[mattkosem]

I recently rebuilt a set of EX knuckles for my EG and had my first track day with them a week ago. When I installed them, I used new Moog lower ball joints. While installing them, I did have to re-clip one of the boot retaining clips that wasn't seated properly out of the gate. It was clean and problem free for the 150 or so miles leading up to my event.

After pulling everything apart following my event, I see that the boot on one popped apart and lost its grease inside the barrel of my wheel. It's not the type with a zerk fitting, and lost too much grease to save, so I have to replace it already. I see this is kind of common with the Moog part, so I'm not keen to replace it with another.

A trusted family member of mine, who worked in foreign auto parts sales for most of his life at a family owned place, highly recommended the Sankei 555 brand. I can grab those for <$19 a piece from carid, assuming I get the SB6192 which doesn't include a cotter pin and snap ring (I've got these anyways), which seems great compared to the OE at ~70 once you add a new castle nut. I can get more same day locally from Napa, too.

I don't see a ton of feedback on this brand for Hondas, but know they supply the OE parts for a boatload of Japanese cars and seem to be well trusted. Hoping they'll be fine but, just in case, curious which aftermarket brands others have had luck with or if anyone's running these with good results. I don't need roll center adjustment, just standard fitment, so going with Hardrace, etc. seems unnecessary.

Also, it seems like the OE replacement part doesn't have provisions for a snap ring. What's the deal with that?

--Matt

 

[Them Witches]

Hardrace makes a OEM replacement style roll center

Hardrace Front Lower Ball Joints (O.E. replacement) 92-00 Civic Del Sol, 94-01 Integra
$80.00

Part Numbers: 6292

Hardrace Front Lower Ball Joints (O.E. replacement) 92-00 Civic Del Sol, 94-01 Integra

Part Numbers: 6292Hardrace Front Lower Ball Joints (O.E replacement) 92-00 Civic Del Sol, 94-01 Integra 2pcs set

hardraceusa.com

 

[mattkosem]

Price isn't too bad considering it's a pair. Their stock has been not so great these days, though. I've ordered several things from them lately, even things they do indicate are in stock, but they've been months out best case. Just finally got the sway bar bushings I ordered in April this week.

--Matt

 

[drtye]

Hands down the nicest aftermarket parts I've ever used would be mevotech TTX line. Always very good fit and finish. More times than not also includes an installation tool to prevent boots getting torn or dislodged on assembly. Metal internal parts and lifetime warranty to boot. Almost always has grease zerks. My preferred choice if not oem.

 

[mattkosem]

Neat. I saw that one, with the green boot right? I came across a forum post where someone was suggesting that the fit was a little loose though. No issues from your end with that?

 

[drtye]

Not first hand on an EG. Other fitments yes and didn't have any looseness that wasn't meant to be there.

And yes green boots, tan powder coating, and silver zink hardware.

 

[mattkosem]

The 555 ball joints look great! There's a noticeable difference, just holding them side by side in my hand with the Moogs, in heft and solidity. The boots don't squish uncomfortably between the joint and the control arm like the Moogs did either. Even the hardware is beefier. They came with a nice beefy grade 10 flange nut, which is even a step up from the factory fastener.

I had crap advance auto (driveworks?) tie rod ends a that have been popping on one side lately too, so I replaced them as well.

There, again, the toe adjustment jam nut is twice as thick as the one that came with it and the crown nut is comparable to the Honda piece in design and material. Even the casting of the ends is a very noticeable step up. The boots on the driveworks ones fit fine, and so did these.

Hopefully I won't have to worry about these things for a long time. 🤞 555 is the supplier of the OE tie rods on this car and, so my family member suggests, the designer of the full floating ball joint design Honda uses so the parts should be pretty potent.

--Matt

 

[mattkosem]

Got my camber and toe dialed in this morning and went back out on the road, little braver at -2.2° front camber - the max the k-tuned arms will give me at my relatively high ride height.

Gotta say, I'm the sort of person who appreciates when things feel nice more than most...and boy does this setup feel great! The steering and front end are so tight and smooth, changing nothing but 1.5 year old tie rods and 2 week old ball joints, that I'm a bit in awe.

I've always accepted that the manual steering will be a bit heavy, but it seems not anywhere near as heavy as I thought!! 😁

Will put some road and track miles on em before calling it a complete win, but everything looks and feels great! Never again will I skimp on anything with a ball joint!

--Matt