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Suspension for beginners

Tdi North, Warrington (my garage of choice) or
ABP Motorsport, Crewe

Those are first two off the top of my head
 
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Many thanks for the suggestions! Has anyone had the FRS done from ABP motorsport and do these places take the car for test drives? I can see CG seem to go for a test drive/demo once the work has been done which is what I would like doing to make sure everything is ok! :)
 
I don't know about ABP but when I last had mine done at TDI North the lad took it out for a quick spin to test it
 
Improving centre of gravity

I am looking to purchase coilovers for my EP3 Premier Edition.

My main focus is handling at the moment. I understand that doing the FRSU will improve the centre of gravity alot but also read that different ride heights on the front and back to balance the car's weight would also improve that. Does anyone know any specific ride heights that will improve the centre of gravity?

Thanks.
 
Well I don't know if that's what I want... that's what I keep finding, just want to know if that's correct...
What would you recommend then if the toe seems too strong?

2mm toe in rear is actually how the car is built according to the specs...

It all depends on how you want the car to feel and behave, Toe settings will alter how the car turns in and how the car feels at speed, each one having the oposite effect on the other.

There's no right or wrong, it's how you prefer it.

Just because Honda put 2mm on the Toe from the factory doesn't make it the best setting, why do you think we adjust them in the first place ?

I just compared your suggested settings to the ones I had on my EP3.
 
This is a common FRSU setup

TGMFRSU.jpg
 
Man, I could kiss you :)


Strange though caster isn't same for left and right wheels ... ?

That's my settings mate, it's my old car.

That's what I was telling you.

Some of the data is odd as it often pretty time consuming to get them all to dead figures as the all have to be physically adjusted, the discrepancies are nominal anyway and you'd do well to notice them.
 
to ask possibly a silly question.
just bought the civic, needs alignment done,

cant stretch to rear camber bolts yet, but can get the bolts for the front. if I need alignment doing anyway would it be a problem to do it half and half?

so in theory would have this set up;

1 degree neg camber at front
0 deg camber at rear

2mm toe in at rear
1mm toe out at front

then in perhaps a month fit the rear camber arms and then have the rear setup for -1

thoughts on a postcard, thanks
 
oh and lastly, my local formula 1 auto centre does 4 wheel alignment. does this mean they can adjust camber? Or would I need to go to a specialist like tdi in thurrock (my nearest place of the sort)

thanks
 
You won't have rear camber of 0.

I've seen "standard" cars with -1.5 on one side and +1 on the other, time and the original broad Honda set up tolerances saw to that.

The Honda tolerances on the geometry of the EP3 (and the FN2 later for that matter) from the factory were very broad. This means that cars can go out with a geometry set-up that is far from ideal. After a few years of things settling they can go even further out. This is why having the FRSU done makes such a big difference to the handling.

Right onto the meat of it. Having the FRSU done on the front improves front end grip and response on turn into bends, great. Having the FRSU done on the rear of the car makes the rear more stable, gives more grip and makes it more predictable.

If you look at any car manufacturer over the past 10-15 years, they've set their cars up to inherently have a bit of under-steer, they call it safety under-steer. It is often easier for the average driver to correct and get out of a situation where the car is under-steering rather than over-steering, because let's face it we're not all a Sebastian Leob or a Lewis Hamilton.

The point of that is, that if you only get the front done, you are improving the front end grip but leaving the rear as is and the rear is pretty snappy and prone to coming out wildly on the EP3 anyway. The FRSU usually puts around 1 degree toe in on the rear which helps improve the rear grip and means you have to push a lot more to get the back end to come out, but like I said it is more predictable rather than the snap and it's gone feeling before.

Another factor is that the rears tyres do suffer badly if the OEM geometry is out, so again it's another reason to get it done.

At the end of the day it is up to you, however since you have asked, I would hand on heart only recommend the full FRSU! Just get it all done at the same time, stick it on a credit card and pay it off next payday before you get charged any interest.

Yes, your local 4 wheel alignment place will be able to do the set up once you have the camber bolts and rear camber arms.
 
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