Team Integra Forums banner

Kingpin Machine Lower Compliance and LCA Install

12K views 14 replies 10 participants last post by  Ricky1.0 
#1 ·
Yesterday I had a rare opportunity to work on my car. I'm glad I keep a socket set in the car since it wasn't planned.

As some may know I have been going through the 140k bushings in the car since December. Yesterday I had an opportunity to install these beautiful pieces from Kingpin Machine. FYI they have been an ITR Expo sponsor for three straight years. Chris does incredible work, so if you haven't seen/heard of them please check them out. If you are into tracking or drag racing, the front lower compliance pieces are a must.


I tend to always replace important load bearing bolts, which leads to me just replacing every bolt I touch. This was wise since this car has seen some winter driving and several bolts were rusted:

Pictured:
-OEM Honda bolts for front LCA's and front lower compliance
-Kingin Machine front LCA's with Honda Performance Development bushings
-Kingpin Machine front lower compliance




Old front lower compliance (below) vs. Kingpin Machine units:




Post install, passengerside:








Driverside:


*You can really see the quality of the welds on the Kingpin units here




*You can see I forgot about the a-arm bracket bolts. :p


Compare the new Kingpin LCA's to the original142k bushings:




First impressions? Even at low speeds (~35mph) the car tracks straight much better. Initial turn-in is nice and crisp. It was about an 1.5hr drive home and the car is much more stable at interstate speeds. I have only done one track event in my 98' with these units (NSXPO 13) but it was enough to sell me on buying these for the 97'. I'm very excited to take the car on track as I know it will help settle the rear under heavy braking. All in all I am very happy with the quality of the pieces, price point, and first impressions from driving.

Big thanks to Jackson (RedGSRGuy) and Lawrence for their help. Jackson noticed one of my RSB endlinks had loosened and about to fall out. Its possible that was making the car more unstable at my last event at Laguna Seca so I'm glad he caught that.


Here is the progression on bushing replacements:
-Jan 20th - RTA (Mugen), Rear LCA's, RSB endlinks, FSB endlinks, FSB bushings, rear compensator arms (SPC)
*OEM for everything else
-March 15th - Front LCA's (Kingpin Machine) and front lower compliance (Kingpin Machine)

The only items I have remaining are:
-Rear UCA (OEM)
-Front UCA (TBD)

I also have a set of PIC Select R3's in 12/14k set aside. I have been waiting to confirm each suspension replacement to confirm the results. I know I bent something (spindle?) at Willow Springs in December. Front Caster and Toe are fine, but the Camber is off:

Front Camber:
Driverside: -0.86
Passengerside: -2.87

I want to get the car on an alignment rack to compare the difference the new LCAs/bushings made. My hope is to rule out the old right LCA being bent. The last shop didn't follow my alignment specs and butchered one of the tie rods so I have another place lined up.

After the install I drove north and stopped at a DIY car wash. I had dirt/sand from Chuckwalla Valley Raceway, Willow Springs, Buttonwillow, and Laguna Seca so I was long overdue...




Clean clean




Back home:

 
See less See more
12
#2 ·
Very nice thread. I haven't heard of Kingpin before, and those look like excellent pieces. I want to start the process of slowly replacing suspension items like this, along with new hardware. I'm only at 80K or so mileage, but I want to experience what these cars felt like "new", if that makes sense. Nice work!


Sent from AutoGuide.com App
 
#7 ·
Very nice thread. I haven't heard of Kingpin before, and those look like excellent pieces. I want to start the process of slowly replacing suspension items like this, along with new hardware. I'm only at 80K or so mileage, but I want to experience what these cars felt like "new", if that makes sense. Nice work!
Great point, that is very in line with my thought process. These cars were a blast out of the box, so I have been working towards returning this car to its former OEM glory by refreshing the bushings.


Great write up! The fact you track in between upgrades/replacement will definitely help you isolate the improvement resulting in valuable info.
That was precisely the plan. I know just after tracking before/after the RTA's alone were a huge improvement.


Any reason you didn't go with kingpin'a spherical bearings in the lower control arm? I didn't even know they offered a traditional bushing style LCA. Does the car see a lot of street time and weather?
Good question. This is a street car with no plans to be a race-only/trailer to and from the track car. Spherical bearings in the LCA's would be a bad idea for any car that sees the street, both from a comfort perspective and a durability standpoint.

This was the first set of Kingpin LCA's with HPD bushings I have seen, but I know they are new item they recently starting doing. This car doesn't see much street time (I walk to work) but it is driven for all purposes.


I thought it was a traditional style bushing as well, but I checked out there site and it is indeed a spherical type.
You are correct, the front lower compliance are spherical bearing design. These are the only spherical pieces they recommend for cars that see the street. Otherwise I would order more. They did do a custom front UCA for Ramzi's (TurboLS) DB track car due to some chassis issues that was pretty rad. Ramzi can chime in more on the details.


Hmm i've had my hardrace bushings just sitting here. If you felt such a difference on the track I may finally change them this weekend. Those Kingpin bushings look Nice!
I will sound silly describing the Kingpin pieces, but they are works of art. The quality of the welds and even the notes on the spherical bushings are insane. If you follow them on Facebook you will see references to quality specs being in the .000x. Just nuts. I highly recommend them.
 
#5 ·
I thought it was a traditional style bushing as well, but I checked out there site and it is indeed a spherical type.

