alfadoctor

Thought I would jump in here...so if I am reading this right, A spec is just a spring upgrade? Is it a 4 spring upgrade? Cost? Dealer availability or can I get it elsewhere?

sleepinxlionhart

Aspec is a full suspension upgrade, which includes springs and struts. Cost, parts are generally around 600 online on ebay. As for installation cost at the dealer, The cheapest I've gotten was $600, while another dealer wanted $819 for installation and alignment.

23109VC

sleepin -

so did you get it installed yet? i want to know what you think of the ride after you get it put in!

waht size wheels / what tires do you have now?

sleepinxlionhart

I'm still waiting on my 09 rear sway bar to come in, planning of installing it all at once. I am really hating the wait..but I've been told that the sway bar should be coming in this week.

I'm still running on the stock wheels and tires. Thinking about switching the rims when I need a new set of tires, which is probably a few years from now :/. Plus, I really want those 18" AME FS-01 wheels because none of the other aftermarket wheels look appealing to me. Funds are a bit tight right now to get new wheels topping out at around 2k.

sleepinxlionhart

So I'll be going in to the mechanic tomorrow to get the suspension and 19mm rear sway bar installed. The only thing that worries me is the rear suspension, in which getting access to it is the hardest part...I hope he doesn't take off the rear shelf, instead he access the struts just by removing the rear seats.I guess I just have to trust that he knows what he's doing.

23109VC

any mechanic who has installed suspension before will know how to get the stuff out to get to the tops...i'm sure there are lots of cars that require similar disassembly to get to the tops of the rear struts... i woudl just want to make sure the mechanic - independent or Acura certified - is careful. some poeple are careful and some are not...it doesn't really matter where they work...

i'll be anxious to see what you think of the difference after it's in...

Chas2

That is exactly how mine was installed, removing the rear seat in accordance with the DIY thread in the Garage...take a look at the photos and you will see how it is done.

sleepinxlionhart

Yeah, I'm thinking of just expressing my concern to him about that, and show him the pics how people have done it by just taking out the rear seats. Hope that doesn't insult his mechanical ablility...

christopher1

pay for... if you have a great dealer service dept. then YES YOU PAY MORE but you get guys who work on Acura day after day yearly nothing else they can do your aspec in there sleep. 12mth 12,000mi warranty too. my dealer is acura of avon ct. good people.

sleepinxlionhart

So I just got it installed. Paid $150 for the installation plus the sway bar installation, nice guy. As for the ride, it is more sporty, but I'm not so sure about the "night and day" difference in handling. Perhpas it is because I'm still running on the stock 17"s.

Another thing is that, it seems that the wheel gap is slightly higher for the right rear wheel than the left. And that the wheel gap on the left front wheel is slightly higher than the left front wheel. Is it because the springs have not settled yet? I have a full tank of gas, perhaps that's why?

ParaSurfer1979

Give it 250-500 miles of city driving. The rougher roads, impacts from RR tracks will settle the suspension. I think the "ass high" lower in front than back look i think is the best look. Keep us updated. As for ride, it should be only slightly firmer. Lower profile -40/-35 series tires on 18/19 respectively will tighten up the ride.

sleepinxlionhart

Thanks for the tip Parasurfer.

So for the difference in wheel gap, this is what I measured. Measurements are made from the lip of the fender to the lip of the wheel.
FL=15cm
FR=14.5cm
RR=14.2cm
RL=12.5cm

Not sure why the big difference in the left rear, I doubt that it's because of the gas tank because the gas take is evenly distributed in the back.

23109VC

does it feel tighter in turns? like if you take a 90 degree turn, does the car feel like it's more planted, or less body roll? or does it feel the same?

I know you have 17s.. but what tires do you have? OEM MXMs? those tires suck for spirited driving...

my tires have a little bit of life left but are getting close to needing replacement.. I'm really tempted to shop around and find a set of aspecs or some other nice 18" wheel..not sure I would want to go 19".. but just changing the tires would probably make teh single biggest difference.. doing from a stock 17" MXM to an 18" PS2 woudl be night/day difference in terms of grip...

drive it around some more, get on it in some turns, do some on/off ramps..and get back to us.

ParaSurfer1979

Make sure u are on a level street so the weight is spread even. Also u should measure from groud up to fender. it har o copare unless you measured b4 the install. Left rear is lowere due to the fact that youre sitting on that side. Keep trunk as empty as you can until the springs settle.

sleepinxlionhart

i'm measuing in my garage, so it's pretty leveled. I just measured up from the ground to the fender, same thing. front left is higher, and rear left is higher. If the rear left is lower due to me sitting on the left side, shouldn't the front left be lower too?

