May 10th, 2015 - Ob-Tein-ed Some New Pieces for my CR-X

May 10th, 2015 - Ob-Tein-ed Some New Pieces for my CR-X

Bad puns aside, the dawn of a new summer driving season has begun here in Calgary. A more mild than normal winter this year has meant an earlier start to "the season". For my part, I've been kinda quiet on the blog (and in my garage), instead choosing to focus on my health. I'm still not completely over that flu that began at the end of January... All that remains is a nagging cough and heaviness in my lungs that seems mostly aggravated in the cold temps and laying down overnight while I'm sleeping. Doc says it's nothing to be concerned about and he's given me a special inhaler that helps, but I've been more or less catching up on the indoor chores and projects around the inside of the house as opposed to spending a lot of time outdoors aggravating my cough/lungs.

One of the other things I've been doing is research. Lots and lots of research.

And a little shopping, too.

Mugen MR5 Valve Stem

Some of the research I've been doing is with regards to my just in case parts list. I started with Mugen MR5 wheels and their replacement valve stems. Apparently they are a special size and I'm having difficulty finding out with certainty exactly WHAT that size is, and where replacements can be purchased. A company on eBay, which seems to have gone out of business, called Wheel Choice had some for sale at auction and I saved the specs but I don't know if they are correct. Apparently, Wheel Choice is no longer in business or have changed their name, so for now I've ordered a sample genuine Mugen MR5 valve stem from an online supplier and will see what I can find once it arrives.

Looking for this bracket for Mugen PRO.2 Bumper

I've also been researching the front bumper brackets for the Mugen front bumper. Yes, yes, I know that I have a VIS replica, but I'd like to find the proper mounting brackets or even a sample - hell, even the measurements would do - to have replicated so that the bumper is mounted properly. Then when an original Mugen bumper comes available, I don't have to worry about whether or not it comes with the brackets, as so many of them don't nowadays. One of the big reasons I haven't made the VIS install more of a priority is because of my current suspension...


My current set up the New SR Special (by KYB) lowering springs on matching struts that came with the car. They're old and worn, the CR-X sits too low; the front tires rub on the fenders and the ride is so horrible and jarring it takes a bit of the fun out of driving the car, to tell the truth. I'd been planning on replacing them with the Tein Super Street set up from Japan (GSH08-B1SS3) but since I wasn't driving the car on a regular basis, it had dropped down the priority list. With the full-time insurance on the CR-X in effect, it was time to start getting pricing and make the purchase.

Turns out, the Super Street suspension has been discontinued by Tein in Japan, and so it was time to go back to the drawing board. Tein USA still makes a Super Street coilover set for the CRX but it would necessitate changing my rear lower control arms to the fork-style. Not a big deal since I have a set for just such an occasion, but the spring rates are a little stiffer than I wanted as well.

Tein Street Advance for EF8/9 - Japan Only Parts

After some research into it, I settled on the newer Street Advance set up. A bit softer spring rate, designed for the EF8.9 with the eyelet for the rear struts and a cheaper MSRP. For a bit of fun, I even programmed my EF8 in GT6 with the Street Advance and USDM SuperStreet specs just to see if I could feel any difference. (I didn't, the car handled like a bag of crap with either set up LOL) The big downside: Tein USA doesn't list the Street Advance for the CR-X or North American CRX on their site. I contacted the authorized Tein distributor in my area and  received some news that I'd kinda expected after my first attempt at pricing these out - I was told that Tein USA will not bring in Japanese/Euro-only spec pieces, even if the car is legitimately that model and in the country. This left me with trying to source a set online via eBay or sources in Japan/Europe.

Suspension Arrived From Japan

Searches on eBay led to a couple sellers in the UK whose prices were reasonable and whose feedback was good, however both only shipped via courier to Canada. This often incurs extra charges in the form of "brokerage fees" (often up to 50% of the declared value), which I rarely pay when I receive goods shipped via Postal Services like USPS or EMS via Japan Post.




Because of this, I decided it would be best to try and order via Japan. I started hunting for a good price for the suspension as the prices seemed to vary depending on distributor. I found myself at a disadvantage not only with the language but with trying to discern the more reputable shops from the rest. And then I found it... I don't know why I never thought to check there in the first place. It made all the sense in the world once I'd found it. www.amazon.co.jp  It had everything I needed: they're reputable, they offered free shipping within Japan, the price was amazing (just over 60,000Y), and they had stock.

Purchased New Top Hats And Hardware From Honda

Once again, this led me to routejp, a contact I'd made via this blog and who I'd seen around the Honda boards/forums over the years. I asked if he'd be willing to receive the package from Amazon Japan and ship it to me in Canada. We negotiated his fees and roughed out the shipping price via EMS and he agreed. So I went ahead and placed the order.

Fully Assembled With New Hardware

With the suspension now safe and sound in my garage, I realized I had enough left over to buy something else for the car this year. But what? I went back to researching some of the parts I'd wanted for a while and finally settled on an exhaust set up that was a reasonable price, that didn't sound like a reject from the Fast and the Furious but most-importantly not discontinued (a lot of the ones I'd been looking at in the past are now discontinued). So, after some more research and once the decision was made, back to Amazon I went. Sure enough, I found that amazon.ca actually sells the Tanabe Medalion Touring cat-back exhaust system. With the free shipping and despite having to pay GST (sales tax), it was $250 (plus the tax) cheaper than a quote I'd received locally. Total bill rang in at $816 Cdn. I'd have to wait for it, since they didn't have stock, but I'm ok with that since it was so early enough in the season when I ordered it. It's scheduled to arrive May 5th.

Tanabe Medalion Touring cat-back exhaust system T70026

Tanabe Medalion Touring Exhaust - Well Packed!

 

Now that the exhaust is here - arrived May 4th after being on order since March - the final piece to the puzzle is the shifter bushings from Mugen. Since the mid-pipe will need to removed anyways, that seems like the logical time to replace the shifter for the C's short throw and install the new shifter bushings.

Image from King Motorsports site

Remember, this blog was written in chronological order so, you will need to click OLDER POSTS to move forward in time, and click NEWER POSTS to go backwards.