Daniel Wilcox

Smackin

You probably need access to a wall mounted spring compressor. It’s what the shops use most of the time.

Either that or you’re doing it wrong.

Dansanders55

The front on the first gen is a b****. I ended up getting it all together and doing the bottom of the fork last. Get a big pry bar or something like 5 feet long in between the forks prying down on the control arm. I did it alone but a friend who could just put the bolt through would help.

joey trucknuts

Thanks for the replies. The 03 is different from the first gen set up. A wall mounted spring compressor is usless in this case because I need the spring and shock to be compressed in order to fit it on the vehicle. There is no space between the upper A arm and the coils to use the typical rental style spring compressor. The other problem im having is when i push the lower A arm down the coils hit the body preventing me from reaching the fork bolt hole. Ill try unbolting the sway bar next, but i gotta find a different type of compressor or im gonna unbolt the upper A arm next.

Smackin

Tema4x4 30mm spacers all around
Moog RK90489 camber arms - rear
Specialty Products Company 81280
Camber bolts - front.
225/75/15 Hankook Optima 724 tires
BORA 1.25” custom aluminum wheel spacers.

Alignment in spec except for caster. No issues yet***, although my rear brake lines are zip tied to the knuckle instead of bolted.
Currently hunting for some longer stainless steel brake lines.

Edit: *** Actually have a steering wheel vibration at 65+ MPH. I'm going to inspect the CV axles, tie rods and alignment again. Might also re-balance the tires.

joey trucknuts

Looking good!

PolkaSauce

Hello all,
New to the forum, but I've been following for a while. I purchased My 2003 Crv 4wd MT 152xxx miles to date(was very hard for me to find) back in February. Since then Ive been looking to make my V more off-road capable(nothing crazy, just back country, fire road type stuff), while still keeping it street smart, but have had to do repair after repair before i could focus on mods. Rebuilt almost the entire power steering system aside from the rack and pinion. Knock sensor, cooling fan and condenser fan. It seems like every repair I make something else fails lol. But now the car is seemingly mechanically sound, and I'm ready to decrease that resale value! I have basically skimmed through all 113 pages trying to soak up as much info as possible, I'm sure you all know how rough that is. So in advance I apologise if this info is posted elsewhere and I also apologise for the lengthy post. I recently impulse purchased some pro comp 15x8 0 offset D window wheels for my V. Initially I had ordered some 15x7 with a +6 offset soft 8's, but I guess pro comp stopped production on those, and they only had 2 left(even though 4wheel parts let me pay for 5 before notifying me). Le sigh. So the 15x8s are the closest I could get in size, for the same price that I purchased the 15x7s. I haven't mounted the tires yet, right now I have some 215/70/15s on the stock wheels, so I've only dry fit the new wheels. So far, they fit quite well tbh, aside from the center bore being about an inch larger than the hub ring, but I was told that doesn't affect too much(please feel free to let me know if it does in your experience, as I can still return these wheels). But the caliper just barely rubs on the mounting side of the wheel. I feel like a very thin spacer will do the trick, so finally, my question is, in your experiences, what are the best hubcentric spacers you guys have personally used. I'm looking for something in the 5-8mm range(open to adapters too, but would rather stick with just straight spacers). I don't want the wheels sticking out too much farther than they already do, putting more stress on the hubs. Just something thin and functional to clear the caliper. Thanks in advance for your input, looking forward to being active on this site!

Here's a photo of my first real outing with the V, took it to The Sequoia mountians. Felt like a whole dofferent world as opposed to the fwd coupes ive been taking up there my whole life hahaha.

joey trucknuts

I got a message in my email of a post on the forum and when i click the link it takes me to pg113 of this official offroad thread and nothing is there. Secondly, is there a way to reply without quoting the pictures?

To answer the question about the eccentric rings.....the largest ones ive found and have in my possesion are 72.1mm. And yes, you are correct, the center of most aftermarket wheels are 83mm. If anyone has any info on who makes eccentric rings for aftermarket wheels with this large of center bore please let us know.

joey trucknuts

what size tires? What type lift? Did you have to cut your front fender wells for clearance?

Russ Carr

That's exactly what I was looking to do! I have those tires on my truck and really like them,on my second set. What size please and how much lift?

