Progress Technology Track Day Coilovers for 02-06 RSX

Progress Technology Track Day Adjustable Coilovers for 02-06 Acura RSX (DC5)

An RSX on stock suspension at an autocross or track day does the same thing every time. It leans, the nose dives under braking, and the front tires give up first when you turn in. That's understeer. A front-drive car with most of its weight on the nose is set up that way from the factory, and soft stock springs make it worse. Lowering springs on stock shocks don't really fix it. The shocks run out of travel and can't control the stiffer springs, so the car feels bouncy instead of planted.

Progress built these coilovers specifically to fix that at the track. They're stiff, they rotate, and they're honest about it. On smooth pavement, the RSX turns in hard, stays flat, and holds a front-end grip it didn't have before. On a rough street, you're going to feel every crack and expansion joint. Progress says so themselves. If the car is your daily driver on broken roads, look at a softer street coilover. If it's a weekend car that sees cones or a track, this is what you want.

Why the Rear Is Twice as Stiff

The springs are 425 lbs/in front and 850 lbs/in rear. The stiff rear is on purpose. It makes the rear of the car resist roll more than the front, so in a corner, the rear tires take a bigger share of the load. That takes some of the work off the front tires, so the nose grips better and the car rotates instead of pushing wide. It's the same idea as adding a big rear sway bar, but built into the springs. The trade-off is that the rear gets lively when you lift off the throttle mid-corner. Skilled drivers use that to point the car. Newer drivers should work up to it.

24-Click Rebound Adjustment

This is the Rebound Adjustable (RA) version, with 24 settings you can change from the top of each damper. Rebound damping controls how fast the suspension extends after a bump or after weight shifts off that corner. More rebound slows the car's weight transfer, so the body takes a set and stays there. Less rebound lets the wheel come back down to the road faster on bumpier surfaces. Compression is fixed. Start in the middle, then adjust a few clicks at a time front and rear until the car feels balanced.

Twin-Tube Dampers, Short Front Housings

The dampers are twin-tube, meaning an inner working tube inside an outer reservoir tube. The valving uses deflective discs, which are thin steel shims that flex open in stages as the damper moves faster. That gives you smooth, predictable damping instead of an abrupt change from soft to firm. The front housings are shortened, which keeps more shock travel available when the car is lowered. You don't end up riding on the bump stops. Every spring perch is CNC-machined and locks in place, so your ride height stays where you set it. The springs are Progress race springs wound from high-tensile wire.

Install Notes

You'll reuse your factory steel top hats, the upper mounts at the top of each strut. They aren't included, so check yours for torn rubber or rust before you start. Rough in the ride height on the bench, install everything, and torque all the fasteners with the car on its wheels. Recheck the height after the springs settle, then get a performance alignment from a shop that knows how to set up an RSX for track use. With springs this stiff, a bad alignment shows up right away. The kit includes the spanner wrenches you'll need for ride height adjustment.

What's in the Kit

• Twin-tube rebound-adjustable dampers (24 settings)
• Progress race springs: 425 lbs/in front, 850 lbs/in rear
• CNC-machined locking spring perches
• Spanner wrenches and hardware
• Decals and key fob lanyard
• OEM steel top hats required (not included)

Fitment

• 2002-2006 Acura RSX Base and Type S (DC5)
• Requires factory steel top hats