My channeled 97 crv. need some advice.

[monkeymagic]

So after channeling front frame and crossmember 3 inches, i have the suspension travel, i have the oil pan clearance, but i still haven't achieved grace..

idk whether it's the wheel/tire combo or what. it looks great in person, but still there is something to be desired.

some pics for reference:









and a shot of the shifter tunnel that trips people out and the interior i haven't finished putting back in.




at this point i'm contimplating a number of things..

A) more low. the back is still stock save some ridiculous camber arms. i need to section the crossmember, relocate the camber link mounts, and z or otherwise modify the trailing arms before i can go even .5" lower. furthermore, if and when i do this.. the front will need some resolve. an inch lower in the front and i'll never be able to drive in anything but a straight line. unless i go with an air-adjustable suspension setup.. definitely thinking of it as the front would literally lay out on the jacking points.

B) different wheels. i love the rpf1s, but even when i first bought them i thought they are more sporty than what i'm really going for. maybe something polished/machined/chrome and with a traditional lip. that said, i could stretch, poke, camber.. but that shit is ridiculous and downright unsafe on a street-driven vehicle. they are 16x8's +38 and 205/45/16 on there now. contemplated a nice 15" setup, but with lower-profile tires i may as well go with tiny whitewalls and wires. these huge square fender openings we have give me nighmares, which brings me too..

c) somehow modifying the fenders.. thought about deleting the trim which would make for HUGE wheel wells. maybe grafting in civic fender openings or even a golf's or something. but the rears are going to be a serious time consumer if i decide to do anything besides leave them alone. idk, open for any ideas. either way, at this point any less fender to tire clearance and it'll be a headache.

that said, i have no other complaints.. it looks killer from any angle besides the dead-on side (the windows are huge and the wheels are small). hell, after a little tweaking of aluminum lines and sectioning a couple of flimsy brackets and i still have a/c, p/s, and cruise. driving on the highways it has plenty of travel, no bumps, bangs or rubs (expect on ogre-sized potholes the rear reminds me of it's lack of re-engineering)

oh yeah, and exhaust ideas. quiet, compact mufflers? seems to be an oxymoron. running a straight pipe now, and it's getting old quick!

[Oxer]

A would be what I would try to achieve first, then B.

Id like to see this with stock fenders (as much as possible), I think it would keep it nice and clean.


I love that you're actually modifying it rather than just putting coilovers in and calling it a day.

[Phil G]

it looks great. IMO needs bigger and wider wheels.
I'd go 17 inch with big lips and poke.

[motocaddy]

wheels are too small.

that said, i could stretch, poke, camber.. but that shit is ridiculous and downright unsafe on a street-driven vehicle.

[Oxer]

Also I missed the part about stetch poke and camber on a daily... It is in no way unsafe, unless you dont know how to drive a car. see sig for daily driven vehicle.

[monkeymagic]

A would be what I would try to achieve first, then B.

Id like to see this with stock fenders (as much as possible), I think it would keep it nice and clean.


I love that you're actually modifying it rather than just putting coilovers in and calling it a day.

thanks, the work involved in the front was considerable to say the least, i'll never do another truck i can't remove the body from the frame. lol

the fenders are square though, makes things just... difficult. i've shaved the fenders and the backs of the trim until there is literally nothing left but what you see. i'd like to see more of the wheel flush with the fender as it goes around and avoid just tucking everything like a minitruck.. but i'm fresh out of ideas.

Also I missed the part about stetch poke and camber on a daily... It is in no way unsafe, unless you dont know how to drive a car. see sig for daily driven vehicle.

idk, this thing has a lot of ass. i've had it at 6 degrees of negative camber in the rear with the old wheels, on on-ramps and the like it was not confidence inspiring.. to say the least. and with 3 degrees in the front, cornering destroyed the tires way too quickly for a daily.

anyway, seems the consensus so far is more aggressive wheels and more low.

[indy510]

.
The problem with "channeling", or raising the subframe independetly from the body, is the lack of camber you have now

.... you need coilovers and stiffer springs to maybe even improve the ride quality, and have some neg. camber/moar low

[monkeymagic]

.
The problem with "channeling", or raising the subframe independetly from the body, is the lack of camber you have now

.... you need coilovers and stiffer springs to maybe even improve the ride quality, and have some neg. camber/moar low

should've included more info. everything on here is adjustable and, short of the new coils for the front i'm waiting on, dialed in.

mainly just looking for appearance advice and suggestions. trying to see what everyone else see's when they look at it since i've run into a mental road block with what i had envisioned and the path i was going to take with it..

[laBeef]

You should rock some 17x9 +35 rpfs.

[Mark Ostrowski]

Those wheels are just ridiculously tiny, and I agree with them being too sporty, definitely don't keep the wheels you end up getting silver because it is just too common of a color, oh and if it was me I would definitely paint match all the plastic trim (bumpers fenders etc.)

There ya go, some ideas to play with

[yotatuner]

This thing is bad in a very good way

[indy510]

mainly just looking for appearance advice and suggestions. trying to see what everyone else see's when they look at it since i've run into a mental road block with what i had envisioned and the path i was going to take with it..

With your current "almost positive" camber settings,,, it just looks wierd ...... . That's why I suggested moar negative camber

not alot of neg. camber,,, but just enough so it looks more like a lowered SUV,, and less like a stock Forester

Just lower it more (like 3" lower in the back,, and 1" lower in the front) ,,, and the camber will look better ....
.

[Hayden]

I think it looks bad ass how it sits.

[Oxer]

thanks, the work involved in the front was considerable to say the least, i'll never do another truck i can't remove the body from the frame. lol

the fenders are square though, makes things just... difficult. i've shaved the fenders and the backs of the trim until there is literally nothing left but what you see. i'd like to see more of the wheel flush with the fender as it goes around and avoid just tucking everything like a minitruck.. but i'm fresh out of ideas.



idk, this thing has a lot of ass. i've had it at 6 degrees of negative camber in the rear with the old wheels, on on-ramps and the like it was not confidence inspiring.. to say the least. and with 3 degrees in the front, cornering destroyed the tires way too quickly for a daily.

anyway, seems the consensus so far is more aggressive wheels and more low.

Camber doesnt kill tires, toe does. My legend weighs 1.6tonne, runs around -5 camber as is is on stretched tires, and is fine. The crv wouldnt be much more then that, and I doubt you are using it a a flat out race car on the street, so if I were you I wouldnt wotty about it.

Hell even racing on stretched tires is fine...

[Khalil]

^Truth.
Even some drift cars have stretched tires.