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CRX Drop Shocks! Here's a neat little trick that a few people know about- using 89 Accord shocks on the front end of a CRX. If any of you out there have driven your 2nd generation CRX very hard- especially if you're lowered- you know that the front end likes to bottom out. The CRX bottoms out on the shock body, not the ground. Shortening the length of the shock body and shaft will allow you to regain some suspension travel. The 89 Accord shocks are perfect to use on a lowered CRX. The shock is shorter in body and shaft, so you regain some suspension travel. The spring perch, shaft thread, and fork mount are the same size as the CRX shock. There are a few problems though... You won't gain any extra suspension travel unless you go with a longer spring, and there's a little tab that you'll need to cut (look at pictures). The ride height problem can be solved with a set of adjustable height springs like Ground Controls (which most of you have anyway), and the tab can be cut with a small cutoff wheel. Oh yeah- you probably won't be able to run at the stock ride height anymore, but if you need to do something like this, you're not running stock suspension anyway. I'll get the part numbers for the KYB GR-2 Accord shocks later. By the way, I'm selling mine- so if anyone wants to pick up the Accord shocks for $100 shipped, email me. The shocks are new- I didn't install them before the engine blew for the last time, so they've only been out of the box for these pictures. The pictures should explain the rest. Accord shock on the left, CRX on the right:  Overall length comparison: the bottoms are even, and the overall length difference is about 1.5 inches.  This is just a closer view of the previous picture, since you can't really see the marks on the measuring tape.  You can see the tab/key that positions the shock in the fork. The Accord shock on the left has a larger tab that must be cut down to the same width as the CRX shock's tab shown on the right. Remove half the tab's width and you'll probably be fine.  Perches even, bottom half comparison: the bottom ends are about 0.5 inches apart. You can see that they're the same width- the Accord shock will fit right into the CRX's fork. I tried it, so I'm sure. Sorry, no picture of the fork fit.  Perches even, top shock body comparison: you have about one more inch of travel before you hit the shock body, assuming you maintain your same ride height. Since the shock travels less distance than your wheel (closer to LCA pivot point), you actually gain more than 1 inch of travel at the wheel.  Perches even, shaft length comparison: about one inch at the thread base.  Update: It's been pointed out to me that you could cut the center portion of the top mount off and add a piece of pipe on top, then weld the top section back on to effectively create a higher mount point for your shock. Ground Control has a pre-made application that looks like this:  Something like that would be very effective if you had access to a welder, but I personally don't think it's as safe as running a shorter shock. If your welds break, your shock will run through the mount and hit the hood. There might also be clearance issues between the modified taller top mount and the underside of the hood. Last update: 2004-05-28 |