Acura3.0CL

**The Story of My CL’s Suspension & Wheel Journey**
(Just scroll to the bottom if you don’t feel like reading)

Ever since I was 16, when I first got my CL & when I first joined the boards, I had seen this picture. A black CL, “interesting” looking vinyl graphic’s, and some kick ass wheels. (which I later discovered to be “Racing Hart C5’s”)



I was 16, I saw that picture of the CL w/ the C5 wheels, and I knew right then, those were my dream wheels and I would get them someday.

So I started modding my car, with the help of all the 1st gen members on boards.
I stumbled across a local member who was moving on, to get an STI, so I bought all of his parts we was selling. The main parts were the WW Lip & the Used 18” ADR GT Sport Wheels. (its funny how you have plans for your car, then along the way, you get detoured from your initial goal.)
Well, the 18” ADR’s sat in my basement for forever because I couldn’t afford to buy tires or get them re-finished / re-powder coated at the time.

So, with numerous parts and continuing to “mod” the CL, by the end of my Senior Year In H.S. the CL looked like this. I was finally able to get the wheels re-painted and get some rubber for them. (One of my Senior Picts)




So I was like “Cool, my car is starting to look bad ass.”

I don’t even want to remember how many remarks all you guys gave me about my 4X4 CL. Lol EVERYONE told me to lower the bitch ASAP…but, because of $$...I couldn’t afford to…..So, I drove around with wheels @ OEM height. I know it looked bad, but I figured having wheels was better than nothing…right!?

After having 8 tire malfunctions, getting them “prorated” & having to *custom order* 2 more each time, I finally gave up on the Conti’s.
Then, there was the…ummm…”I had toooo much fun in the snow” and my tire popped off.


Then, just recently, without warning, I was going 45mph passing through an intersection…..and BAM!!!! Road Construction was tearing off the top of one street, to add a fresh new surface to it. The two streets met @ the intersection, one was ~5” taller than the other and, with no warning signs, no “BUMP” signs….My wheels took that 5” height difference with a beating @ 45mph.




Damage was est. at roughly $1100. Two of the wheels were bent, and one tire was gone.

I thought long and hard about what I should do with the $. Winter would be around the corner soon, and with no rubber for the OEM 16’s…I figured that would be a good investment for now.
Throughout this entire time, I had been looking for those Racing Hart C5’s. I knew I *needed 5 of them…but I couldn’t find (5) C5 wheels in our bolt pattern size.

My birthday was around the corner, and my brakes were @ about 10% left. They were shot to hell. I started doing some research found a hella good deal on some Brembo X-drilled rotors w/ ceramic pads. Then I realized that if my entire brakes were going to be upgraded & installed, I might as well spend the rest of my $ from the insurance check on my new suspension setup. I found some good deals on the springs/shocks…etc. All at once, my entire suspension and brake system was upgraded.




Now, this brings us back to the entire point of writing all of this…

I had wheels (18” ADR GT Sports) They sat and collected dust, while I saved $ for tired and re-painting.

I FINALLY got the wheels put on…..but I was stuck at OEM height.

1.5 yrs later & STILL @ OEM HEIGHT, the wheels get busted by road construction.

Used the insurance $ to pay for tires for the OEM 16’s, and the rest was spent on the brake & suspension setup

The Irony….Had wheels, stuck @ OEM height. Lost wheels, Lowered 2.25”.

AND NOW…….FINALLY, AFTER ALMOST 2 YEARS OF WAITING, SEARCHING…LOOKING….

I've got my (5) – 18” Racing Hart C5 wheels!!!

Oh, and let me make this clear….Throughout this entire time, I almost bought two other sets of C5’s. The difference was, when I was thinking about buying those other sets of wheels…they were both the RH EVO wheels…AND, they were going for around $1,000!!!

The wheels….the ones I just bought…well all I can say is, THEIR ORIGIONAL RACING HARTS.

No RH EVO…..no Replica BS…these are the real things…and they’ve only been used VERY lightly…I'm talking maybe just mounted before…no driving. These are MINT, no flaws…and the best part….?....(feel free to crap yourselves)

5 – 18” Org. Auth. Racing Hart C5’s……$550 TOTAL!!!
(Yes, I know, I'm one lucky SOB)
So now, FINALLY…my car will be lowered AND have wheels!

Now, Indulge yourself in my sexy wheel pictures!







In the words of Will Smith…

“Old And Busted…”



“The NEW Hotness!!"




**The Difference In The “Auth. Racing Harts” & the “Replica RH EVO’s”**





Now, all that’s left to do is get my new rims stripped, polished, and re-powder coated.

