Hardrace buishing kit help.


ek9chris

ek9chris

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Joined
Mar 12, 2008
Messages
151
Firstly apologies for this being a bit of a ramble, I'm not very technically minded and I'm not all that clued up on how all of the suspension components interact.

There has been a lot of talk the past few weeks about RTAs and other bushings, with the company Hardrace being mentioned frequently.

My 9's rear end has become very loose and a bit over-steery, along with a good few squeaks and rattles that weren't there when I got it 2 1/2 years back. Generally it's not feeling as tight as it did fresh from Japan.
From reading a number of posts it seems that usually this is due to worn RTAs, someone please correct me if I've misunderstood there.

There seems to be a bit of a split between whether OEM or Hardrace is a better choice as the hardrace don't offer enough movement in all directions.
However the price of the 26 pcs Hardrace kit from DohnGarage on Ebay or Dixon on here make it a hard proposition to ignore.
I see a few of you have installed these and feedback seems to be very positive on them. The Mugen ones appear (as with most Mugen) to be overpriced and I don't fancy going Poly as the 9 is my DD and don't want it too crashy.

Being a bit useless with the spanners I've spoken to some local garages (Essex, UK) and been quoted between 5hrs @ £60 p/h (local independant)to 12 hrs at £100 p/h (very outside estimate from TDI-plc). I appreciate it could be a pain of a job , but wasn't anticipating it to cost quite this much.

I've been informed the job would be much easier/faster if I had new bits to press the bushes into, rather than removing them from the OEM Honda parts and pressing the new ones into.

Q1)
What I'd like to know is exactly which bushings are included in the Hardrace set. So for instance, would I be making the job easier if I bought Skunk2 LCAs and so could directly replace the OEM part, or are the bushing for these not part of the set and I would infact be making more work for the garage ?


Hope someone gets what I'm asking, any advice appreciated.


Q2)
Does anybody know a good garage in the Essex (or few hours travel) that are trustworthy/competitive ?


thanks in advance guys

Chris
 
Are you looking to replace all bushes on your car or are you only wanting the rear done??

If you were buying new LCA's they already come with decent bushes(i would use them before pressing them out for hardrace ones for example)

I have brand new lca bushes front upper camber arm bushes and rear RTA bushes in my garage(if i can find them) all are hardrace, if you were interested i would sell them to you..:nice:
 
Looking to replace all the bushes at once ideally. Honda eventually got back to me today with a quote of £1100 supplied and fitted for the whole lot. Do people think this is a reasonable price or way over the top main dealer rates?
 
I had my RTA bushes replaced when I bought my '9'. Went to a local garage who had some kind of special machine that makes the job easier, and therefore quicker and cheaper! Just used OEM Honda parts, and that improved it noticeably, mine used to squeak a bit too..
If I were you i'd phone around a bit more, sure it only took 2 hrs labour where I went.
Hope this helps..
Mark.
 
Hardrace comes with ALL bushes, i know this as i have fitted a full kit to mine about 2 and a half years ago

front upper arm bushes
front lower arm bushes
front compliance bushes

compensator arm bushes (rear toe arms)
RTA bushes
rear upper arm bushes
LCA bushes


They are great bushes and a good upgrade over oem

HOWEVER

It is only the RTA bush that is far too stiff and you should substitute this for a set of oem honda bushes

The RTA design on hondas uses a slightly softer bush to allow toe change under heavy braking and improve rear end stability/maintain some compliance. Fitting the hardrace RTA bushes is much the same as fitting poly bushes here, binds the RTA and you are left with a very hard rear end which is a bit useless on the road tbh
 
Thanks steven , that's exactly what I wanted to know, I'd got it into me head somehow that the Hardrace kit was for the back half of the suspension only. I'll look into OEM RTAs and Hardrace for the rest. Where you able to use all of your old nuts and bolts? Tdi suggested I buy all new ones from Honda, but this is another few hundred quid I'd rather spend elsewhere.

Mrc, thanks also, I was quoted 2 hrs for the RTAs alone, let alone the full set, I'll keep phoning round.

Again if anyone knows somewhere around Essex/N.London they'd reccommend please let me know.

Thanks guys.
 
Not sure how close they are but

DMS Racing: Expert Race Car Setup And Track Car Preparation

They are a stockist of Hardrace bushes and also a specialist and will be able to fit all the bushes and set up the car as Dixon has a full laser alignment setup

Dixon has been setting up all of Buddyclubs race EK civics so they know a thing or 2 about what they are doing

Dealt with Dixon numerous times, i bought his old touring car brakes from his old race car too! Really good to deal with :nice:


I reused all the bolts on mine, made sure to degrease them all before fitting with fresh copper slip. it's only with rusty uk cars you will have issues with snapping bolts etc
 
Tried calling Dixon a few times, left a request for pricing but haven't heard anything back yet. I know he's got a good reputation on here, so hopefully will hear from him soon.
 
Hey Hond-R quoted me a price fully fitted on bushings before for less than half of what honda and tdi south had quoted. It might be worth traveling if it saves £500 +.
 
I was also in your position , choosing between Hardrace and OEM ... but i found after a little search another set that is between Hardrace and OEM. My car is also a daily and some downhill race in the weekend's .I have a Pic performance bushing kit on my car (ek4). You could also find it as Pic/Suja performance . The RTA are softer than Hardrace but a bit harder than OEM.
Link: Buy PIC/Suja 1 Motoring Hard Rubber Bushing (HRB) Kit
 
Also Tm developments in essex right near halstead, they mainly do toyota starlets but there top guys might be worth a call im sure they would do the bushings on your honda. I live in chelmsford, just trying to think of anywhere else that are any good.
 
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