parts fabbed for the 3g?

[Accordtheory]

This is going to be kind of a weird post, but I just bought a tig welder and I think it could be cool to build some things for the 3g. I think this site has evolved a lot since I joined in 2002, now there are many more people on here actually undertaking difficult projects. Maybe now some of them would be in the market for parts they can't currently build. I could make top mount manifolds for the a20 if someone could send me one to copy. (my 3g is b series equipped, so no template).

[AccordEpicenter]

very interesting. Whats going on with your turbo hatch? Good to see you back

[2drSE-i]

long time no see man, glad to see your back. I know alot of the turbo plan guys will love to see some top mount manifolds. I will throw strut bars into the mix again, just for posterities sake (lol) In reality, there are tons of possibilities for suspension parts...can't really think of too much for performance parts though.

[bobafett]

i would love to see a traction bar setup that some how 'works'

something like this: http://www.explicitspeedperformance.net/TBS.html

http://explicitspeedperformance.net/myPictures/IMG_1799.jpg

but we need to accommodate that stupid lower tranny mount somehow. :(

[cygnus x-1]

So basically that would be a replacement for the front cross member and radius rods. My dumb question is, Why? What is the advantage over the stock setup?


How about an intake manifold for ITBs?

C|

[rjudgey]

don't you like mine then :o(

The setup in the pic would give you less movement on the radius rods as they'll be on bearings rather than big rubber washers!! And also would look cool not be rusty and hopefully won't go rusty in a hurry too!!

But agree any replacement aftermarket suspension parts would be killer even if it was simple things like rear toe bars and stuff or strut bars. Ermmm bugger just had a thought this is for 3G accords damn!! Buy yourself a 2nd gen lude we'll get yoy to make some stuff :o)

[bobafett]

well supposedly the traction bar replacement will reduce wheelhop etc, but personally i want it so that i have more room for downpipe routing and turbo clearance. :)

the shop that makes them is only 2 hours away for me, and they will build a custom one for me that incorperates the adjustable front motor mount, and the transmission brace, but it probably won't be cheap. from what i see they do really good work though.

[Accordtheory]

My hatch is gathering dust ever since I slid off a gravel road and just about into a lake. I actually wanted to part it out or sell it, but that would be really problematic, considering I live in South Dakota, aka south bumfuck egypt. Since then I've also pulled the top half of the motor to drop on a gsr head, but I don't know if the head will even work. Stupid ebay. Or stupid me for buying it on ebay..either way. But back to the topic at hand, I was also thinking of building those hats that allow you to use civic shocks up front. I don't have any dimensions on those, but they look pretty straightforward to make.

As far as the traction bar thing, I've posted about this before, and wanted to build one of them for a while. The reason why I haven't though is I don't like rod ends. I just don't see them lasting on the street. I think poly bushings would work really well with the stock setup too. But I realize some people, myself included, also want the traction bar setup for clearance reasons. With the b series, there is no way to run a 3" downpipe without hacking out a huge section of the front crossmember. I was actually planning on cutting a hole in my pass side 'frame rail', reinforcing it with another layer of metal around the hole, and running the exhaust out the side in front of the wheel.

[bobafett]

+1 that would be nice. also the rear extender for running civic rears without mods. :) :) very interested

[Accordtheory]

How about an intake manifold for ITBs?

How would you do this, send an old manifold and the ITBs and just have me cut the flange off the manifold and weld the ITBs to it?

[AccordEpicenter]

i cut and smashed in the top of the stock front beam for clearance, i run solid mounts and have never had any problems with wheel hop but i believe that poly bushings for the radius rods would be a massive improvement over the stockers. The biggest problem with the stock front beam is that its pretty large, so clearance is a bitch for turbo setups

[Accordtheory]

I was just reading another thread in the suspension section about modifying the top hats and it looks like people now think the easiest way to do this is by extending the bolts. I think that's kind of half assed though. It leaves a big open gap and if you do this with your rear suspension, little spiders can now crawl into your car. Not to mention dirt, water, etc, etc

[stocklxi]

B SERIES MOUNTS PLEASE GOD lol i'm in desperate need :(

[Ichiban]

You might be interested in checking out some of the work I did in this thread here:http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57373

I'm also a machinist. Lemme know what you think.

