[T.K]

What's up everyone! I'm a long time Honda owner who finally picked up a CRZ two days ago. My favorite car Honda ever made was the CRX, so naturally I wanted a CRZ when they were announced, but I was turned off when I found out they were hybrid. Fast forward almost 10 years and man I really wish I would've picked one up sooner, it honestly feels like a new age CRX to me, at least a USDM factory CRX, haha. I even feel like the 3 driving modes reflect the 3 trims of CRX that were available in the US: Econ=HF, Normal=DX, Sport=Si, but that's just my opinion.

The car it self is a completely bone stock 2011 Crystal Black Pearl EX 6MT, 1 owner with 168,5xx miles and was sold to me by a good friend of mine for $1500.

The site won't let me link my photos as this if my first post so check my next comment on the thread.

The car seems solid outside of it needing new front rotors and a new wheel bearing, from what I can tell so far. It's ridiculously dirty though, as it basically sat in my buddy's yard after he got a new car, but I should be dropping it off for a professional detail tomorrow. I'd usually do it myself, but I don't have a sander, buffer, shampoo-er or a steam cleaner and this thing needs the works!

Short term plans are the full mugen lip kit, along with the wing and grill, coilovers, wheels/tires, intake, header/front pipe/midpipe, exhaust and flashpro. Long term plans include a kswap and the rexxstyling stealth v2 wide body, but I'm still finishing up my GSR turbo build on my CRX so that's gonna take priority on larger purchases for awhile.

Things I've ordered so far:
-OEM Armrest
-OEM Cargo Tray - the car already has the OEM all weather floor mats so I wanted the cargo tray to match.
-Replacement key housings that convert the key to a flip out key. - Both keys that came with the car are functional, but physically damaged.
-LED bulbs for the interior lights(dome, cargo, courtesy etc)
-iJDMTOY LED rear bumper lights.
-2011 Civic eBay yellow fogs to replace both my broken ones
-New FRAM cabin air filter

I also tried putting the broadway mirror I use in my RL into the CRZ and it's a little too tall(hits the headliner), causing it to point too far down. I looked into other mirror alternatives and am thinking I'm going to install a 13+ rear view that has the video input, so I can put in a backup camera. On the subject of mirrors, I know the T1R side view mirrors were the de-facto product to fix the blind spot issue, but seeing as how these are discontinued, are there other convex mirrors that function similarly?

That's about all I have for now!

 

[T.K]

I'm very tempted to pick up these 17x8 Drag DR31's on CL, as I think they would look great on the CRZ, but I'm still thinking about it.

 

[96firephoenix]

those would look really good on the CRZ.

If you need to do the front brakes, go ahead and bump up to the RSX-S brakes

RSX Type-S BRAKE SWAP DIY WRITE-UP

Did this brake swap last weekend and took some pics and a ton of people were asking questions about what and how...so here's the run down of what to do.. List to buy: Search any rotor you want that fits RSX Type-S (I went with slotted AND drilled rust resistant) Find RSX Type-S brackets (make...

www.crzforum.com

Also, if it's a rear bearing you need, Timken bearings are the OEM parts supplier at about half the price as the dealer.

 

[T.K]

those would look really good on the CRZ.

If you need to do the front brakes, go ahead and bump up to the RSX-S brakes

RSX Type-S BRAKE SWAP DIY WRITE-UP

Did this brake swap last weekend and took some pics and a ton of people were asking questions about what and how...so here's the run down of what to do.. List to buy: Search any rotor you want that fits RSX Type-S (I went with slotted AND drilled rust resistant) Find RSX Type-S brackets (make...

www.crzforum.com

Also, if it's a rear bearing you need, Timken bearings are the OEM parts supplier at about half the price as the dealer.

Thanks for the info!

I saw the RSX-S brake swap info when I was researching the CRZ, and I definitely plan on upgrading to those in the future. I pulled the trigger on a set of drilled/slotted rotors for the CRZ along with ceramic pads about an hour ago though. I figured those will be fine for foreseeable future while I'm still rocking the L15.

I'm not 100% sure it's the wheel bearing, but it definitely sounds like one. I plan on inspecting all 4 corners this weekend to better isolate what the issue is.

 

[litz]

Nice find, and good luck with the mods. I bought one of the first CRX's in '84 and had it until the mid/late '90s--it was a blast, and the CR-Z has brought back that same feeling. Oh, oh, you need to post some pics of your CRX, pleeeeeaaaasssseee!

