Finally! I'm out the door to go and see if I can get these mounted up, but for now a little preview....
I could barely sleep last night I was like a kid at Christmas lol. Hoping everything works out ok, if things go as planned I'll report back by the end of the day with more pictures. Wish me luck!
Well the guys at Discount said that my wheels/tires wouldn't fit without some fender work and/or raising the car up a bit. They said they probably could have put them on but I would take chunks out of my tires driving around. I'm heading out right now to put on my rear camber kit and to try and get my fenders rolled. We'll see if I can get these things on after that. Will report back in a couple hours.
Finally! I'm out the door to go and see if I can get these mounted up, but for now a little preview....
I could barely sleep last night I was like a kid at Christmas lol. Hoping everything works out ok, if things go as planned I'll report back by the end of the day with more pictures. Wish me luck!
That's bullshit! Did you have your spanner wrench? They could've just raised it for you. Have you mounted them to see how much you need to pull in the front? I know they will fit the rear. I was excited for you too.
Yeah, I was pretty bummed that they couldn't make it work. I did bring my spanner wrenches, but I'm not sure if they wanted to mess with that. They told me straight away that I needed fender work. They said that they could have tried to put them on, but I would have possibly taken chunks out of my tires so they thought it best to just let me do my rolling since they knew that was in store anyways. I actually ate pho at a place just across the way while they were working and could see my car the whole time. Saw them put the new wheels on, drop it then raise it back up and take them right off and stuff them in bags and into my trunk. I was bummed before I even left pho, but I knew I would get it handled before I went to sleep. Drove over to my friend mechanic Mike's house and we got to work on the lady. I like working with Mike because I get the chance to do things myself and learn, while at the same time having someone looking over me to make sure I don't fuck things up. I installed my rear camber kit which was really easy when you have the right tools (I'm learning that sometimes it's all about having the right tool). 3 bolts and you're done.
I kinda guessed on the camber adjustment based off how the stock wheels sat. Added about an inch of positive camber, and it seemed to be pretty close in the end. The fronts have no camber kit but seem pretty straight. I may still buy a kit if I feel the fronts are wearing weird....I kinda like straight up and down wheels. My front left ball joint is jacked up so I need to pay some attention to that soon as there is some play in it.
When looking for tires I spent hours on rimtuck.com, tyrestretch.com, willtheyfit.com, etc... It feels good to know that my hard work paid off, because I'm happy with the way the tires fit to the wheels. I suppose I wouldn't mind a lil more stretch, but I am very happy as is, especially with how they cover up the lip. Here is my own version of tyrestretch....if anyone wants to know what Toyo T1R 195/45r15 tires (tyres for our upside down friends) will look on 15x8 Rota's, here you go.
Ok, put away the lotion... Still some more work to do.
Had to remove and cut away some of the wheel well plastic cause we bent up the tabs for it to screw into.
Then get busy rolling. Dig my $22 heat gun from Home Depot? I burns bugs pretty good too.
I'm kinda proud to say that I installed the camber kits tonight, and did 2 of my fenders as well. That's part of the reason I like working with Mike, he's a pro but he also gives me the chance to try on my own and learn as I go and watch over me. It feels better than to just pay someone to knock it out for me. Yeah I know...I'm a noob. Give me a break I'm trying.
I didn't get a chance to take any good pictures because we finished after dark and I was tired (this working on car shit is freaking exhausting!) but I will do so tomorrow. For now, I stopped off in the Fred Meyers parking lot to take this picture with my phone.
The drive home was actually pretty hairy. The car was massively squirrely on the freeway. Need to figure that out tomorrow, not sure if it's the toe angle or what. I could tell that my alignment went off to the right by quite a bit with the new wheels/tires.
Thanks guys. Yeah I've been calling around looking for a place that will do my alignment. I wanna drive it so badly but not at the expense of chewing up my new tires. So far I found a place in Kirkland called Omni Brake and Alignment that had great reviews, and so I gave them a call. The guy Pat was super nice and I could tell he'd be great to work with. Said it'd be anywhere from $100 to $140 most likely, but that he couldn't get me in till next Monday. I really don't want to wait a week and not drive my car so I kept calling around and found a Firestone up in Everett that said they have a lift that sits flush with the floor and that they can knock out alignments on lowered cars. I'm getting ready to head out the door right now to go try and get this done. Hopefully it'll be driving straight by this evening. I also found a place called Tru-Line that looks really good, but also quite expensive. You can get a Firestone lifetime alignment for less than 1 time at Tru-Line.
