Banshee @ EA Autoworks And Some Points About Rear Anti-Roll Bars

March 19th 2011 was a rather gloomy day… its been raining for hours.. and it didn’t look like it was gonna stop any time soon.

But still, me and a fellow LYN forumer by the nick of madman20 wanted to go to a car audio and performance shop in Bukit Jalil called EA Autoworks. From what I can remember, this is a shop started by 3 colleagues who used to work for a different accessories shop. At the time they advertised their services for their former workplace rather aggressively online. Offered very reasonable prices and from feedbacks, very good workmanship and support. In the end, for reasons unknown, the 3 of them left the company and started their own which is EA Autoworks. Some of you may know their nicks online which are drexchan, khguan and howiechoo.

The main reason I wanted to go there is coz I wanted to check out the Civic FD2 (Non-R) rotors from a brand called “Imp” (subbrand of Improve, I’m sure, by looking at the logos) to see if they were a good replacement for my current Prelude BB1 front rotors which I think are warped. Yes, I get the “right” vibrations at the steering when heavy braking. Anyway, the Imp rotors are vented, slotted and cross-drilled and are priced at RM5xx.

The BB1 rotors are 282mm and so is the FD2. But the FD2 originally comes in 5x114.3 lug pattern while the BB1 are originally 4x114.3. My BB1 front rotors have actually had their lug pattern re-drilled to 4x100. From a simple quick look, the FD2 rotor looks like itll fit (if re-drilled to 4x100)….but to get proper confirmation khguan suggested that when I have the moolah, to head back to EA, remove my BB1 rotors, do a side by side comparison. And if it’ll fit, pay a deposit, he’ll send them to a machine/engineering shop to get them re-drilled to 4x100 and install it when it gets back.

I’m still looking around for other possible solutions. I’ve found VTTR rotors for FD2 at Kakimotor for RM750. The VTTR are vented, and slotted only. But the sexiest part about them is that they’re black…and I mean BLACK. Not sure if the black would actually last a few meters of braking…but I seriously doubt it. Im pretty sure ull end up with silver rotors ha ha ha… Unfortunately, the staff at Kakimotor isn’t sure about whether or not the VTTR can be used to replace BB1 rotors. And theyre not the type of shop that would make the offer that khguan did which is removing my rotors just to check. And if I get khguan to remove my rotors, check and its ok, it really wouldn’t be nice of me to be buying the rotors at Kakimotor right? So we’ll wait and see…I’m still on the hunt.

Another reason I went to EA is to get my new (well, newly bought but used) rear anti-roll bar installed. Yes yes, I already have the Ultra Racing ARB installed but this was an upgrade.

The Ultra Racing Rear ARB is 19mm while its replacement ARB is 23mm. The new ARB came from a JDM DC2 Integra Type R. Take note that JDM ITR ARB is 23mm while USDM ITR ARB is 22mm. Both will fit directly into the EG without problems (provided your car has the mounting points and mounting hardware).

Even though the DC2 ARB is thicker than the UR, there is still an advantage to installing the UR. You don’t need to have a rear subframe brace… the 19mm of the UR bar is basically the max u can go without a subframe brace and not cause your subframe to tear. Anything thicker (like the DC2 ARB) will require a subframe brace as the subframe on the Civic EG (and EKs as well) are pretty thin to handle that much stress. So the 19mm is the best bang for buck to avoid more money being spent on a subframe brace to avoid tear-outs.

Luckily I have already installed a subframe brace as you can see in previous posts. Mine is a replica of the ASR brace. Looks almost exactly alike, just not finished as nice. Works about the same, though the original ASR would probably work better with stronger components used but at slightly more than twice the price of the replica. Why did I get a replica? Well original ASR is almost impossible to find in this country as they don’t really have a presence here. And the only place which I’ve only heard of selling originals is about a 4-5 hour drive away. So yeah….

