I'm an owner of a 2002 3.2TLS, and am not impressed with the handling. Everything is currently stock, and I want to make it handle better on turns. Furthermore, I notice that sometimes when I floor it, it will not downshift at high speeds, and I'm guessing it needs to be 'chipped?'

Does anyone know a good place in the Bay area to have these modifications made? What should I ask for?

Thanks in advance!

 

Sways and Springs will drastically improve handling although the springs have a slight ride penalty. As far as shifting goes, I dont know of any chips that will solve that problem. What about just using your sportshift??

 

I can only assume he is flooring it past 80 thinking that it might downshift to 3rd but wont. Unfortunately, once you reach 80 in either 4rth or 5th gear, there is no turning back unless you slow down, then shift to 3rd. That's why if you ever decide to pick a fight on the road, make sure you start it below 80 so you could at least redline it up to 100 before being bogged down at 4rth.

As for the handling, I've been on the phone alot lately with customer service reps beating myself on the head on which sways to get. Could you believe that the NEUSPEED customer service rep is accually talking me out of getting the 25mm rear sways?! He told me that the stock bushings and brackets could potentionally break if I dont find some way to reinforce them due to the strength of the bar. Also, he was concerned that when used in daily driving, that the car might acually spin out on freeway onramps/offramps. As for the Eibach anti-roll kit (23mm), youd have to wait a couple of months on that order because I just found out that the set might be delayed even further. If you really need to get sways NOW....then your best best is Comptechs (22mm). Till then, I'm either waiting for the Eibach's or investigate further on the 25mm NUESPEED and figure out EXACTLY what I need to reinforce....without of course involving welding tools.

 

i don't know A LOT about cars, but my friend told me that with thick bars like NEUSPEED 25mm, you might actually want to hard "solder" the bar. he told me that his friend, with another car, got a thick bar but didn't solder, what happened was when he was making a tough turn, it actually tear the body..... later on he solder the bar to the body and it's so far so good.

He also told me that if you don't want serious spin out, make sure the bar is thicker in the front than that in the back. can't confirm on that one though

 

springs and sways definately is what EVERYonE (almost) on this board would say...lol

 

though it doesn't really help handling that much, i would get wider ties like 225 as well. the 215 just don't have enough grip on first and 2nd gear.

 

But then you would have to get new wheels to accomodate the larger width. This sucks.

 

no, our stock 6.5 rim can take a maximum of 225 tires, there should be no problem and quite a few people on the forum are using that combo? i don't think i will get new rims for my car IF 225 doesn't fit on my rim......

or it doesn't fit coz' of the the 45 spec? in that case maybe i will go with 225/50/17.... or it's still a waste of money?

 

I was playing with this just the other night... mine will shift down to third if I floor it at 85mph or below. NICE pull up there, too.

 

I just had my sways replaced from OEM to CompTech. I researched long and hard before buying them from Tim and this is what I have come up with.

CompTech sways has a thicker "wall" than the others.
CompTech comes with after market bushings.
CompTech is the official "tuner" for Acura.
I love the CompTech Sways!!

The sways definitely makes a difference.

 

I just contacted the dealership, and It will cost over $1000 for parts and labor for the comptech sways and springs... Anyone know where I can get a better deal in the Bay Area?

 

springs and sways around 6 shipped and 150 to 200 installed 800 or less you should be able to get it done for

 

the sways are around 300 if you buy it here, and install would be around 200 max. wouldn't that mean for around 500 you should be able to get the sways done?

 

Dude, buy a friend with just a little bit of automotive knowledge and a jack a case of beer and he should have it done very easily. That's what I did.

 

Woops...I forgot to edit my post. But I tried that also and could confirm that 85 is the cutoff point where you could still downshift.

 

The "wall" only refers to the front set, since the rears are solid bars. As for the width, the Comptech matches the other 2...Eibach and Neuspeed. Only the Suspension Techniques sway bars are less in diameter. As for the rear set, comptechs rank 3rd in thickness (from what tims offers anyways), but since Eibach is currently under development, it falls 2nd.

So does the other brands.

 

Thats similar to what the Neuspeed representative told me, although I'm sure your friend welded the parts together, not soldered. :p The part that you weld is not the acuall bar itself, but the mounting brackets that hold the bar in place. As for the front set needing to be thinker than the rear set to avoid spinouts...thats true.

 

Is this true? 225 width tires on a 6.5" inch wheel?

 

ah damnit edgalang, i couldn't think of the right word... thanks for pointing it out though.

well, do a search on it my2sense, i remember reading couple of people using 225 on their stock rim. anyone can confirm on that? i am really really thinking about getting 225 once my stock tires wear out.

so is 500 a good estimation on installing the comptech sways? that's the budget i am planning on, and don't really wanna put too much on it. then of course, i don't know any friend who can do it for me so i have to go with other people