Best performance per dollar handling improvements?

[LostHighway]

I just acquired an '04 EP3 with just under 81k miles. The wheels and suspension are basically stock. A prior owner had lowered it on Tien springs but the guy I bought it from took it back to stock ride height with OEM Honda springs and replaced the rear shocks at 40k. The front struts are the originals. The car won't be tracked, it is my daily driver although I haven't entirety decided what to do about winter.

Here is what I'm thinking;
Tires are a necessity. It currently is wearing 205/55/16 Nokian WRG2. They might have a season post 2013 left in them but they would be dodgy in even very light snow. If I decide to drive it through the winter and not get dedicated winter wheels I'll definitely be buying Conti ExtremeContact DWS. If the car isn't used in winter or if I get dedicated winter wheels that opens up the options of Bridgestone Potenza S-04, Conti Extreme Contact DW or maybe BF Goodrich g-force Sport COMP-2. Advice on tires or sizes?

Maybe a larger rear sway bar? Which one?

Possible conversion to RSX A-Spec. If I'm less ambitious or poorer I'm thinking just going with yellow Konis in the front and staying with stock springs. I might do a full front suspension bushing replacement at the same time, maybe the Hardrace plus new OEM Honda bushings. In any event I would not be lowering it anymore than the 1" drop (?) the A-Spec kit delivers and maybe not lowering it at all.

Camber plates? Which ones?

New lighter wheels, probably 16" but maybe 17", might be in the cards but nothing exotic, just cheap cast wheels like Rotasm Kazeras, Focals, etc.

Suggestions? How to prioritize? Where do the dollars most effectively translate into noticeable handling improvements?

[Slip_Angle]

Solid thinking.

I prefer using mostly stock Honda/Acura parts for maximum reliability, while still providing great performance.

Curious why you would want camber plates or even non-stock camber settings if you aren't going to track it or autocross? I would recommend tires but I'm not entirely sure what your looking for? Maximum grip or best bang for the buck performance tire?

In order of performance benefit.

1. Tires (17 Inch) 215/45-17 or 225/45-17
2. 22mm rear sway (RSX-S)
3. A-Spec
4. Camber bolts

[dble0]

Just to reinforce previous poster.... Tires are a huge deal, everybody loves the type s rear sway and it is cheap if you know where to look. Me personally, my favorite investment is my facelift type r headlights with the tsx retrofit.... There is no point in having a fast and fun car if you can only see what you are doing during the day.

[Powers]

I'm going to be agreeing with slip angle on all of that. Tires are always the first thing that should be done to improve your cars handling. If your going to drive through the winter the continentals are a good choice. If your going to get a summer set get something real sticky. Like r comps. The r comps do wear out much quicker but if your only driving on them in the good weather you should get some good use out of them.

When picking your tires look at the UTQG rating. The higher that number is the harder the rubber it will be meaning it will last longer but will not handle as good. A lower rating would give your tire a softer rubber it would handle great and would wear out quicker.

[LostHighway]

Solid thinking.

I prefer using mostly stock Honda/Acura parts for maximum reliability, while still providing great performance.

Curious why you would want camber plates or even non-stock camber settings if you aren't going to track it or autocross? I would recommend tires but I'm not entirely sure what your looking for? Maximum grip or best bang for the buck performance tire?

In order of performance benefit.

1. Tires (17 Inch) 215/45-17 or 225/45-17
2. 22mm rear sway (RSX-S)
3. A-Spec
4. Camber bolts

Thanks, Slip Angle

In tires I'm looking for maximum grip per dollar (tread life factored in). Conti DW & BF Goodrich g-Sport COMP-2 have a UTQG of 340 AA A, soft but not crazy soft to my uniformed eye. Bridgestone Potenza S-04 are rated at 280 AA A. However, I haven't owned any of these and I know from past experience with other tires that UTQG isn't an infallible guide to tread life. I do have Conti DWS on another vehicle and I like them very much. Tread wear seems very reasonable but then again they are 540 A A , a whole different animal.

215/45/17 sound really good except for the part that immediately commits me to another $600 - $800 in new wheels. What offset would I be looking for? 40mm? Suggestions, especially high quality, low weight per dollar suggestions?

I asked about camber because I'm ignorant and I wasn't sure if there a street benefit.

dble0 Where would one look for a cheap RSX sway bar? Please PM me if this question runs afoul of forum rules. I'll have to do some research on the headlight conversion.

[Draw7Seven]

I'll edit your post and let you know via PM if you break a rule. You're fine.

I personally think Enkei RPF-1's are the best meeting ground of build quality, price, and weight. People will argue that they're "played out" or something but sometimes things are popular with good reason. Name a wheel as strong and light for 1000 shipped per set.

There are probably a shit ton of sway bars over on clubrsx.com, a popular forum for DC5 enthusiasts. You could keep an eye on their classifieds for a few weeks and get an idea of what a good deal would be.

I also agree that properly engineered (projector with cutoff) HID's are the best mod you can put on an EP because you use them no matter how fast or slow you're going, and they're the perfect combination of form and function. You can read up on the retrofit of TSX projectors into Depo headlights. I have no experience whatsoever in wiring or headlights and I did a fairly decent job of them when I did it. However that's a little off topic in this thread so I'll leave it there.

