Stage 2 Pt. 2 Breakdown
Rear Camber
Trailing Arm and Toe Bushings
Rear Brakes
JDM Honda Emblems
and a Huge Announcement that changes everything
With the front suspension and brakes sorted it was time to work on the rear of the Integra. Rear upgrades consisted of PCI Toe and Trailing Arm bushing being used to replace the old and tired stock bushings. Also adding to the functionality, Hardrace adjustable rear camber arms were used.
I found the rear was no different then the front with all the suspension components being completely worn out. Installing everything in the rear was pretty easy. I simply had to remove the entire trailing arm, and once out, replace each of the three suspension pieces. The toe and camber were quick and just direct bolt-on replacements. Before removing I took measurements and made marks for where rear toe links were so when I reinstalled it it would be close. I was actually was able to get the toe back perfect by taking a little extra time on this step.
I used the same thought process when installing the Hardrace Camber arms measuring the the total length and matching it to the new Hardrace units before re-installing them. The PCI pieces all have spherical bushings, the Hardrace used hardened rubber. Again Project Integra is about being a budget build and the cost difference between upgrading to a spherical bushing camber arm was additional $100 over the hardened rubber version. So I went with the hardened rubber for this part. Now on the other hand, the PCI rear toe link was only a few dollars more then the hardened rubber version so that was a no-brainer.
My choice to go with the PCI rear trailing arm was more out of convenience then budget not wanting to have to press the new bushing in place the the PCI offered an interesting solution by being able to just drop them in place. As you can see the stock trailing arm bushings were completely gone. Removing the stock bushing was easy, taking only a few hammer hits to free the old bushing from the trailing arm.
The new PCI bushing fit in the stock location using a plate to cover the open area that the bushing itself didn't cover. The hardest part of the entire install was drilling the holes through the trailing arm to so I could secure the new PCI bushing.
With the new PCI trailing arm bushings in place it was time to remount the entire trailing arm assembly. The entire process went really smooth and overall wasn't very difficult, just make sure and have the right drill bits otherwise you'll end up burning through bits and it'll take 2-3 times longer.
With the trailing arm assembly back in place it was time to finish things off with a set of new rotors and pad, I installed a set of Centric rotors and Hawk HPS pads.
After dialing in my camber and toe it was time to take the car out and see how it would handle. The Integra is definitely a momentum car and with the suspension about 90% sorted it was fast. During a few spirited drives through some local canyon roads I found the Integra had no problem keeping up with my friends BMW's and Subaru's through the corners. Now on the straightaways that was a different story and although I was able to transition to full-throttle way earlier then before on the longer straights the higher HP cars would gap the Integra easily.
Now sometimes priorities change, while I enjoy driving the Integra, I just kept thinking that I wanted more. So I went through my motor swap options first, I could go with a GSR, Type-R ,K series or my favorite different option, a L15b7 out of a new Civic Si but through my research I quickly determined that I what I really wanted was a RWD car.
So back to researching my options. Going through all my RWD options of what I could daily drive, what could also handle numerous track days and would have the lowest ownership cost I kept coming back to Honda, which left me either an NSX or an S2000. With the NSX being to far out of my price range I very happily settled on a S2k.
Now its time to find one.
So it looks like this will be the last set of upgrades for Project Integra, at least for me. Stay tuned to see what I end with, until then a I'll say good bye with this parting shot of Project Integra.
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