Brake/Suspension Swap on 90 Civic HB, 4 Wheel Disc Brakes?
 

Hello all,

I have a 90 civic hb with disks in the front and drums in the back. I just bought a 89 integra with 4 wheel discs, and I'd like to do a swap.

Should I just change the brakes over, or should I replace the whole suspension system and the brakes?

If the civic has 9.5" brakes in front and so does the integra, do I gain anything by swapping them? Are the calipers bigger or something? Or would it be the brake booster?

I've read that the integra brakes are better thank civics. In fact I have seen alot of scca race civics (4th gen and crx's) with full integra brake/suspension swaps. Now of course they're probaly using 94+ integra brakes and suspension, but an 89's is probaly better than my civics.

If I do change the suspension over, do I have to change everything like a arms, and supports for the suspension, or do I utilize just the spring assembly and the civics a arms, supports, etc... Is there any benefit to changing over the integra's suspension system? Are the springs bigger or something?

Is there anything with the ecu that changes because of the new 4w disc brakes?

Any help is appreciated,

Thanks John

If I'm right to make the rear easier you would just pull the entire trailing arm assembly. Remove the TA assembly that's in place currently and swap them out. I think you also need to swap out the Master Brake booster to ensure proper pressure and all.

Those are things I think need or could be done but I'm sure others on here have further insight.. this is something I haven't done alot of research on right off hand..

doing this swap right now! how convenient for you!

okay, first of all you need the trailing arms from any 90-93 integra. oddly, a lot of parts from that generation of integra are compatible with 4th gen civics.

If you are having trouble finding complete trailing arm setups from junkyards, ebay, whatever. I highly suggest putting in requests at online salvage directories like UNAP (UNeedAPart).

The best way to do this swap is by completly swapping trailing arms. Removing the arms currently on your civic is a royal pain if you don't have the correct tools. I was fortunate to have access to those new ratchet wrenches from craftsman, and plenty of air tools. The biggest problem is removing all of the ebrake cable mounts, as at least two of them are RIGHT next the lip of the gas tank. Some people suggest cutting the lip for clearance, but I was able to get away without doing that, using those gear ratchets. you'll have to be real patient, but they will come out. After that its about four or five REALLY tight and probably rusted bolts, and its out. Air tools are indispensable here. Just to contrast: without air tools, it took us about 1.5, to 1.75 hours to remove one side. The other side, with air tools, took about 15 minutes.

I have not installed the new arms yet, as I am waiting for parts (new calipers, rotors, pads, ss lines)

I have a great how-to that I found, and put it into word format. If you want it I can email it to you (it doesn't fit on the forums)
email: blind34_1@lycos.com

Thanks for the info! I'll email you,

What are you doing with the front brakes?

Are you doing any kind of suspension swap?

email sent

heres another link i found:
http://home.wideopenwest.com/~tschmidt/rrdisc.html

The front brakes I'm doint nothing with right now, mostly because I got those replaced recently, and I have minimal money. What I would like to do is replace the entire front end (including brakes) with 90-93 integra front end, but I see no immediate reason to do that, yet. (they are compatible, though)

as for suspension, I'm waiting on that to see what the engine swap is going to do to the weight of the front end, this way I can dial in exactly what I need, and not guess beforehand.