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I had a fun unsuccessful couple of days trying to install the Dobinsons.
Pic of rear side by side. Obviously, a tad off
Rear installed - mind you, we bent one wall mounted spring compressor then brought it to several mechanics each didn't feel comfortable because it was way to compressed. None had seen anything like it. So I ended up taking it apart.
Front side by side: Much better and look like they will work.
Been emailing Dobinson about WTF to do with the rears & they've been good about responding but I'm waiting for the US branch to hear back from their Australian headquarters. The shitty part is that I cut off all but one of the rear OEM springs so I might have to order new OEMs just to be able to drive it.
It's been swell.
Damn. That's rough! That's a serious lift in the rear haha. Is that 2nd pic the first pic squeezed into the strut? haha I'm gonna go ahead and say they sent you the wrong springs.
Yeah, the second pic was with it actually squeezed in! Again, we bent a wall mounted spring compressor arm my friend borrowed from a friend, then brought them to 2 different mechanics- one installed that one but refused to do any more, the second place said it was just too sketchy & helped take the compressed one off.
I saw a similar side by side pic of somebody doing the same thing on an older CRV with dobinson springs and their rear side by side looked more like my front side by side pic. The first pic, i.e. the rear side by side, just isn't happening. I think dobinson messed up. I'll hear back Monday about how they want to do this & I'm hoping they'll rush me a replacement rear pair that'll fit and I'll only be without a ride for a week of waiting for it to get here.
You can clearly see that the front will not be difficult, its just those rears need to be replaced. The only way they'd work is if I had much longer rear struts & was okay with a 6" rear lift, haha.
OME for G2's is only available in the rear which is why I went with Dobinson for all four. If they can't replace the rears with something that actually fits, I'll hope they refund my money which I'll buy OMEs with.
It's been a fantastic couple of days, thats for sure. Rear lower bolt fused to the strut bushing so it had to be sawzalled with a million blades on either side of the bushing. Then... the nut is spot welded into place requiring a grinder and chisel for awhile to release.
The fronts were cake, but all the trouble for the rear was probably as shitty as it can get.
Be careful of how much weight you throw on that rack up top. The factory mounts are only spot welded into the roof, and the factory rack can only hold 85lbs. Including the weight of your basket..
It's been a fantastic couple of days, thats for sure. Rear lower bolt fused to the strut bushing so it had to be sawzalled with a million blades on either side of the bushing. Then... the nut is spot welded into place requiring a grinder and chisel for awhile to release.
The fronts were cake, but all the trouble for the rear was probably as shitty as it can get.
I've felt your pain fellow G2'er. Hang in there, there's a fix for every problem and when you find it the results are awesome. Hopefully they can just send you some smaller springs.
Be careful of how much weight you throw on that rack up top. The factory mounts are only spot welded into the roof, and the factory rack can only hold 85lbs. Including the weight of your basket..
Man oh man. I drove 1200km with 4 17" rims and tires, 2 20" rubber, and a class 3 trailer hitch strapped to my basket. Never really though about it but I should probably check the mounting brackets and see if they are still all soundly connected to the roof haha. Had to have been easily 150lbs not including the weight of the basket. Ah well I survived!
I had the 4 rims and tires across the front of the basket, the 2 20" rubber stacked on one another at the rear and the hitch on top of the rubber. I like to live dangerously.
I will say the weight, plus the wind resistance made the drive hell. I corded the rear tires due to the camber from all the weight.
In case anyone was wondering how much a CRV can do...
POS class 3 curt bent on me and i had to replace the front bike tire though.. had a nice divet chewed out by the road....
Also had a bike on the bike rack as well :-) forgot to photo... With the flimsy hitch bending I had to overinflate the rear CRV tires with normal air to max psi... 42? don't remember but they were nitro filled to stock during the first half or trip. Also it was about a 30 degree air temp change from baseline fill... the overfill saved the trip :-) Surprisingly absolutely NO problems crossing the Pennsylvania mountains Detroit to WAS.... I was really surprised by the power and brake strength. Really didn't feel like I was limited by anything the whole way ... except prob getting 66% or less of regular milage :-) But regular is cheapo again! Wooh!
