A little guidance please? ( long )

[mykel]

Good Day

This being my first post - and a doozy it will be; I thought I would introduce myself first.

My name is Michael and I own an EP hatch...

Well, I bought one today to replace a quite heavily modded 1990 CRX Si for daily driver duty. One of those deals you just walk into and can't say no to. Anyway I have been driving Honda's since 1982 ( I'm gonna be 40 this August )and modding them for the last 10 years. I have been active in the online CRX community for about 7 years. This is an outdated snapshot of my CRX.

http://crx.honda-perf.org/cgi-bin/profileget.pl?email=mcollins@occumedhealth.com

Well, I ended up with a Black 03 hatch with the factory body-kit and it also has a set of 17" on it. I'm looking at changing the wheel/tire combo and lowering it ( I'm in Canada, no springs with the body kit ). I have been doing some reading of the forum that last couple of days and I have some observations and would like some guidance.

Most people seem to be running 17". I was thinking 16 myself - more performance over looks ( cheaper to replace the rubber too ) - AND - I also do quite abit of driving on paved back-roads the extra rubber helps with the pot-holes/ broken pavment Am I out to lunch here? ( 17's do look good tho...)

So like I said thinking 16" Rota Sub-zero or CF-10 probably in bronze. Tires would be either Toyo T1-S ( current on the CRX ) or Yok ES-100's.
Anybody have comments or want to recomend a good looking lightweight rim? ( I was thinking C8 but the wife likes the 10's better, I think I do too, but they be heavier....)Also, what is the offset? I know I read it somewhere, but can't find it now.

As for springs, in the CRX world it is not a good idea to put lowering springs on stock shock. I realize the EP's been beefed up in the valving, but can they handle an aftermarket drop spring? ( Can't afford a good set of dampers at the same time )

I have been thinking Eibach - either Pro's or Sportline.
Anybody have any experience with Ground-Control / Eibach ERS?
Remember I'm and old guy with a daily driver, I want some stick, but also want to save my spine...If I want to go beat up some corners I have the CRX.

How much of a drop can I get away with before having to do Camber correction? I know with the CRX I could run Prokits without camber, but after I did the poly bushings, I had to add some ingals.

Sorry for the basic questions but I need to make these decisions quick and get the parts installed before I bring it home.

I'm really looking forward to it. It will be like a limo compared to the CRX, only problem is the CRX easily walks away from it... Oh well, guess thats why I'm keeping the CRX. Its comming off of the road for a year or for a little rest and TLC - starting with a new set of Koni's...

Thank-you all, and sorry for the book!!

[PAPITUYO326]

welcome to ephatch!!

nice crx u got yourself man

well u have quite a few questions, id suggest that you use the search button as every question there has at least one thread to go with it. Therefore you could get alot more information and opinions from looking at previouse input. good choice in buying the ep.

i myself am riding on Tein s tech springs on stock shocks. The ride is close to stock and the drop is awesome. There is a little bit of camber on the back, but it doesnt cause any sever tire wear. As for wheels, im riding on 16 inch rota slips and toyo proxes fz4. they offer a good combo of performance (i live in fla and NEED wet traction).

once again welcome to the site

dave

[Ep3 No.2]

w0w thats a lot of questions micheal.
a lot of your answers can be found in the suspension forum.

but if your lazy ill help you out a bit.
for lightwieght wheels, nothing beats forged wieghts. but most rotas are fairly light for the price. you can find everythign you need to know about rota wheels @ www.jdmwheels.net they do have diff offsets you you have to request them when you order.

as for your springs... you can find some fair cheap coilovers, ie d2 and tien basics are only 850. but as for the springs. 1st hand ive had both eibach pro-kits and sportlines. both are fairly the same but imo the sportlines look much better since it has a lower drop. another good choice for daily driving is the tiens. as for the gcs they are said to be very "bouncy" at times. but you do get to adjust your ride hieght.

camber is recomended on any type of lowering springs. but most importantly for the rears. people on this site have gotten away w/o it. jus make sure your rotate your tires frequently.

hope i helped you out a bit. i know all you other guys could share your info for this fellow ep hatcher.