I got the +10 offset versions. Almost went staggered 15x8 +4 (f) / 15x9 +0 (r) but I'm very happy with the way she sits with the +10's. The poke basically starts at where the tread ends, and I've always liked that look. Not crazy poke, but just enough. Will put up some pictures later when I have some time. I'm excited as well, I bought an old school boombox for the cargo rack so we have some beats to listen to while we hang.
Ok, back with some more pictures. Pretty tired so it will be mostly pictures and not as many words....possibly a good thing. The alignment at Firestone went ok, but they informed me that it would be best if I purchased a rear toe kit and a front camber kit. The best they could get my rear toe was about a half degree out on both wheels, although they got the front in line. If anyone knows of a good rear toe kit, please let me know. Have read about the Blox being too short, and am not sure about the quality of Wicked. May possibly just spend the extra and go with SPC as I already have their rear camber kits and believe them to be a good company but they're pricier. Think I'll go with the Skunk2 front camber kit, as I've heard nothing but good about it. My front ball joints are fucked anyways, so the Skunk2 kit will supply me with new joints which is nice. If you have any other suggestions let me know. Once I get them installed I'll head back to Firestone and get things straightened up again. I bought the lifetime alignment for $200 so I get 3 per year, which seemed like a bargain opposed to the $140 I was going to pay for a one time job at another place. I went to the Firestone in Everett as I was told that they were one of 3 in state that could accommodate a lowered car as they have a lift that sits flush with the floor. The other places were Ballard and (smokey point?...I forget). Here is a printout of my alignment specs when I was done.
You can see that my rear toe is off by about a half degree, and that my front camber is off by quite a bit. It still pulls to the right slightly but hopefully the camber kit will fix that. They even gave me a picture print out of what my problem was and what I needed to purchase, which I thought was pretty cool. The guy who worked on my car seemed to like it. He asked me about my wheels, and said that he might grab a set for his Civic.
Drove a lot better on the way home, although I still need to get it on the freeway to see how that goes. Ok, here are some more shots of the stance as she sits now.
This is how much poke I got goinz onz. You can see my front camber going negative for now.
Here is my rear gap.
And here is my front.
As she sits I drag flaps almost constantly. Necks break everywhere I go, but I think it just because they think my car is scraping/breaking everywhere I drive. People keep telling me to cut my flaps but I want to wear them away natural style. It's a right of passage in my mind. Gonna install my fender mirror soon, and I really need to find out the issue with the buzzing from underneath my car. I'm positive it's the exhaust manifold and it's driving me crazy with it's buzzing at 2900 RPM. On another note I think I slightly dented my front fender when trying to remove the wheel well plastic, and I'm pretty pissed at myself for doing so. I'm not sure how I'm gonna go about fixing it, but it definitely needs fixed. It's actually pretty minor, but it really bothers me. I promise to do a proper photoshoot when I get enough time. I plan on focusing on some regular maintenance next, as well as installing a cold air intake when it arrives in the mail. I'll also be hitting up the local Pick n Pull to see if I can find a Volvo lip, SI rear sway bar, rear interior light cover, DA maplight, Passport/Explorer rear cargo cover, etc... I have been looking at 1st gen Civic wood grain steering wheels, but they are expensive as hell. I might just get a Nardi instead. I'm tryin to grip that grain sooner than later. Dinner time...I gotta go. Lasagna is calling my name.
I got an extra SPC toe adjustment kit set(NIB) >> SPC 69250 toe adjustment kit 89-91 civic/crx. Let me know if your interested since you'll be in portland from the 9th thru the 12th, i'll give you a good price. In fact if your planning on going to the portland meet at 6:30pm on the 9th i could met you there plus you can check out all the other portland wagon's.
Really jealous! Wanna trade wheels? hahaha No seriously.. I'd even through cash on top!