I tried to send this as a pm but apparently you're full.

Mike.

[cygnus x-1]

don't you like mine then :o(

The setup in the pic would give you less movement on the radius rods as they'll be on bearings rather than big rubber washers!! And also would look cool not be rusty and hopefully won't go rusty in a hurry too!!

But agree any replacement aftermarket suspension parts would be killer even if it was simple things like rear toe bars and stuff or strut bars. Ermmm bugger just had a thought this is for 3G accords damn!! Buy yourself a 2nd gen lude we'll get yoy to make some stuff :o)

Don't like your what? Manifold for ITBs? You have one?

Typically for an ITB setup you cut the flange from a stock manifold and weld on tubes to match the ITBs. I don't have the equipment or experience to weld aluminum. Only steel.
This is off topic but I'm curious. Which welder did you buy? And if you don't mind how much? I would LOVE to have a TIG but I just couldn't justify the cost.


So we have:
No more mushy rubber radius rod bits
More clearance (this would be nice for not bashing it on those damn parking blocks)
Looks cool and not rusty (stock one could be repainted you know:)
Weight reduction?

Starting to like this idea. And I wonder if the same one could be used for the Preludes as well? Tie rod ends are adjustable. The only issue is how wide the mounting holes are. Could even be as simple as two sets of mounting holes? Damn, I have a welder too. Why haven't I thought of this?!
Tie rod ends will hold up just fine on the street. I mean they use those things on rock crawlers that could climb over our cars without trying!

http://www.proffittscruisers.com/012307_photos/rock%20crawlers/chadcopper_gallery/index.html


C|

[Accordtheory]

Think a rod end will last on the street? Go tear a hole in your tie rod or ball joint boot or driveaxle boot and see how long it lasts. Doesn't it make you wonder when no oem has ever used an unprotected "rod end"?

[Accordtheory]

Rod ends aside, other concerns as far as the traction bar setup are: How far forward can you relocate the radius arms (on the same axis as stock) before they cause a reduction in turning radius by hitting the wheels during a turn? If this does occur, and I suspect so, how much of a reduction in turning radius would result? And, for the 3g with the stock drivetrain, what about the lengthwise crossmember with the tranny mount on it?

The option that I ended up favoring in the past was to use poly bushings with the stock radius arms, cut out the center of the crossmember, and replace it with tubing of a different size/shape to get the clearance required. Still creates a problem with the lengthwise crossmember, but hardly one that's unsolveable.

[Accordtheory]

I've had incredibly frustrating problems with innovative's complete lack of customer service, but here's a damn good idea regardless. Use that crossmember with their bushings, and you have a nice setup.
http://http://www.innovativemounts.com/ShowProduct.aspx?prodid=59111

[rjudgey]

Rod ends and bits
Well i have poly bushes in my rod ends universal ones from poly, work better but still not as good as having a proper race setup but better than stock. Also the rose ends can have bearing covers so that they don't wear out in a month!!
Cygnus my weber manifold isn't just for webers ITB's are made to fit anything a weber does!! So yeah my manifold would fit ITB's and if you wanted jenvey ITB's you can get adapters to fit the weber flanges from Jenvey so they fit i also have those too!!
Strut bar would be good though front or rear both better but i'd have to find someone with a 2G to make one up for the rear though.

[AccordEpicenter]

the rod ends also fatigue the hell out of the lower ball joints when you hit potholes etc in the road because you dont have that squishy rubber bushing in there so i cant imagine youd want to daily drive them

[Accordtheory]

So you're saying you think the slight rearward deflection of the steering knuckle allowed by the stock radius arm bushings when hitting large bumps makes life easier for the ball joints? Maybe, but I suspect it would be negligible, like a 2% difference, unless you know something I don't. I think the longevity problem would be only with the rod ends themselves.

