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43K views 128 replies 28 participants last post by  cursh 
#1 ·
I've become more comfortable with the Element and have started doing some things that I haven't seen on here before: I figure that I should put together my own build thread to consolidate the new things and give them a better place to live than on the "what did you do to your element today" monster thread that has over 1,000 replies (which is awesome.)

I've done a ton of the mods previous posters have pioneered and those mods have informed everything that I've done here. You can find those in my signature below...
 
#91 ·
#93 ·
Santa brought me a metro harness for my steering wheel controls, so I’m going to install the fog lights and pilot leather steering wheel at the same time. ?

I’ve got the 08 stalk fog switch and yellow OEM fogs that I’ve been sitting on for too long. I’ll post pics when it all gets installed. Not a bad 2018 ?
 
#94 · (Edited)
I ran out of light while trying to figure out the wiring to adapt the fog lights into the pilot fog light switch on the turn signal stalk.

If it all wires up right (fingers crossed) I’ll share the pin outs.
 

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#95 ·
View attachment 193097 printed out some fog covers. Took a few shots to get something that got right so I used green for he first two prototypes.

They friction fit well enough that the first black one is still just in place. When I get a matching pair out I’ll screw them into the bumper.
 

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#96 · (Edited)
General photos of the rig as she sits.

I’ve got a wild hare to adapt some YJ armor into element side steps.

I should be spending that money on shocks ?
 

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#99 ·
and there are a lot of 2003-2006 e's out there, way more than the 2007+
That’s a fact. I just noticed that Honda discontinued the 07/08 grill. I picked one up online for cheap but my local dealership wanted $75 for their one remaining ($55 MSRP)

That should wrap up my ele face lift.
 
#98 ·
I was thinking that might be handy for the intermittent wipers too. Just save folks the fear of solder.

I basically figured everything out today. The pin outs were right, but the fog light harness has a short in it. It might explain why the PO had an extra set (customer service:”don’t bother mailing back the broken pair. We’ll mail you another.” Maybe I bought the broke one)

Anyway. It’s down to the two wires between the actual fogs. I can’t imagine i won’t be able to trace it once I pull the bumper. The winjet kit can be left on without the key on, which is lame , so I tied the relay switch into a switched fuse. I’ll add that to the write up once I can track down and fix the short.
 
#100 ·
Found this the other day.

It's a photoshop I was making when trying to find some decent 80s buzzsaw wheels on craigslist. I want to say it was 2014. I also had a silver E back then.

The fog lights over Christmas put us past this former dream =P
 

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#101 ·
Grill installed and fogs fixed (well I shattered one)

What should I do about that black vs the lighter 2005 panels? I’m very much against dark panels on the khaki for some reason (and the thousands of dollars in parts.)
 

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#102 ·
Plasti-dip the black parts in a charcoal color, maybe?
 
#104 ·
Hey checking your sweet element and checking your wheels I was wondering if you used any wheel spacers?? I have yokahama geolanders 225/75 r16 I want to use but with stock rims it seems to hit the struts that is what the mechanic said.. the rims that came on my element may not be oem,

I do have 1.5 lift kit on the front any way any info would be sweet, your car is sweet and you look like you have figured it all out!! Cheers Rory Belter Rossland
 
#105 ·
Thanks Rory! You flatter me.

Sorry I missed this. The wheels I’m using are et6 as opposed to et45 or et50 for factory (can’t remember.) that’s essentially a 1.5” wheel spacer. If I could do it again (had time to toss these wheels on a mill) I’d take a quarter to half inch off the back face of the wheel (assuming I can) to get closer to et20. I think that would be a sweet spot for tire clearance.

Maybe could rock a decent sized 31x9 ¯\(ツ)/¯ I’d want more power first (4at blows with my 225/75AT tires.)
 
#107 · (Edited)
I like it. I do have the file.

I can shoot it your way when you are ready.
 