Probably why your car drives weird is the toe, it throws off how the car feels by a lot! When i did my DA brake swap the toe was like... 3 degrees off, it was scary even at low speeds and has since given one of my front tires crazy wear on about 3 inches of it. (doesnt help i'm at 5+ degrees of camber on all corners)
Looks really good, Still needs a bit more low. But I think everything looks good slammed haha
Really jealous! Wanna trade wheels? hahaha No seriously.. I'd even through cash on top!
Probably why your car drives weird is the toe, it throws off how the car feels by a lot! When i did my DA brake swap the toe was like... 3 degrees off, it was scary even at low speeds and has since given one of my front tires crazy wear on about 3 inches of it. (doesnt help i'm at 5+ degrees of camber on all corners)
Looks really good, Still needs a bit more low. But I think everything looks good slammed haha
I got an extra SPC toe adjustment kit set(NIB) >> SPC 69250 toe adjustment kit 89-91 civic/crx. Let me know if your interested since you'll be in portland from the 9th thru the 12th, i'll give you a good price. In fact if your planning on going to the portland meet at 6:30pm on the 9th i could met you there plus you can check out all the other portland wagon's.
Right on, for a good price that might work out great. Do you know anything about this version vs the other with spherical bushings? Seems everyone prefers those for some reason. I probably won't be able to make the meet on the 9th, but I will be there the evening of the 10th and spending a couple nights so we can link up then hopefully. I don't have an alarm installed yet, and I'm deciding if I will just drive another car down there. It'd also help save on my tires till I can get that toe and camber kit on and realigned.
Really jealous! Wanna trade wheels? hahaha No seriously.. I'd even through cash on top!
Probably why your car drives weird is the toe, it throws off how the car feels by a lot! When i did my DA brake swap the toe was like... 3 degrees off, it was scary even at low speeds and has since given one of my front tires crazy wear on about 3 inches of it. (doesnt help i'm at 5+ degrees of camber on all corners)
Looks really good, Still needs a bit more low. But I think everything looks good slammed haha
Thanks man, and thanks again for your help in getting here! I have fallen in love with these wheels, and every time I look at them I like them more! I couldn't part with them or it'd be a sad day in Darien land. I do wish they came in 16's though! Damn man, -5 camber? How long do tires last you?
From my understanding an example of a spherical bearing would be the end links on the suspension technique sway bar where the mounting screw goes thru the non-threaded portion of the adjustable end link which gives the part the ability to pivot in different angles freely for mounting purposes.
Been away for a bit...I was spending so much time focusing on my car that I needed to get back to real life for a bit and get some stuffs taken care of. Celebrated my girlfriends birthday with a short trip to Portland which was a pretty funky city. Met up with beastmode and he hooked me up with an SPC Rear Toe Kit (thanks homie it was great to meet you!) I got a kick out of seeing another wagon that was so much like mine, but still so different. Really makes me look forward to Forum Fest...oh yeah I finally signed up for that yesterday as I got around to taking a couple pictures to upload.
I've done a couple small things to the wagon so I'll get straight to the pictures cause you know how I do it.
Got my Skunk2 Pro front camber kit installed yesterday. My ball joints were shot so it was nice to kill two birds with one stone getting the Pro kit. Haven't driven a whole lot yet, but there are some weird clunking noises that I've heard a few times now when turning sharply. It almost feels/sounds like something popping out of it's socket, and then when I straighten out it kinda pops back in....or repops. Need to try and figure that out cause it's worrisome. One thing that I've noticed that I find really strange is that it is MUCH MUCH easier to turn my steering wheel now, it almost feels like I have power steering! I can steer with one finger if I have any momentum at all. I like it!!
I saw Chaife rocking some sweet VMS fender washers on his CRX build and liked the way they looked so I ordered 10 of them for $20 and threw em on while doing the intake. Figured since my coilovers are anodized red I'd just continue that theme. It looks pretty good on the blue actually.
