a breaker bar or torque wrench long so you have leverage. You should not be breaking lug nuts. they should be torqued to 80 lbs.

But if you are skeptical about taking the tires off, you might want to have a friend help, or start on other mods before you try this one.

 

I finally installed my S-techs on Wednesday. To be honest, it was easy but no walk in the park. It took me close to 5 hours to do. My issues came when it was time to re-install the strut. I had the hardest time trying to get the bottom of the strut back onto the spindle. It took over an hour of struggling, sweating and swearing to get it in. The problem was that I couldn't get the suspension to drop low enough to fit back into the strut. I wound up removing the lower roll bar nut, then the lower arm dropped another inch making it much easier. I just read a few pages earlier that someone suggested lifting both front wheels at once when doing the front suspension. I was jacking up one side at a time and I guess it was loading up the roll bar preventing full travel.
But it was worth it!!
I have a question for everyone: The car runs perfectly straight but I'd like to get an alignment just to be safe. Should I wait a few weeks for everything to settle or should I just get it done ASAP?

 

ASAP... no point in waiting, really. i would think it would be best for them to settle while everything is lined up and straight

 

Yeah ASAP. Installed mine last Friday and had the alignment done Wednesday. Would have done it sooner but I didn't drive much until then.

 

Thanks for the input, I'm going to get an alignment either today or later this week when I get a chance.

 

i was talking with a friend of mine about lowering and alignment issues. he's in the honda community and he says that some people there actually say not to get an alignment after lowering, as that is the point of dropping, to make the wheels not aligned like the stock settings.
now i'm not quite sure what he was meaning with that statement, but can anyone help explain this? i know that pretty much 99% of people will say, yes your wheels should be aligned after dropping, but does my friend's statement have any truth to it?

 

either he doesnt know what hes talking about or you misunderstood him.

why would you want your wheels to be mis-aligned, in any situation? youll wear everything out faster AND youll lose mpg. the car will alos be less stable

 

did any one else hand tighten thiere stuff? i did but im not sure if i should leave it like that, i did my spring intall but dont have a torque rachet, sooo i handtighten everythin till its tigh and the half tightned it some more.... i hope that enough ....

 

^^^^You need to make sure its not just hand tightened. You don't want to have a serious accident from suspension failure.

Go to a mechanic, and ask them to torque those pieces (48lbs I believe). It is very important to get this done immediately.

 

damn! lol i figured as much.... well looks like ima have to ask around for someone who was a torque racket and can do me a big favor lol

 

which bolts are you talking about – because the strut to steering knuckle bolts (the big ones) are actually 97 ft-lbs

 

yea i ment those and the ones that attatch to the rear strut , does any one happen to have an idea of how much a mechanic would charge for tightening 8 nuts?

 

to torque it down? im guessing next to nothing, if anything at all

 

whoo, i what a relief, well i hope that ur right cause i dont have that much money on me tilli get paid next week, after the 4 mods i did plus some tools here and there im surprised i can still eat

 

dont take my word for it though, personally ive never done that. but LOGICALLY, it shouldnt take more than 10 minutes to torque everything since its all right in your face. only a jerkoff would charge you something you cant afford just to tighten a few bolts.

 

Great write up! I'm ready to roll in a couple days here. Got the Eibach Sportline's. Can't wait!

Thanks so much Randode!!!

 

Question then, just installed the K-Sport springs on Vixen. While we were putting the rear springs on, they didn't touch the grommet brackets at all until weight was put on the tires. Even when we attached the shocks they could fall right out.

Is this normal or what? We got her back on her tires and checked the pockets and everything seems okay. My stepdad is just worried that if (hopefully never) she hits a bump big enough, if the springs will just fall out of the car.

 

Is there any installation sticky like this for the XA? any link? thank you

 

its the same for xA but you want to remove the wipers and cowl on the xA.. its an extra 5-10 minute job but well worth the extra work space!!!

 

probably wont have to worry... just be careful