neveronlineilx

So I dropped the ILX off at Progress Technology in Placentia CA for Anti Roll bar test fit and road test and I am in awe at the outcome...

Many people don't know about Progress they are in my opinion one of the best kept secrets in the Honda and Acura tuning community. Progress has been around since 1995 so they are by no means a new player in suspension tuning. They specialize in Anti Roll Bars (both adjustable and non adjustable), Springs, Coil-Overs, Camber Kits and etc...

Anyway onto the review:

First let me start by saying my cars is bone stock other than a few minor mods and an axle back exhaust, but prior to this addition there were no suspension mods on my car not even lowering springs. I was really looking forward to Coil-overs first but for review purposes I think it worked out better since I can now fully appreciate what an anti roll bar actually does for the suspension... All I can saw is WOW!!! The difference in body roll is amazing I would have to say that body roll is reduced by 70-80% at least... the car handles turns so much more aggressively then when completely stock. I left work a little early to go up into Anaheim hills and throw the car around a little and took it to an empty lot to pitch the car from side to side and it really is a blast to drive (for example I am easily taking sweeping freeway on ramps at 7-10mph faster than before) the car feels so much more planted and it feels much safer when driving aggressively because the lean on this car when stock is fairly significant (actually one of the things that frustrated me the most about the ILX, specially after driving a 2013 SI aggressively).

For looks Coil-overs will no doubt be the favorite out of the two but for fun to drive factor I must say a beefy rear anti roll bar is a great addition to the ILX. Stock bay is a measly 13mm and the new Progress bar is much more beefy at 23mm and also comes with poly inserts instead of the rubber ones OEM bars have.

Price is another deciding factor on many modifications people place on their cars and I must say Progress Technologies pricing is beyond reasonable too. The non adjustable bar that I reviewed above retails for $182.75 while comparable bars are close to $250.00 from other manufactures, for that price you can upgrade to their 24mm bar that is adjustable to three different settings ($276.25).

Coil-over review should be coming within the next two months and once its on the car I will post pics and give a review of them as well.

Glad to see more manufactures getting products for our cars and specially ones that are affordable and don't skimp on quality to be affordable Great Job Progress!

usdmJON

Cant wait to pick one up! Good review too.

You cant see these sway bars from the rear of our cars like you can with older civics and integras huh?

And Im not sure why progress has their pricing the way they do. The 182 sway bar doesnt come with endlinks which they sell for 92 bucks. The beefier sway bar is only 94 bucks more and COMES WITH endlinks.
So in the end, the 22mm plus endlinks is only 2 bucks cheaper than the 24mm that comes with endlinks. Weird but whatever. Makes the 24 a better buy!

neveronlineilx

LOL yeah there pricing didn't make sense to me either when I saw it :/

another good thing for local owners is their customer service they are more than there too help out when and if issues arise. I broke an endlink on my 99Si that was equipped with their CO's and Sway bar and they sent it next day free of charge!

I tend to lean towards JDM products most of the time but its nice to be able to support an American company whom stands by their product, doesn't reduce quality to keep prices low and offers awesome customer support for their stuff

neveronlineilx

for the record its the 22mm non adjustable roll bar

veeedub

Sounds great! I was stuck between the Eibach and the Progress, but you might have just won me over. Excited for the coils!

neveronlineilx

I have used both on different vehicles at different times and Progress Customer Service in my experience has been better. I have friends at eibach and they do make a great product too, but of the two I would give the edge to Progress because I feel it's the better bang for the buck

Excelerate

iTrader: (1)

Thank you for helping out the ILX community with this. Just a clarification though: Both bars are adjustable.

The Progress Rear Sway Bar you have is 22mm and adjustable:

http://store.excelerateperformance.c...9/i-39739.aspx

The other Progress Rear Sway Bar is 24mm, adjustable and it includes end links:

http://store.excelerateperformance.c.../i-578159.aspx

This NEW COMPETITION SERIES Rear Sway Bar system is an upgraded version of our tried-and-true #62.1009. This NEW rear sway bar is a larger 24mm diameter, features three adjustment settings, and INCLUDES our new ADJUSTABLE END LINK assemblies & "Bombproof" three-piece TIG-welded bushing brackets & reinforcement plates for the LCAs.

We have both in stock for those of you who are interested.

4cruizn

Awesome. Glad to see the aftermarket options gaining momentum for the ILX platform.

neveronlineilx

When talking with Ed at Progress he did not make it sound like there were different settings for the smaller bar? Taken from their site

2006 - 2013 Honda Civic, including Si
2013 - 2014 Acura ILX

Rear anti-roll bar

Progress anti-roll bars dramatically improve handling. How? They minimize the traction-robbing body "lean" that rolls part of the outside tires off the pavement. Our Sport-tuned Anti-roll bars replace skinny OEM bars and rubber bushings with larger diameter (stiffer) alloy steel bars and polyurethane bushings. More roll stiffness means less body "lean", and the tires stay flatter on the pavement (larger contact patches). The result is more grip and added driver control!

