Honda Car Forum

I've got a 91 Accord with 130K miles that I'd like to add a few suspension
modifications to. As it is my daily driver I don't want anything too extreme,
but I would like a little crisper handling. I'm thinking I need to replace the
suspension bushings, springs, shocks, tires and maybe sway bars.

I've can fix anything automotive, but I have no idea which company makes the
best parts. Any suggestions or links would be appreciated.

TIA
Dean

springs or sway bars don't noticeably deteriorate over time, so unless
you want to lower the car or change it's cornering characteristics,
don't waste your money on new ones.

rubbers, shocks, tires otoh can make _big_ differences. but unless the
car has been abused, crashed or used in extreme climates, 130k is
usually well within wear tolerance for accord suspension rubber. if you
still want to "upgrade", stick with real rubber like mugen from someone
like king motorsports, not urethane - urethane starts to squeak.

regarding shocks, i personally think honda oem is a reasonable
compromise for that vehicle. japanese high end aftermarket like kyb,
etc. imo make the ride harsh without significant improvement in
cornering, but a lot of folks like the ride. otoh, something like
bilsteins make the ride feel soft & cushy which some folks hate, /but/
they make the car corner like it's on a rail. it's all personal taste.

tires? you're on your own! i like continental. they don't last that
long, but they sure do stick to the pavement.

Dean wrote:
> I've got a 91 Accord with 130K miles that I'd like to add a few suspension
> modifications to. As it is my daily driver I don't want anything too extreme,
> but I would like a little crisper handling. I'm thinking I need to replace the
> suspension bushings, springs, shocks, tires and maybe sway bars.
>
> I've can fix anything automotive, but I have no idea which company makes the
> best parts. Any suggestions or links would be appreciated.
>
> TIA
> Dean

> springs or sway bars don't noticeably deteriorate over time, so unless
> you want to lower the car or change it's cornering characteristics,
> don't waste your money on new ones.
>
> rubbers, shocks, tires otoh can make _big_ differences. but unless the
> car has been abused, crashed or used in extreme climates, 130k is
> usually well within wear tolerance for accord suspension rubber. if you
> still want to "upgrade", stick with real rubber like mugen from someone
> like king motorsports, not urethane - urethane starts to squeak.

i put urethane on my 81 rabbit 'vert... and every time i went around a
curve, or hit a dip, it sounded like i had a styrofoam ice chest rubbing
against my seat.

On Fri, 30 Jul 2004 15:02:00 GMT, SoCalMike <mikein562athotmail@hotmail.com>
wrote:

||
||> springs or sway bars don't noticeably deteriorate over time, so unless
||> you want to lower the car or change it's cornering characteristics,
||> don't waste your money on new ones.
||>
||> rubbers, shocks, tires otoh can make _big_ differences. but unless the
||> car has been abused, crashed or used in extreme climates, 130k is
||> usually well within wear tolerance for accord suspension rubber. if you
||> still want to "upgrade", stick with real rubber like mugen from someone
||> like king motorsports, not urethane - urethane starts to squeak.
||
||i put urethane on my 81 rabbit 'vert... and every time i went around a
||curve, or hit a dip, it sounded like i had a styrofoam ice chest rubbing
||against my seat.

Polyurethane will squeak. I've heard of people adding grease fittings to them.
Alternatives that don't squeak (so I've heard) include Delrin.

I've not heard of HP rubber bushings. Are they just a harder rubber compound?

Texas Parts Guy

On Fri, 30 Jul 2004 06:50:22 -0700, jim beam <nospam@example.net> wrote:

>springs or sway bars don't noticeably deteriorate over time, so unless
>you want to lower the car or change it's cornering characteristics,
>don't waste your money on new ones.

He might want to check the springs for breakage - those model years were
notorious for breaking front springs, especially in the frost belt.

>rubbers, shocks, tires otoh can make _big_ differences. but unless the
>car has been abused, crashed or used in extreme climates, 130k is
>usually well within wear tolerance for accord suspension rubber. if you
>still want to "upgrade", stick with real rubber like mugen from someone
>like king motorsports, not urethane - urethane starts to squeak.
>
>regarding shocks, i personally think honda oem is a reasonable
>compromise for that vehicle. japanese high end aftermarket like kyb,
>etc. imo make the ride harsh without significant improvement in
>cornering, but a lot of folks like the ride. otoh, something like
>bilsteins make the ride feel soft & cushy which some folks hate, /but/
>they make the car corner like it's on a rail. it's all personal taste.

My only experience with aftermarket shocks is with the KYB GR-2s on a '92
Integra, which incidentally was necessary due to two broken springs. I
found the GR-2s gave a smoother ride over minor road irregularities, like
bridge transitions but still well controlled on cornering. I wouldn't call
them a high preformance shock.

>tires? you're on your own! i like continental. they don't last that
>long, but they sure do stick to the pavement.
>
>Dean wrote:
>> I've got a 91 Accord with 130K miles that I'd like to add a few suspension
>> modifications to. As it is my daily driver I don't want anything too extreme,
>> but I would like a little crisper handling. I'm thinking I need to replace the
>> suspension bushings, springs, shocks, tires and maybe sway bars.
>>
>> I've can fix anything automotive, but I have no idea which company makes the
>> best parts. Any suggestions or links would be appreciated.
>>
>> TIA
>> Dean

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??