Black R

Well I spent the better part of this past weekend up under my cars.

This one was by far the biggest PITA:

itr shocks and itr specific TEIN S-Tech spring installation on my 91 si hatch.

I had to use the itr shock forks + itr rear lca's in order for everything to bolt up without a hitch.

The car had intrax lowering springs and stock shocks when I purchased it. I don't know the rates, but measured the drop before I installed the itr/ TEIN setup:

LF - 5.25; RF - 5.25;
LR - 6.25; RR - 6.25
(As measured from ground to the jacking points.) Wheel to fender gap was 1 finger in the front, and 2 fingers in the rear.


Here's the pics:




















I learned that the stock EF front forks don't work, and the itr or similar units must be used. Dimensionally they are the same as far as geometry and bolt pattern/ spacing goes, but they have a larger diameter where the shock body fits into them - to accommodate the larger itr shocks. This was confirmed here on h-t as well. The fronts, however were a SUPER DUPER BITCH to install. Getting the fork bolts lined up was the ultimate PITA. I had people stand on the hub while i jacked up the fork, and twisted the fork with a crowbar while trying to line the bolt up.....

The rear was a little trickier as for whether it would fit without excess positive camber - it was going to be a gamble. BUT it turns out that the dimensions are the same. The itr rear lca's look identical to the crx si units imho - and must be fitted in order to use itr rear shocks. They also have the same geometry/ bolt pattern/ spacing as the stock EF units..... The rear was also a LOT easier to bolt up and get into place with a simple rubber hammer.

I then did the measurements again to see how it compared:

LF - 6.5; RF - 6.5;
LR - 6.5; RR - 6.5
(As measured from ground to the jacking points.) Wheel to fender gap was 3 fingers in the front, and 2.5 fingers in the rear.

The car still isn't stiff enough with these springs imho. I need stiffer. Personally, I don't understand people who say 400lb springs are too stiff. I think 600 is a good starting place, imho.....

Overall, I give the tein s-tech + itr shocks a for SISSIES!

They handle really nice though. And they aren't too low. This is an excellent setup for a daily driven EF, imho.

I give the intrax shocks a for the awesome stunna drop sled stylee... (they are for sale, btw... )

Swift

good info

sircrxracer

Nice but could you resize the pics man way too big. BTW when using the ITR struts are they alittle bigger??? Rob

DC2-JRSC'd

how much for the intrax springs? how much did they lower the front and rear? thanks!

Steve91

You've just installed a much longer shock in the front. Now you have reduced suspension travel by over 1".

xtrafastcivic

this is an old fyi and why couldnt you take side views of the car americans always want more more more !

Origin

im not trying to bash this in any way, im just wondering what the point is. better handling? just wondering.

b16_madman

Come on mang. don't cheap out on shock/springs w/your nice car.

H&R's and Koni's

or at least get some tein basics. If it required hammering into place then I don't think it's gonna work like it's supposed to, it sounds like a bit of a bind to me.

and that's a lot of fender gap man

^jefs0ng

You sir are a hero and a pioneer. I am now going to find a nice itr setup and swap it over.
It should work with my 88-91 crx yeah?

Also does that mean we can use dc2/4 suspension?

EG8R

My biggest problem with getting the ITR fronts in was getting the bolt through the fork.... I'm thinking it was just the ES bushings making it stiff and hard to move.

b16dragger

nice! many peeps were doubting this before
but some came out with GIGANTIC pics to show us all it can be done

thanks!

bryant

Way old news... DC/EG sit higher then EF so all you do is make your ride high higher there is good suspentiont out there for the EF. you just have to know where to look.

DC/EG owners are the ones that benifit. They get a lower ride then and more suspention travel by using EF Coilovers on there car.

88 rex

Congrats on the set-up, but I'm not sure I understand the reasoning for doing this. Why not just get a nice EF set-up that will pop right in w/o all the hassle.......I still have my ITR style lca's with the 88. I dont see any advantage with this swap on 88's.........would it beneficial on other years?

GSRCRXsi

can you get some pics of the front and what you did there? i really dont understand the purpose in doing this.....

Black R

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by GSRCRXsi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">can you get some pics of the front and what you did there? i really dont understand the purpose in doing this.....</TD></TR></TABLE>


A few people have asked "why?" and "what's the point?" and "it's too much of a gap/ won't work well for the EF."

