriorates. I allready chaged the rubber mounts that hold the sway bar up, That rubber was deteriorated making noise so I changed it allready. I just dont want to reuse parts if there is a chance they will go bad or make noise!`

gnuts

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Don't be a worry wart! Do your strut and end link install and see how it is.

2Fast4you

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are those b&g struts any good I was thinking about these becasue they were cheaper but I thought that the tokico hps were better

StonedCL

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I will let you know I will get them on today (maybee) If the techs feel like helping me out!

immauser

iTrader: (1)

any news on those B&G setup? im thinking of getting them also. anyone else had these before they can share their experience..thanks

StonedCL

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I just had it put on yesterday by some tech's at the dealership I work at.
First off everyone that seen my car LOVES the look now!
The Ride is comfortable, maybee as cofortabel as the stock suspention not jarring at all!
Handloes (around turns) better I dont know how much better yet cuz i only had it on for 12 hours and put 40 miles on it.
The alignment rack is broken by my shop so i did not do a alignment yet so im not sure if i will need a camber kit (doubt it) but will find out when i alignment by monday.
My front stock shocks were destroyed (leaking all over) but I knew that after 165k miles.
The techs all drove it and said i would be ok , some said i didnt even need a alignment but I like to be safe.
Bottom line Excelerate price wAs GREAT he answered all questions for me (to the point i got annoying) but kept his cool, and shipping was quick (ordered 10pm tuesday came 2 pm thursday)
For $465 shipped you CANT go wrong ride is comfy turns alot better then stock and people that know nuttin about cars says it looks alot better even though they have no clue what i did to it!

2Fast4you

iTrader: (1)

what springs are you running on?

StonedCL

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Its a set its B@G springs.
The set for $440 included 4 shocks and 4 springs.
B&G shocks and B&G springs.
The drop is about 1.6 inches.
RIDES GREAT!

Cmanuel

Please get back to us when you get your alignment checked out. I'm wanting an inexpensive, sporty replacement for my worn OEM shocks/springs without the hassle of a camber kit and a modest drop.

StonedCL

iTrader: (1)

[QUOTE=Cmanuel;10704192]Please get back to us when you get your alignment checked out. I'm wanting an inexpensive, sporty replacement for my worn OEM shocks/springs without the hassle of a camber kit and a modest drop.[/QUOTE

I don't know when I will have time cuz the alignment rack at my job is broke so if I take it our other dlr they would. Charge me unless a tech takes it there . So I am gonna see if a tech has time to take it this week. I drove 400 miles so far and car steers strait does not pull and techs took a look at the tires today and said they look Fine no uneven wear! I would go for it I am immpressed and for 460 shipped u can't go wrong!

Excelerate

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the compliments and the review. B&G is a newer line for us and the price is very reasonable, especially with the introductory pricing we have. Enjoy the new mod.

Anyone who is interested can find more info and pricing here:

http://store.excelerateperformance.c...n/b-10206.aspx

tangsauce

Sounds like a sweet deal. Post some pics of the drop.

2Fast4you

iTrader: (1)

hows the ride with those I want a close to stock ride quality thats the main reason I am not lowered now

StonedCL

iTrader: (1)

I wanted a stock ride and TRUST me IT IS a stock ride. I took my girl to Atlantic city (140 miles each way) and to NYC (where the roads are shitty)
And she said nuttin about the ride being harsh or different (And trust me she would be the first one to complain) The ride looks 100X better and all the techs at the dealer drove it and they all loved the ride, none complained about the harshness. The drop is PERFECT about a inch and a half!
For the price and service you will get from Excelerate you will not be dissapointed! This setup cost like $730 on the B@G website and u can have it for $460 shipped.

StonedCL

iTrader: (1)

I just got my car aligned by one of the techs at my job. He took my ride down to other dealer and he said my allignment was perfect, he was actully suprised that a inch and a half drop and the car aligned almost perfect, the toe was of a little but he said that NO camber kit is needed, So OVERALL i am VERY happy with my purchase!
The parst cost me about $462 shipped QUICK (40 hours from when I ordered it AMAZING)
the istall costed me 2 cases of hineken (about $50) and alignment costed anuther case ($25) and NO camber kit needed. SO overall about about $540 and car feels stock , handle on RAILS and looks SICK.

Thanks again Excelerate for the prompt shipping and for putting up with all my questions.
BTW I like to reserch prices and even if Excelerate was a little more I would have ordered from him but he was cheapest for this kit BY FAR.. The cheapest I found was like $100 more and on B@G website it retails for over $700 and LIFTIME warrent on the shocks and springs why replace your shocks with the stock stuff when they go bad when for about $100 more u can get springas and a tottally different handling car that LOOKS hot!