Smackin

PolkaSauce

That may be my fault, I've posted twice and nothing shows up, not sure if it's pending some kind of approval. Or just floating around in post limbo. But I did make a post with a secondary question pertaining to the initial post that never showed up, and that posted. Kinda looked funky continuing a question from a post that was non-existent, so I deleted it. Sorry about that, still learning haha.

Now this is where I get confused, because I've read conflicting arguments that the wheels are hubcentric, and any wheel thereafter, must also rest on the hub, hence the need for hubcentric spacers. But then I've also read that the hub ring is just to center the wheel during installation, and that the wheels are lugcentric, and that as long as you have those acorn or cne shaped lugnuts, the center bore on an aftermarket wheel will have no affect on drivability, as the weight of the wheel, and torque of the lugs will carry all the weight, and that the hub is not designed to carry any load whatsoever. Can anyone with personal experience confirm?

Sorry if this info is posted elsewhere on the forum, I did my best to read through all 113 pages, but am a complete scrub when it comes to forums and wheels lol
​​​

PolkaSauce

Anyone know how long a moderator review takes? I have like 2 posts sitting in limbo because of either a photo or an edit

toyomatt84

iTrader: (1)

I try to check once a day, but being that I have a ton of subforums to cover, its hard to see them all in one sitting.

PolkaSauce

Ah no worries, sorry if I came off as impatient. Still learning the in's and outs of using a forum lol.

joey trucknuts

Can anybody tell me if i have to "flash" the computer after i put the taller tires on my gen1? Since i put the 215/75s on my crv im struggling to maintain 75-80mph. I didnt have much performance to begin with , but daaang, this things a dog now. Fuel mileage suffered immensley and she feels like shes struggling. I need some performance out of this thing. She looks rad, but you know the saying..."all show and no go!"

PolkaSauce

Seems like it'd be more of a gearing ratio issue, than flashing the ECU. Depending on how much your wheel/tire setup weighs, it sounds like the transfer of power to the wheels via the transmission is where you're suffering. Sure, you could flash the ECU and gain a couple of hp out of the engine, while sacrificing more mpg, but I feel like that will only put more stress on the transmission and drivetrain itself. Mind you I'm no expert by any means. That's just the info I've seen around multiple forums regarding heavier ride set ups.

PolkaSauce

On a side note, finally got my wheel/tire set up slapped on my 2nd gen V today. Been waiting on it for a cool minute due to trying to make multiple repairs to get it in top running shape. Love the way the wheels look, though they do stick out pretty dang far, so looks like I will have to mock up some fender flares. I did need spacers, as there was slight contact with the calipers, very thin though, and still plenty of thread left. Haven't driven it much yet, literally just put them on an hour ago, So I will update with gas mileage/performance. As far as acceleration goes, I haven't really noticed any major changes, even with the A/C on. No rubbing in the front on full lock, a little bit of fender rub in the back going over bumps, so I suppose I will need to lift a little. Mind you I had all my tools in the back, a 20 ton bottle jack, and 5 OEM wheels weighing it down. With those out we'll see if it's as severe.

Anyway, here's the specs!
-Pro Comp 15x8 0 offset D window Steel wheels
-215/70/15 Douglass all season tires
-Precision European Motorwerks 5mm hubcentric spacers.

No suspension lift, completely stock. Will be looking into lifting maybe 1.5 all around. Nothing crazy.

Here's some crappy photography lol

Never realized how much the butt sags untill I installed the wheels.


Ignore the crappy hood paint job, just testing out some two tone looks.

joey trucknuts

Looks very stern!

Im runnin 215/75/15s on 15x8 american racing. Rides fine but i rub on hard over and im running a 1.5" spacers f/r from aerogenics usa. Good stuff, but make sure you go 1.5"in front and at least 2" in the rear. I went against better judgement and "blue ferrigno" squats like hes taking a ****! Theyre a fairly new company in the lift block business, but the product is kick ***. Great customer service! Ck em on ebay.

