The first thing we needed for our CRX was a fresh set of rubber. We needed to get the proper wheels and tires on the car before we could move any further with our build. We opted for the new Falken Azenis RT-615K's after having good experiences with the original RT-615 tire in the past. Eventually we may end up running full race slicks, but we wanted to make sure we get all of the bugs out the car before going with a full slick. I have never raced on a slick tire or driven a CRX prior to this one, so I decided to take things slow and get comfortable with the car before learning everything all at once.
Read more about our experience at Advance Performance on our blog. Brakes Pros Blog
After picking up the car from his house, Chris helped me unload the CRX from our trailer at Advance Performance.
Falken Azenis RT-615K in 205/50/15 should keep our CRX on the track.
All four wheels removed, ready for some fresh rubber to be installed.
Back on the ground, car looks great sitting on the fresh Azenis! Note: Fuel setup has since been changed from this configuration. :scared:
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Read more about our experience at Advance Performance on our blog. Brakes Pros Blog
After having our Falken Azenis mounted and balanced, our next stop for our CRX was at Cars & Concepts for a race alignment. Chris had already done some work in the suspension area of this car. He already had Energy Suspension PolyUrethane Bushings installed throughout most of the car, D2 Racing 36 Way damper and rebound adjustable monotube coilover system, D2 Racing Lower Control Arms and
Acura Integra brakes front and rear(we will get more into that shortly).
Once we arrived at Cars And Concepts, they put the car up on the lift to give the car a good inspection. Their attention to detail was also quite phenomenal, they quickly pointed out several possible issues with our car that needed to be looked at. A couple things to name were one of the rear trailing arm bushings showing some signs of wear, which we intend to replace with either a Energy component or a spherical type. They also pointed out that we had a sticking front brake caliper which we hadnt noticed just driving the car around the block, more on that to come later as well. Last but not least, we had very slight play in on of our tie-rods, but nothing too serious. It was a great experience bringing our car to these high level shops, we learned something new at each one to make our car safer help get our CRX ready to race.
Inspecting the CRX.
Checking Tie-Rod Ends.
And our D2 racing LCA’s and coilovers.
After they finished their initial inspection, we decided to lower the car approximately an inch on 3 of the 4 corners. Initially, we wanted to have the car corner balanced, but we were strapped on time trying to make our tuning session later that day, so we decided that we would do it next time around. Although we decided not to have the car corner balanced, we still need to lower the car and level it out. After some discussion of the direction we wanted to go with the car, we agreed to lower it to 23″ from floor to fender arch on all four corners.
Locking in the coilover adjustments with the coilover wrenches.
After we set the ride height, we moved the car over to the alignment rack.
Once the car was back on the ground for the final time, we immediately noticed that the fenders were going to need to be rolled in order for our tires to clear without interference from the fenders. We decided to call up Bobby at S&R Performance in Tampa, FL and luckily he had a fender rolling tool on hand and generously let us borrow it even though it was already after 7pm. After a quick spin in the car through the industrial park to make sure everything checked out from the alignment, we loaded the car back into the trailer and hauled it over to SR Performance where we rolled the fenders to make clearance for our new tires and stance.
Fender Rolling Tool Attached to Hub.
As your can see here, we have about 1/4″- 1/2″ of sheet metal that needed to be rolled to clear our tires.
After slowly working the metal with the roller and heat gun making sure not to crack the paint, we have a nicely rolled fender! We may end up pulling them in the future if we decide to run 225′s on the car, but we have more than enough clearance for the 205′s as it sits.