I also replaced the OEM airbox with a Spyder cold air intake and a bypass valve. I've never had one of these before and I like the way that it makes the engine sound now, and I can feel a slight difference in power which is fantastic. It's not much, but it's there and when you only have 90 horses even a couple more are nice:)
I took a trip the the Lynnwood Pick N Pull to look for a Volvo lip, an SI rear sway bar, front seat, etc.. It was my first time to a junk yard and it was pretty fun, kinda like an big auto easter egg hunt. They had 2 wagons, although they were pretty well stripped.
I picked up some random gear. Rear wiper plastic cover thingy.
Rear interior dome light cover.
Mirror adjuster plastic housing.
Spare tire housing (found that it didn't fit...maybe it's made for 4wd versions only??)
I also picked up a lip from a '91 Accord as well as a really beat up one from a 1999 Jetta. I could not believe the prices they charged for the crap I bought!!! $23 for a shitty busted up lip! I was sad that I didn't find a Volvo lip....I really want one as the wagon just looks weird without one. If anyone has an extra one or knows where one is to purchase please let a brutha know! I may try and make the Accord lip work for now although it doesn't really seem to fit.
Bought a Viper 350 Responder 2 way car alarm system. Found a mobile installer who said he could install power door locks for $150 for all 4 doors. I'm gonna jump on that so that I can utilize the remote unlocking features of my alarm. I wish he did power windows as well!! Plan to get my stereo/alarm installed this next week, it'll be nice to finally have some beats to listen to. Thinking of trying to make a custom sub box to fit either in trunk, under the front passengers seat or in the spare tire area.
I went to Lynnwood Honda and bought a new oil filter for an oil change. While I was there I remembered that driftin90 said you could get a replacement key for $10. Asked them about that and sure enough I just had to show them my registration and they rocked me out a new key on the spot. They got a kick out of the original key and said to hold on to it as it had the key code printed right on the key itself which they don't do anymore I guess. They ended up coming out to look my wagon out of curiosity and they seemed to really love it. One of the guys said that he was going to start looking for one on craigslist lol. I thought it was funny how excited they were cause I'm sure they see really nice Honda's all the time and I just wasn't expecting them to care about my wagon at all.
I hope to try and get my SPC rear toe kit installed tomorrow so I can finally get my alignment squared away fully. I am so tired of my car being squirrely and uncomfortable to drive. I am thinking of having them reset my camber to a bit more negative stance. My back wheels are bothering me, they are .3/.4 positive (I don't know why they would make them +) and they look even more than straight up and down. I've been reading that camber below -1.5 degrees will not greatly affect tire wear. THIS IS WHERE I NEED YOUR HELP. What are your suggestions on camber settings? I don't like super aggressive camber cause I don't want to wear my tires like crazy, but a little negative camber would help me with fitment a bit. What would you say is the max amount of negative camber that is acceptable before it starts to effect tire wear substantially?
I got around to doing a lit shot of my car, although I didn't break out the big lights....just used a single small flash. Set my camera on a tripod and took several long exposures while flashing the car from different angles. I took lit parts of the car that I liked from each of 4 images and combined them into one to make this shot. Enjoy.
ps I'm gonna get you on some strobist ish Billboard! It's all about the light
Comments
I could barely sleep last night I was like a kid at Christmas lol. Hoping everything works out ok, if things go as planned I'll report back by the end of the day with more pictures. Wish me luck!
DOPE!!!! Can't wait to see more.
Super dope picture. Hope you can get them to fit!
I kinda guessed on the camber adjustment based off how the stock wheels sat. Added about an inch of positive camber, and it seemed to be pretty close in the end. The fronts have no camber kit but seem pretty straight. I may still buy a kit if I feel the fronts are wearing weird....I kinda like straight up and down wheels. My front left ball joint is jacked up so I need to pay some attention to that soon as there is some play in it.
When looking for tires I spent hours on rimtuck.com, tyrestretch.com, willtheyfit.com, etc... It feels good to know that my hard work paid off, because I'm happy with the way the tires fit to the wheels. I suppose I wouldn't mind a lil more stretch, but I am very happy as is, especially with how they cover up the lip. Here is my own version of tyrestretch....if anyone wants to know what Toyo T1R 195/45r15 tires (tyres for our upside down friends) will look on 15x8 Rota's, here you go.
Ok, put away the lotion... Still some more work to do.
Had to remove and cut away some of the wheel well plastic cause we bent up the tabs for it to screw into.
