6th Gen (6G) Honda Civic - ITR 22mm Rear Swaybar and ASR Subframe Brace Install
One of the best suspension mods you can do would have to be upgrading or adding a rear swaybar. Unfortunately, the subframe on Civics tends to tearout if you go much bigger than the 13mm bar that comes on the Si model. A-Spec Racing has addressed this issue with a beefy brace that prevents tearout. This install in going to focus on adding a 22mm Integra Type R rear swaybar to a 2000 Honda Civic. In this install, we are also adding Omni Power Rear Lower Control Arms...mostly for the bling factor, though they are a bit lighter than stock and will replace the worn out bushings in the OE arms.
Items to gather before you start:
- jack and jack stands
- blocks for front wheels
- lug wrench
- torque wrench
- ratchets
- 12mm socket
- 14mm socket
- 17mm socket
- 14mm open ended wrench
First off, here is the ASR Brace, the ITR Swaybar, the Omni LCAs. I also made some End Links out of Aurora Aluminum Rod Ends, and purchased Grade 8 hardware to secure them...due to a shipping error I got one red and one silver...no biggie.
Before you start, go ahead and loosen the lugnuts on the rear wheels so they can be removed once you have the car in the air...this will make it much easier to work on the suspension, especially if you are replacing the LCAs. Now you can block the front wheels, jack up the rear of the car, and support it on jack stands...please make sure to use jackstands.
Once you have the car up and supported, go ahead and remove the rear wheels. This step is optional, but removes a big load, frees up some room, and generally makes the work much easier.
Alright, if you are changing the LCAs out, then you will need to remove both of these bolts...they are both 14mm in OE trim.
Next you will need to remove these two bolts to get the LCAs off...these are again 14mm...and you need to remove them whether or not you are changing LCAs.
You should now be looking at the bare subframe.
This not so thick sheetmetal is the reason big sway bars rip the subframe to pieces.
Here we can compare the shiney new Omni Power LCAs to their OE counterparts. Notice they are the same length and the holes line up...that means these will not correct camber, though some, like SPC arms, do correct camber. The Omni LCAs are mainly 'Bling', though they are a bit lighter. Here we also see the ASR kit with the hardware laid out.
Go ahead and get the ASR Brace and the LCAs in place using the longer, beefier LCA bolts supplied by ASR. Only put these in finger tight for now.
Next you need to get the LCAs attached back to your damper and your trailing arm. You might notice that the trailing arm does not want to line up.
You can either push/pull the trailing arm into place, or use a hammer...I opted for a dead blow hammer. Once you get the holes lined up go ahead and put the OE bolt back in finger tight.
Now we need to get the ASR backing plates in place...this helps spread the load out across a larger area. (This is not required on an Si model because there is a backing plate welded in from the factory.
Go ahead and get the lower bolt in place.
Then get the upper bolt in to get the backing plate aligned right, and go ahead and tighten the lower bolt to 22 lbf-ft.
Here you can see how it helps spread the load.
Now we are ready to add the sway bar.
You can use OE 99-00 Si endlinks, but I opted for heim joint type and pieced my own together. ASR also has this type available as a kit for an additional $70.
The ASR kit comes with these aluminum spacers that basiclly act as metal bushings for your sway bar.
I am using grade 8 hardware, with a 'thick' washer on each side of the swaybar.
From right to left - bolt, end link, thick washer, ASR spacer, swaybar, ASR spacer, thick washer, split washer, self locking nut. Torque this all down to 22 lbf-ft.
For sway bar bushings, I opted for Energy Suspension Graphite Impregnated ones. These are 7/8" (22mm) universal fit and include zerk fittings to grease them. I had some ES Formula 7 grease left over from my Master Bushing install...and decided to lube these guys up.
You will need to remove the top and bottom bolts on the ASR brace, line up the sway bar, and get the bolts back in place finger tight. You can see the ES grease on the bar around the bushing. I just greased the bar and slid the bushing back and forth a few times.
Slide the bar back and forth until your end links are in the correct position...then you will probably have to adjust the length to get them lined up.
Go ahead and get your end links attached to the LCA...but do not tighten them up yet.
With rod end type end links, you will need to space them out...I used three thick washers for this.
It looks a bit crooked, but do not worry, once we lower the car and tighten them up they will straigten out.
Speaking of lowering the car...go ahead and re-install your wheels and get the car back on the ground.
Now we need to torque the bolts to spec.
LCA bolts = 40 lbf-ft
End Link bolts = 22 lbf-ft
Sway Bar Bushing bolts = 20 lbf-ft
All done. If you replaced the LCAs and banged on your trailing arms at all, then an alignment probably wouldn't hurt. Now you just need to make sure to torque your lugnuts back to 80 lbf-ft.
