DA Knuckles vs Si Knuckles / EX Knuckles Big Brakes

[CRX Toad]

Originally Posted by Trakhor The purpose of this is to show that DA knuckles can be used as opposed to EX knuckles with out any major alignment or suspension issues when doing the 11” brake swap. It’s important to note that after the initial readings were taken, but before the final alignment was done a upper control arm bolt came loose and therefore the true before and after readings are not known, but since this car is not equipped with adjustable pivots, the change is minor. The difference between the DA knuckle were noted to be the same as what most people found, about .25-.30 taller, however the steering arm is quite shorter. This should provide a quicker ratio and more effort required to steer the car The car has not been corner weighted, during this test the ride height was not changed via the coilovers, nor was it checked. With this being said, spending some time to corner weight and level out the car could end up with even better results The parts I used are as follows; DA Integra knuckles (Thanks Toad) DA Integra 290V Booster and M/C 93 Legend Calipers (Brackets milled by DrDisco69) 93 Legend Rotors redrilled to CRX bolt pattern. Of course this requires 15” wheels The beginning alignment specs with Si knuckles were ....................LF............RF Camber____-3.8______-2.3 Caster______3.3______2.9 Toe_______ -0.27_____0.72 After the swap and some tape measure toe adjustments to get back to the alignment shop. Note the steering wheel has been off of center until the final settings were made. .....................LF........... RF Camber_____-2.9_____-3.6 Caster_______3.0______2.6 Toe_________-1.11____0.23 These are the final settings that we were able to achieve using the factory adjustments. ....................LF............RF Camber_____-2.9_____-3.6 Caster______3.0______2.6 Toe_______-0.12_____-0.11 Upon first sight it looks as though the knuckles make the camber all out of whack. Keep in mind this car had a loose driver side upper control arm as mentioned above between the time the initial specs were taken and the after specs were taken. If there was a trend of the tall knuckle really throwing off camber curves and such we would see the same trend on both sides of the car. If you notice the values flip flopped from side to side. I suspect that this is due to machining differences between the two knuckles. This has been a little project that Trakhor, DrDisco69 and myself have been trying to weed out some mis-information that is out there on the interweb. This setup is currently running on Trakhor's Si.

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[IT GUY]

This makes me happy. I was a little worried about my DA knuckes and camber.

[90efhatch]

very nice I was looking into upgrading the front brakes on mine and now I know what I will do. Thanks

[Trakhor]

One thing to note here the steering is a little harder to turn when sitting still. This is from the shorter arms on the knuckles. Other than that, the driving feel is the same as stock.

[thevtecnician]

Great news!
There really was a lot of misconceptions out there about those hubs/knuckles. Its about time someone took the time to actually measure them out. So glad I can keep my da knuckles
Anyone know of a good method of pressing hubs in and out at home?

[Trakhor]

If you don't have a press, good luck. chances are something else will get destroyed in the process. I don't know how it is in your region, but you can typically get that done at a machine shop or a really good parts store for cheap....if you know the guy well he might do it for a 6 pack of his favorite brew.
Jason

[turkishEF]

Originally Posted by Trakhor

....however the steering arm is quite shorter

Would this explain why after i did the Si to DA swap, my wheels were pigeon toed? Meaning pointed out.

We had to spend some time adjusting the endlinks enough just to drive it. A professional alignment is in the works, of course.

[Trakhor]

Originally Posted by turkishEF

Would this explain why after i did the Si to DA swap, my wheels were pigeon toed? Meaning pointed out.

We had to spend some time adjusting the endlinks enough just to drive it. A professional alignment is in the works, of course.

Bingo, my initial alignment specs were after turning the tierods out 3 turns

[dannysolis92005]

i just put my Da breaks on today, hows the camber gonna be on them, my car is lowered with eibach prostreet 1.5-1.75

[hondahustle]

Hold up....so what you guys are saying is that the DA knuckles could be used just as good as the EX knuckles?! How would it affect autox or any other driving that relies on turning the wheel? I'm wondering because I really want to autox my hatch and I've been searching high and low for EX knuckles because of hearing that the DA knuckles would be bad for my alignment which would lead to premature tire wear right? But I guess the DAs aren't so bad? Sorry for the rambling people lol.