Well, thats all for now....I just HAD to brag a little...You have noo idea how long I've been waiting, searching, looking, wanting these. This was like X-mas morning ALLLLL over again!

bostonroads

can i ask you how you found black c5's on wheelsnext.com? all ive ever seen on their site is the plain silver ones.. Also where can you find gunmetal ones?

by the way, they are beautiful wheels that make any cl look extremely clean, they are one of the wheels i am thinking about also.

tman89544

Fucking sweet.

Cant wait to see it in person.

Acura3.0CL

I just went to Wheelsnext.com and looked for Racing Hart....listed under the C5's were the silver and black ones.

I will tell u this.....THEY DONT MAKE THE BLACK ONES ANYMORE.
Thus, the reason I have to get mine stripped and painted black now.

As far as the gunmetal ones I bought...i have noooo clue how they got to be that color. But then again, they are the Auth. Racing Harts that arnt made anymore....so maybe they once came out in gunmetal.

As of now, Im pretty sure the only color offered is the silver.

Smalls

bout time CJ, now get them bitches on the car. When can I come see them?

teh CL

iTrader: (1)

nice...i remember you talking about C2s back when i first joined this place..

anyways... congrats on finally finding those wheels

...but i must ask....where the hell did u get a deal like that

bostonroads

i checked the site again, they do have the RH evolution c5's in black...do you mean theyre not in stock on that site, or they dont make the "authentic" ones in black anymore?

the two different kinds look exactly the same almost except for the engraved sig on the spoke and logo on the center cap

h2o-pr00f

nice grab.. we are all asking where u got it so spill the beans.. nice little story too i actually read it all

Fun how us youngsters go through are stages with our car till its finally there.. i really wished somebody had black c's on the black cl i always wanted black rims

also, you going to refinish the center part black and leave the smaller RH cap in the middle silver?

agranado

jesus crap. How about that. sweet wheels gangsta.

now get them on the fucking car and wrap them in some sweet rubber!

koolposter

like they always say... good things come to those who wait...

baka_t

Watch out for potholes with those also. I cracked my set when I had mine and I hit no potholes.

saiko_cl_duck

omg, those are the ones i've drooled over on my friend lexus, you are one lucky sob, and for 550, thats a deal you cant beat

subbuzz

gonna look bad ass, congrats

Acura3.0CL

Get this....I found them by fluke. So you all know ive been searching for these for over a year now. I got on to all the accord message boards, registered, logged in and posted in the "wanted section" for Racing Hart c5's. Lately I hadnt checked Ebay or the other message boards in awhile and all of the sudde, one day outta the blue, I get an email from this accord fourm saying "you've gotten a responce to your thread"
Some dude posted an ebay like saying there was some racing hart c5's on ebay right now.

I got on ebay, and holy crap.....(5) 18" C5's....$550 Buy it Now (w/ free $125 shipping if "buyitnow") I emailed the guy, he out outta town, i hadnt really seen any pictures but 1 and it was soo blury...i said F* it! And bought them. $550 total, and when I saw them today, .....it was amazing....to me, it was better than getting my CF hood, just because ive had my heart set on these ever since i started driving my CL...I finally got them and the feeling is incredible.

Now here is the intresting thing....

The guy on ebay that i bought them from...He said he got them from another guy on ebay before. My seller said he never used them and was selling because he still couldnt afford tires for them, they were sitting around, and he needed them $. He told me that when he bought them before, on ebay. That guy said he really never used them, but they were mounted once i guess. (I donno)

The odd thing...3 wheels came in actual Racing Hart boxes. 2 others came in reg. plain white boxes. All the wheels are exactly alike, same color, everything...except....the 2 wheels in the white boxes, their inner wheel well is painted the gunmetal color also. The 3 racing hart box wheels, their inner wheel well is polished....

The wheels are perfect...amazing in color too. (makes me almost not want to touch them and paint them black because once u see this gunmetal upclose, they look crraazzyy w/ sparkles and everything. (Wonder how gunmetal would look on my car..?...)
It just baffles me to think how the wheels ended up like they did....?...i cant figure it out.


See the "Old & Busted Pict"??? Thats the rubber right there. (Only need to replace/order 1 new tire. (one of them is "bubbled" as u can see in the "construction zone wheel pict")

Im just waiting to re-paint them and then the rubber goes on. I'll wait until spring though...winter here sucks and im NOT risking anything with these wheels.

Acura3.0CL

Heres the ebay link from the auction..

