Anyone know if it's hard to replace the front ball joints? I've read from previous posts from Kelso that it was a PITA... but has anyone replaced theirs?

 

They are never any fun. Its one job I farm out.. You need a couple special tools to do it with minimum pain and bleeding. Sometimes its easier to buy the whole A-arm with a joint than swap them... Depends on the car..

 

I replaced my front LCA a few days ago due to the bushings being worn down. I also have a set of J's Racing RCAs that I wanted to have installed simultaneously but my friend was not comfortable with the install so I still have them.

I was either thinking of selling them (to avoid the hassle) or trying to find another shop to do it. I just wanted to know what I was getting myself into.

 

Ball joint tool, Press, possibly a torch to heat if the old ones are stuck, a good vocabulary of swear words helps occasionally too. Pint of blood for the car gods. I always seem to end up feeding the car when I do ball joints.. I almost always end up with the a-arms on the workbench getting the ball joints out..

But I'd really think about race RCA's, they have no shock absorption in them, you'll hear road noise like crazy in most cars, its like using solid metal sway bar bushings.. Wear your noise canceling head phones.. Racing parts are not always street friendly. I hunt seen the honda kit installed on a FIT so this is speculation

I personally don't like coil overs or much race suspension on my street car, race parts are about performance and not durability. Example, the stock A-arms on a 3 series BMW last about 80 K and you buy them stuffed with bushings and ball joint for about 200 bucks. Easy peasy. The race version last about 20K miles and cost 1200 bucks a side, are aluminum and break way easier than the stock steel. They are about 10 lbs lighter. Coil overs typically last about half the life of the standard struts and if I had a buck every time someones street/track payday car quit handling (and sometimes wrecked) due to adjuster failure or camber/caster plates coming loose I'd be rich. I just have coils wound to the spring rate I want and the static height and use heavy duty struts.

 

Anyone wanna buy my J's Racing RCAs?

 

Yesterday she turned over 100,000 miles. Still loving it!

 

 

Headers looks sweet I was planning on picking up Megan's racing header and down pipe to complete my Megan's dual tip catback

 

Installed a pair of DEPO Smoked/Red LED tails.








There was a lot of dirt/sand buildup inside and on top of the beam causing bad rust. I took a hose and blasted it all out of there. Wish I knew that was in there a while ago, I would have prevented this. Seems this was the first time the bumper was removed.

 

installed these on, will be putting on 56.1 1in or 1 1/2in wheel adaptors. I already trimmed one flare due to, to much rubbing. I need to cut the rest to so after the adapters are in, the wheels will fit perfect





Thought of getting the voltex rear diffuser made for a Subaru but wasn't sure of the firment but I did images how it would look though. Would look sweet plus getting the 2pc black rear 3 holes rear bumper diversions.





after everything is done the way I want it, i'll begin fixing the little door dings and repaint it back to black with some sparkle or a different color, Im unsure which color, kinda liking a dark grey or brown.











waiting on my VIS terminator carbon fiber hood to come in to finish up the front end with eyelids and probably front splitter, not sure though. everything here in houston I hit.

 

Finished putting 8's and tweets in my doors

 

I was planning to put a Nexus 7 in dash cost got a little out of hand but i fabricated a mount for the EQ that worked well. The panel under heat control has 3 small tabs that i replicated with washers and a screw that holds the front. Cut at an angle so the LEDs weren't obstructed. Never going to get to complete the project as the FIT is for sale...

 

Ive been driving my fit since Dec 15. 2 weeks ago I started having some trouble with the manual trans. It only had 50k on it, i bought it with 42. It started getting notchy going into gear and then got so bad I had to push really hard. I tried adjusting the clutch master rod, but once I got it shifting smoothly, it started to slip. I backed off and dealt with it but finally it started slipping again so it was time to get in there. I borrowed my moms CRV for the next few days. My Acura isnt a fun DD any more with its slammed suspension and unstreetable clutch for the turbo and nitrous.
I ended going with an Exedy hck1006. I resurfaced the flywheel and changed the pilot and throw out bearing. While I was in there I changed a noisy axle and 3 of the 4 motor mounts. Once I pulled out the clutch I noticed that the fingers on the diaphragm werent flat. A few of them were collapsed. Who knows what caused it, but I am guessing that was the reason for the premature failure. I made a small tool to pull out the pilot using a slide hammer. After it went back together I filled it with new Honda fluid.
The worst part of the job was separating the tranny from the engine. The dowels that held it together where so corroded that I had to literally hammer screwdrivers between the block and tranny, wedging them in place to spread it apart. I have done lots of clutches but this was the worst I have dealt with.
I'm really happy with the hck1006. Hopefully it lasts me as long as my other cars. My last car had 225 on the original clutch.
I have attached a few pics.

 

Looks good man! I had the clutch/flywheel in my 07 swapped out a few months ago, went with an Exedy stage 1 and Fidenza flywheel. The difference in shifting and acceleration is night and day! Just wish I had the ability to swap out my clutch myself, I paid a local garage $425 to do it which I thought was more then fair. I see you are in Jersey, there are a bunch of us located around the area. We actually have a monthly meet at the Sonic drive-thru loc on Rt.1 by the Menlo Mall in Edison. The next one is Sunday, April 17th from noon till around 4 or so (depends how many guys show up) you should definitely come through.

 

I installed couple goodies, the last Apexi intake in the country, some found wires, type r shift knob and red steering wheel emblem, lowering springs on brand new shocks, slotted and drilled front rotors and pads by stoptech, strup header, spoon sports strut tower bar, and custom axel back exhaust.

 

I got my Apexi power intake about 2 weeks ago, love it! Feels more consistent through the entire power band then my previous CAI.

 

Did you happen to measure the actual weight of the Fidanza FW? I know websites advertise them as 7lbs., I'm scared of replacing my FW because of the big jump in weight difference from OEM. Can't keep going on high rpms because I city drive the GD most of the time.

 

In my experience with other cars, a lightened flywheel makes stop and go driving a little more difficult. It takes higher engine rpm to prevent the engine from stalling. It definitely wakes the engine up and rev faster, but it does have a down side. Once you get used to it though, it may not even bother you.

 

I noticed lots of Nj plates on here, but am in Northern NJ so Edison is a trek. Hopefully I can find some guys here up North.

 

Oh ok, well we are also heading to a meet at Warwick Aiport in Warwick, NY which can't be too far from you. It's on Sunday May 22nd, let me know if you are interested and I'll send you the details!