I have the 2013 CR-Z, and in that year, the added wider side view mirrors on the US models. I have no blind spot issues (side view mirrors adjusted OUT as far as possible/necessary.) So, if you search the junk yards for a totaled 2013+ CR-Z with CBP side view mirrors, maybe they'll be a good upgrade for your blind spots, but really, adjust those sides out as far as you can--it took me a while before I could trust the mirror views, but I don't actually know how bad it is on the 2011-2012 models.

Nice start of a build thread.

 

[96firephoenix]

I have the 2013 CR-Z, and in that year, the added wider side view mirrors on the US models. I have no blind spot issues (side view mirrors adjusted OUT as far as possible/necessary.) So, if you search the junk yards for a totaled 2013+ CR-Z with CBP side view mirrors, maybe they'll be a good upgrade for your blind spots, but really, adjust those sides out as far as you can--it took me a while before I could trust the mirror views, but I don't actually know how bad it is on the 2011-2012 models.

I don't have issues with the 2011, but I'm on the lookout for 2013+ mirrors for the added visibility.

 

[T.K]

Nice find, and good luck with the mods. I bought one of the first CRX's in '84 and had it until the mid/late '90s--it was a blast, and the CR-Z has brought back that same feeling. Oh, oh, you need to post some pics of your CRX, pleeeeeaaaasssseee!

I have the 2013 CR-Z, and in that year, the added wider side view mirrors on the US models. I have no blind spot issues (side view mirrors adjusted OUT as far as possible/necessary.) So, if you search the junk yards for a totaled 2013+ CR-Z with CBP side view mirrors, maybe they'll be a good upgrade for your blind spots, but really, adjust those sides out as far as you can--it took me a while before I could trust the mirror views, but I don't actually know how bad it is on the 2011-2012 models.

Nice start of a build thread.

Haha, glad there are other CRX lovers around here!

Here's a couple of mine.

The CRX is still back in Austin, I relocated to Northern Virginia October of last year and decided to leave it there until the current build it done.

I'll have to see if I can find some 13+ mirrors. Is swapping the entire mirror assembly necessary, or can we just swap out the glass?

Went to drop the car off to get detailed this morning but they were booked up so that's been rescheduled for Friday morning.

I also contacted the seller of those Drag wheels and found out they're +47, from what i've read that's not gonna work, especially when I go to lower the car. So i'm back to looking for other wheel alternatives. In the meantime I'm debating powder coating my stock wheels, but we'll see.

 

[litz]

You'll have to get the whole assembly for the mirror swap, for sure. Nice CRX! I don't have mine anymore, sorry to say, but I do have a couple of old pics in the garage that I still have around as a reminder...

 

[T.K]

You'll have to get the whole assembly for the mirror swap, for sure. Nice CRX! I don't have mine anymore, sorry to say, but I do have a couple of old pics in the garage that I still have around as a reminder...

That's awesome, and that CRX looks nice! I've never seen one in white before. I was actually looking for a first gen awhile back, but all the ones I found were ragged to hell or had major body damage.

Took some decent pics after work today, check out how dirty the door panels and seats are!

 

[litz]

That's awesome, and that CRX looks nice! I've never seen one in white before. I was actually looking for a first gen awhile back, but all the ones I found were ragged to hell or had major body damage.

Took some decent pics after work today, check out how dirty the door panels and seats are!...

Thanks! A friend of mine from the neighborhood, had a bodyshop, and did excellent work--he did the lower sills, bumpers, and wheels in OEM white. I actually sold that CRX to his Nephew, with the agreement that if he ever sells it, let me know--I'll buy it back. ...Uh, you know how that turns out. He sold it to a racing buddy in Canada, and it got rolled shortly thereafter. Sigh Yep. The ones you find now are ragged as hell, but I've seen a few that I considered bringing back to life--never know...

Yeah, you'll have give the 'ol CR-Z some TLC. Takes time, but the 2011-2012's have that gray interior that really shows the dirt. My 1st gen Insight had the same type of seat material, and every seven years or so, I'd remove the interior and give it a thorough cleaning, including removing the seat fabric from the seats and toss them in the washer/dryer--it was amazing how everything looked brighter and cleaner. About the best thing for those door cards, is to just spray it with fabric cleaner/foam and blot it dry with a white towel for the major league grime you've got going there. (Or find someone who likes cleaning interiors. )

 

[T.K]

Thanks! A friend of mine from the neighborhood, had a bodyshop, and did excellent work--he did the lower sills, bumpers, and wheels in OEM white. I actually sold that CRX to his Nephew, with the agreement that if he ever sells it, let me know--I'll buy it back. ...Uh, you know how that turns out. He sold it to a racing buddy in Canada, and it got rolled shortly thereafter. Sigh Yep. The ones you find now are ragged as hell, but I've seen a few that I considered bringing back to life--never know...

