What is the cheapest suspension mod i can get for my 01' Ex Coupe, that will actually make a diff??

 

the cheapest would probably be a strut bar off of ebay for less than $100. it stiffens up the ride and is extremely easy to install

 

Wrong. Cheapest would be a 2004+ Acura TL-S rear sway for $65 from the dealer. Reduces the understeer.

 

That rear sway would fit onto my car?

 

Yes, I have it on my car. Fits like it was made for our cars.

 

Ok sounds good. Thanks

 

i need to get me one of those.
the strut bar i got cost 30 shipped. it looks pretty solid, but its more for looks.

 

Cheapest, that actually does something worthwhile?

Compress the upper damper mount rubbers so the mounts act as if the rubber mounts were a lot stiffer. You can do this by fitting 'crush' washers under the existing retaining washers at the top of the dampers. The washers are simple discs about 5 or 6mm thick, and should be about the same OD as the existing washers, but with the centre drilled out so that the crush tubes can extend into the washer. This means that as the nut is tightened the 'crush washer' will compress the rubber bushes, and the crush tube will bear against the stock retaining washer as per normal.

This mod improves initial damping action and helps improve initial steering and handling responsiveness. However, if your existing dampers are shot or weak then it's a waste of time...

 

x2. I'm glad I replaced those when I installed my new springs and dampers. OR you can simply replace them with polyurethane ones too.

 

Poly bushes would be fine. Thick steel washers were on my shelf already, so cost nothing and do more or less the same job. The washers I used were from the old stock dampers, i.e. the ones that fit on the tapered damper rod shoulder, drilled out just a tad larger than the crush tube ID, perfect.

The stock rubber bushes are very soft (i.e. much too soft) even when new. This is because when the retaining nut is tightened the crush tube prevents any significant pre-loading of the bushes. This is good for NVH but bad for handling response because the rubber bushes act like soft / short stroke undamped springs, i.e. they create a significant range of suspension motion that is in effect undamped.

Try this, open the bonnet (hood) and watch the top of the damper rods while you push the front of the car up and down. If you can see the rod vertically moving (relative to the tower top) more than just a tiny amount as the bushes distort, then the bushes need stiffening up (if handling is more important to you than comfort).

Another way to stiffen them up would be to shorten the crush tubes by about 5 or 6mm (or so). When pre-loading bushes in this manner I reccomend using rubber grease,especially on the inside of the bush / outside of the crush tube.