148 replies to this topic

[JEM MotorSports]

UPDATE : 10.30.2010
PROJECT HAS OFFICIALLY BEEN GREEN LIT by MEGAN RACING as of 10/22/2010.
MORE INFO SOON TO FOLLOW. Pricing, specs, etc...
DEVELOPEMENT OF PROTOTYPE WILL BEGIN SHORTLY AFTER THE SEMA SHOW NEXT WEEK.
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Exciting news to share with the rest of you.
Earlier today, had a meeting with Megan Racing and went over plans for producing a completely NEW suspension kit for
the 1984-1987 HONDA CRX, 1984-1987 CIVIC & 1986-1989 Acura Integra.
Meeting went over well as we covered the basic fundamentals for this suspension system.
Various factors were presented with an emphasis on providing a kit on what you, the drivers, want.
So here is your opportunity to speak up & voice your opinions.

One of the obvious points discussed was the front shock shaft travel & shock body length.
I'm sure most of you would care to lower your cars more without compromising shock travel and bottoming out. "THUD!"

another point of business included a pillow ball mount or hard rubber mount. (much harder than OEM.)
Major plus here considering other kits did not include this.
again, majority will over rule in such matters.

The prototypes can be produced by Megan and tested in house once we have recieved enough feedback.
Prototypes only take a few weeks to produce. if all goes well on the 1st try, the initial order can take from 4-6 months to recieve.

Some key points of the kit would be:

• 32 Levels of Damper Force Adjustment :
  
  • 1-8: Suggested for track use.
  • 9-16: Suggested for mountain/aggressive use.
  • 17-32: Suggested for common street use.
• Pillow Ball Upper Mounts OR HARD RUBBER Upper Mounts (based on response)
• Rubber Dust Boots
• Adjustable Ride Height
• Aggressive Spring Rates
• Single-Cylinder Design
• 1 year manufacturer-defect warranty.
• Hardware

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Two types of kits would be available to us. but only one kit will be produced first, based on demand.

1st is a "Street Series" kit which would definately include pillow ball mounts and more adjustability. estimated $950-$1150
note : the Megan Street Series kit would be similar to that of a TEIN Type Flex kit.

2nd is an "EZ Street Series" kit which would include hard rubber upper mounts and less adjustability. estimated $850-$950
note : the Megan EZ street series kit would be similar to that of an introductory after-market suspension kit such as the TEIN BASIC or TEIN SUPER STREET kit.
Many local Honda owners have also compared Megan's EZ Street Kits to the FUNCTION FORM kit.

things to consider :
Upper mounts WILL be included. (pillow ball or hard rubber. based on demand).
32 points of damper adjustment.
If the demand is great enough, the street series will include adjustability from the base mount of the shocks.
The #1 advantage of adjustability from the base is that you will not compromise your rear spring.
In other words, We will NOT have to "crunch" our rear spring as much, in order to lower the back end! (...as we have been with traditional kits.)
AND we will not have to compromise shock travel in the front in order to lower the front end.


Pics are strictly for reference purposes ONLY! and are not of our kit...






Last but certainly not least, I can not stress enough on how the set price will be determined by its demand.
The more people we get, the lower the price gets. So please share this info with others
This info is being posted here first as it is safe to say that RPR is the leading forum for enthusiats of the 1st gen CRX & 3rd gen CIVIC.

To all serious potential buyers, please post all questions, comments and/or concerns regarding the above subject matter on this thread.
PLEASE try to base comments on FACTS as opposed to theory and/or hearsay.
The owner of MEGAN RACING and his technicians will be following closely reading along, as I am.
The owner is also very much aware and conscientious of group buys, as he enjoys assisting enthusiasts of a nitched marked as he has done
several times before with various auto groups and forums. (Mazda Miata groups, Nissan 240 / Silvia groups, etc. etc.)

On a side note, Megan Racing Suspension kits demand is increasingly growing from drivers in other race circles.
From the weekend warrior to the strictly track car, Megan Racing has addressed the demand with a low cost, effective solution.
more on Megan Racing's profile here : PROFILE


Lets make this happen!!!