[Slip_Angle]

Camber in a straight line reduces traction and in a corner increases it. Knowing that and that you don't track the car, I would go with no camber. I agree with Draw7Seven's choice of wheels, they are great.

Tires are subjective to a degree. I'm a fan of autocross class tires because the grip level is amazing, however it sounds like you want a good compromise. How long do you expect/want your tires to last?

I have Hankook EVO V-12's on my car and they are pretty good for the street. Good grip, good tread life and good road manners. Not good for autocross as they don't have the grip levels to be competitive plus they over heat and chunk under that kind of stress. Not sure I would get them again but for the money they are decent.

After looking on the TireRack, the S-04 is basically the same price as the Hankook's. Do you know how they compare?

[Slip_Angle]

Had a look at some comparisons and it looks like the Evo V12's are old news now. S-04's look like a pretty good choice from what I've read.

[LostHighway]

I would like to see 20k+ miles out of the tires. From what I have read that seems do-able, maybe just barely do-able, for the S-04. 90% of the time I'm a pretty tame driver but given a twisty, largely empty road in not bad condition I like to play a little. I'm not at all a stop light grand prix wantabe drag racer. On further research I think I'm primarily interested in the Bridgestone S-04 followed by the Conti DW (it sounds like they should be good for 30k+). I think the BF Goodrich is running a distant third but without driving them it is all guesswork.

The Enkeis look nice although almost scary light for a cast rim. I don't have a jaded eye so the "played out" aspect doesn't bother me. I have heard the same comment about the Rota Mugen copies. I wouldn't be buying the rims to please anyone but myself.

Thanks to everyone on this thread for your help. I recognize that I have a lot of catching up to do.

[AKEP]

tires are the biggest factor. the best bang for the buck tire is the continental extremecontact dw. once they warm up they're sticky. I have a hard time locking those up with ep brakes and hawk pads. i bought my 225/50's for about $105 each, so they're plenty cheaper than star specs, and only a little bit more than hit or miss 70-80 "performance" tires that i'll keep nameless. easily the best $$:Performance tire.

[powdbyrice]

i have the s04s on my 07 tl type-s. love them, but they only last 25000 miles and thats daily commuting, no track/autocross. and they're fairly expensive. 200+ each installed for a 245/45/17

i had bfg gforce sport on my ep in 215/45/17 and 235/40/17. price is right and i got like 50000+ miles out of the first set. i liked them a lot. obviously since i got a second set. ill likely get a set for the tl when the s04s are done (on second set of those too)

ive read good things about the v12s, but dont have any direct experience with them.

[poeticfinesse21]

16x7 +40 konig feathers wrapped with 225/50R16 continental extremecontact DW. The whole setup cost me about $1000 shipped from discounttiredirect.com and they mount and balance the tires for free if you buy wheels too. There's no need for 17's on a stock EP3 that will never see any track or autocross. I plan on getting continental extremewintercontact tires for the winter.

[mitchlikesbikes]

just my .02, but my 235 wide conti DWS tires aren't all that great in the snow. if you wanna do it right get some winter wheels and blizzaks for winter and some more aggressive summer tires on some wider nicer summer wheels (like evo VIII enkeis)

[powdbyrice]

16x8 rpf1

[LostHighway]

just my .02, but my 235 wide conti DWS tires aren't all that great in the snow. if you wanna do it right get some winter wheels and blizzaks for winter and some more aggressive summer tires on some wider nicer summer wheels (like evo VIII enkeis)

I hear that. The only way I'd even try the DWS year round was if I stuck with the stock 205/55/16 tire size. Ideally, I'd like to get some 15" steel wheels for winter with 195/65 snows. I've never owned the Blizzaks. I've driven them but not in super icy or deep snow conditions. We have the Michelin X-Ice (previous generation to the current Xi3) on one of our other cars and my impression was that they were a little less squirmy/more solid feeling than the Blizzaks on semi-dry roads but everything I've heard tips the Blizzaks in really bad conditions.

I'm still mulling summer wheel/tire options. Budget is definitely going to be a factor. The low rent option would be to stick to the stock wheels and mount 215/50? If I buy new alloys I'll probably buy 17s with the intent of probably running 215/45. The Enkei RPF1 or PF01 are tempting from a weight standpoint but at $60 less per wheel the Enkei Tuning Fujin also has some appeal. I discovered that the Rota Circuit 10s aren't exactly light so I guess I've written off that option. Anything else I should consider in inexpensive 17" rims? I have to figure out the offset issue too. Tire-wise I'm liking what I've read about the Conti Extreme Contact DW especially if I drop down to a 45 aspect ratio. Practicality is really the order of the day here. I have no illusions that I'm Ayrton Senna or Juan Manuel Fangio nor do I have the budget for anything too ambitious in the way of mods.

I am curious about the Depo/TSX lights mod. I was hoping to find a single coherent thread that lays it all out clearly but so far, if it exists, I haven't uncovered it.

Thanks again to everyone.