Jakm123

Nice

silvrbreez

So I had a little time this afternoon, but only enough time to test out a bit more drop on one rear corner. Adjusted the coils down 1/2" and the clearance seems minimal but possibly adequate between the rubber and fender. The camber naturally kicked in a bit more (I'm guessing -0.5*) so that helped, but it also made the tire look a bit more sunken in up top but not too bad. It's a good look no doubt, so when I've got more time to spare I'll crank down all four sides and do some test driving.

Keeping my fingers crossed.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

ISO on the phone is probably high in darker settings.
Thanks, man... I have so much practice with the opposite, black car in sunshine. it's hard to shoot!

Recon_45

Love the ride, keep up the good work!

silvrbreez

Thanks Recon.

So I made time last night after the kids were in bed to get all 4 corners down another 1/2". Test driove it and rubbed even just when the weight shifted in the rear while making turning.

Will I rub at just 1/4" down from where I was? I don't know and I'm not going to try it and find out. I'm just going to adjust back to that previous height, which was 1-1/2" lower than stock and roll with it knowing I won't have any issues.

Now I HAVE to find time to set it back today before the morning commute tomorrow.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

...and zero pictures


and I know why. LOL

silvrbreez

Snapped one phone pic of the rear and posted to Flickr. Tweaked the drop a tad and now it sits 24-3/4" up front and 25" out back ground to fender. Appears to be more balanced now with that slight rake.

silvrbreez

Here's the pic of the rear before I adjusted it back up to 25" ground to fender. This was about 1/2" lower than that and rubbed just making turns through the neighborhood. It would've cleared if I'd taken the spacers off, but for now I'm preferring the aggressiveness that comes from the widened stance and not just being as low I can.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bmb-photography/13365019905/

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Wow, no center cap changes the look of the wheel altogether.

You're rolled, right? Are you rubbing on fender liner or metal? It looks GOOD at that height!

silvrbreez

Another thing...
Can't find any direct answers on this after searching the site...

Can torn compliance bushings negatively affect the alignment of the car?

My alignement was pretty bad before I installed the coilovers earlier this year. So much so that I had wires shown on the inside of one of the front tires (front toe was really bad). That got adjusted after the coilover install, but after reading the notorious compliance bushings thread now I'm concerned. I've look and there does appear to be a slight crack but they don't look all wonky like some others' photos have shown. Had the dealer look at it and they said they are fine...but I saw a slight tear...but maybe that's natural.

I just want to be sure I can hold this alignment now that I've got new rubber on the car. I'd like to know if it's even worth looking into further, since just throwing the car up on a rack to check the alignment costs money.

The center caps on these are like a piece of jewelry on an attractive woman. It's a nice embellishment, but take it off and it still looks good.

Yeah I'm rolled out back. It was rubbing the metal when the rear weight shifted while making a turn. Clearance was super tight.

Like I mentioned, it would've cleared fine if I'd just taken off the rear spacers, but right now I'm digging the spaced-out look enough to not sacrifice for the extra 1/2" of drop.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Firestone lifetime warranty FTW!

No, I don't think so...I replaced mine once upon a time to get rid of vibration and hoping it would feel more solid. I felt like it was placebo...if it's totally torn, change it, if it's just a crack it won't. Our cars are very prone to toe OUT when the car squats with weight in the car. I've never gotten more than about 20K out of any tire on this car since lowered.

What size spacer you rockin out back?

silvrbreez

Thanks for the info. I may get the dealership to look at it one more time...maybe I'll get a different tech and they'll have a different opinion.

Rears are 18x9.5 +45 then a 15mm spacer (+30 effective)

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Hmmm...you're welcome.
I'm +24 with 5MM spacer and -1 camber but I only have a 225 tire.

I'd recommend going ahead with the 45MM extended studs, rears were pretty easy to do...I have them all around, the ichiba...awesome to be able to run version 1 ANY SIZE spacer up to 15MM then 15MM and up, version 2 and theyr'e not so long to require open ended lugs or too long for the oem lugs when I put stocks on.

silvrbreez

Are yours 18x9 or 18x9.5? What's your rear ground to fender height? Either way, that's a nice aggressive fitment. Big difference in look between my 265 and your 225. I'd love to see a side by side some day.

Thought briefly about extended studs for the flexibility of running a variety of spacers sizes even lower than 15mm, but in the end I knew I wanted this effective offset with these wheels so I went with the studded spacer for now. If I switch things up down the line with another set of wheels that I feel needs something less then I may go that route.

Honestly though, I had so much fun restoring this set that I think I'd do a full custom three-piece restoration next time around and get the offsets dialed up so I won't have to run any spacers whatsoever...hey, a boy can dream right?

Also, dealer is super close to my work so I just ran by a few minutes ago and had the tech check them out again. Ends up what I was seeing was the natural impression in the compliance bushing combined with some caked on dirt that had cracked. Much to my surprise NO TEARS! Carry on...

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

LMAO...there you go sir!

18x9...yeah, 225 is a little stretched for me. Meh, you know what you're doing...maybe dial in that half degree of camber to clear fender then? I really liked how it looked lowered down a bit.

