Installed the CR front springs on MY01 (stock) about 10 days ago, here are my impressions and observations

Spring Rates
01 : 219 lb/in ( 3.91 Kg/mm)
08 CR: ~390 lb/in (~7 Kg/mm)

Shocks Damping Difference ( according to Sport Compact Car )
Compression: Considerably higher on the CR ( ~60 higher)
Rebound: Same

Visual Impressions
1) The CR spring coils are much thicker than MY01
2) The spring length on the CR is quite shorter than MY01
3) But the ride height has increased by about 0.4'' ( only thing I don't like that much about the new setup, but its still within spec of what Honda published for the 00-01 ride height , that is 26.4'', so looks like the 7 year old original springs settled about 0.4'', so I guess its back to its normal height

Driving Impressions
1) The car is a totally different animal now, gone is the twitchy rear end, its much more planted ..
2) Body roll almost non-existent
3) The ride quality is almost like before, no additional harshness, no weird sounds from the suspension ( front will get harsher once I get the CR shocks, 01 rear is already pretty harsh over bumps )
4) With 32 PSI front&rear (stock rims+ dunlop direzza Z1 star specs) the car had considerable understeer at low speed fast turns[front tires screech), and when pushed really hard into a corner the front end was coming lose before the rear
5) but with 35 PSI Front, and 32 PSI rear, the street understeer at low speeds is gone, and guess what?, at corner exits you can mash the throttle and the car is very very neutral with a bit of oversteer (believe me, its just the right amount to pull yourself out of the corner without being slowed down by understeer, but at the same time knowing the rear end wouldn't be stepping out like it used) , so I guess I found the secret formula ....

Conclusion
1) What a tremendous change in handling for $120 ..
2) The front shocks seem to be holding up the 7 KG/mm CR front springs pretty well, partly due to the same rebound rate they have compared to the CR, the CR has way higher compression damping though, so the front is not as harsh as the back on MY01 with the new setup, I think Honda put in too much compression in the rear )

I highly encourage everybody to try this cheap experiment out and I am sure you will be pleasantly surprised with the results, not to mention how confidence inspiring your S2K would be with the right front/rear bias ...


Let me know if you have any more questions

-Kishore

 

awesome info. I've been wondering about this myself. I don't like the rise in ride height tho. I wish there was a way for the car to sit a little lower if anything. I guess one way to get the ride height lower, and get some more neg camber in front is to use a ground control sleeve on the front shocks. I would think that makes sense all the way around if the OEM shocks can sit on those ground control perches. Do you need to have flat bottom springs to do that?

 

CR ride height, especially in the front makes it just about daily drivable, but will still find many drivways almost innaccessable unless you don't mind scrapeage.

 

Or you could just put an 06-07 rear sway bar on...

 

so did u go with Cr shocks also, if u said sorry i missed it, or just the springs?
Did u find these on ebay or from somewhere like hardtopguy.com

I am going to upgrade my suspension and was planning on going aftermarket but i may look to honda , I have an ap1 also

 

Just the Springs, I found them from a Honda Dealership in the Bay Area, http://www.hondapartscheap.com, hardtopguy.com has them too,

 

This and a thicker front sway is a perfect combination to receive a huge change in the ap1's handling.

 

Has anybody has done this before ?

 

^^ no. Because It wouldn't work. The springs are compressed as they are sitting in the shock. They're not going to get lower by adding a perch.

Plus the spring has a pigtail on it.

You can add more neg. camber by changing the camber adjustment bolt.

 

Probably a suspension n00b suggestion... but what if one were to take the ghetto route and cut the springs to allow say a 0.5" drop all around? I've strongly considered the CR suspension conversion route, but the ride height is the deal killer.

I'm at a loss why Honda had not lowered the CR not even a little as the rest of the performance aftermarket does that. Probably just in keeping with their conservative philosophies.