95 civic suspension upgrade

OK - Now with this fancy new master cylinder finished, next task is
suspension.
Any words of wisdom would be great. Apologies for the newbie
greenitude...
EX Coupe: 168K all stock, only upgrade new 205/40R17's. Original
suspension now glaringly inadequate for rather spirited everyday driving.
Lots of roll more than anything...
I'd like to buy components or a kit online and I am at a loss with the
huge variety and scope available. Its an everday transport (1.5 hr daily
commute) - and I would like maybe 3/4" drop no more.
I should probably replace all those bushings under there too - the thing
is 10 years old. Is that do-able w/o special tools?
Can anyone point me in the right direction or tell me what to avoid in
this situation?
Many Thanks...

 

the only real way to take care of the roll is to fit anti-sway bars. i
don't like most of the after market kits because they require drilling
the body. the oem kits are available in two main options, ex & si. if
you have the ex already, you can get the si kit as an upgrade, but
you'll need a number of extra components in addition to the bars
themselves. if you have a friend with an si, look underneath carefully
to see what's needed. you can buy new at a honda dealer,
hondaautomotiveparts.com or used at a junk yard.

part of that kit will be the rear sway bar. again, some after market
kits have rears of /huge/ torsional stiffness - ridiculously so imo.
when you go to the track & the kids are cornering with one rear wheel up
in the air, and sliding sideways, you can't tell me that stiff rear sway
bar is helping. the honda solution is to make sure the rear is
substantially less stiff than the front. iirc, si front is 25mm thick,
13mm rear. the sir is 18mm. i wouldn't go beyond that for road. and
expect a harsher ride too. do /not/ stick with your current skinny
front sway bar and put on a thick rear, whatever any ricer tells you.

regarding bushings, this is a very good idea. the rear trailing arm
bushings go and they affect the handling significantly in my experience.
so much so, i'd do the bushings first, then see if you still want to
bother with the additional sway bars. google this group for part
numbers. yes, you'll need special tools to replace the bushings. find
a good precision engineering shop with a bearing press & safe attitude.
personally, i wouldn't go with urethane. they soon squeak like sob's.
stick with original honda rubber or after market mugen rubber from
king motor sports. beware, these can give a harsh ride - they're really
meant for track.

don't expect shocks to limit roll - they can improve steering by
allowing wheels to track the ground more closely over bumps, but again,
expect increased harshness of ride. while honda shocks hold up very
well, they can lose gas pressure over time & this leads to cavitation &
harshness. a new set of oem shocks can feel good. if you want to try
something interesting, try kyb agx's. adjustable & not too expensive.
good fit too. can be harsh on the higher settings.

personally, i don't lower hondas. i don't like to scrape the bottom.
if you have the suspension set up right, it'll corner like nothing else
you've ever driven & it won't need to be lowered. lowering attracts
attention from the law! if you /do/ lower, while 3/4" is supposed to be
ok, i'd still consider camber kits. quality ones can be expensive, but
they save you $600 on new tires every few months and improve cornering
because the wheels are properly planted.