The DC2 Integra/EG Civic compliance bushing conversion replaces the large imprecise stock rubber bushing with a NHBB (New Hampshire Ball Bearing) Racing Series spherical bearing. The bearing is located in a 4140 steel sleeve tack welded to the housing and captured with a 4140 steel bearing retainer also tack welded in place. Four aluminum spacers are included with the conversion to precisely locate the assembly on the arm. Designed such that the large stock washers can be discarded.

The Outlaw Series product features NHBB bearings capable of withstanding the extremely high axial loads seen by the front LCA rear pivot point on a DC/EG drag car. Our compliance bearing assembly paired with our Outlaw Series spherical front LCA virtually eliminates the dynamic toe change inherent in traditional rubber suspension bushings. The NHBB bearing features a heat treated stainless steel ball and race.
 
#8 ·
How was the install, I've replaced the front arms before, but havent took off the rear part of the arm where the compliance bushing is at, you didn't have to remove the front sway bar to get the bushing out? Or were did you have to unbolt the compliance bushing to the arm from the rear?
 
#11 ·
How was the install, I've replaced the front arms before, but havent took off the rear part of the arm where the compliance bushing is at, you didn't have to remove the front sway bar to get the bushing out? Or were did you have to unbolt the compliance bushing to the arm from the rear?
The installation was pretty straight forward and simple. I haven't wrenched very much the past two years due to moving. The lower compliance install is simple:
-Remove A-arm bolt + nut
-Remove FSB nut on lower compliance
-Remove FSB bracket + bolts
-Remove lower compliance botls (3x per)
-Remove lower compliance nut
-Swing A-arm down and remove


I looked on there site and didn't see any info on them. Did you buy them directly from? And if so, if you don't mind me asking, how much did the front LCA run you?
My car is strictly a daily driver and I know spherical bearings are a no-no for a daily.
I bought them direct from Kingpin Machine. They are $240 with cores or $310 without cores. Here is Kingpin's FB post about my units:
https://www.facebook.com/KingpinMac...1545769876015/718122524885002/?type=1&theater


Kingpin Machine said:
Just a bit of an experiment here to test a possible new market. DC/EG front LCAs that have been shot peened, bead blasted to grey metal, zinc plated and then have had OEM Honda bushings pressed back in. The idea was spawned by my ITR Expo folks. Kingpin Machine is a proud sponsor of the event and I was lucky enough to instruct a couple years back. Looking at about $240 without cores or $310 with $70 refundable core charge. Almost a 50% savings over new and at least as good as new.

 
#10 ·
This was the first set of Kingpin LCA's with HPD bushings I have seen, but I know they are new item they recently starting doing
I looked on there site and didn't see any info on them. Did you buy them directly from? And if so, if you don't mind me asking, how much did the front LCA run you?
My car is strictly a daily driver and I know spherical bearings are a no-no for a daily.
 
#15 ·
Yesterday I had a rare opportunity to work on my car. I'm glad I keep a socket set in the car since it wasn't planned.

As some may know I have been going through the 140k bushings in the car since December. Yesterday I had an opportunity to install these beautiful pieces from Kingpin Machine. FYI they have been an ITR Expo sponsor for three straight years. Chris does incredible work, so if you haven't seen/heard of them please check them out. If you are into tracking or drag racing, the front lower compliance pieces are a must.


I tend to always replace important load bearing bolts, which leads to me just replacing every bolt I touch. This was wise since this car has seen some winter driving and several bolts were rusted:

Pictured:
-OEM Honda bolts for front LCA's and front lower compliance
-Kingin Machine front LCA's with Honda Performance Development bushings
-Kingpin Machine front lower compliance




Old front lower compliance (below) vs. Kingpin Machine units:




Post install, passengerside:








Driverside:


*You can really see the quality of the welds on the Kingpin units here




*You can see I forgot about the a-arm bracket bolts. :p


Compare the new Kingpin LCA's to the original142k bushings:




First impressions? Even at low speeds (~35mph) the car tracks straight much better. Initial turn-in is nice and crisp. It was about an 1.5hr drive home and the car is much more stable at interstate speeds. I have only done one track event in my 98' with these units (NSXPO 13) but it was enough to sell me on buying these for the 97'. I'm very excited to take the car on track as I know it will help settle the rear under heavy braking. All in all I am very happy with the quality of the pieces, price point, and first impressions from driving.

Big thanks to Jackson (RedGSRGuy) and Lawrence for their help. Jackson noticed one of my RSB endlinks had loosened and about to fall out. Its possible that was making the car more unstable at my last event at Laguna Seca so I'm glad he caught that.


Here is the progression on bushing replacements:
-Jan 20th - RTA (Mugen), Rear LCA's, RSB endlinks, FSB endlinks, FSB bushings, rear compensator arms (SPC)
*OEM for everything else
-March 15th - Front LCA's (Kingpin Machine) and front lower compliance (Kingpin Machine)

The only items I have remaining are:
-Rear UCA (OEM)
-Front UCA (TBD)

I also have a set of PIC Select R3's in 12/14k set aside. I have been waiting to confirm each suspension replacement to confirm the results. I know I bent something (spindle?) at Willow Springs in December. Front Caster and Toe are fine, but the Camber is off:

Front Camber:
Driverside: -0.86
Passengerside: -2.87

I want to get the car on an alignment rack to compare the difference the new LCAs/bushings made. My hope is to rule out the old right LCA being bent. The last shop didn't follow my alignment specs and butchered one of the tie rods so I have another place lined up.

After the install I drove north and stopped at a DIY car wash. I had dirt/sand from Chuckwalla Valley Raceway, Willow Springs, Buttonwillow, and Laguna Seca so I was long overdue...




Clean clean




Back home:

Where did u buy the compliance bushing hardware from?
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top