Forgot to add, is there a consensus on +/- offset for wheels?
Will a spacer be required for a -6 offset?
To be more specific:
KMC XD SERIES - ENDURO - MATTE BLACK (15" X 7", 5X114.3 / 5X4.5, -6 OS / 3.76 BS)
Thoughts?
I think it all depends on the style of the rim. The offset and backspace refer to the difference in the distance from the actual center of the rim and where the contact point with the hub actually lies. From that point the spokes (or what ever pattern rim you have) radiate outward and connect with the actual outer perimeter of the rim. If the spokes curve back creating a bowl type pattern going even more negative from the contact point then you risk making contact with the brakes, mainly on the front. Looking at your rim in particular there appears to be about a 1/2 inch 90° positive bend (away from the brakes) right after the lugnuts, then the spokes seem to go straight out from there. You should be ok from what I see. I bought some 7mm spacers but did not need them. If you wind up needing them PM me and I'll give them to you.
Heard back from Dobinson with specs for the springs & asked me to measure the ones they sent me to compare. Turns out the rear springs they sent me were 4" taller than they should've been. Hopefully they'll overnight the right ones stat. Can't wait to drive my ride again, especially once its lifted.
As I have read the new 2017 Honda CRV coming soon and it brings something unexpected for me. Maybe for now this is just a rumor, but I would like to have CRV with third row.
Hey Guys, Just signed up to share my experience with lifting the CRV.
I've got an Auto Gen 1 Sport, Lifted with Kingsprings on stock shocks which added about 30mm of lift however the rear still sags and the spring rate I feel is to low, Front 325lb Rear 210lb its current sitting on 15 x 8 negative 10 offset rims with 3mm spacers on the front to clear the caliper with 30.5inch x 9.5inch Mud Tyres. IT RUBS LIKE CRAZY, I've cut the usual spot infront of the rear wheels but still rubs like mad anyway, I've read so many threads and no one has a solution to finding truly longer shocks. Well I did.
Stock stock lengths
CRV Front KYB Part Number 341260 Extended 471mm Collasped 370mm
CRV Rear KYB Part Number 341261 Extended 577mm Collasped 398mm
As you can see the Accord shocks are actually longer with the only difference being the top hats and the rear eye lid being 12.2mm instead of 10.1mm on our CRV's So to install on a CRV you use your CRV top hats on the Accord shocks and either have something milled to fit inside the 12.2mm eye lid so you can use your stock 10.1mm bolt or simply drill the current hole to 12.2mm, shave off the welded nut and weld a new 12mm one on.
KYB were the only group that were able to assist me with trying to find what could be modified to fit, I've checked all the spec's and I've seen forums where people have used CRV shocks in Accords to lower them, I also made a trip to the wreckers to see for myself and I see no issues so I've currently ordered.
Accord Shocks Front and Rear, 450lb 250mm 65mm ID Kingsprings for the front and 400lb 300mm 65mm ID Kingsprings for the rear and to make these springs fit and be adjustable I've ordered ADJUSTABLE COILOVER LOWERING SPRING SLEEVE INTEGRA 90-01 DA DB DC2.
When everything arrives ill update once we begin installation, but hopefully this will lift the car 2inches in the front and 2.5inches in the rear which should level the car while still having about an inch of droop providing the axels can handle it.
I m new here and finally was able to read thru all the 74 pages of this forum! Wow, that s some long reading, took me like over one week!
It s probably the best lifted CRV forum at least on this side of our galaxy.
I have a first generation CRV 1998, and I ve been wanting to lift it a bit. I ll be honest, I m looking for a mild lift, probably less than most of the people around here, because i m a newbie in car mod and I don t want to go too extreme.
I decided for the suspension spacers option. I live in Costa Rica, and I ll have someone make them for me.
Even after reading everything, I still have a quick question I d like to be answered.
