My little civic HX needs some love.

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

 

I'm interested in a bolt-on rear stabilizer too for my 97 HX. It
understeers very badly on hard turns. The front wheels suddenly break
loose and the car goes straight ahead. It doesn't feel safe when it's
pushed hard on a sharp turn.

 

My understeer problem isn't quite that drastic but it is still my main
problem. It's especially awkward for me coming to this car from a light
pickup that had the exact opposite problem...........

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

 

I believe the EX does come with a rear swaybar (canadian model EX does not),
which would be ideal if you want to get more overstear. The stock swaybar is
probably the best choice since the aftermarket stuff might be over kill. Also,
another option would be to simply add an upper and lower strut bar at the back.
The only problem with the strut bar is that it'll dig into your trunk space and
you still might get some understeer (assuming that theirs a front sway bar).

I've heard that some individuals have removed the front sway bars from their
LX/DX coupes inorder to make their handling characteristic more neutral. (the
LX/DX coupe also does not have any rear swaybars).In my 98 Hatch (which doesn't
have any swaybars at both ends), handling tend to be neutral. Also, I've added
the strutbars (both upper and lower) in the back, which dials in a little
oversteer. The combination of no swaybars with the strutbars installed seems to
be perfect combination for the streets. Going without swaybars would reduce
stability on the highway, but the tokico shocks, eibach springs and wider wheels
compensate. If you're not going to upgrade the shocks and springs, then simply
adding the rear sway bar is probably the best route.

Pars
98 Hatch