#108 · (Edited)
I replaced 3/4 of my motor mounts. The rear tranny Mount is still OG, but I’ve got new rubbers in the other three. Two were completely thrashed. She drives like a new car now. (Minus the axle wobble and some slight disk break warping. Life is a journey. (I’m gonna ride it all night long)

I also got ambitious with the vinyl cutter at work

204109
I’ve got a crack in one of my hankooks. arizona isn’t kind to rubber or batteries.
The tires lasted ~ 45,000 and 4.5 years. There is definitely more tread left. I think we woulda gotten 55,000 out of them with shaded parking or a kinder climate.

ive got the cooper discoverers on order in 225/75r16. They have the 104t load rating that keeps weight down. These ones are 30lbs ea. I was originally looking at a size up (because I’m a masochist) but that was going to to add 3-5lbs per wheel and I don’t want to sap the limited power or deal with Jeep Wrangler MPG

Hoping for another hard 50,000 Out of this pair.

on the to do list looking forward:
Off road Steering dampener
Add spacers to front axles. (Supposed to fix acceleration wobble)

bad Craft Motors offerings in the pipeline:
We’re working on a bilstein/ custom spring combo that can be ordered to off road (softer) heavy duty (stiffer) or factory at + 1, +1.5, +2“ lift. We will be doing them as one offs which makes them as customizable as possible.

We’re set up to start pulling bumper trim in our own shop so the price of the unobtainium trim we are remanufacturing is going down to Honda’s original price ($225)

we will offer the rear spacer kit I’ve been running for 2 years now to ease the rear geometry with a lift.

I am chomping at the bit to bend up some side armor / steps to hide that fuel tank and make an aero piece to streamline the whole tank guard bs

stretch goals: rear bumper trim to match the front & a rotopax Mount rear window replacement.

Cheers
 
#109 ·
will these new offerings be on the website. Right now I see there arent many items, so I will keep following the site for updates to products. Interested in the offroad steering dampener, and the front spacers. is the offroad steering dampener something youre fabbing or an offering i can look into? I have the acceleration wobble too. I thought that was bad CV's, is it not?
 
#110 ·
will these new offerings be on the website. Right now I see there arent many items, so I will keep following the site for updates to products. [\QUOTE]
I THINK that the steering wobble is a poorly manufactured CV axle being put out of its own ideal range. When you lift the element the axle has to “stretch” itself a little bit to make up the difference. That moves the assembly apart in a way that makes an out of balance axle more obvious.

the spacer is a large fender washer that is installed between the axle face and the hub face. Effectively it lengthens your axle by 1/8”. Looking at the axle nut, I’ve easily got 1/8” Of unused thread so it should work. I’d like to try it first on my E.
The dampener is a universal strut from Bilstien, but you currently have to fab up a custom mount for the element. I’ve been poking around in that area and shouldn’t have trouble manufacturing a no weld mount for us that bolts on and can be reversed/removed. that may be more of a fall offering, but 🤞🏼
 
#111 ·
Looks like I got exactly 50,000 and 4 years out of those hankooks. I coulda gotten another 5-10 in tread, the AZ sun just torched them.

the CooperDiscoverer AT3s are QUIET. Dunno if the hankooks started out loud or just got louder when they wore down. ¯\(ツ)
 
#112 ·
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#115 · (Edited)
I'm almost certain that the acceleration wobble is that the axle is a smidge too short. I believe the aftermarket axles are 2-3mm shorter which makes the difference in feeling the wobble vs not feeling the wobble. When we lift the element we are asking the axles to travel a longer distance on average.

I saw that folks were sandwiching a fender washer between their axle and hub to reduce the wobble. The physics of that solution works out in my mind. At the moment the biggest wobble we're dealing with is warped rotors.


We got got last week in Oakland. My "weld a steel bar to it." method met it's match and it was probably a sawmill.
Gas Rim Tints and shades Automotive wheel system Wood
Wheel Tire Automotive tire Automotive lighting Motor vehicle
Tire Wheel Car Automotive tire Vehicle

I had the shop replace everything from the cut-back with 2.25" pipe. I told him I wanted it about as quiet as stock and they did a really good job of keeping with that. So far I'm waiting for the ECU to reset to see what happens to my MPG or pep.

 
#117 ·
Thank you! I've really grown to like it as well and it feels peppier (maybe that's just the sound playing tricks on me) after resetting the ECU (it looks like the easiest way was to pull a few fuses for a few seconds)

The hits just kept on coming though!

about a month ago we left on our summer cross country road trip.