Well the why is simply b/c I had the parts already. The intrax lowering springs + stock ef shocks weren't acceptable to me when I had a potentionally better option. They dumped the car, killed the shocks, and I really didn't feel like they improved handling.

The point was to raise the car a little bit (I have a hytech header I don't want to damage), improve the handling, and add the "beefier" rear lca's - so I can swap suspensions between my itr and ef if I desire.

As for the wheel gap - it looks lower than stock - about two fingers worth front and rear after settling. Handling is MUCH IMPROVED. And the itr TEIN S-TECH rates are stiffer than those specific to the EF. I'll post up the rates if people are genuinely interested.

Personally, I don't care if you guys like it or not. It's my car, and I love it. It's not too low - so it doesn't attract any unnecessary attention..... But it is noticably lower than stock.

I posted this thread so it could be in the archives for others curious about whether it can be done. I did several searches and posted threads asking for this info when I was thinking about doing it. I found NOTHING. Now people come out of the woodwork saying "blah blah it's old news..." Great. Why weren't any of you replying to my threads months ago when I asked?

I'll get some profile pics if you want at some point.

G2turbo_terror

You should post up an after pic of the car.

GSRCRXsi

yes, pics please. its hard to tell what you did with your pics, you really only showed the back. so what parts are bolt on from ITR to CRX? the rear LCA's are bolt on? the shocks and springs are bolt on?

Footwork

Questions to all on this thread.

What if you had the same setup...
EF hatch with ITR rear LCA and EG/DC front drop forks (larger diameter holes for itr shock body).

but,

you had a threaded shock/adj. ride height coilovers.

could you still dump the car and have proper suspension travel?

i know that the itr lca is similar to the 88 crx lca, but isnt the eg/dc front drop fork longer than the ef unit?

could you just compensate for this by lowering the car a bit more in the front?
also, if you had high end itr coilovers with a short throw/travel, would it be ok?
i don't see why it would not work properly.

opinions please.

RobbieG35

I need pics!

GSRCRXsi

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Primo. &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Questions to all on this thread.

What if you had the same setup...
EF hatch with ITR rear LCA and EG/DC front drop forks (larger diameter holes for itr shock body).

but,

you had a threaded shock/adj. ride height coilovers.

could you still dump the car and have proper suspension travel?

i know that the itr lca is similar to the 88 crx lca, but isnt the eg/dc front drop fork longer than the ef unit?

could you just compensate for this by lowering the car a bit more in the front?
also, if you had high end itr coilovers with a short throw/travel, would it be ok?
i don't see why it would not work properly.

opinions please.</TD></TR></TABLE>
edit, sorry i was misinterpreting what you said. i would like this answer as well.

Footwork

bump

Black R

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Primo. &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> could you still dump the car and have proper suspension travel?</TD></TR></TABLE>

yes.


<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Primo. &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> i know that the itr lca is similar to the 88 crx lca, but isnt the eg/dc front drop fork longer than the ef unit?</TD></TR></TABLE>

no.


<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Primo. &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> could you just compensate for this by lowering the car a bit more in the front?</TD></TR></TABLE>

yes.


<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Primo. &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> also, if you had high end itr coilovers with a short throw/travel, would it be ok?</TD></TR></TABLE>

yes.

fwiw, I have some apex n1 coilovers on my dc2R that I will transfer over to this hatch - once I get the Zeal Super Function's I want.....

-hth

hondahans

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Black R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The car still isn't stiff enough with these springs imho. I need stiffer. Personally, I don't understand people who say 400lb springs are too stiff. I think 600 is a good starting place, imho.....</TD></TR></TABLE>

It's because they read on here that it is "too stiff" and know no better. If anyone is worried about the reduced front shock travel, just purchase the Ground Control piston extender mounts (name?).

Nice write up.

&lt;---rolls his stripped Si on 400 F and 600 R GCs and Konis.

virginia_dude

damn, I have NO finger clearance on mine and I have ST springs and 205/50-15 tires On GSR "FAT FIVE" rims

Footwork

hey man thank you for the help...

i hope you get those super functions on your R soon, so i can read/see how those Apex N1s for itr work on the EF!