My Okuyama CARBING Brace kit for EK9 - Impressions


jugbugz

1998 EK9 CTR
Donator
Joined
Apr 10, 2007
Messages
2,876
Ok guys... When I swapped out my TEIN Monoflex for TEIN SS + EDFC, the stock front Strut bar could not be used as it would interfere with space.

I was looking around for braces and was deciding between SPOON and CARBING. By this time I also decided to go for Front and Rear struts as I didn't want to just have the front more stiffer without the rears.

SPOON was very cheap compared to CARBING, so between the 2, it was quality VS price.

I had a SPOON front lower arm bar in hand, so I thought about ordering another rear lower arm bar until something bad happended........... more on that later...
By the time I received the Carbing parts, my first impression was stunned when i picked the parts up and felt the lightness of the front and rear bars. With the front being a 3-point brace, as large as it is, it was lighter than the Stock OEM bar. Shockingly light for the mass!!!!!!

As shocking as it was with the lightness, once I opened the packaged, i was further stunned at the quality of the piece, material and workmanship... the welds are just a 'work of art'.

The rear RS-P strut was even more impressive and makes other copies or the likes of Cusco bars seem like paper thin in comparison. The thing was huge!!! Bigger and thinker than my friends carbing copy and other friends passwordjdm front and rear struts.

Installation wasn't easy...

I had to lift the front car off the ground to have the sussy threads movable for the strut holes to fit. But yet it didn't fit in... I had to get help from my brother to hold one side. So we slotted the left strut first and then needed some serious push on the right side strut to push back the firewall and after 10mins, we finally got it in... it was a very very tight fit. Once we bolted everything down including the 3rd point on the firewall, theres some serious tension pressed against the firewall that once bolted down, the upper firewall lip edge above the 3rd point was pressing out. Nothing wrong with it, but just amazed with the rigidity of the fitment. After that, we thought, this is one serious brace...

The Rears went on after cutting out the boot panels etc and also had the same process as the front but a little easier since its just a 2 point.

I installed the SPOON Front lower arm along with some extra Carbing Front and rear lower arm braces. So in total, there were 5 braces installed...
The SPOON ones brace up the LCA bushes while the carbing braces up the front point of the LCA.

First driving impression was ofcourse nothing short of wow.
now for the bad news.........

2 days later, When I was checking up on the braces etc, the SPOON front lower arm bracket snapped!!!.... seriously not good... But couldn't really complain when you compare the size and design of Carbing vs SPOON. I wasn't disapointed even though I just lost $100!!! After getting back onto the car with the SPOON LCA brace off. I straight away felt a difference. there was more body roll without the SPOON brace, but it felt as if my suspension were working better. Whatever it was, the SPOON brace is long gone...

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Now with just the 4 Carbing braces, it feels like the DC5R. The body is much more rigid compared to stock and definitely the suspensions are working much better. If you've ever driven a stock FN2, DC5R or FD2R in comparison, then you'll know what I mean.... my DC2R has a lot of catching up to do...hehe

-Carbing Front 3point strut (aluminium)
-Carbing Rear RS-P Strut (aluminium)
-Carbing Front LCA brace (steel)
-Carbing Rear LCA brace (steel)
-SPOON Front LCA brace (aluminium + steel brackets)

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With Js

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With Comptech
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hes obviously payed to make his car a pure *** machine

NICE!!!!!
 
Awsome Bud !! Im a big fan of that front strut brace !!! :nice: - I would love one but would probarly offend its image by painting it red ! lol

I was wondering where you got your carbon plug cover from aswell ??? Its seriously sweet !!!

Cheers - Andy
 
some lovelly bits there, and your right them welds look super phat !!
 
WOW! :wow: :bow:

its looking really good jugz. just wondering, if the bracket on the spoon front LCA brace broke why didnt you just go to a machine shop or something and got a thicker steel bracket made for it? if you did that i am sure it would have been cheaper the just buying a new one.
 
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Jugbugz... all I can say to that setup is WOW! :bow: :bow: :bow: that looks awesome!
The BEST EK9 engine bay Ive seen so far! :nice:
Superb work there... and Tein EDFCs! :bow: how much are they??

Congrats again on some awesome work dude! :clap:
 
that's because the spoon bar just sucks. I have one and opted not to install it after I purchased it years ago in '98. There's too many pivot points and it's real obvious it'll get ruined in a hurry once you have it in hand.