I'm at about 24" FTG all around.

silvrbreez

Thoughts?

http://www.rimskins.ca/installing-ri...im-protectors/

They come in silver, red, black, white, yellow, or blue. Could be used to simulate the time attach stripe on many wheels and accentuate the edge of the rim against the tire. I like it as it sits now, but this could be a good look too.

Here are a couple of Photoshops of rockstar's photo edit from the previous page showing the Rimskins in red. I did the chop in both 1 pixel and 2 pixel widths since I'm not sure which best represents the actual width of these things.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

My first inclination is no...but maybe in silver to kinda show the diameter or the wheel?!? Like the machined edge on the advan. I'm not sold on it though, kinda cheapens the look, no?

silvrbreez

Its all in what you're going for I guess. Not sure if I'm digging it or not. The colored ring is a little ricer-ish, but its also a nod to the some of the time attack wheels you'll see. They do offer a grey, silver, or white too, but I don't know. Not sure if its worth $60 to maybe like it but maybe not.

I'd probably prefer the stainless rim protectors that come on the BBS CH-R, but those are $60/each and I'm not sure how they'd sit on my these lips.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

I vote to pass...a nod to something may come off as wanna be.

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

I agree with the rockstar....dude knows all about styling

that will cheapen the look you have tried soo hard to get at...


I still suggest, just a different caliper color might be able to add some depth (after you add some camber)....but it will be tough since you have full faced wheels....

maybe trying polished lip on the wheel

silvrbreez

Good points, but I'm not a fan of colored calipers and these lips are staying black unless I decide to do a full rebuild at some point down the line. I had considered getting the lips machined or brushed but couldn't get happy with the outcome aside from having them professionally machined on a lathe/press. That's when I decide to switch things up and go with the gloss/matte dark combo.

You really want me to get a camber kit don't you? :wink:

All and all, like I'd said in an earlier post, I'm really happy with the outcome but these stripes were just me entertaining a way to maybe be completely finish with the design and refinishing of these wheels. You guys confirmed my thoughts so I'm leaving well alone. On to bigger and better things...

And I'm not considering these full faced wheels. That makes me think new school VIP, MAE, Leon Harditt type stuff. These are 5 spokes, albeit a wide 5.

I do know what you mean though. Less openings in the wheel design can make the wheel appear smaller.

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Love the new wheels. They almost look military-like.

silvrbreez

Got some new accessories headed my way. Should be on the car by the end of next week.

Undying Dreams

iTrader: (3)

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Hint?

silvrbreez

oh ee em

Undying Dreams

iTrader: (3)

Hmm...well you already have the A-Spec kit...maybe window visors or RDX covers for the rear!

silvrbreez

Don't have A-Spec sides. And I already have the RDX covers...they've been sitting on a shelf in my garage for months just waiting for to have the time to get them on and then a day or so to let the car sit and them to cure.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

I was going to say visors as well...I used to hate them. But now I love them.

silvrbreez

Yous guys...

DING DING DING

Fedex says they'll be here Saturday.

Undying Dreams

iTrader: (3)

No secret mods are safe!

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Good guessing!

silvrbreez

Tried to get a more flush roll on the driver's side rear the other night. It was the first fender I attempted to roll and the passenger side came out much better.

Welp, I knew the car had been in an accident on the rear drivers side before I bought it but the repairs were very nicely done...only problem is that whoever did the repair appears to have reskinned that fender. Twice the material made it super hard to roll. It's better, but still not as much clearance as the passenger side.

And then I'm walking out to the car after work today, paying close attention to the rear fitment, and I notice a little dimple. Get home and check it close and realize I seem to have worked it a bit too hard and now I've got a case of "bacon fenders". Slight rippling at the spot welds of the lip. Not terribly noticeable, but enough so that it'll probably take me awhile to forget about it.

Undying Dreams

iTrader: (3)

Aww that sucks dude luckily you have WDP so I'm sure it hides it nicely.

silvrbreez

Definitely sucks. It hides it somewhat, but you'd notice it from about 5-6 feet away if you were looking for it.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Hey, be happy, the sooner you accept that the car will have some faults, the sooner you can get back to just loving how great she looks as a whole. My fenders have some of my learning curve scars from my first go at the roller/finisher. No worries, man...we're all there.

Dimples probably from where the spot weld was...I've had a piece of rock/dirt cause that dimple.

More importantly, did we get the clearance needed to go back low?

silvrbreez

No, still too tight. To go lower I'd need to lose the back spacers and right now I'm digging the spaced effect more than the low effect. That may change and it's nice to know I've got that option.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

...I'm generally against it but have the best of both worlds, add that 1/2 a degree of camber.

silvrbreez

Maybe one day. Got other stuff I'd like to do before I'll consider adding a camber kit.

Thanks for the encouragement in that other post too.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Anytime, Brandon. That's what friends are for, man.
Enjoy your weekend.

Honestly, you can install yourself, bring it a couple turns shorter than oem arm on each side...it'll take you an hour to install.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SPC-Performance-Adjustable-Rear-Camber-Arm-Kit-w-Ball-Joint-TL-04-08-PAIR-/301027664496?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Make%3AAcura&hash=item4616a5a270&vxp=mtr
these are the ones I have...I like them because they keep it simple for the alignment guy...same crescent bolt for toe, and bam, arm for camber.