-Less body roll means more traction, faster cornering speeds, and increased driver confidence.
-Polyurethane bushings produce crisp response on turn-in.

Progress Anti-roll bars are cold-formed in-house using our custom-built precision bending equipment. Both laser-cut and CNC bar ends are MIG welded in place using a precise fixture for an exact fit.

• Size: 22mm
• Adjustment Range: None
• End-links Included: No
• All sway bars are powdercoated metallic gray.
• One year limited warranty

• Includes RLCA reinforcement brackets

Based on the above I think the smaller bar is not adjustable, at least on the 2013 Civic Si / ILX bar

neveronlineilx

No you cant see it even if you look under the car...LOL

Excelerate

iTrader: (1)

Sorry, you are correct. I got it confused with another application.

usdmJON

oy vay

neveronlineilx

LOL...

After another day and more miles with the bar I'm really liking the effects of it. The car is so much more fun with the bigger bar. Took a right hand turn at 35-37 miles an hour with just some tire squeal!!! I think my tires are going to show wear if I keep this up LOL.

Also went to look at the eibach bar and theirs is 3mm smaller than the Progress Bar :/ . It does offer two different settings so maybe that makes up for the smaller bar? They also offer a front bar but at this point I think it would be a waste, the car handles super neutral and predictable.... I think adding a bigger front bar would just put me back into under steer territory, no thanks

usdmJON

Majority of the time you match a thicker rear bar with a smaller front one.
We dont really take turns has high enough speeds to need both.

If you have 24, or go higher, a 19mm front can do good.


A good way to view the sway bar is like a rubber band connecting both ends of the suspension. The thicker the rubber band, the strong the connection and less roll.
So the eibach 19mm rear would could be suited for someone with daily driving in mind and not wanting to spend the money on a real beefy bar but still gain the effects of the thicker bar. Some would say the 22mm is more for a race inspired feel while the 24mm is strictly race.

And I asked Progress and they got back to me today. The 22mm uses stock mounting links so you dont need the adjustable ones they sell for $92.

neveronlineilx

Yea but eibach offering a 19mm rear and then a 24mm front bar seems like it would not leave the car in a very neutral setting and would actually promote understeer which is good for most reg drivers and tends to be a little safer (hence why most OE settings lean towards understeer)

If you drove my car you would see what I'm talking about the car is very neutral and feels balanced. If I went with a thicker bar now it would throw it off again. Now if I had the 24mm and adjusted to full firm I might be able to take it back to a more neutral state, but kinda a waste in my opinion or a mod for the sake of modding.

usdmJON

lol I think you misunderstood my post. I agreed with you. A 24mm front and a 19mm rear would be stupid on a honda/acura.

I said if you had a 24mm rear than a 19mm front would do good. Honda/Acuras do best with thick rears and smaller front sway bars.

BUT you have the 22mm so a 19mm would be less ideal matched with the 22mm vs the 24mm. A 17mm would do good. No idea is the 2.4 has one stock.

neveronlineilx

Oh LOL!!! I did.

And I thought that the fact they offer a 19mm rear and 24mm front just struck me as kinda odd.

I know the SI was one that's close to the eibach (at least from the couple threads I found) but I couldn't verify if the 2.4l has the same one or not.

usdmJON

I figure we probably have a front sway its just small. Same for the rear.

Chances are I'll go with a rear only. Maybe just go 19mm from eibach and save a little cash, but if Ive got some cash I'll go with the 22mm you got. The 22mm is a great combination of race and daily use.

JMJ3rd

Thanks for your review!

neveronlineilx

This was my line of thinking too. Aside from the fact that I would probably never adjust it and treat it like coilovers and set it and forget it... LOL

JMJ3rd - Anytime

JMJ3rd

Making notes of all I want to do to this car!

neveronlineilx

You should make sure the anti roll bar is on that list! Practically doubles the fun factor! I wasn't even planning on one, but I definitely should have been. I highly recommend it!

JMJ3rd

I hope they make them available through Amazon!

spdandpwr

Glad to hear that progress test fitted the bar on the ILX. Gotta say a 24 might be overkill on an ilx...it'll cause that rear end to really kick out if you're not careful. Be sure to read up on the effects of the RSB. This is the reason why I decided to go with a 19 on mine. Kept most of the neutral response of the car, but made it much flatter in the corners.

neveronlineilx

Yeah I was thinking about that this morning too that the 24mm would be overkill (unless you were serious about tracking and looking to upgrade the front and rear bars).

22mm is really good choice too in my opinion it doesn't make the car too darty or anything during cornering car feels very neutral and predictable.