Many people talk about inches for the height of spacers, and other people mention inches of the final lift, however it s my understanding that 1 " of spacer does not necessarily mean 1 " of final lift. This is the formula I would like to have. Someone asked exactly this like 40 pages ago but was not answered.
Could someone let me know what is the value of this proportion, so I can calculate the height of my custom made spacers accordingly?
Ex If you tell me a 1 " spacer will give a 1.5 " lift I can calculate better.
Also, is this proportion the same rear and front?
Important note: I plan to remain on stock sized tires. I have just bought one month ago brand new 205 70 R15 Maxxis Bravo A/T.
I was thinking of spacers with 1 " front and 1 1/4 " rear. Once you provide me the "proportion formula" I would see what is the final lift height and see if it s OK for me.
Thanks a lot for the help, all the insight is great and your CRVs look amazing!
There is no formula. If you put a 1" spacer on top of your struts your going to get 1" of lift. "Most" vehicles will have a small bit of sag in the OEM suspension. Best thing is to measure the height of your fender from the Bottom of your rim. NOT the ground. Once You get a measurement you can then figure out what you need to make it level.
There is no formula. If you put a 1" spacer on top of your struts your going to get 1" of lift. "Most" vehicles will have a small bit of sag in the OEM suspension. Best thing is to measure the height of your fender from the Bottom of your rim. NOT the ground. Once You get a measurement you can then figure out what you need to make it level.
Berz out.
Thanks a lot for the answer. I dont know why some people have said that they got a lift result a bit higher than the spacer height. I thought maybe there was a mechanical reason I didnt understand..but if you re telling me it s a 1:1 proportion than it s simple as I thought it was in the beginning.
Thank you again...i ll post the results once I do the change.
I do not believe the ratio is 1:1. Generally the size of spacer or spring is magnified when installed. I don't know the exact ratio or to what extent it's vehicle dependent but a quick google found things like:
1.75-1.875" spacer = 2.8-3" of lift
1 5/8" = 2.5"
1.25" = 2" (1.6:1)
1" = 1.5"
1/4" = 1/2" lift
using shims gave a 2:1 ratio (1/2" shim = 1" lift)
I also found a post somebody made on another forum which I'm pasting here: "The ratio of lift to spacer thickness is not one to one. Due to the design of the independent suspension of the truck, when you extend the strut by 1-1/4" (for 2" lift), 1-5/8" (for 2.5" lift) or 1-3/4” (for 3" lift) the angle of the strut becomes steeper allowing the truck to experience approximately 2", 2.5" or 3” of lift, respectively. It is the combination of extending the strut and the change in angle that gives the full lift. Once the kit is properly installed and you have the truck aligned, you will see the lift you expect. Remember that the installation is not complete until you have the truck aligned."
Again, I have no idea whether these figures are universal or applicable to CRVs. I imagine to some extent they are but precise ratios are not something I am certain of. My bet is that it is not a 1:1 ratio, but definitely post up the results, even some before & after pics
Another thing I found with measuring lift is, at least on G2s, the side cut of the front outer fenders is higher to allow the wheels to turn. The rear outer fenders are cut lower which gives the illusion of rear end sag but when you measure above the tire to the inner fender theres a LOT more space above the rear tires than it seems. Its because of this that they look like there's sag but there actually isn't any. It didn't make sense to me why, with the engine in the front, the rear would sag, haha.
I just lifted mine 1.5" all around with all new springs & struts. At first noticed the lower rear end and verified when I measured to the lip of the outer fender (side view). Parked on level ground, I measured just behind the front tires and in front of the rears and the body of the vehicle was perfectly level front to back. When measuring up to the inner fender is when we realized it was an illusion.
I am tempted to go up another 1/2" all around and to do so I'm, hoping to use 1/4" spacers. Unfortunately, I just did an alignment so I don't know if I want to spend another $60 for another one after I do.
11-14-2015, 08:10 AM
Re: *Official H/T OFFROAD/LIFTED CR-V thread!*