Yeah, you'll have give the 'ol CR-Z some TLC. Takes time, but the 2011-2012's have that gray interior that really shows the dirt. My 1st gen Insight had the same type of seat material, and every seven years or so, I'd remove the interior and give it a thorough cleaning, including removing the seat fabric from the seats and toss them in the washer/dryer--it was amazing how everything looked brighter and cleaner. About the best thing for those door cards, is to just spray it with fabric cleaner/foam and blot it dry with a white towel for the major league grime you've got going there. (Or find someone who likes cleaning interiors. )

Haha, I totally know how that goes. I have sold two cars in the past couple years, one to a friend and one to a family member, with the same stipulation of "I get first dibs if you end up selling it", but we'll see how that plays out.

The CRZ definitely needs some TLC. I've actually scheduled to have it detailed on Friday, I'm hoping they can get all the stains and dirt out. If not I'll give it a go myself, or probably get some Clazzio covers until I can source replacement seats or fabric.

 

[T.K]

I received my flip out keys tonight and decided to swap out the most damaged one first, as I still need one key to drive it.

The swap isn't that difficult, hardest part was getting the transponder off of the pcb. Everything other than that is pretty straight forward.

If anyone's interested in purchasing these, here's the LINK.

For anyone concerned about the reviews stating that the transponder is too far away from the key to function, i'm 99% sure those people left the transponder chip mounted to PCB, which would make it too far away to be read by the ignition. You have to remove the transponder(I had to use a razor blade) from the pcb and place it in the designated spot up by the key itself.

I'm getting them cut tomorrow so i'll let y'all know how it goes.

I can also do a DIY of my next key, if necessary.

 

[T.K]

Quick update on the keys. I went and got both cut today and they work great!

Now about the transponders. Turns out you're not supposed to remove the transponder from the crz keys pcb, maybe you can remove them on other Hondas like the sellers instructions depict.

So I essentially broke one my keys by popping it off(way to measure once and cut twice amirite). You can just swap the pcb with transponder and buttons intact, to the replacement case and I'll work.

You live and you learn, haha. If it helps someone else not make the same mistake it's worth it.

Got my rotors and pads in today, just waiting on the steel braided bake lines to get here so I can install everything.

Also finally dropping it off in the morning to get detailed!

 

[litz]

It'll seem like a brand new car, once it gets professionally detailed. Now, if I can find someone to trust to do mine....

I got a set of braided brake lines recently, but have been working on other little mods first. Lets see who actually gets theirs installed first--don't think I'll bet on myself, seeing your motivation level is a bit higher than mine at the moment.

 

[T.K]

It'll seem like a brand new car, once it gets professionally detailed. Now, if I can find someone to trust to do mine....

I got a set of braided brake lines recently, but have been working on other little mods first. Lets see who actually gets theirs installed first--don't think I'll bet on myself, seeing your motivation level is a bit higher than mine at the moment.

I know and I can't wait! I usually detail a car right after I get it but I realized this one needed serious help.

I'm super motivated with this car. I think the last time I was this motivated was when I got my RSX back in 2008, owned that car for 10 years before I sold it. So many mods, so many meets, so many memories. I'm hoping to get back in the game with the crz.

After the brakes are installed in debating between ordering my short shifter and shifter bushings, or ordering the mugen body parts. Definetly form vs function as I love short shifters and that hybrid racing setup looks amazing. But the mugen parts would make the car stand out, we'll see how I feel next week.

 

[litz]

Oh, that Hybrid Racing short shifter is tight--great upgrade! I have a few Mugen parts on my CR-Z as well, but if you're even thinking of buying Mugen, don't cheap-out and buy something else that's close but cheaper--you'll end up getting Mugen later on down the road, so money spent on cheap parts costs you more in the end.

And, if you live close enough to the Tail of the Dragon (the border of Tennessee & North Carolina,) a dozen or two of us CR-Z folks go there in late July of every Summer to meet up--same weekend as the Integra crew goes there too. It'd be great if you could make it.

 

[T.K]

Oh, that Hybrid Racing short shifter is tight--great upgrade! I have a few Mugen parts on my CR-Z as well, but if you're even thinking of buying Mugen, don't cheap-out and buy something else that's close but cheaper--you'll end up getting Mugen later on down the road, so money spent on cheap parts costs you more in the end.

And, if you live close enough to the Tail of the Dragon (the border of Tennessee & North Carolina,) a dozen or two of us CR-Z folks go there in late July of every Summer to meet up--same weekend as the Integra crew goes there too. It'd be great if you could make it.

I had planned on buying BaysonR parts based on reviews. Is the aftermarket fitment really that bad? If so, is there a consistent vendor for authentic parts? I have authentic parts on my crx that were only accessible after making friends with international contacts via forums, so I'm all for networking.

That meet up sounds like exactly what I'd be interested in. I currently live in Herndon, VA, so the drives not unfathomable. My gf has friends in Tennessee so I may be able to swing this as a dual purpose trip, haha. Would love to come hang out and cruise with y'all, hopefully I can make that happen!

 

[litz]

July 23rd-27th are the dates for 2020 Tail of the Dragon, but the biggest days--most people showing up--on the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Bon fire/party at Fontana Inn's Park on Friday & Saturday evenings (most people stay at the cabins there. Always possible to have someone with extra bed/couch in their cabins for those who need a place to stay (and didn't get anything set up in time.) Last year, we did a reprise of Friday night "drukin' kickball" at the at the ball field and early Saturday morning is the usual time for all CR-Z's to gather at the bottom of the dam for photo/video shoots....

I don't have much experience with BaysonR parts, so I'm not the best reviewer of them, but I do prefer anything with Honda, Mugen, or Spoon, as name brands, but you pay a bit more for them, otherwise, I'd recommend anything from Hasport or Hybrid Racing for sure, but my main source--and wish list--always starts with kamispeed or king motorsports.

Honda CR-Z Performance Auto Parts | KamiSpeed.com

Get your Honda CR-Z race ready with our aftermarket performance parts today. We also stock cosmetic supplies to keep your ride looking at its best.

www.kamispeed.com

King Motorsports Unlimited, Inc. - CR-Z

CR-Z

www.kingmotorsports.com

The best networking, and ideas for mods, comes from chatting with the group of CR-Z owners at the Dragon Meet, so if you aren't in any hurry to put all the mods on before Summer hits, it's better to see them on the (other) cars and talk to the owners. Better yet, scroll through the DIY section on the forum to get tips and ideas of mods that take a little bit of fabricating of the OEM parts (ITEM9 isn't on the forum as much lately, but he has some excellent DIY's--he'll be at the Dragon too, if you want to pick his brain.)

 

[T.K]

July 23rd-27th are the dates for 2020 Tail of the Dragon, but the biggest days--most people showing up--on the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Bon fire/party at Fontana Inn's Park on Friday & Saturday evenings (most people stay at the cabins there. Always possible to have someone with extra bed/couch in their cabins for those who need a place to stay (and didn't get anything set up in time.) Last year, we did a reprise of Friday night "drukin' kickball" at the at the ball field and early Saturday morning is the usual time for all CR-Z's to gather at the bottom of the dam for photo/video shoots....

I don't have much experience with BaysonR parts, so I'm not the best reviewer of them, but I do prefer anything with Honda, Mugen, or Spoon, as name brands, but you pay a bit more for them, otherwise, I'd recommend anything from Hasport or Hybrid Racing for sure, but my main source--and wish list--always starts with kamispeed or king motorsports.

Honda CR-Z Performance Auto Parts | KamiSpeed.com

Get your Honda CR-Z race ready with our aftermarket performance parts today. We also stock cosmetic supplies to keep your ride looking at its best.

www.kamispeed.com

King Motorsports Unlimited, Inc. - CR-Z

CR-Z

www.kingmotorsports.com

The best networking, and ideas for mods, comes from chatting with the group of CR-Z owners at the Dragon Meet, so if you aren't in any hurry to put all the mods on before Summer hits, it's better to see them on the (other) cars and talk to the owners. Better yet, scroll through the DIY section on the forum to get tips and ideas of mods that take a little bit of fabricating of the OEM parts (ITEM9 isn't on the forum as much lately, but he has some excellent DIY's--he'll be at the Dragon too, if you want to pick his brain.)

Thanks for all the info! Hopefully I can make it out.

I've been on Kamispeed but don't really look at Kings Motorsports, I'll check them both out to see what all they offer for the CRZ.

I skimmed through all 13 pages of the DIY's last night and there's definitely some cool stuff in there, especially ITEM9's posts on the power folding/tilting side mirrors, as well as how to buy parts from the japan centric websites.

Got the CRZ back from the detailer yesterday evening and I think they did an amazing job with the car. The paint looks to be in great condition, except for the roof(faded clear coat) and the hood(scratches and paint chips), and they were able to get pretty much all the stains out of the door panels and seats.

I also installed a new a cabin air filter, the old one was NASTY!

Threw in my interior and license plate LED's.

And lastly, installed a new steering wheel emblem.

 

[litz]

CBP looks great after a proper buff & shine! Cabin filter pic reminds me to check mine, haha.