[SubliminalSi]

Stock shocks will hold up fine for a good long while. Ive had the sportlines on stock shocks for over a year with no problem. And i have 16" Rotas, and with a good beefy tire it will fill the gap very nicely with the drop

oh, and welcome:angel:

[phantasia]

i live in southwestern pennsylvania, home of busted ass streets, especially this time of year. i run 205/50/16 yoko avs es/100 and love them, i use my nice 16" wheels from late fall to early spring, not that my si has ever seen snow, ice, road salt, etc. i also am lowered on eibach sportline, over stock shocks, and have been for about a year. the ride is perfect, smooth and firm. the car is very comfortable in cruising, yet very tight and strong feeling on twisty roads and sharp high speed turns.

i would say go with the 16s, in 205/50, on the sportlines. youll be quite happy.

[Peking]

Also welcome to the site. It would seem that most of you thoughts are very easy to agree with. Camber adjustment seems to be most needed at anything 1.5" or lower :) Also nice to see memebers being nice and helpful :D

[jaepoori]

i believe the cf-10 in bronze would look better than the subzeroes. They look better in 17's but 16's are good enough.

For the suspension, you might as well go for something like 1.5 inches with aftermarket shocks.

[the JigGa mAn]

im too lazy to read all that...so ill stick with welcome to the site and i hope you find the answers to your MANY questions..good choice in color too;)

[03silverEP]

eibach springs are great!, w/a prokit you will not need new shocks or a camber kit

w/a sportline kit you will prob. need a camber kit, and your stock shocks may last a year or so, but no one makes aftermarket shocks for the EP yet (supp. to be released late this summer)

I have the Rota C-10's in 17" , the weight 19lbs. and the offset is 45mm, i'm running 215 45 17 tires and there is no problem w/rubbing.

[Mickey]

Welcome to the site. C-10'S in bronze looks better, specially 17's
Springs Eibach sportline, Tein, H&R are all good but with this springs you will be needing a rear camber kit. Unless you dont want to invest in camber kit, Go with Eibach pro kit but I think 1.75 to 2 inch drop is just right for our cars.:)

[Dres97]

welcome, Ive been on this forum for awhile and when i was doing my research for my springs seems like the Tein and the H&R's are the best springs. i got H&R and they are great. Most springs that you put on your SI you will need a camber kit but the tire wear isnt that bad on the Tein and H&R

[R1/SiR]

Welcome Michael:

It's nice to see a fellow Ontarion (?). I've got the Eibach pro kit, with stock shocks and no problem. I just got Eagle Alloy rims, cheap but nice, with 215,40 17s Bridgestone Fusions. I really like the tires, although I really don't have a lot of expirence with tires.

Anyways welcome again!

[Si3]

Welcome to the site, tons of useful info everywhere on these threads!

17" 's do look better, but 16" 's are more practical. I went through this choice myself and went with the 17" 's. When it comes to upgrading wheels, i always abide by the two inch rule... you have 15" go for 17" 's you have 18" 's then you need to rock dubs etc etc...

But since you were lucky enough to get the 17" 's stock on your car (damn lucky canadians) i say keep them and just upgrade the rubber.

But if you really want to downsize to 16"'s i'd be more than happy to take the SiR wheels off your hands for a fair price! PM me with an offer in USD$, and maybe we can do business!

-aj-

forget to metion, nice CRX

[BarracksSi]

Going with 16" Rota C8's and, in a few days, a Mugen Sports suspension and RSX-S rear sway bar.

The eight spokes just looks better to me -- more "natural" -- with four lugs. I agree about feeling that 17"+ is too big for daily use; I think the 16's still have reasonable bump survivability, save weight, and have the slightly stiffer sidewall & wider contact patch.

I wanted suspension with better control, and the Mugen setup gives me that and just happens to have a 1.5" drop. I'll keep the stock pieces in the garage.

I'm glad to see I'm not the oldest guy here (32), too.. lol