That is all she wrote on this one...you can find the full article with links to larger images HERE.
One of the best suspension mods you can do would have to be upgrading or adding a rear swaybar. Unfortunately, the subframe on Civics tends to tearout if you go much bigger than the 13mm bar that comes on the Si model. A-Spec Racing has addressed this issue with a beefy brace that prevents tearout. This install in going to focus on adding a 22mm Integra Type R rear swaybar to a 2000 Honda Civic. In this install, we are also adding Omni Power Rear Lower Control Arms...mostly for the bling factor, though they are a bit lighter than stock and will replace the worn out bushings in the OE arms.
Items to gather before you start:
- jack and jack stands
- blocks for front wheels
- lug wrench
- torque wrench
- ratchets
- 12mm socket
- 14mm socket
- 17mm socket
- 14mm open ended wrench
First off, here is the ASR Brace, the ITR Swaybar, the Omni LCAs. I also made some End Links out of Aurora Aluminum Rod Ends, and purchased Grade 8 hardware to secure them...due to a shipping error I got one red and one silver...no biggie.
Before you start, go ahead and loosen the lugnuts on the rear wheels so they can be removed once you have the car in the air...this will make it much easier to work on the suspension, especially if you are replacing the LCAs. Now you can block the front wheels, jack up the rear of the car, and support it on jack stands...please make sure to use jackstands.
Once you have the car up and supported, go ahead and remove the rear wheels. This step is optional, but removes a big load, frees up some room, and generally makes the work much easier.
Alright, if you are changing the LCAs out, then you will need to remove both of these bolts...they are both 14mm in OE trim.
Next you will need to remove these two bolts to get the LCAs off...these are again 14mm...and you need to remove them whether or not you are changing LCAs.
You should now be looking at the bare subframe.
This not so thick sheetmetal is the reason big sway bars rip the subframe to pieces.
Here we can compare the shiney new Omni Power LCAs to their OE counterparts. Notice they are the same length and the holes line up...that means these will not correct camber, though some, like SPC arms, do correct camber. The Omni LCAs are mainly 'Bling', though they are a bit lighter. Here we also see the ASR kit with the hardware laid out.
Go ahead and get the ASR Brace and the LCAs in place using the longer, beefier LCA bolts supplied by ASR. Only put these in finger tight for now.
Next you need to get the LCAs attached back to your damper and your trailing arm. You might notice that the trailing arm does not want to line up.
You can either push/pull the trailing arm into place, or use a hammer...I opted for a dead blow hammer. Once you get the holes lined up go ahead and put the OE bolt back in finger tight.
Now we need to get the ASR backing plates in place...this helps spread the load out across a larger area. (This is not required on an Si model because there is a backing plate welded in from the factory.
Go ahead and get the lower bolt in place.
Then get the upper bolt in to get the backing plate aligned right, and go ahead and tighten the lower bolt to 22 lbf-ft.
Here you can see how it helps spread the load.
Now we are ready to add the sway bar.
You can use OE 99-00 Si endlinks, but I opted for heim joint type and pieced my own together. ASR also has this type available as a kit for an additional $70.
The ASR kit comes with these aluminum spacers that basiclly act as metal bushings for your sway bar.
I am using grade 8 hardware, with a 'thick' washer on each side of the swaybar.
From right to left - bolt, end link, thick washer, ASR spacer, swaybar, ASR spacer, thick washer, split washer, self locking nut. Torque this all down to 22 lbf-ft.
For sway bar bushings, I opted for Energy Suspension Graphite Impregnated ones. These are 7/8" (22mm) universal fit and include zerk fittings to grease them. I had some ES Formula 7 grease left over from my Master Bushing install...and decided to lube these guys up.
You will need to remove the top and bottom bolts on the ASR brace, line up the sway bar, and get the bolts back in place finger tight. You can see the ES grease on the bar around the bushing. I just greased the bar and slid the bushing back and forth a few times.
Slide the bar back and forth until your end links are in the correct position...then you will probably have to adjust the length to get them lined up.
Go ahead and get your end links attached to the LCA...but do not tighten them up yet.
With rod end type end links, you will need to space them out...I used three thick washers for this.
It looks a bit crooked, but do not worry, once we lower the car and tighten them up they will straigten out.
Speaking of lowering the car...go ahead and re-install your wheels and get the car back on the ground.
Now we need to torque the bolts to spec.
LCA bolts = 40 lbf-ft
End Link bolts = 22 lbf-ft
Sway Bar Bushing bolts = 20 lbf-ft
All done. If you replaced the LCAs and banged on your trailing arms at all, then an alignment probably wouldn't hurt. Now you just need to make sure to torque your lugnuts back to 80 lbf-ft.
That is all she wrote on this one...you can find the full article with links to larger images HERE.