Then get busy rolling. Dig my $22 heat gun from Home Depot? I burns bugs pretty good too.
I'm kinda proud to say that I installed the camber kits tonight, and did 2 of my fenders as well. That's part of the reason I like working with Mike, he's a pro but he also gives me the chance to try on my own and learn as I go and watch over me. It feels better than to just pay someone to knock it out for me. Yeah I know...I'm a noob. Give me a break I'm trying.
And here is my handy work!
Booyakasha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I didn't get a chance to take any good pictures because we finished after dark and I was tired (this working on car shit is freaking exhausting!) but I will do so tomorrow. For now, I stopped off in the Fred Meyers parking lot to take this picture with my phone.
The drive home was actually pretty hairy. The car was massively squirrely on the freeway. Need to figure that out tomorrow, not sure if it's the toe angle or what. I could tell that my alignment went off to the right by quite a bit with the new wheels/tires.
I got the +10 offset versions. Almost went staggered 15x8 +4 (f) / 15x9 +0 (r) but I'm very happy with the way she sits with the +10's. The poke basically starts at where the tread ends, and I've always liked that look. Not crazy poke, but just enough. Will put up some pictures later when I have some time. I'm excited as well, I bought an old school boombox for the cargo rack so we have some beats to listen to while we hang.
You can see that my rear toe is off by about a half degree, and that my front camber is off by quite a bit. It still pulls to the right slightly but hopefully the camber kit will fix that. They even gave me a picture print out of what my problem was and what I needed to purchase, which I thought was pretty cool. The guy who worked on my car seemed to like it. He asked me about my wheels, and said that he might grab a set for his Civic.
Drove a lot better on the way home, although I still need to get it on the freeway to see how that goes. Ok, here are some more shots of the stance as she sits now.
This is how much poke I got goinz onz. You can see my front camber going negative for now.
Here is my rear gap.
And here is my front.
As she sits I drag flaps almost constantly. Necks break everywhere I go, but I think it just because they think my car is scraping/breaking everywhere I drive. People keep telling me to cut my flaps but I want to wear them away natural style. It's a right of passage in my mind. Gonna install my fender mirror soon, and I really need to find out the issue with the buzzing from underneath my car. I'm positive it's the exhaust manifold and it's driving me crazy with it's buzzing at 2900 RPM. On another note I think I slightly dented my front fender when trying to remove the wheel well plastic, and I'm pretty pissed at myself for doing so. I'm not sure how I'm gonna go about fixing it, but it definitely needs fixed. It's actually pretty minor, but it really bothers me. I promise to do a proper photoshoot when I get enough time. I plan on focusing on some regular maintenance next, as well as installing a cold air intake when it arrives in the mail. I'll also be hitting up the local Pick n Pull to see if I can find a Volvo lip, SI rear sway bar, rear interior light cover, DA maplight, Passport/Explorer rear cargo cover, etc... I have been looking at 1st gen Civic wood grain steering wheels, but they are expensive as hell. I might just get a Nardi instead. I'm tryin to grip that grain sooner than later. Dinner time...I gotta go. Lasagna is calling my name.
Probably why your car drives weird is the toe, it throws off how the car feels by a lot! When i did my DA brake swap the toe was like... 3 degrees off, it was scary even at low speeds and has since given one of my front tires crazy wear on about 3 inches of it. (doesnt help i'm at 5+ degrees of camber on all corners)
Looks really good, Still needs a bit more low. But I think everything looks good slammed haha
U mean -5 degrees of camber.
Right on, for a good price that might work out great. Do you know anything about this version vs the other with spherical bushings? Seems everyone prefers those for some reason. I probably won't be able to make the meet on the 9th, but I will be there the evening of the 10th and spending a couple nights so we can link up then hopefully. I don't have an alarm installed yet, and I'm deciding if I will just drive another car down there. It'd also help save on my tires till I can get that toe and camber kit on and realigned.
Thanks man, and thanks again for your help in getting here! I have fallen in love with these wheels, and every time I look at them I like them more! I couldn't part with them or it'd be a sad day in Darien land. I do wish they came in 16's though! Damn man, -5 camber? How long do tires last you?