[green91]

I did the same thing a few years ago with before & after alignment sheets with DA knuckles and found similar results. However if you use DA rear trailing arms when doing your rear disc brake conversion it will push the wheel .25-.5 inches outward

[LowFlyin']

I have DA knuckles on my CRX, and the car handles great. I also have Progress coilovers, Skunk2 adjustable UCAs and Innovative's Pro traction bar.

My latest alignment specs are:

Camber: -2.6 -2.6
Caster: 6.0 6.0
Toe: -0.17 -0.17

So, it is possible to achieve a proper alignment after the swap.

[crxnatic]

im sorry what do you mean by brackets milled?????? what do i have to do to the brackets?

[CRX Toad]

The bracket that goes onto the caliper that attaches the caliper to the knuckle has to be milled. The milling is where the bracket and knuckle meet to move the caliper towards the outside of the car so that everything lines up properly

[crxnatic]

can i do that myself ? and what tool should i use??

[DCRB]

if you have access to a machine shop or a metal shop at school yes. you need to use a milling machine. this is so you accurately remove the proper amount of metal, and so the edge is flat and level, not hit and miss like a disc grinder.

[g2_teg_]

does anybody know if the taller knuckle will affect ride height at all?

[CRX Toad]

What taller knuckle?

[g2_teg_]

the DA knuckle. with it being .25-.30 taller would that change the ride height?

[EFRue57]

Now I know it's been over a year since this thread started but I had a couple of ?'s. Not about the details of your info, but about your title actually. Your title says of course "DA Knuckles vs Si Knuckles / EX Knuckles Big Brakes ". You're aware that Si knuckles and EX knuckles are two different parts, correct? Am I just reading it wrong from how you meant it probably? And also, I see that you posted up the specs on the DA and Si knuckles but where are the specs on the EX knuckles? Or were you just posting up that the DA's could be used, and within factory specs, as opposed to the EX?

Sorry, I know none of this is really important but just wanted to make sure on what I was reading. Thanks.

[CRX Toad]

The EX knuckles had the same results as the Si's

[zurud]

I tried to put da knuckle on my 90 dx sedan. But I got too much toe in that can't be adjusted without cutting the outer tie rod about 1/2."

[jdm_ef9_b16]

i put da knuckles on my hatch and had no problems geeting enough to.......

[Tyson]

Originally Posted by zurud

I tried to put da knuckle on my 90 dx sedan. But I got too much toe in that can't be adjusted without cutting the outer tie rod about 1/2."

that is typical of using overseas Si-R or VTi knuckles. not DA knuckles. ive never heard of DA knuckles not fitting properly due to toe adjustment.

odd that you would confuse them. got a pic of the knuckles? wanna sell em?

Originally Posted by g2_teg_

the DA knuckle. with it being .25-.30 taller would that change the ride height?

the extra height is in the upper portion of the knuckle. so it shouldnt affect ride height other than due to the results camber change. which would be minimal.

[4drEF]

Originally Posted by zurud

I tried to put da knuckle on my 90 dx sedan. But I got too much toe in that can't be adjusted without cutting the outer tie rod about 1/2."

Like Tyson said, it sounds like you have overseas knuckles.
I did a write up many moons ago (aobut 6 years ago!) showing step-by-step the install of SiR knuckles on my LX sedan. I did have to cut the tie-rod end to get the toe adjustment to dial in. I remember tapping the outer tie-rod (really easy) to gain a few extra threads as well. Never had a problem with them at all.

Wish I could link you to my write-up for the exact length to cut off the tie rod, but it's long gone (had it hosted on Time Warner which I no longer have).