Easy Chassis Code reference : 1984 - 1987 Honda Civic (E-AT), 1984 - 1987 Honda CRX (E-AS), 1986-1989 Acura Integra (E-AV)
These are the easiest to refer to in reagrds to Chassis styling. Other codes DO exist such as AL AG AH AM AJ AK AS AF.

Edited by JEM MotorSports, 30 October 2010 - 04:39 PM.

[silentdork818]

I'd be in for an EZ Street series kit with the rubber tophats...not really a fan of Pillow Ball-type mounts. Good to see there may be more suspension alternatives coming for out cars!

[1986civicsi]

I will be interested. Currently running Illiminas on my H prod civic but will be changing to Tein kit for some testing in off season.

Cory

[cahitapower]

[VaporParanoia]

IMHO, adjustability from the base (common form with coilovers now-a-days) is the best and smartest route to go. I know that if I was interested on going very low with a static drop that would be my biggest concern. I think there are members out there who would rather buy a product from a company like Megan for appearance purposes knowing that they could lower their ride very low without having to buy a "racing" level suspension set up.

I don't know how the racing community feels about the difference between a pillow ball or a hard rubber set-up but i know the non-racing individuals who would buy would enjoy the comfort of a pillowball set up

[zakats]

Information regarding the front strut's compatibility with adjustable (top mounted) camber plates would be useful for the more racing oriented customer. This shouldn't be hard really, it just means that the strut shouldn't be shortened by as much as it would be without top mounted CC plates.

Price is king; always has, always will be. I want a quality product as much as the next guy and MrD's teins are above the cost/benefit ratio that most want to deal with. With tokico illuminas out of the picture for future purpose (I currently have a set), I can see myself painfully biting the bullet and spending 2-3x (lets say ~$5-750) the going rate for when they were sold; I can't currently justify $1000+ on sport suspension for my street car. I want the kit built as I have always wanted to buy megan coilovers.

[SuperTwinz]

What country are the suspension kits made in?

[Lymitliss]

Like Zakats said, pricing is key. The only reason I haven't bought the MPTein kit is because of the price.

Personally the only way I'd buy a kit (pricing aside) is if they allowed you to slam the car, and have a really agressive setup, as I like my suspension really stiff. If they don't have the suspension travel they are no better than my Illuminas.

[JEM MotorSports]

What country are the suspension kits made in?

possibly malaysia. just like various mugen and spoon products.
of course china and taiwan would be considered as well since more than half
of todays top name brand coilover kits for imports are produced thier anyhow.

(FYI, did you know that various TEIN components & products are out-sourced. OMG!)

..and please don't get me started on how I know... LOL!
for starters, I have been subcontracted by various video production companies over the past
13+ years to personally visit most of these manufacturing plants based in japan and other
countries on a regular basis.
I often produce and/or direct many of their demo videos displayed in thier booths at such
trade shows as; Tokyo Auto Salon, SEMA and AMPA.
On a few occasion, I have been asked not to document certain areas as they were off limits
to cameras due to contractual agreement.

..and by stating so, nor am I infringing on any trade secrets and/or agreements.



I digress, the subject at hand are these new kits should a number of people become interested.

[JEM MotorSports]

Like Zakats said, pricing is key. The only reason I haven't bought the MPTein kit is because of the price.

YES! YES! YES!
pricing is key.

If their are enough interested buyers the price will continue to drop.
Economic basics, supply and demand.

Personally the only way I'd buy a kit (pricing aside) is if they allowed you to slam the car, and have a really agressive setup, as I like my suspension really stiff. If they don't have the suspension travel they are no better than my Illuminas.

Valid key ponts!!!
and that's why this thread was created.
lets face it, RPR members (for the most part) are the governing body for what will be made for our cars.
I can't possibly see how ANY company would ever produce parts for our cars without researching
& consulting with you guys, 1st.

