Hi all,
I am the happy owner of a '98 civic hx (5spd). I am generally pretty
happy with the car except for the suspension. I am looking to do some
upgrades in this area and am looking for some advice.

The civic HX as you may already know has no rear sway bar. From underneath
the rear suspension looks the same as an EX to me though I could be wrong.
The front suspension looks similar too. Is the suspension the same across
the civic line? I would like to purchase an aftermarket front/rear sway bar
set but I never see the HX listed it seems as compatible.

What brand(s) of aftermarket struts have any of you used? I am not
necessarily looking for fully adjustable or anything, just a bit stiffer on
the spring and maybe slightly adjustable damping. I also don't really want
to lower the car more that 1/2" if I can help it as it is already a chore
getting in and out of my driveway.

Would strut tower braces/bars really help enough to be worth the cost and
hassle. From what I have seen I will have to do some drilling to mount them
on an HX.

I am also looking at some good bushings for the rest of the suspension.

Thanks in advance for any ideas/thoughts you all may have. I suppose also
that I should point out that I am not trying to build a race car here. I
just like to drive in the mountains a lot and get tired of feeling like I am
driving a Cadillac in the twisties.

===
Jacob Turner
http://ringnebula.net