I did take measurements before hand, but they weren't good because I only measured the left side, the ground up to the front bumper just infront of the wheel, and the ground up to the side skirt of the rear wheel. Darn, should have measured it with the fender to the wheel lip on all four....

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

this gap infatuation is why i ended up vowing to never lower a car again, unless it was adjustable.

a bigger wheel with harder sidewall should improve handling. Let's see some pics!

sleepinxlionhart

Yep, I still have OEM MXMs, perhaps that's the reason. The car does feel tighter around turns, and there's more road feel. I really want to do some on ramps or connector bridges, but so far, there's have always been slow cars intfront of me.

sleepinxlionhart

Good call on vowing to never lower a car unless it was adjustable, I should probably do the same in the future.

Huh, I still don't understand why there would be these gap inconsistencies. Funny thing is that on the left side, the wheel gap is obviously smaller than before, but the clearance level (measured from ground to the end of the sideskirt) is the same. Really odd.

Maybe I will get adjustable ones later on if these keep bothering me. I just don't get why there is this problem.

I'll try and get some pics tomorrow if time permits.


Oh, and an update on the gaps:
Here's what I measured, from the bottom fender lip to the lip of the wheel.
FL=15cm--->14.6cm
FR=14.5cm-->14.1cm
RR=14.2cm-->same
RL=12.5cm-->same

The 2nd values are 6 hours later. not sure why the rear right one is so much different from the rear left..

sleepinxlionhart

OKay, so after doing some research online, it seems that a difference between wheel gaps is normal, even for stock cars. From what I've read is that it's more of a Japanese car thing? But that it really isn't a big deal. Likewise, I also read that if adjustable coilovers are used to give the car even wheel gaps, the roof line will be slanted. I used one of those leveling meters on the top and inside of the trunk, and the car sits even.

Can anyone with a stock RL please measure the lip of the fender to the lip of the 4 wheels for me? I just want to make sure that the car was uneven to begin with. Much appreciated.

sleepinxlionhart

So after a night of settling, the front wheel gaps are even, and the rear wheel gaps are a bit off at 13.5 and 14.2cm, which is nothing. I went to measure my bone stock 2010 Insight, and the rears are off by 1cm, the passenger side being higher. I guess I have nothing to worry about now. I'm a happy camper

Here are some wheel gap pics, before and after. The pictures kind of suck, and I shouldn't have measured the wheel gap because it can be all relative depending on the angle. I tried to get as level as possible with the camera. Sorry that I used the inch side of the ruler for the "after" photos, forgot I used the cm side for the 'before." Placed side by side, it's easier to tell the difference.

Front before:

after:


Rear before:

after:


I'm sure there's more settling for the springs to do before I get the 3/4" to 1" drop stated from the A-spec suspension.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Not sure, man, but yeah, the roof thing might the the case. It's one of those things that you'll stare at and sweat and be unsure about and then eventually you'll not even think about it anymore.

sleepinxlionhart

Here are some more detailed impressions on having the A-specs on. Today I drive on a narrow mountain road, which I was generally around 20-30 mph all the time. I drove this road a day prior before I got the A-specs installed. The difference is rather noticeable. The car is indeed more agile and precise, less body roll and just felt more planted around the corners. It gives more confidence on taking turns, although of course, it's not magical that it'll keep the car on the road no matter how hard you drive it. On straight roads, it is not that much different from stock, it really isn't too rough at all. I'm sure if someone that has never sat in an RL sat in one with A-specs, they would think that the ride is stock because it still give a luxurious feeling but also sporty at the same time.

I can't wait to see how it feels like with 18" wheels, but that'll just have to wait. Although I had a bit of a buyer's remorse yesterday because of the inconsistencies in the wheel gaps, but now that the springs have settled and resolved the problem, this mod (also with the 19mm sway bar) was well worth it. If anyone is wondering, total cost are:
A-spec suspension: $515
19mm sway bar: $63
Installation: $150

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Buyer's remorse is a waste of time, sir. You don't like, you can resell on black market! That's how I feel anyway, I buy things knowing it's like I'm renting them until I get bored.

As far as handling being better, good job! Glad it was worth it. I'm glad you didn't take it as an attack when I said I only go with coils now. On my 97 accord, OMG...talk about obsessing about the wheel gap...I bought cheap springs, ended up cutting them repeatedly with a dremel etc...then I went with good springs on the next car and ended up with rubbing when the new tires I had bought...after that I said, I don't want to deal with this so either I wait till I have the grand for coilovers or I don't touch the suspension.

Just my story...lol.

sleepinxlionhart

No no, no offense taken when you said you only go with coilovers. That is a great idea to solve the problem. Adjustable coilovers gives a lot of options, and are a good choice to go with.