I am very much interested in hearing from everyones suspension experiences and comments in hopes
of learning from what has been done or is presently being produced and simply attempt to improve upon it.

( Insert BASF commercial here...... )

such personal concerns of mine would ask what side effects would we have if we shortened things up too much.
instead of the shock bottoming out, we'll either rub tire or rub frame.
knowing I could adjust my suspension from a comfortable stance to this "slammed" state would be a plus in my book.

however, we are at the earliest of phases in this process... and all we can do at this point is collect info, review it and
give the drivers a chance to vote on it.

[Craig87crx]

This would be great, having an option such as this will be great for the enthusiast, which we all are on here! I also think that having more options in regards to suspension and aftermarket upgrades for our cars could potentially bring new or maintain owners of 1G/3G. I will in the market for a suspension setup like this early in the new year....

[JEM MotorSports]

Information regarding the front strut's compatibility with adjustable (top mounted) camber plates would be useful for the more racing oriented customer. This shouldn't be hard really, it just means that the strut shouldn't be shortened by as much as it would be without top mounted CC plates....

this can be presented as well... which means everyone would have to agree upon a design each is comfortable with.
from my present understanding of any existing CC kit that has ever been made and offered here, the amount of correction is still limited.
It's the only reason I hesitated in ordering a kit...
Again, this is based on feedback from individuals that I have personally interviewed with such kits.
The amount of adjustment I refer to is the amount of degrees allowed and not the number of angle adjustments.
I could be wrong on this, and I hope someone chimes in and gives some camber correction feedback on these matters...

Megan Racing presently produces camber correction pillow ball mounts for several applications.
Managing to get them to produce a camber correction kit we all agree upon is definately an option and will effect total pricing.
but thats what this sort'a "Q & A" is all about at this point....

does anyone recall of an old camber correction kit that was offered to our cars way back when they were still considered new"ish" LOL!
I think lightspeed made a kit. I recall it looked simple and easy to manage...
any feedback on that kit???

[VaporParanoia]

will there be an option for an increased rear spring rate, on the 98-02 accord many members i know won't buy them because for the price they can get a higher spring rate from most other brands for the same price. 12k in the front is great but 5k in the rear is far from ideal to us.

[JEA86]

i would for sure be interested

[zakats]

this can be presented as well... which means everyone would have to agree upon a design each is comfortable with.
from my present understanding of any existing CC kit that has ever been made and offered here, the amount of correction is still limited.
It's the only reason I hesitated in ordering a kit...
Again, this is based on feedback from individuals that I have personally interviewed with such kits.
The amount of adjustment I refer to is the amount of degrees allowed and not the number of angle adjustments.
I could be wrong on this, and I hope someone chimes in and gives some camber correction feedback on these matters...

Megan Racing presently produces camber correction pillow ball mounts for several applications.
Managing to get them to produce a camber correction kit we all agree upon is definately an option and will effect total pricing.
but thats what this sort'a "Q & A" is all about at this point....

does anyone recall of an old camber correction kit that was offered to our cars way back when they were still considered new"ish" LOL!
I think lightspeed made a kit. I recall it looked simple and easy to manage...
any feedback on that kit???

I don't have magic numbers as far as compressed length, extended length, and travel but I do think that a lot of the street guys and racers will want to keep the option of keeping the ride height near stock, within 1.5" or so, rather than not having enough extended length to keep from eating your undercarriage every time you happen upon some uneven pavement.

I believe firstgencrx's CC plates follow a somewhat classic design and are still produce-able hand already have the R&D done, I also believe that he'd be good for outsourcing that production if he agreed.

If you build it, they will come! The cheaper they are, the more they will sell. Considering a reasonable amount of market with our community and the non-incorporated 1/3genners out there, these kits should sell easily- I'd think that if you bring the price down to the minimum, you will sell as many kits as the market has demand for- this may sound like a pointless statement but consider this: OE replacements cost around 50-60/ea, double/triple that with the current or similar specifications and the cost/benefit ratio is still reasonable to a lot of owners. It may not need to be a whole kit, just the dampers would work as well.