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...RK%3AMEWA%3AIT

Acura3.0CL

I actually called up WheelsNext and asked about the black ones because I was needing a price quote on 5 with no tires. I was about to buy the RH evos from them...

The guy told me the black ones are still on their website, but they dont carry them or dont make them anymore.

Cocoa

iTrader: (2)

congrats......

bostonroads

shit f*ers!! I wish companies would update their websites

klepto

umm great story, but you DO know that RH evo stands for racing hart evolution? they arent replicas at all, just newer versions of the wheels.

http://www.dazzmotorsports.com/wheels_rhe.asp

Acura3.0CL

Umm yes...Racing Hart......OR Racing Hart EVOLUTION......I understand they are both Racing Harts...but to me, their replicas...not the Orig. I mean, Look at the difference of the wheels...It looks like the EVOS have flatter thicker blades on the rims...

Anyway...yes, I realise their both racing harts. But to me, the evos are knockoffs.

we actually had a big discussion about this in the blackmarket one time...i think we came to the conclusion that they were different.

Acura3.0CL

Heres the link in the black market. The Mods posted in an *EDIT* to explain...
They arnt the same.

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...ht=Racing+Hart

jandj2204

nice rims..ive always been a fan of the c5's

Leviathan

Nice wheels!

I'm glad you got some new ones, because I hate to break it to you, but I swear every other ricer (or anyone with cheap aftermarket "racing" wheels i.e. not chrome) has those wheels on their ride. In addition to everyone having them, I don't really like them to much. To each his own, what can I say.

You're ridin clean now though so its all good.

Acura3.0CL

the funny thing is....here locally, ive only seen 2 other cars with C5's..and both the sets were silver. Never seen any gunmetal or black before.

ayougo

should of bought rota slips to save weight

Acura3.0CL

Are you kidden me???? ....oh i think i just threw up in my mouth a little.... Ummm yeeaaa....You must of forgot that I was driving a CL.....not a 92 Hatch Civic. Im sorry but those look like
Excuse me why I go myself.

And BTW....Since when was weight an issue??? Were talking about the 3.0 here....there no point of saving weight when your engine has no potiential....

I'd rather have some Auth. kick ass rims to show off @ car shows.

Rabuf

Good call, I was looking for something similar. Can't beat that price either. Damn, got to wipe the drool from the keyboard.

ayougo

But i love your ride

Acura3.0CL

lol thanks....the exterior is almost done...i cant wait to get these rims on...its going to look soo much better!

subbuzz

Blazin Si

Dope wheels. Can't wait to see what they look like on your car. Racing Hart makes 2 sets of wheels that really look great on our 1st gens. The other ones I like are those mesh style ones. Can't remember what their called though.

Nice clean 5 spokes with a nice lip is gonna look badass.

Acura3.0CL

Your prob thinkin of the C2's...??...

Acura3.0CL

Thanks for all the comments guys! I really cant wait to get these thrown on. I called the paint shop I went to last time for my wheels. They've raised their prices. Last time it was $50 per 18" wheel painted any color. Now, its $75 per wheel.

Soo $374 - 400 for new paint....

Heres the problem...the more people I've talked to...the more people think I should keep the color now, (the gunmetal silver) and not do the black w/ chrome lip.

I have nooo clue what to do. Ive always wanted the black w/ chrome lip...but this color thats on the wheels now...its sooo sexy. I donno how it'd look on the car though...I really dont want to pay $ to have tires mounted, balanced, aligned..etc...then drive around for a week or 2 and then deside, and have to pay $$ again to get them unmounted, painted, and then put back on.

So yea...I'm going to need you guys help. I really dont know what to do. Keep the color now? or paint black??

Today or tomorrow I'll wash the car (just got snow) and I'll shoot a few picts of the C5's infront of the stockies....just so we all can get some idea how it would look life.

h2o-pr00f

it might be a good idea to have em sit on the car for more than a few weeks.. to see how you adjust to the gunmetal color, because it might really grow on you more and more..

SwervinCL

Its about time one of you 3.0 guys realized that your cars are less superior!

2.x>3.0

Your car looks suite though

Blazin Si

Yeah, those are the ones I was thinking of.

I can photoshop your wheels onto your car and change the color if you have time to take a picture of your car and then take a picture of your wheels at the same angle.

Probably only take me 10-15 mins to do. Let me know.

tman89544

I think you forgot that the 2.x still has 50 less HP.Stick or no stick thats still a big difference.

The 1st gen CLs aren't ment for racing, thats a fact.