I've done a couple small things to the wagon so I'll get straight to the pictures cause you know how I do it.
Got my Skunk2 Pro front camber kit installed yesterday. My ball joints were shot so it was nice to kill two birds with one stone getting the Pro kit. Haven't driven a whole lot yet, but there are some weird clunking noises that I've heard a few times now when turning sharply. It almost feels/sounds like something popping out of it's socket, and then when I straighten out it kinda pops back in....or repops. Need to try and figure that out cause it's worrisome. One thing that I've noticed that I find really strange is that it is MUCH MUCH easier to turn my steering wheel now, it almost feels like I have power steering! I can steer with one finger if I have any momentum at all. I like it!!
I saw Chaife rocking some sweet VMS fender washers on his CRX build and liked the way they looked so I ordered 10 of them for $20 and threw em on while doing the intake. Figured since my coilovers are anodized red I'd just continue that theme. It looks pretty good on the blue actually.
I also replaced the OEM airbox with a Spyder cold air intake and a bypass valve. I've never had one of these before and I like the way that it makes the engine sound now, and I can feel a slight difference in power which is fantastic. It's not much, but it's there and when you only have 90 horses even a couple more are nice:)
I took a trip the the Lynnwood Pick N Pull to look for a Volvo lip, an SI rear sway bar, front seat, etc.. It was my first time to a junk yard and it was pretty fun, kinda like an big auto easter egg hunt. They had 2 wagons, although they were pretty well stripped.
I picked up some random gear. Rear wiper plastic cover thingy.
Rear interior dome light cover.
Mirror adjuster plastic housing.
Spare tire housing (found that it didn't fit...maybe it's made for 4wd versions only??)
I also picked up a lip from a '91 Accord as well as a really beat up one from a 1999 Jetta. I could not believe the prices they charged for the crap I bought!!! $23 for a shitty busted up lip! I was sad that I didn't find a Volvo lip....I really want one as the wagon just looks weird without one. If anyone has an extra one or knows where one is to purchase please let a brutha know! I may try and make the Accord lip work for now although it doesn't really seem to fit.
Bought a Viper 350 Responder 2 way car alarm system. Found a mobile installer who said he could install power door locks for $150 for all 4 doors. I'm gonna jump on that so that I can utilize the remote unlocking features of my alarm. I wish he did power windows as well!! Plan to get my stereo/alarm installed this next week, it'll be nice to finally have some beats to listen to. Thinking of trying to make a custom sub box to fit either in trunk, under the front passengers seat or in the spare tire area.
I went to Lynnwood Honda and bought a new oil filter for an oil change. While I was there I remembered that driftin90 said you could get a replacement key for $10. Asked them about that and sure enough I just had to show them my registration and they rocked me out a new key on the spot. They got a kick out of the original key and said to hold on to it as it had the key code printed right on the key itself which they don't do anymore I guess. They ended up coming out to look my wagon out of curiosity and they seemed to really love it. One of the guys said that he was going to start looking for one on craigslist lol. I thought it was funny how excited they were cause I'm sure they see really nice Honda's all the time and I just wasn't expecting them to care about my wagon at all.
I hope to try and get my SPC rear toe kit installed tomorrow so I can finally get my alignment squared away fully. I am so tired of my car being squirrely and uncomfortable to drive. I am thinking of having them reset my camber to a bit more negative stance. My back wheels are bothering me, they are .3/.4 positive (I don't know why they would make them +) and they look even more than straight up and down. I've been reading that camber below -1.5 degrees will not greatly affect tire wear. THIS IS WHERE I NEED YOUR HELP. What are your suggestions on camber settings? I don't like super aggressive camber cause I don't want to wear my tires like crazy, but a little negative camber would help me with fitment a bit. What would you say is the max amount of negative camber that is acceptable before it starts to effect tire wear substantially?
I got around to doing a lit shot of my car, although I didn't break out the big lights....just used a single small flash. Set my camera on a tripod and took several long exposures while flashing the car from different angles. I took lit parts of the car that I liked from each of 4 images and combined them into one to make this shot. Enjoy.
ps I'm gonna get you on some strobist ish Billboard! It's all about the light