PolkaSauce

Damn that's a sexy V! Digging that blue, and that roof rack is sick!
As far as the spacers go, did you have any alignment issues after installing? Ive read lifting over an 1" tends to make the wheels camber a bit and you gotta throw on a bunch of adjustable hardware. At least on the 2nd gens, not too sure about the 1st.

joey trucknuts

Thanks....Not sure about the front on gen1, but for sure on the back and i found a nice and affkrdable adjustable rear camber dogbone on ebay for a great pri e and they look trick. Dont know a thing about the gen2s but im sure aerogenics usa can steer you in the right direction....haha, see what i did there? An aligment is recommended on any custom lifted or lowered vehicle, so yeah, get an alignment. And let me tell you, if you dont have the mechanical knowledge or the tools dont attempt to tackle the lift in an afternoon. Im a full time aircraft mechanic and have lifted or lowered every vehicle ive ever owned, so i got some ideas on how to do the work and i aint skeered. With that said.....The rears arent too bad, but the front is a bear, especially if you try to use the cheesy spring compressors you rent from auto zone or advanced. When i did mine the rear took all of maybe 2hrs....1.5 figuring it out on one side and maybe 30 min on the other. The front was a different story....first attempt 6 hrs of frustration, cv joint coming apart, and just a total debacle. Emailed aerogenics usa and they walked me through the easiest way which was take all the lower suspension componets off and work backwards. Left side took me 3 hrs figuring it out, then right side took only an hour. I feel confident enough now to knock out both sides in under 2 hrs. Since "blue" is squatting i emailed aerogenics usa and they worked a deal with me for a set of 1" booster blocks for the rear and ill be installing them when receive them next week, so more pics when im done.

PolkaSauce

Finally got to take the V out for a real drive today. Definitely need an alignment after the wheel install. Car shakes quite a bit over 50mph. And definitely gonna be purchasing some adjustable control arms for the back. Didn't notice until today but after the wheels, the back has a pretty noticable negative camber. I know crvs/elements come from the factory with I think like +/-1 camber in the back. Not sure if it's just more noticable now because the wheel base is wider. Maybe after I lift, the positive camber will even it out lol. Found some moogs on eBay for a decent price though, so I'll get em regardless. Better to be prepared. As for the rear fender rub, even with the back emptied out, still scraping on bigger bumps and turns. Checked out the aerogenics on eBay like you recommended. Sent em an email, they've got a 4 set for 275, but its 2" front and 1" back, which seems kind of backwards to me. Waiting for a reply though. I'm just looking to level the car out for now honestly, so I think in the meantime, I might just get some thick hdpe sheet and cut out some body spacers, just to clear the back. Not really too worried about the front atm as there's no rubbing issues up there. Im already dreading attempting the front as it is, I know it's a headache. I've replaced cv's, tie rods, struts before, so I know to expect a hassle. The back should be a cake walk though. Fingers crossed!

joey trucknuts

Yeah, im gonna have the alignment ckd on mine since the lift but im waiting for the 1" booster blocks. But you shouldnt get a shimmy at 50mph. Could be a balance issue on your wheels.

And as for the blocks....that does sound backwards. Lemme know what they say.

Ck out this on ebay.... https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F28 2652523462
KTS suspension for the rear camber and i believe they have the front camber kit available also .

PolkaSauce

My alignment is definitely jacked. On the freeway it starts to shimmy above 50 and then settles around 75-80. One of the wheels has more toe out than the other, like it's visually noticable. I know throwing on some new wheels didn't do tht. I'm thinking it might have happened when I went camping, and took the road less traveled haha. The new wheels are probably just exacerbating the symptoms. Still no word back from aerogenics yet, but it is the weekend. I got kind of desperate last night, the fender rub was driving me crazy. So I thought I'd share this tidbit for anyone else needing a temporary fix like me. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK TEMPORARY FIX ONLY. Anyway, I went to AutoZone and picked up a pack of these twist in coil spring boosters for like $11. Says they yeild a lift of 1"-1 1/4". Took me all of 10 minutes to install both sides Now I know the long term effects of this will be bad for the rear springs, and I have no intention of keeping them in there. This is just a temporary fix to my current problem until I can get a proper lift in the back. On a side note I will say, goddamn I love the way the rear suspension rides now. A little more stiff, no rubbing, and it even got rid of the visual negative camber in the back! Lmao. The V sits level as hell now, and I'm really liking it. I might just go with an 1" in the back and leave the front stock tbh.

Only $11. Super simple to install. No instructions included though lmao


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Before


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PolkaSauce

Tried the link but it was dead.