rough around the edges: ronda the honda rocking volk CV-Pro's (56k beware)

[crxmarc]

Hello StanceWorks!

Just wanted to share some progression from my uber-slow civic build. it's been a WIP for the last 2 summers (winters are null for me since i don't have a garage to work in and i see 6 months + of winter where i live). I have finally worked out most of the drive-ability quirks and am now enjoying driving it before the snow sticks again .... sigh ....

This is how Ronda currently prowls the frost-heaved roads of my metropolis





This is how Ronda started it's second lease on life... at 420 000 km%

[crxmarc]

Phase 2 restore Volk CV-Pro wheels

the wheels took me all winter to sand down 4 lips (starting at 180 grit going to 2000 grit , then onto buffing, my hand still cramps when i think about it), before the snow fell i built a ghetto workshop out of a 6'x8' metal shed that i insulated. it was my aptly named "man-shed" as it was the closest thing to a man cave work shop i'd ever had.



yup that's shit on the upper lip .... er um corrosion



it might be hard to see but these have machined lips..... never ever will i hand sand and polish machined lips again



hand sanding in the insulated man-shed haha



guard cat guarding 3/4 polished finished wheel







now onto the fasteners..... 1 down 143 to go


At the same time i started to attempt to make my own center caps since these were missing when i bought the wheels. the original center caps are uber-rare and to date i have only found 2 sets for sale, both of which exceeded $600. Since this is a budget build and i'm still paying off student loans (thank you college for wrecking my liver, credit and reputation) new center caps were not in the budget. heres a few photos of the process before other projects on this side tracked me



plasticine to start



re-usable molding material, yes that's lego used to make the mold perimeter haha



beer can center caps maybe?



and this is were i was at before i turned my focus to other quirky issues with this build haha



as you can tell i decided i wanted to venture into red centers, this is actually plasti-dip. i liked how it turned out so i left them and with spring showing it's colors i re-resembled the wheels and got tires mounted plans are to media blast them this winter and pick a new color.

[crxmarc]

Phase 3 New suspension

i first lowered ronda on some recycled Apex'i coilovers but they blew after about 3 weeks riding at the lowest the coils would spin. in the meantime i had picked up some 14k and 12k SWIFT springs in hopes of using them on the Apex'i units but alas it wasn't meant to be. After some scouring of the internet i found that bilstein HD's had a solid review.

after finding a Canadian distributor i ordered them and asked the sales person to 'throw some goddies in the box if possible" , my cat figured out the goodie situation well before i had opened them......




insert photo of cat trying to open package


someone at essex distributors has a sense of humor i approve of! Thank you for the hubba bubba gum and mints lol

Reading up on modifying honda's i found that their suspension design wasn't the easiest to get low without compromising the struts integrity (unless you buy proper coilovers like say broadway ) so i had to make do with what i had already purchased..... sigh

from that came this "creation"



In theory it was a great idea (and really still is) but the one thing i didnt take into consideration was the height of my hood in respect to the top of the strut
suffice to say i made the necessary modifications to fit them haha.

Phase 4 Lets get this shit on the road already!

Once the suspension was installed it was time to set the ride height. after adjusting the front nearly 20 times i finally got a ride height which was practical for my city's "interesting" road quality (i know this sounds blasphemous on S/W because slammed is the only way to go). Since my wheels are 17x7.5" and 8.5" wide only the rears really showed any kind of stretch (205-40-R17 was the narrowest tires i could find) so i had to work the ride height around that, hence the current ride height.



It was so close to road ready i could taste it..... upon first test drive i discovered a disconcerting problem. When i got the car up to highway speeds the front end would vibrate like a female marital aid ..... ...... and being that i wasn't a female this was an issue (not to mention vibrations loosen things up quicker then roses gets you in a girls pants)

Now started the "troubleshooting" which consisted of replacing every part in the front end that could possibly cause this issue. after 2 months of frustration i finally swapped my 5 lug conversion for another one. 4 hours of work later and it was fixed. Still to this day i do not know what part was actually causing the issue but i'm ecstatic to again drive my car.

[crxmarc]

so that brings me to the here and now. i did leave out some of the interior and engine adventures but i'll leave that for a later post.

Plans for the future:

Find a space in Calgary i can use to do the body work and paint it needs
Replace carpets a

[xAaron]

Damn this looks awesome! How big did you go on the extended tophats?

[cereal black]

Maybe its just the pics but those wheels look strangely big on the car? Either way, good stuff!

[crxmarc]

Damn this looks awesome! How big did you go on the extended tophats?