So for anyone needing new shocks (which should be replaced at 100k) DO yourself a faver and go to
http://store.excelerateperformance.c...n/b-10206.aspx
and order this kit you will not be dissapointed!
You really can feel how bad your shocks are when they start to go bad but they go bad over time little by little so if you have high milage do yourself a faver and SLAM your CL!

blackasscls

Im sold..... just need to get 450$, getting 19's really boned me in the $ category

blackasscls

AnthraciteBeast

iTrader: (3)

^

post pics

StonedCL

iTrader: (1)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/36971594@N05/3407281612/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36971594@N05/3407281612/

StonedCL

iTrader: (1)

Let me know if you guys can see the pic cuz when i put [img] it come up as a red x



What am I doing wrong?

2Fast4you

iTrader: (1)

when you right click the image on a image hosing site you copy the image location and use that for the picture to work

StonedCL

iTrader: (1)

This Is my Ride with the B&G shocks and springs.. Its a one and a half inch drop front and rear!

Thanks 2Fast4You

StonedCL

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02CLNOS

nice bubble in the side wall in pict 1, nice even drop to.

StonedCL

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Yeah I know I got 2 tires with bubble since i put Fusions on.
I have the road hazard warrenty just had not had time to go get it taken care of!

StonedCL

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StonedCL

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2Fast4you

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those look pretty nice but I kinda think its gonna be a pain to install the rear struts because you have to take out the back seat

StonedCL

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I had a tech and the wash guy at my job do it for 2 cases of beer (henikin)
They had more trouble wrestling the front shocks out then the rear.
Taking out the seats they said was easy and back was easier then the front.
Thats what they said.. Alignment was perfect but toe was off alittle..
I'm very happy!

2Fast4you

iTrader: (1)

whats the toe?

StonedCL

iTrader: (1)

I think toe is the angle of the tires, here is a great article by mrheeltoe the explains everything better then I can:

This topic is one of the most frequently asked on one of our major customer sites. So, rather than continue to post wordy replies over and over again, we are making it a tech article!

Do I need a camber kit? The short answer is: If you are worried about your tires, then no. If you are more anal about your car and want all the numbers correct, then yes. For the long answer, keep reading.


For Hondas, a camber kit is a debatable issue. When you lower the car, the camber will go out and you need a camber kit to fix it. However, I find it is not necessary to correct the camber in most cases. Most people think they need a camber kit because of a tire-wear concern. The reality is, TOE ANGLE kills tires WAY faster than camber ever will.

Sound like a bold statement? Conventional wisdom is that when you lower the car you need a camber kit if you don't wanna wear out the tires fast. Well, there is another adjustment/spec here than nobody has mentioned. Caster is another key.

When you lower a double wishbone car like the 88-00 Civics, 90-01 Integras, Accords, TSX, etc, the camber angle always increases in a negative direction: The wheels tilt inwards. It is what makes the car handle better in turns than strut cars. It is a natural effect of cycling a double-wishbone suspension.

Lowering many cars also increases the toe angle, which is to say it points the tires outward. They kinda fight for direction where the car wants to go.

But also, realize that all cars have some positive caster. The means that when you turn the wheel, the axis of rotation is not 90 degrees. You may notice it more exaggerated on BMWs and Benzes. The best way to view the angle is to turn the wheel all the way to one side, and get out and look at your car. Notice the wheel is turned, but also kind flopped over? Have a friend with a S500 (if you have one) do donuts while you watch outside. The wheels really flop over on those cars!

Think of it like pushing a wheel barrow. The angle from the axle to the handle is like caster. Pick up a wheel barrow and stand it veritcal on the tire with the handles straight in the air. Now imagine pushing it and trying to turn it. Haha...it just fell on you! Now imagine pushing and turning it normally. Much easier. Much more stable. And when you trun it, the tire is not actually turning. It flops over on it's side and leans! That is how your car turns too! That is how motorcylcles turn and well.

Caster is great for high speed stability. That is why all cars have some dialed in. Without it, the car would be super twitchy and hard to control at speed. It's why autobahn burners have more caster than your typical Japanese car.

The problem is, when you lower the car and toe angle is thrown out, the wheels are actually riding on the inside edges of the tire as they grind away pulling the car in different directions! This is in addition to the increased camber effect! With an improper alignment the car will WASTE tires in a matter of months (or weeks if you drive like me).

The trick to lowering the car and having the tires last is to get a good 4-wheel alignment to fix the toe angle. I AM COMPLETELY SERIOUS when I say that, as an authorized Tein distributor, 9 times out of ten we do not sell a camber kit. I have had over a dozen hondas, all lowered, and most lowered past 2". I have never had a camber kit on ANY of my cars. The ONLY car that I had a problem with tires with was my 94 accord which I had never aligned. Go figure.