What did you think of the innovative crossmember for the civic/crx? That gets my approval. Although I don't think I'd make one for the 3g for only $260..

[cygnus x-1]

On my '89 Maxima, I drove for at least a year, including through a winter with snow and slush and road salt with a torn open CV boot. Never had a problem. Eventually I put one of those ghetto split type boots on there because it was too much work to pull the axle. It was fine for years after that. Right now both centerlink (steering rod ends now, not heim joints) ends on my truck have been without boots for a couple years now. They still work and aren't loose. Is this a good idea? Of course not!
But anyway, it's a minor point. You would want to use some kind of sealed or at least grease able joint really.

I expect the ride would be stiffer without the radius bushings. And that could put more stress on other suspension parts (I wouldn't think much though). But seriously, by the time we get to doing advanced mods like this, how concerned are we really with long term reliability?

C|

[Accordtheory]

But seriously, by the time we get to doing advanced mods like this, how concerned are we really with long term reliability?
C|

I don't know about you, but I don't like it when my expensive parts break..

[Ichiban]

I don't know about the aftermarket crossmember, but the factory one is mounted on big mushy bushings at each end. Come to think of it, so is the rear crossmember with the steering rack inside, which means that the whole engine cradle is rubber mounted to the car. I guess using rod ends would take some of the softness out of the suspension, but the rest of the rubber mounted components would probably still provide some cushioning.

[A18A]

how about an intake manifold for ITBs?

C|
now that would be cool :)

[bobafett]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TWM-ITBS-Intake-Manifold-B16-Civic_W0QQitemZ170168453217QQihZ007QQcategoryZ3647 4QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

we can use b16 itb manifolds. :) we dont have many people wanting to drop $2500+ on a true efi itb setup (cant blame them) but its as easy as buying the off the shelf parts, and modding the flange. :)

or buy something sexy like this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ITB-Honda-Civic-SI-Acura-Integra-Type-R_W0QQitemZ290181386206QQihZ019QQcategoryZ33558QQs sPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Accordtheory]

I don't know about the aftermarket crossmember, but the factory one is mounted on big mushy bushings at each end. Come to think of it, so is the rear crossmember with the steering rack inside, which means that the whole engine cradle is rubber mounted to the car. I guess using rod ends would take some of the softness out of the suspension, but the rest of the rubber mounted components would probably still provide some cushioning.

I've always kind of wondered about that. I've never actually removed the front or rear crossmember and inspected the bushings. Are most cars like that? How much movement do you think that rubber mounting allows? My guess is not much, esp when the front and rear crossmembers are tied together. I can't tell from the steering response or from anything else in the way the car drives compared to other cars. I think the old accord is engineered very well, I say better than newer civics without a doubt.

[Ichiban]

I've always kind of wondered about that. I've never actually removed the front or rear crossmember and inspected the bushings. Are most cars like that? How much movement do you think that rubber mounting allows? My guess is not much, esp when the front and rear crossmembers are tied together. I can't tell from the steering response or from anything else in the way the car drives compared to other cars. I think the old accord is engineered very well, I say better than newer civics without a doubt.

It's weird. When I had the crossmember on the jig (you can see it in that thread I posted), you could grab it and rock it fore and aft on the bushings. They just kind of sit in a cup under the crossmember, and sandwich it up into the car between its top half and a big washer on the bottom. There was little or no side to side play, which was evident when the welding heat distorted the beam in any way, it wouldn't fit on or off the jig unless it was proper in length and alignment. So it seems to be a decently rigid structure.

[ZackieDarko]

well supposedly the traction bar replacement will reduce wheelhop etc, but personally i want it so that i have more room for downpipe routing and turbo clearance. :)

the shop that makes them is only 2 hours away for me, and they will build a custom one for me that incorperates the adjustable front motor mount, and the transmission brace, but it probably won't be cheap. from what i see they do really good work though.

fastest accord in WA has one of their setups on it...seen that car...omfg