Thanks! i'll have to check but i'm pretty sure they were 70mm and 75mm extensions

Maybe its just the pics but those wheels look strangely big on the car? Either way, good stuff!

It's cause i photoshopped them on haha jk , nope 17s are the biggest wheel i'd ever run on this type of civic. I wanted to be different then all the guys around town running 15" XXR/Axis/Drag wheels (especially the Work equip 03 wheels, i loved those sooo much until i realized every lowered civic on a budget has those wheels)

[M.Doban]

Love the color!

ho ho ho

It looks good and you've done great work, but I too think the wheels are a little too tall. Maybe I'm biased though.

[Randomofodication]

Sweet another calgary person. Car looks good!

[TrailerTrash]

ho ho ho

I like it alot!

what color you having it painted?

[crxmarc]

Love the color!

ho ho ho

It looks good and you've done great work, but I too think the wheels are a little too tall. Maybe I'm biased though.

It's funny because i was never a fan of the teal colour but it as grown on me over time.

ho ho ho ----> santa claus? haha

I hear that comment every so often, to me they are on the cusp of being too big, but i also think a lot of people aren't use to seeing bigger wheels on this chassis. i am however planning on hopefully finding a set of 3 piece 15 or 16s this winter. 15" wheels are the smallest i can run due to the type R brake conversion

Sweet another calgary person. Car looks good!

There are a few of us lurking around on here haha, your saturn build has set the bar high for calgary stance enthusiasts! Thanks!

I like it alot!

what color you having it painted?

thanks! i'm not sure yet, might just re-spray it the same colour but do a matte orange or rust red or even a chalk board green vinyl wrap.

first things first is to tackle all the body work this thing requires

[Franswa]

so you went back to 4x100 ?

I bet you anything that the vibration you were getting (considering the tires were properly balanced) was due to the center bore of the wheel was too big for the centerbore on the car ... you didn't have proper center ring or none at all, and with no lug centric bolts (even with them) it can vibrate.

I have 15x7 and 15x8.5 epsilon 4x100 that I am considering selling for 1500$ without tires or 2000$ with tires ... (if they don't sell I'll keep them as a wall ornament until I get another car that they can fit on)

EDIT : I also find 17" is way too big for a tiny car

[Awful Hero]

It looks pretty good, I think the 17s work well on EG chassis, it would look better if you went with a smaller tire to get lower on. Pick up some 165/40R17 and 185/35R17 for the rear.

The wheels only look big because you can see under the car lol, shows a lot of gap between the ground the bottom of the car. Visually a clean front lip and sides would also help.
I'm picturing a EG hatch a built on Forza. :-)

[crxmarc]

so you went back to 4x100 ?

I bet you anything that the vibration you were getting (considering the tires were properly balanced) was due to the center bore of the wheel was too big for the centerbore on the car ... you didn't have proper center ring or none at all, and with no lug centric bolts (even with them) it can vibrate.

I have 15x7 and 15x8.5 epsilon 4x100 that I am considering selling for 1500$ without tires or 2000$ with tires ... (if they don't sell I'll keep them as a wall ornament until I get another car that they can fit on)

EDIT : I also find 17" is way too big for a tiny car

Nope still 5x114.3 just with USDM DC2R front knuckles instead of JDM ones ( the JDM knuckles had a slightly warped hub i think). I always use hub rings and hubcentric spacers.

as for your wheels, it's an appealing offer but I'm sticking with 5x114.3 on this chassis.

It looks pretty good, I think the 17s work well on EG chassis, it would look better if you went with a smaller tire to get lower on. Pick up some 165/40R17 and 185/35R17 for the rear.

The wheels only look big because you can see under the car lol, shows a lot of gap between the ground the bottom of the car. Visually a clean front lip and sides would also help.
I'm picturing a EG hatch a built on Forza. :-)

haha i'd love some 185/35/R17s! but i haven't had any luck finding any in canada. smallest i've been able to track down were 195/45/R17 and they had the same stretch as my 205/40/r17's i currently have.

I would like to be riding lower but due to the front wheels only being 7.5" wide, i couldn't get any stretch and thus had no fender clearance in the front when turning.

It seems to be a common sentiment that the wheels look big in photos but look better sized in person. This winter's plan is to re-lip the wheels so the fronts are 9" wide (still 205 tires) and 9.5" or 10" in the rear with some good stretch and fender work all around. I'm hoping that between the front stretch and some more camber, that i'll be able to run front tires tucked.

[Awful Hero]

Seriously, ebay, import, whatever it takes, just find smaller tires and youre set. If you must stay with USDM DOT tires, best bet is falken 205/40R17, it has a rounded sidewall.