MarkHuntsman Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Hi, for a few days now, i am a new owner of 1999 aerodeck VTi. So far i am happy with how the car, but i am interested in doing some suspension/handling mods. I tried looking for MG ZS180 rear ARB, but they seem to be all gone, since i was not able to find any for sale. Because of this, i was wondering, if there are any other cars that has similar suspension to MC2. I know that some parts from EK/EG/DC2 could possibly fit, but wanted to know, which are the closest to decks. Also those mentioned before have many more aftermarket options, but only some ebay sellers mark their items as (fits: civic aerodeck) and even then i am not sure if these parts will fit. I saw some mentions that for example DC2 LCAs are almost identical to M series civics, and mainly was thinking, whether would also rear arb from DC2 fit with just a slight modifications. So what i am asking for is recommendation about what parts should i look for, that would require the least amount of modifications to fit my deck. I am a bit late to this game and see that there are only few members still active, but i will try to keep you posted with any progress to the car. Thanks in advance for any relevant info. Edit: i forgot to mention, that i am working with CNC mills and have also access to lathes, so i can make most needed spacers, brackets and stuff. So if i get some coilovers that have the highest point of adjustment too low for my liking, i will simply make aluminium plates, to rise it up a bit 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Hi mate. If you have a healthy budget, suspension wise I'd go for the MeisterR's coilovers. I've had them on my vti MB6, and also bought them for my Aerodeck. I did have it set low to begin with, but due to speed bumps etc (I hate to hear a car scraping and the damage that entails!) I've raised them up a fair bit. It's lower then standard, but not too low now. Good balance of comfort/handling with them as they are fully adjustable. For info on what fits, have a look at the following link: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkHuntsman Posted January 25, 2018 Author Share Posted January 25, 2018 Thanks for the link, i have seen Meister R coilovers, but that will have to wait for some time. I have to admit i like the comfort stock shocks and springs provide, especially on roads here in Slovakia. For now almost all of my budget will go into Stage 0, check everything, replace what needs to be replaced, put some cash aside for timing belt/tensioner, and save up a bit for lpg conversion. Even i think it is heresy to feed lpg to B18C4 engine. Unfortunately i drive about 2500-3000km a month, so it is the most logical thing to do. Another mod i forgot to mention before i am really considering is 5th gearset from LS or even GSr integra, since both of them have longer 5th gear, but shorter final drive. Again, driving a lot, mostly highway, 4,5k revs all the time is getting a bit annoying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 yeah, the gear ratios are a bit naff in the VTi mate! 1st gear is ok, but the fact 2 gear drops out of vtec when changing up from 1st is a reall pain. Honda should have really thought out the ratios a bit better. And like you say, 5th gear revs too high for motorway speeds. Simon (Dr Broon) had his rebuilt with different ratios etc, might be worth speaking to him to see whats involved. Have seen an lpg converted vti over here a few years back which was for sale. Not sure how it drove or how much the performance was affected, but with the kind of miles your doing does seem like a good idea. LPG didn't really take off in the uk which is a shame, not many garages sell it. Wonder if I could do a petrol/electric hybrid conversion on the deck!? lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkHuntsman Posted January 25, 2018 Author Share Posted January 25, 2018 I will hae to ask around about that LPG conversion, few colleagues drive lpg cars, honda legend, land rover discovery 3 and 4, mercedes ML, and my boss bought dodge ram 5,7 hemi two days before i got my civic. It mainly depends on the guy/garage that installs it and tunes it, because these all drive fine, but my brothers skoda felicia is just weird, sometimes it accelerates just ok (for 50kw engine) and sometimes you have a feeling, that if you started pushing it yourself you could get up to speed quicker. I am not that worried about 2nd gear, since i am not really launching it, nor drag racing. Just occasional 2nd/3rd gear pull to pull up to traffic on hwy and 4th/3rd gear downshift when overtaking. I will contact him, when i will be closer to doing the swap,for now i have read some guides and watched videos of people doing that swap on ITGs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_broon Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 I got the LS 5th gear set installed at the same time as getting the final drive from an itr. 5th is still a bit longer than it was in the standard box, so swapping it in with the rest of the standard s9b ratios would make a big difference. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkHuntsman Posted January 26, 2018 Author Share Posted January 26, 2018 We are talking 0.878 vs 0.717 gear ratio if i remember these numbers correctly so it means about 18% lower revs in the fifth gear. So far i think the rest of gears is fine for my driving, dont need any shorter 1-4, just longer 5th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_broon Posted January 27, 2018 Share Posted January 27, 2018 Should do the trick then There's a noticeable bigger gap between 4th and 5th than other gears, but not so much as it causes a problem - at least with the 4.7fd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkHuntsman Posted February 13, 2018 Author Share Posted February 13, 2018 (edited) Sad news today... After losing almost all stiffness in brake pedal and parking brake warning light coming on during driving i checked brake fluid level. Almost empty... Well thats weird, better go to garage nearby, lift the car and see whats the problem. All calipers and hoses without leakage. Thats not good, it means, that something else, more expensive and harder to replace is leaking... after a while we found rusty brake tube that runs to rear brakes under the car. The technician said right away, that he does not have enough experience doing brakes to take the job. Right now i am trying to find some place that is willing to do it for reasonable price. One place told me, that they can try, but the can not guarantee that they will be able to losen those lines and replace them. Since I saw the state of the undercarriage, i know it will be a bitch of a job to do... On another note, when i started this thread, i think i forgot to say, that i am also interested in H-brace from integra, but i was not able to find any info on that even after reading compatibility list and some other threads on various pages. Wish me luck with the brakes. I will post back as soon as i will have any more info. EDIT: the words i was looking for was "hard lines" i just could not remember the correct term before. Also, found some place that can fabricate new hard lines pretty cheap, about 6eur pre meter, but i have to bring them old lines as template. Edited February 13, 2018 by MarkHuntsman could not remember correct words before Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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