Camber will tend to wear tires out somewhat quicker than stock, but generally speaking, with a good toe alignment, the increased wear will not be cumbersome or even really significant. The added camber actually makes the car handle a little better. Also, a little camber in conjuntion with the caster will wear the tires out almost evenly! So why get rid of it?

Here are some images to illustrate what I mean.

In this image, you can see where the inside and outside of the tire are. The red dots are there to help you identify the wear-indicators inside the tire grooves. When the tires wear down to these wear-bars, you know it is time to replace the tires. These tires are almost there:



Now, you can see how the tire is worn more toward the inside...that's camber wear. This customer was driving on this tire, with the car lowered moderately with a good alignment. He has not maximized tire wear, but clearly he has not greatly suffered either. No camber kit was installed.

In the next image, we have a tire which was lowered aggressively, and the car was NOT aligned.



Look how aggressively the tire has worn on the inside edge. The cords are even showing. This wear is caused by TOE angle. The direction of wear here is dramatically different than a camber-worn tire. This type of wear will kill a brand new set of tires in a matter of months. Mistakenly, people will lower their cars, not align them, get this wear, and blame it on camber. The timeline continues when the customer buys a camber kit, installs it, and the wear goes away. Must have been the camber kit, right? It was the toe, people. Also note, this is a front tire.

With a drop under 1.75", you should not need to even worry about it, because a drop of that much will not even throw the car out of factory camber specs! But that toe will be in the red every time!





Other things of note!

Camber and Caster are not adjustable on our Honda cars! I think we already know that , but I was just noting it. Toe is fully adjustable front and rear.

Front tires always wear faster than rear ones. The wheels back there are just free wheeling. There is little weight on them and the is no load/torque on them. Traction is not an issue and wear is nearly non-existant. If you are going to get a camber kit for your Honda, you only really need it in the front.

Some people wonder why Hondas do not have camber-adjustable pillow mounts available. The reason is simple. It's that Double-Wishbone suspension thing again. Cars which have camber adjustable pillow mounts awailable are all MacPherson strut suspension cars. In a MacPherson car, where struts are used, the damper locates the steering knuckle; it itself is a suspension member. In a Double-Wishbone car, upper and lower arms locate the knuckle, and the shock and spring are attached to one of the arms to provide dampening. So you see, with arms locating the knuckle, moving the shock around really does not change any alignment angles. So having camber adjustable upper pillow mounts on these applications is utterly pointless.

Alignment shops are like body shops. Most of them suck, but they are a necessary evil in our world. The trick is to find a good one you like. I hear a lot of good thigs about west-end. There are a couple in South Orange County here I recommend. I know a lot about alignments because I did them at work for a while. I wish I had an alignment machine JUST so I could do my own now!

Negative camber is visually apparent from outside the car. This is a big deal to some people. Likewise, I am not trying to tell people that lowering the car will not result in negative camber which is out of spec. All I am saying is that is does not have a big impact. Really, to fix the looks and alginment numbers, you'd need a camber kit. Some people just have different prioritys.

2Fast4you

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the toe thing sounds like it can really screw with your tires and handling did you notice it when you were driving?

StonedCL

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NO i did'nt notice anything while driving and i drove 400 miles b4 the alignment. He said the toe was off a little bit so it was not even that much. These shocks where made for these springs and made for this car so I think they made it so it does not throw off the alignment or the toe!

2Fast4you

iTrader: (1)

this is very tempting but I dont know if I should spend the money on it. I think the tires and wheels I got almost give it a dropped look but idk its just alot of money and I get to the point were im close to buying and then relize how much money it really is and convince myself I could buy some thing alot better with the money.

StonedCL

iTrader: (1)

Its really up to you, how long do u plan on keeping the car.
I made up my mind that im gonna keep it al least anouther 2 years b4 I dropped $500 on it. Have u ever changed shocks?
Shocks DO go bad, mine were very bad, making alot of noise and bouncing over bumps so I need new shocks anyways. It was either stock shocks or tokico blue for like $320 and keep the stock ride hieght or $150 more and slam it..So i picked to slam it...

burnedhandz

more like $510-$520 shipped to San Francisco

StonedCL

iTrader: (1)

My bad, his store in in Conn. I guess thats why shipping was $20 to me cuz im in NJ about 2 hours from him. Even for that price thats still a steal on B&G's website they retail for like $730..

2Fast4you

iTrader: (1)

I thinking about getting these now but should I get the sways also while im changing out the suspension?