14 replies to this topic

[0ldSkoolRex]

hey guys what up i just wanted to know where i can get a lowering kit for an 1987 honda civi crx? i want the the car itself to sit alot lower to because it looks like a frickin monster truck with my accord wheels on it can anyone help me get my hands on a lowering kit or jeust coil overs that will drop my car also i have been hear about playing with the torsion bars how do i do this and does it lower the car? also will it affect my handleing in a bad way? thanks for all the help

[76kcfdeng]

You can lower the front by turning 2 17mm nuts under the car, they adjust the torsion bars. The back requires lowering springs, coilovers or cut springs to make it lower. Read the faq or search, it has all been covered many times.
Glen

[squareback]

hey guys what up i just wanted to know where i can get a lowering kit for an 1987 honda civi crx? i want the the car itself to sit alot lower to because it looks like a frickin monster truck with my accord wheels on it can anyone help me get my hands on a lowering kit or jeust coil overs that will drop my car also i have been hear about playing with the torsion bars how do i do this and does it lower the car? also will it affect my handleing in a bad way? thanks for all the help

OK, I'll say it-- use the search function.

That being said . . . if your car is otherwise stock (no motor swap, etc.), you can get by with the stock front torsion bars. The torsion bars are height adjustable, so you can lower the car a bit with those. Toward the front of the torsion bar tube on the side facing the middle of the car, there is a ring attached that bolts to the front suspension. The nut that attaches it can be loosened to lower the car or tightened to raise the car. For the rear of the car, you can either cut your stock springs (not recommended) or get lowering springs or coilovers. It sounds like you're not too concerned with performance, so you don't have to focus on getting the rear spring rate exactly right to match the car. If you use stock torsion bars, you'll probably want rear springs in the 200-250 pound range. Again, this is not optimal for performance, but it will allow you to lower the rear of the car without worrying about bottoming out or rubbing. While I'm on that topic-- don't lower the car too much. If you do, you'll lose all your suspension travel, the car will ride like ass, and you'll risk damaging something. There's no reason to drop the car to the ground.

Mike

EDIT: Too late!

Edited by squareback, 12 January 2007 - 11:43 AM.

[0ldSkoolRex]

ok thanks alot for the replys guys im gona go and try out lowering the front

[D Jaws II]

OK, I'll say it-- use the search function.

That being said . . . if your car is otherwise stock (no motor swap, etc.), you can get by with the stock front torsion bars. The torsion bars are height adjustable, so you can lower the car a bit with those. Toward the front of the torsion bar tube on the side facing the middle of the car, there is a ring attached that bolts to the front suspension. The nut that attaches it can be loosened to lower the car or tightened to raise the car. For the rear of the car, you can either cut your stock springs (not recommended) or get lowering springs or coilovers. It sounds like you're not too concerned with performance, so you don't have to focus on getting the rear spring rate exactly right to match the car. If you use stock torsion bars, you'll probably want rear springs in the 200-250 pound range. Again, this is not optimal for performance, but it will allow you to lower the rear of the car without worrying about bottoming out or rubbing. While I'm on that topic-- don't lower the car too much. If you do, you'll lose all your suspension travel, the car will ride like ass, and you'll risk damaging something. There's no reason to drop the car to the ground.

Mike

EDIT: Too late!

X2

OldSkoolRex,

I have my track 87 SI lowered as much as the stock torsion bars will go. ( two threads showing on each bolt) and it still is NOT lowered as much as I would like. I put some progressive lowering springs on the back which work fine, but overall the car is still too high. That is the nature of the 1st gen CRX's, and unless you re-index your torsion bars to go even lower, which as Mike pointed out, you will then have no room for your suspension to travel, a probably tear up some stuff. Not enough travel for shocks, amoung other things.

Now if you are a good fabricator, just add a front double "A" arm suspension to the nose and you will be able to adjust your ride height even more. Lot of work involved if you choose to go that direction.


Cheers,


Donnie

[0ldSkoolRex]

shit dam its rele hard to put frickin work into this thing w/o dumpin tons on money think i shuld sell it???

[Vicious]

shit dam its rele hard to put frickin work into this thing w/o dumpin tons on money think i shuld sell it???

??? are you saying the 1st gen crx is an expensive car to modify?

[RFL85CRXSI]

Honestly, I prefer the 1st gen/3rd gen chassis over ANY newer Honda... Why you ask? Easy, these cars done have the aftermarket whoos as the next car... (in lamans terms, you have a higher apprecation for these cars because if you want something, you make it!)

[0ldSkoolRex]

yea thats true dont get me wrong i love this car with all my heart i think its great but i want to make it a nice and quick and a preety lookin car but i dont wanna do a swap to it right now and i wanna keep it light as possible i wanna keep it some what original but i wanna do work to the motor so i guess im just gonna look for some nice heads and some other goodies that i have heard from you guys that i can do i guess ill just have to deal wit the car not bein as low as i want it to be. thanks for all the help guys also what do you guys think i can do to it to get some good performance outta the stock motor i know about devacing but is there any otehr things or parts???