If you intend to install the Type R (DC2 or EK9) ARB into your Civic EG (or EK) I STRONGLY suggest getting the subframe brace. Easiest to find in Malaysia would be the replica ASR brace. Or from the knock-off brand “Jasma”…seriously…skip the Jasma and get the ASR. If you’re willing to order online, there are other brands (which obviously includes original ASR) which has subframe braces…. Off the top of my head…

- ASR
- Function 7
- BlackWorks Racing
- Beaks

They all look hawt right? Take note that I placed the Beaks last on purpose ha ha ha ha.

Anyway, on to the pix…

Banshee jacked up and ready to go…Short stoke!!


The Ultra Racing 19mm Anti-roll bar removed and put side by side with the DC2-R 23mm Anti-roll bar for comparison


A closer comparison between the 2 ARBs


Now look at the difference of the sizes of bushing and mounting C bracket… the JDM DC2-R is monstrous compared to the UR.


Final installation of the DC2-R ARB on Banshee… that’s khguan doing the work. He complained that in all his yeas installing an ARB, mine is the first one ever that he had to remove the rear muffler ha ha ha… this is coz the screws on the ASR brace were too long to remove with the muffler still on.


Banshee on all 4s with the DC2-R ARB installed..


The new thicker rear ARB did make the car feel stiffer to roll in corners. Looks like the thicker size is doing its job. And that’s a good thing. Me likey!


Now remember earlier I said to skip the Jasma brace and go for the ASR? Well here’s one reason to go for the ASR instead of the Jasma.

Take note of the mounting points for the ARB on the ASR below… Top is 19mm and bottom is the 23mm.


Notice how the 2 mounting holes are different? This is good coz then at least u don’t have to worry about mounting points on the brace itself. As you can see it will be able to fit BOTH 19mm and the bigger 23mm bars.


Now below is a picture of the Jasma brace I found online (credits to the original owner)… looks to me theres only mounting holes to fit 1 size… and I don’t even know what size. So you decide. I still would go for the ASR. I don’t know how much the Jasma costs… and I seriously don’t even wanna know.




As for EA Autoworks, both drexchan and khguan were cool. Didn’t get a chance to speak to howiechoo though. Never met him before so not sure if he was there. Both doods were nice to chat with and were funny chaps. Especially drex who for some reason kept tripping over everything LOL!

The shop itself is pretty clean as far as workshops go. There wasn’t much oil on the tiled floor and it wasn’t slippery. Parts were stacked in a simple way but everything looked to be in their place.

Service was good. Price is decent. Aftersales support is good from the feedbacks and online posts I’ve gathered (this was only my first time there).

The only complaint I have about EA Autoworks is the fact that their toilet is FILTHY! Yes, I said it with a capital F,I,L,T,H and Y with an exclamation mark.. But its not the kinda filthy from people shitting or peeing all over the place…but everything was black from all the oil on and around them. And it also had a bad odor. Not a toilet I would wanna use. The reason I mention this is coz I have bowel problems and tend to have a tendency of running to the toilet quite abit and at the worse times. So a decently clean toilet is EXTREMELY important to me. Thankfully at the time I didn’t have a need to go but just went in the toilet to wash my hands…

I seriously hope the EA guys would do something about it. They need to keep in mind that their customers tend to be there for long periods at a time so basic amenities like a toilet should be well kept…Even the workshops in Sunway which are usually very busy (especially on weekends) have clean toilets. Some of the toilets there are almost spotless. EA guys, you seriously need to do something about this.

UPDATE: It seems that the EA guys have listened to the complaints and have done a serious cleanup of their toilets. Kudos to them. They even posted a picture of the cleanup on their facebook.

Now the main thing is to keep the toilet clean. At least now I wont have any 2nd thoughts about going there :)


For the service, price, etc etc EA is definitely a shop I would go back to… but the condition of the toilet would make me seriously think it over (but would probably still end up going while making sure my tummy is empty).

As for wat madman20 did at EA…..ask him yerself if ur curious :P