Hajdoki_Ep3
03-22-2010, 08:39 PM
Over at Honda tech i found an article about tuning the ep3/dc5 suspension...interesting read
Anyways i'm deciding to follow these steps to a better handling car for track
Forum thread
http://ht-archive.net/showthread.php?t=2639666
Im directly looking at the parts to improve my front suspension for now
Quote
Next issue to look at with the top pic is camber......Camber is a term used to describe what angle the tire is set at with regard to the road. In stock form, camber is not adjustable and the stock suspension is set for about zero degrees camber. This is great for drag racing and making tires last for 60,000 miles but it sucks for generating grip in turns. Having a couple degrees of negative camber helps the outside tire to take a set and helps keep the tire tread on the road surface. There are 3 ways to get more camber in a ep3/dc5.
1) Camber plates, these angle in the top of the strut and as a result angle the tire.
2) Crash bolts, these mount where the strut and the bearing carrier connect. This allows you to angle in the bearing carrier and allows you to angle in the tire inward.
3) Type-r LCA, these are wider than stock and as a result angle the tire inward. WARNING! If you decide to use these, you should not use your stock axles and you will need type-r front sways because of the extra width of the LCA.
What is the best camber setting for the front suspension? It depends on what you are doing and what tires you are using. As a general rule I would say -1 to -1.5 degrees for dd and about -3 for the autoX guys.
Cliff notes: Negative camber good for cornering in the front suspension.
Now look at the lower pic, the first thing I want to to look at is the front bushing on the LCA. That bushing is there to change toe settings as the cornering loads increase. It adds toe in as the gee forces go up, this = increasing under steer! Anyone that is trying to get our cars to handle needs to replace this bushing asap. Both Mugen and Energy Suspension make kits for this.
Cliff notes: The front bushing in the LCA needs to be replaced to make our cars handle.
Now I want to address the Caster angle of our suspension in the front. If you look at bottom pic you will notice the strut is almost strait up and down. The stock caster angle is around 1.5 degrees.....this sucks for handling and strait line tracking. If Honda screwed up anything with our cars suspension, this is the biggest thing. It is also the hardest to fix but it can be fixed. K-Mac makes a Camber/Caster plate for this. The strut towner's can also be re-drilled to angle the strut back. For road racing there are bushings for the LCA that shift the LCA forward to angle the strut back.
Cliff notes Caster good but hard to get.
As you read the red I was thinking i would do just that. I found access to some 2002 Type R LCA and Front Sway, but the problem was no luck with the axles, but they do have K20A DC5 axles, wondering if these would work?
Also If i do get full coil over kit will it matter if i change anything listed in the red?
As for the Green, I'm wondering how much the re drilling would be and if it is actually worth it? and does it say I can re drill it and that's it or need the caster/camber plates and the drill?
Anyways i'm deciding to follow these steps to a better handling car for track
Forum thread
http://ht-archive.net/showthread.php?t=2639666
Im directly looking at the parts to improve my front suspension for now
Quote
Next issue to look at with the top pic is camber......Camber is a term used to describe what angle the tire is set at with regard to the road. In stock form, camber is not adjustable and the stock suspension is set for about zero degrees camber. This is great for drag racing and making tires last for 60,000 miles but it sucks for generating grip in turns. Having a couple degrees of negative camber helps the outside tire to take a set and helps keep the tire tread on the road surface. There are 3 ways to get more camber in a ep3/dc5.
1) Camber plates, these angle in the top of the strut and as a result angle the tire.
2) Crash bolts, these mount where the strut and the bearing carrier connect. This allows you to angle in the bearing carrier and allows you to angle in the tire inward.
3) Type-r LCA, these are wider than stock and as a result angle the tire inward. WARNING! If you decide to use these, you should not use your stock axles and you will need type-r front sways because of the extra width of the LCA.
What is the best camber setting for the front suspension? It depends on what you are doing and what tires you are using. As a general rule I would say -1 to -1.5 degrees for dd and about -3 for the autoX guys.
Cliff notes: Negative camber good for cornering in the front suspension.
Now look at the lower pic, the first thing I want to to look at is the front bushing on the LCA. That bushing is there to change toe settings as the cornering loads increase. It adds toe in as the gee forces go up, this = increasing under steer! Anyone that is trying to get our cars to handle needs to replace this bushing asap. Both Mugen and Energy Suspension make kits for this.
Cliff notes: The front bushing in the LCA needs to be replaced to make our cars handle.
Now I want to address the Caster angle of our suspension in the front. If you look at bottom pic you will notice the strut is almost strait up and down. The stock caster angle is around 1.5 degrees.....this sucks for handling and strait line tracking. If Honda screwed up anything with our cars suspension, this is the biggest thing. It is also the hardest to fix but it can be fixed. K-Mac makes a Camber/Caster plate for this. The strut towner's can also be re-drilled to angle the strut back. For road racing there are bushings for the LCA that shift the LCA forward to angle the strut back.
Cliff notes Caster good but hard to get.
As you read the red I was thinking i would do just that. I found access to some 2002 Type R LCA and Front Sway, but the problem was no luck with the axles, but they do have K20A DC5 axles, wondering if these would work?
Also If i do get full coil over kit will it matter if i change anything listed in the red?
As for the Green, I'm wondering how much the re drilling would be and if it is actually worth it? and does it say I can re drill it and that's it or need the caster/camber plates and the drill?