[JeepGirl]

well your going to have to spend some money and you'll have to get dirty and scrape your knuckles like the rest of us, its not that hard, these cars are barely held together as it is. i swear every panel is held together with 2 bolts, 2 bolts to hold this panel to that panel, 2 bolts from that panel to hold the brakes on, etc etc.... i think thats why they are so light


you want more poop when you step on the gas but dont want to spend a fortune? get a new intake/header/exhaust setup.

do some head work, have the cam reground and have a PnP done on the head, which will increase your flow.

if your clutch is dying.... go buy a new racing clutch, i spent almost $300 on my centerforce clutch for my 1.3L and it was worth every penny as now i can get every drop of what little power i have to the ground with no slipping.

most of the restrictions with our cars is in the head and exhaust, make it easier to flow more fuel and air you make it easier to make more power/better throttle response.

my stupid little 1.3L carbed beater is able to take Si's off the line and for about 60feet before they pull on me.... i couldnt do that when i first got the car.

best bet is to start off with a very thorough tune-up, plugs/wires/cap/rotor/K&N air filter/oil change/fuel filter change/check for vacuum leaks/hit the carb with a shit ton of carb klean/and put a new grounding strap on it too......

i bet money that once you do that stuff you'll notice a big difference....

basically, get the car back to stock condition and go from there.

[D Jaws II]

yea thats true dont get me wrong i love this car with all my heart i think its great but i want to make it a nice and quick and a preety lookin car but i dont wanna do a swap to it right now and i wanna keep it light as possible i wanna keep it some what original but i wanna do work to the motor so i guess im just gonna look for some nice heads and some other goodies that i have heard from you guys that i can do i guess ill just have to deal wit the car not bein as low as i want it to be. thanks for all the help guys also what do you guys think i can do to it to get some good performance outta the stock motor i know about devacing but is there any otehr things or parts???

OldSkool,

First thing to do is a search for a rpr member "gtpilot". He knows a ton of stuff about these little cars AND how to make them go fast, and I mean REAL fast. Read every post about going fast, modifications, and read and re-read everything he has posted in the archives. Then you'll have some idea as to what it takes to get where you want to go.......faster. Trust me on this, he knows 1st gen CRX's like no one else. You'll see. He's sneaky fast.


Cheers,


Donnie

[0ldSkoolRex]

ok will do thanks alot for all the support and help guys

[anjin]

Just upgraded my suspension and lowered it about 2 inches.

I put in new 24 mm torsion bars in front, and indexed them down a notch. Took a bit of effort and redoing, but nothing was particularly difficult. I also put in the adjustable illumina tokico shocks. I have yet to do the final adjustment on the shocks which is to remove the brake line bracket, file a new groove in the back of the shock tube, and drop the whole shock about an inch to alleviate bottoming them out.

Put in new linear 350 lb springs with adjustable perches in back - monkeys-tec as in the recent group buy - and illumina shocks there as well.

Pics of the rear springs in particular are in my gallery - search on ian gell or anjin

The ride height has the tyres about half an inch above the top of the wheel arch. I wouldn't put it any lower than that at the moment.

There are cheaper options - indexed teg torsion bars and cutting rear springs, for example.
The standard tokico shocks should also be ok as replacements if you need to save money. Their setting is suppose to be equivalent to the middle setting on the illuminas, and that would work pretty well on the street based on what I am feeling.

Car is transformed - no body roll, sharper steering, bouncy if I dial up the illuminas on local roads. And with much stiffer springs on the back the balance of the car is better with less understeer. Thats on standard radials and alloy wheels - nothing flash.

Most of this stuff is posted up around the rpr site. a couple of searchs should find most of them.

[eivad1]

Just upgraded my suspension and lowered it about 2 inches.

I put in new 24 mm torsion bars in front, and indexed them down a notch. Took a bit of effort and redoing, but nothing was particularly difficult. I also put in the adjustable illumina tokico shocks. I have yet to do the final adjustment on the shocks which is to remove the brake line bracket, file a new groove in the back of the shock tube, and drop the whole shock about an inch to alleviate bottoming them out.

Put in new linear 350 lb springs with adjustable perches in back - monkeys-tec as in the recent group buy - and illumina shocks there as well.

Pics of the rear springs in particular are in my gallery - search on ian gell or anjin

The ride height has the tyres about half an inch above the top of the wheel arch. I wouldn't put it any lower than that at the moment.

There are cheaper options - indexed teg torsion bars and cutting rear springs, for example.
The standard tokico shocks should also be ok as replacements if you need to save money. Their setting is suppose to be equivalent to the middle setting on the illuminas, and that would work pretty well on the street based on what I am feeling.

Car is transformed - no body roll, sharper steering, bouncy if I dial up the illuminas on local roads. And with much stiffer springs on the back the balance of the car is better with less understeer. Thats on standard radials and alloy wheels - nothing flash.

Most of this stuff is posted up around the rpr site. a couple of searchs should find most of them.

so u said we can find pics of your car lowered on here, i would like to see

[anjin]

rear springs fitted


side view

Edited by anjin, 16 January 2007 - 05:42 AM.