It simply can't compare to the carbing/cusco and even the fake braces you can find on eBay for pennies which have been very well received with my friends.

eBay Motors: Red H Brace Lower Arm Honda Civic 92 93 94 95 96 97-99 (item 160282214152 end time Sep-16-08 14:33:48 PDT)
 
that's because the spoon bar just sucks. I have one and opted not to install it after I purchased it years ago in '98. There's too many pivot points and it's real obvious it'll get ruined in a hurry once you have it in hand.

It simply can't compare to the carbing/cusco and even the fake braces you can find on eBay for pennies which have been very well received with my friends.

eBay Motors: Red H Brace Lower Arm Honda Civic 92 93 94 95 96 97-99 (item 160282214152 end time Sep-16-08 14:33:48 PDT)

My Spoon bar lasted 24hours. Never again.
 
Thanks for sharing!!! Sticky
 
Awsome Bud !! Im a big fan of that front strut brace !!! :nice: - I would love one but would probarly offend its image by painting it red ! lol

I was wondering where you got your carbon plug cover from aswell ??? Its seriously sweet !!!

Cheers - Andy

Thanks! The Carbon plug cover is VISION. These are deadstock and only a handful can be found on ebay... better be quick!

DON'T paint the Carbing struts!!!!!!!. :angry2:
 
WOW! :wow: :bow:

its looking really good jugz. just wondering, if the bracket on the spoon front LCA brace broke why didnt you just go to a machine shop or something and got a thicker steel bracket made for it? if you did that i am sure it would have been cheaper the just buying a new one.

You know... the SPOON LCA bar really did work, It was quite troublesome since it sits right under the Catalyst, so once your exhuast system gets hot, it touches...
Another way is to get some stiffer LCA bushes to help with the amount of flex.
I might look at Carbing's 'H' brace to replace that area.

I just wonder how long its lasts on SPOON's cars...:angry:
 
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Jugbugz... all I can say to that setup is WOW! :bow: :bow: :bow: that looks awesome!
The BEST EK9 engine bay Ive seen so far! :nice:
Superb work there... and Tein EDFCs! :bow: how much are they??

Congrats again on some awesome work dude! :clap:

Thanks for the compliment! I always try my best.

The TEIN EDFC isnt cheap. The controller and Motors add up to about 40000yen alone. Wait for my short write up on the EDFC.

Its definitely worth it though! When my missis is in the car, I set it at the softest at 1 touch of the preset button. And when I see a corner that is itching me from afar, One touch and its on another setting... :p
It comes with 3 preset buttons to set, asn manually adjust. Its some clever stuff from TEIN!
 
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that's because the spoon bar just sucks. I have one and opted not to install it after I purchased it years ago in '98. There's too many pivot points and it's real obvious it'll get ruined in a hurry once you have it in hand.

It simply can't compare to the carbing/cusco and even the fake braces you can find on eBay for pennies which have been very well received with my friends.

eBay Motors: Red H Brace Lower Arm Honda Civic 92 93 94 95 96 97-99 (item 160282214152 end time Sep-16-08 14:33:48 PDT)

Yeh, it really is a piece of **** to begin with the weak 3 piece and pivot construction.

All Carbing pieces are 1 piece. And designed to be very strong. Cusco still looks like paper compared to carbing in person... :D
 
Thanks for the compliment! I always try my best.

The TEIN EDFC isnt cheap. The controller and Motors add up to about 40000yen alone. Wait for my short write up on the EDFC.

Its definitely worth it though! When my missis is in the car, I set it at the softest at 1 touch of the preset button. And when I see a corner that is itching me from afar, One touch and its on another setting... :p
It comes with 3 preset buttons to set, asn manually adjust. Its some clever stuff from TEIN!

can you adjust the damping settings while the car is in motion with a Tein EDFC?
the reason i am asking is because when i get back to Cali, i plan on doing some Honda Challenge races. Honda Challenge rules stipulate that you cannot change any part of the suspension while the vehicle is in motion ie. damping force.
 
can you adjust the damping settings while the car is in motion with a Tein EDFC?
the reason i am asking is because when i get back to Cali, i plan on doing some Honda Challenge races. Honda Challenge rules stipulate that you cannot change any part of the suspension while the vehicle is in motion ie. damping force.

Yes you can:nice: Thats why I said "And when I see a corner that is itching me from afar, One touch and its on another setting... "
 
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