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.
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:
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.
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: