Weirdo 2025 Type R Noob wants to INCREASE ground clearance. He clearly needs help.

[FL5HondaGuy]

FL5HondaGuy, this looks nice...ish.
Is this stock suspension or lowered?

It is lowered on H&R springs(one of the mildest drops) and with the taller 35 profile of the Pilot Sport 4 AS it creates a look that is lower without drastically changing suspension geometry like other more aggressive springs will do (Swift etc.). I wanted a subtle change in the car while maintaining its stock drive ability/personality. I also didn't want to commit to paying $4k for forged rims yet. Car is much more forgiving over gnarly roads and is still responsive. I love the look of the stock wheels because I find that unless you are lowered 18's simply look weird and small. Good luck with your build.

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[Sporky McGeuschky]

It is lowered on H&R springs(one of the mildest drops) and with the taller 35 profile of the Pilot Sport 4 AS it creates a look that is lower without drastically changing suspension geometry like other more aggressive springs will do (Swift etc.). I wanted a subtle change in the car while maintaining its stock drive ability/personality. I also didn't want to commit to paying $4k for forged rims yet. Car is much more forgiving over gnarly roads and is still responsive. I love the look of the stock wheels because I find that unless you are lowered 18's simply look weird and small. Good luck with your build.

Man, I am clearly showing my age here.
I remember when 17" WAS low profile.
To me 17" is now reggie profile, and 18" is still kinda low profile... on a Civic, at least.
19" is full on rubber band tire, even on 265/35 R 19 tires.

Also, and this is less of me being a geezer and more of me just being practical:
The Type R IS already lowered and lowering it any furthur is slamming it.
A slightly lowered suspension, which the Type R has, can look good AND be practical and responsive. That includes having some wheel to fender gap.

A slammed suspension, on the other hand, just looks busted and ghetto.
Every time I see a super slammed car I grit my teeth and hope that the owner can afford to get it fixed soon.

Then I have to remind myself... "Oh wait, he did that on purpose".

That being said, FL5HondaGuy, your car looks a BIT slammed, but not SUPER slammed.
I (silently gritting my teeth) ... mean that as a compliment.

 

[Sporky McGeuschky]

255/40-18 on 18x9.5. 255 is just slightly stretched on a 9.5, so the steering response is fantastic and it feels like a narrower tire (no steering slop, if you know what I mean). Vagueness often comes from wide tires on too narrow rims, so this doesn't have that problem. The tire has a 9 mm greater radius, so the car is 0.35 inch or 9 mm higher off the ground and I can get in my driveway now without scraping.

Also in terms of outright grip in corners, wheel width often matters more than tire width, so you're not really giving up grip compared to 265. I have RE-71RS.

The ride won't get better with tires, well, at least not very noticeably. You need the Acura damper module for that.

Hi Yargk,
Just checked out that Bridgestone Potenza tire. It looks like a track tire to me. Pretty sweet lookin.
Do you have experience with these tires in the cold? Not freezing cold, but, say, 33 degrees F and above? How about the cold and rain at the same time?

Also... photos?

 

[FL5HondaGuy]

Man, I am clearly showing my age here.
I remember when 17" WAS low profile.
To me 17" is now reggie profile, and 18" is still kinda low profile... on a Civic, at least.
19" is full on rubber band tire, even on 265/35 R 19 tires.

Also, and this is less of me being a geezer and more of me just being practical:
The Type R IS already lowered and lowering it any furthur is slamming it.
A slightly lowered suspension, which the Type R has, can look good AND be practical and responsive. That includes having some wheel to fender gap.

A slammed suspension, on the other hand, just looks busted and ghetto.
Every time I see a super slammed car I grit my teeth and hope that the owner can afford to get it fixed soon.

Then I have to remind myself... "Oh wait, he did that on purpose".

That being said, FL5HondaGuy, your car looks a BIT slammed, but not SUPER slammed.
I (silently gritting my teeth) ... mean that as a compliment.

LOL. My car is far from slammed by todays standards (but thanks for the compliment- I think- lol ). To be clear though, I experience zero puckered balloon knot on any type of bump at all. In fact I find the drive to be more compliant as the fatter sidewall is more forgiving yet not too meaty to lose the sporty feel. The suspension and wheel set up def create the illusion it is dropped a lot more than it is as the H&R's (3/4 of inch with no bump stop trimming) coupled with the taller Pilots (+ .50 inch taller) gives me a visual drop of 1.25 ish. However, the car in reality is only dropped 3/4 of an inch suspension wise with the H&R's . When I set out I wanted a more aesthetically pleasing look with only subtle changes to the suspension while keeping the stock characteristics (why I bought the FL5 in the first place). To be clear I did not want a slammed car and all the issues that come with it. I experience no rub, no issues over speed bumps, zero-zilch-nada. I believe with this set up I achieved what I was looking for and hope you find your happy place to my guy. Happy Hunting !

 

[Robo7]

The FL5 is a big car, much bigger than civics were back when 16/17” tires were standard. 18” tires look too small IMO in proportion to the size of this car, but I totally get why a lot of people get them as they are lighter and cheaper. I can get behind anything that will improve performance as long as it is done to a performance car. That includes lowering the vehicle. Putting tiny wheels with massive tires on this car will kill what to me makes it special which is the incredible handling and responsiveness. I think you are in the minority on here with a desire to increase the ride height. Intentionally raising the center of gravity is definitely a choice! But at the end of the day it’s your car and you do what makes you happy.

 

[Sporky McGeuschky]

I gained almost an inch drop but in reality the H&R's only drop it less 3/4 of an inch and do not require any bump stop trimming and the fatter sidewall creates 1/2 an inch in height.

Full confession and I probably should have mentioned this in my original post:
My FL5 Type R is my first ever sports car and also my first ever low suspension car.

I never heard of "bump stop trimming" until I joined this forum. The very idea baffles the mind. Aren't the bump stops there for safety and protection for the car from bottoming out to the pavement?
I mean ACTUAL safety and ACTUAL protection?

Some people will never ceace to be ghetto.

 

[Sporky McGeuschky]

The FL5 is a big car, much bigger than civics were back when 16/17” tires were standard. 18” tires look too small IMO in proportion to the size of this car, but I totally get why a lot of people get them as they are lighter and cheaper. I can get behind anything that will improve performance as long as it is done to a performance car. That includes lowering the vehicle. Putting tiny wheels with massive tires on this car will kill what to me makes it special which is the incredible handling and responsiveness. I think you are in the minority on here with a desire to increase the ride height. Intentionally raising the center of gravity is definitely a choice! But at the end of the day it’s your car and you do what makes you happy.

Yup, that's why I started this thread, because I know I'm the geezer in the minority.
I'm not really a true geezer, yet.

Late 40s, so "Gen X Boomer" works for me.
Gen X is my age.
Boomer is my mentality.

So...
Lighter? Yes.
Stronger? Yes.
Cheaper? No.
Well, define "cheaper". "Cheaper" is relative.

Whaddya think I'm going to buy some Temu "Gram Lights at home" from Wish?
Did you not read my original post?

I haven't seen anything forged for under about US $550.00 a wheel. And that is on Black Hawk Japan.
At the extreme end of the scale, high end forged BBS wheels are going for over $1,200.00 a pop. Don't think I'll be buying BBS unless I can get the perfect wheels at a decent price.
I'd like to keep it under $800.00 a wheel or lower if possible for nice forged wheels.
I've only done a bit of window shopping as of yet because it's tax season and my priorites should be ...uhh, are elsewhere for now.

 

[Robo7]

Well, define "cheaper". "Cheaper" is relative.

I’m defining it as the exact wheel will be less expensive as an 18” than as a 19” wheel. Look at the Apex VS-5RS just as an example. 18” are $130 less per wheel vs. 19”. This is a popular wheel on this forum that is well within your stated budget BTW. Worth a look.

 

[Sporky McGeuschky]

I’m defining it as the exact wheel will be less expensive as an 18” than as a 19” wheel. Look at the Apex VS-5RS just as an example. 18” are $130 less per wheel vs. 19”. This is a popular wheel on this forum that is well within your stated budget BTW. Worth a look.

... Also, I was born at night.
I wasn't born last night.

Is this what y'all think about everyone from Texas?

The way I've been posting, I suppose I'm not making anything any better for any of us down here.

I can understand the confusion.

I can be a little slow, but I still got some fat cells left upstairs.
I do know that
"Moar metuhll equal Moar munny."

Cheers.

 

[Sporky McGeuschky]

Soo...

I pulled a couple of my custom wheels from my Wrangler JK and did a bit of a mockup, just to have a proper look-see.

Photos incoming.

 

[Sporky McGeuschky]

Here's the Jeep and the wheels.

 

[Sporky McGeuschky]

... and the mockup ...

 

[Sporky McGeuschky]

I'm thinking maybe a couple sizes down on the tires.

Lemme know what y'all think.

 

[Robo7]

I'm thinking maybe a couple sizes down on the tires.

Lemme know what y'all think.

I think you are on your own on this one.

 

[optronix]

Here's a thought- why don't you lean into what the Type R actually is rather than attempt to make it something it's not?

Being your first sports car, am I to assume that you haven't been on a race track before? Why not give it a shot? It's more than capable enough to handle your first few track sessions just as it is when it rolled off the assembly line. You're already tracking towards forged wheels; you might find out you're gonna want to slap some 200 TW tires on them instead of all-seasons.

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