eibach and bilstein combo

[Milano]

Hi fellow nsxers,

I have eibach springs and bilstein shocks put in on my '96T about three months ago. Just recently is the first time I drove my nsx with this set-tup in the rain. The handling is really bad. It seems like the rear always like to kick out making it very hard to control. I was so afraid that I was only going under 50mph. I took the opportunity to test the abs too. When I slam on the brakes the car gave a little fish tail...and this is on a straight road. Is this how the nsx reacts in the rain with this set-up? When it's stock it never reacts like this. Ohh, I have brand new 010 front and 70% worn 010 rears if that make a difference. Shed some light in here please...

thanks
-Ray

 

[DanO]

Sounds like an alignment problem. Do you know your toe/camber settings?

 

[nsxtasy]

I think much of the blame is due to those 70% worn rear tires. The NSX tires don't do well on wet pavement when they're worn.

 

[8000RPM]

I think your tires are the culprits and not the suspension setup.

I have the same exact setup and I just love the handling.

 

[Dr.Honda]

ditto, worn Yoko's are like a pig on ice.

 

[TampaBayNSX-R]

I also run the same suspension setup on my '94 coupe along with Dali Racing's track swaybars. The only time my car felt unpredictable was when I had a BRAND NEW set of SO-3s on the car. Before the release agent had been worn off the car was twitchy. Once they wore in a bit the car is great. I've had this setup for over two years now. Hope this helps. I'd be ordering some new rear tires if I were you.

 

[MYNSX]

I have the same and is very stable in rain or dry road.

 

[MYNSX]

I have the same and is very stable in rain or dry road.


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[DanO]

Originally posted by 8000RPM:
I think your tires are the culprits and not the suspension setup.

I agree that the tires COULD be the problem but a screwy alignment can cause the severe problems listed above. It has been my experience that low tread wear can cause mild handling problems in the wet, but not severe. Toe settings DO have a major effect on how the car handles in the wet, especially when changing lanes and straddling different pavement surfaces and under moderate to heavy braking.

Since the suspension was just installed, it only makes sense to rule out the alignment as the major contributing factor by having it checked at a good shop. Once my car was aligned out of wack by my Acura dealer and the car was nearly impossible to drive in the wet. It took a bit of work to find a shop who would take the time to do a proper alignment AND give me the final printout so that I could check the results. Also, a shop can accidentally toe in the front wheels since the NSX’s toe out is an unusual setting. One more thing to consider is that sometimes a shop’s rack can be out of calibration and although the alignment printout looks good, the car is actually out of spec. I went to 3 different shops in one day and had them print numbers and the results were all over the board.

It has been my experience with the NSX that if something doesn’t seem right, then it’s probably not so it’s worth checking the alignment in this situation even if it means going to a few different shops and have them put it up on the rack and just print the numbers. I’d be looking for severe toe settings or a significant left/right mismatch.

DanO

 

[sjs]

Ditto DanO. Find someone good with alignments and preferably experience with the NSX. Though not unique, it does require care in the sequence of adjustments or they will get frustrated in a hurry and probably not get it right.

 

[Milano]

Thanks to everyone that reply. I'll go get an alignment sometime this weekend. If that doesn't work then I'll replace the rear tires.

thanks again!
-Milano

 

[Milano]

Oh I forgot to tell you that the nsx is fine when its dry outside.I can really push the car on the onramp merge onto the highway and the car does not pull left or right. Its dead center. So at this point I figure its the worn rear tires not the alignment.

 

[DanO]

Originally posted by Milano:
Oh I forgot to tell you that the nsx is fine when its dry outside.I can really push the car on the onramp merge onto the highway and the car does not pull left or right. Its dead center. So at this point I figure its the worn rear tires not the alignment.

In the dry, it has been my experience that NSX handles quite well even with huge alignment problems. Did you have an alignment performed after your strut/shock install? If so, did they give you a printout of the alignment specs? Can you detail the specs for us so we can make sure they didn’t do anything strange?

If you had an alignment performed after the install and the alignment is to spec and you have a printout of the specs then all you have to do is go to a different shop and have them put it up on their rack and print out the numbers. Then you can compare the two printouts to make sure they reasonably match. If so then you can reasonably rule out the alignment as the problem.

I’d suggest this double-check procedure to anyone who is having severe handling trouble in the wet, especially under braking and pavement surface changes.

DanO