Excelerate

iTrader: (1)

We've got them priced pretty aggressively on the website. If we can get 10 people together we'll offer free shipping to the cont 48 US

http://store.excelerateperformance.c...9/i-39739.aspx

usdmJON

It is indeed cheaper on your site even with shipping.

But you wont find 10 users looking to buy any mod for the ilx. You'd be hard tasked to find 10 users here that have lifted a finger to mod their ilx.

neveronlineilx

That would be a great deal for a much needed mod on an ILX in my opinion. Good Luck! I hope Ten users make it possible, the more modded ILX's the better

usdmJON

I prefer to mod a car no one else is touching. To each their own.

neveronlineilx

I like exclusiveness of being one of few too, but in the end I think it's safe to say this car will see its fair share of modding unless it has a short model cycle due to lack of sales and interest.

I can't think of any vehicles from Honda or Acura that have not seen there fair share if modding? Some obviously more than others but you know what I mean

JMJ3rd

Right now price is kinda second. I have reward points I need to use and that's where they are to bring the price much lower.

JMJ3rd

Would the 24mm set to the soft setting still be too aggressive?

neveronlineilx

Probably not but unless tracking not necessary in my honest opinion. I mean with our underbody panelling it makes it difficult or rather time consuming for adjusting. Not to mention an overly stiff rear sway bar can help you locate other weaklinks in the chassis and subframe...

Mostly it depends on the end result you are looking to achieve, my car is to be a daily driver that handles at a high enough level to take to open track days and auto cross but not too aggressive were street driving rattles fillings loose or makes you have to pee constantly... Lol

JMJ3rd

Sounds good. Less money to spend, also.

linksmask1

So I'm brand new to the modding community and have been thinking of upgrading the suspension to reduce some of the car's body roll (I have a 2.4 btw). Seems like the best place to start is a rear sway bar, and two solid options are either a 19 mm Eibach or a 22 mm Progress. Is the 22 mm bar going to reduce roll significantly more than the 19 mm bar?

Also it after reading around a little, it seems that it's considered a good idea to upgrade the end links as well (I believe one user's stock end links failed on him while using an upgraded bar?). But I also read that upgraded sway bar + end links might stress the control arms? Suggestions here?

Then next step after RSB seems to be upgrading the springs to lower the car (or this might be the first step). Does this put extra strain on other suspension parts (shocks)? How does lowering the car compare to adding a stiffer RSB with regards to reducing body roll?

Sorry in advanced for all the noob questions haha.

Excelerate

iTrader: (1)

Yes the 3mm will make a huge difference. The Progress bar is the best option on the market. You can upgrade the end links but it isn't necessary.

Yes, lowering springs will put a bit more stress on the shocks but nothing major. Unless you get a very aggressive spring it will work well with OE shocks and the shocks should last about what they would have on OE springs.

If you need any of the parts please let us know.

x95zsk

i have the 2.0L, will it work on it? looking to get the rear and which one?

neveronlineilx

Yes it will work. The chassis is the same and suspension components are inter-changeable between all ILXs.

Personally I would recommend the Progress standard non adjustable bar. Unless you are going to auto cross/track and want adjustability. With the bigger bar stepping up to a bigger front bar maybe neccessary to eliminate oversteer with such a big bar. The bar I have is the smaller of the two and offers a very nuetral feel and body roll has been greatly reduced!

linksmask1

Thought I'd add some info to this thread for prosperity's sake:

I recently added the 22mm progressive rear sway bar to my car plus some MOOG endlinks (probably weren't necessary). But the effects of the sway bar are amazing. Low speed driving feels so much tighter and flatter. Before the bar, if I took a sharp 90 degree turn fast and accelerate hard, I would loose a lot of grip in the front. Not anymore, front tires grip like glue during the same turn. High speed/highway driving feels much more secure too. Even just simple non-aggressive lane changes feel much better.

And I've yet to notice a negative--bumps don't feel any worse, and no problems with oversteer. No idea why Acura didn't have a thicker bar in the back from the factory, would've made this car muuuch more appealing, specially considering the number of reviews I've read that complain about sloppy handling. Anyway, anyone who wants an easy mod for a lot of handling gain, RSB upgrade is the way to go.


Oh I also took some photos!


Before and after bars. The new bar is almost scary thicker. According to physics, its toque constant should be (22^4)/(14^4) = 6 times the original bar, which means it's 6 times stiffer than the original. Course this doesn't take into account additional bending on other suspension parts but I digress...



Tools used for the mod (maybe give or take a few):



And a pic of the bar installed with a MOOG endlink showing:

aomechmarine

man I might have to do this soon as well. I have a 2.4 l and i gotta say that my 2001 lowered civic handled better then this car does right now. But i also had better wheels and tires…. still