At the first refuel in Tucson, we drove over a filler spout and our axle got caught on our hastily fabricated rear spring mount for the Bilstien struts. It bent the axle enough that the whole back of the car vibrated like hell (OEM axle. rest in pieces) We made it to Dallas for the night and got it fixed in the morning.

The next day we lose our water pump shaft and blow the engine. I just didn't catch that the accessories were out until it was too late. We were just humming along going 70 over rolling hills and the engine got hot.

The car ran, so we take it to a shop and they throw a water pump in it. $$ it runs when they test drive it, but when I pick it up its gargling and running weak. Take it back to the shop and the cylinders are pressurizing the water system. Shop says it may be a head, but they won't touch it because no one local will machine warped heads and they don't want the disappointment of someone spending another grand to have a still broken 16 year old Honda.

They are surprised when I tell them to price an engine swap. (which leads me to look up my other options.)

Long story short(er) we end up getting an engine importer in Atlanta to toss a low mileage CRV engine in it and send us on our way (70k non verified, but fawk it. It's pulling stronger than the 235k mile engine we blew up.)

So now Miss Fitz is a little bit more Japanese than she used to be and leveraged all of our summer money before we even got half way across the country.
210805


Lucky for us we've got a network of deeply generous friends and followers who respond to our request for help by covering all of our car repairs for the trip in under 24 hours. If you'd like a more long form read of this experience, check out the (completely funded) GoFundMe here

So now, we're in VA for a bit working on our drive back to AZ. We had to close our shop badcraftmotors.com because I was trying to force it into being what paid our bills and it just isn't yet. We've got a new website in the works (done, but the developer needs us to go over everything before he presses go and we haven't had the time with all this mess to look at it yet.)

The change is that I'll use the site to launch our limited production runs of OEM style parts and offer a few merch items that will help me pay for further development. I've got a LONG list, but it doesn't move forward without a few weeks of thinking and doing time and enough money to buy the materials or hire local small businesses to manufacture things for us.

On the back burner in no particular order:

Rock Armor/Side steps. (my buddy got a CNC tube bender so fawk everything right?!)
Full Roof Rack (👆🏼 right?)
iRoc-Z style rear window visors
rear bumper insert cover (with work light/backup light integration option)
laser cut windshield sun visor with the option to customize the graphic.
pliable OEM look lower door trim (door pillows bro)
integrated work-light roof rack fairing
add a battery, battery mount (house and start you animals)
full spring lift with off-road shocks (off road/stock/heavy loads as spring rates)
Cat Security Scare Light (with camera option) (under car strobe to scare cats out from under your car . . . or folks who like to steal cats)
electric conversion
2020 facelift headlights (I want to play with ELpanels and it looks like the affordability is there.)
OEM replica lower seat covers

I'm probably forgetting a few things, but you get the picture.

Not enough time; not enough money; plenty of know how and tools to make it all happen.
 
#118 · (Edited)
@cursh I love your stickers. Can you tell me more about the following:
  • Those rad fog lights + covers
  • Cat Security Scare Light (with camera option) (under car strobe to scare cats out from under your car . . . or folks who like to steal cats) electric conversion

I have a Cat Security shield on my Prius, but the strobe sounds like a lower impact modification. I need it soon for the Element because the catalytic converter has been attempted stolen from my Prius multiple times where I live; the shield has stopped them.

Update to all of this: n/m I realized there's 6 pages to this thread! Reading back...
 
#119 ·
@cursh I love your stickers.
Thank you! Phoenix is hard on stickers, so I've got to scrape about half of them off and find more.
Can you tell me more about the following:
  • Those rad fog lights + covers
  • Cat Security Scare Light (with camera option) (under car strobe to scare cats out from under your car . . . or folks who like to steal cats) electric conversion
The fog lights are just regular OEM fogs (or maybe Win Jet OEM knock offs?) we 3D print the fog light covers and sell them occasionally on badcraftmotors.com

The cat security scare light is an idea I have that needs a little more development before it will exist. I figure a shutter sound and a strobe would surprise almost anyone into fleeing the scene. I don't know how to test the theory without building it and seeing how it does.

There are a couple good element specific cat shields out there that are $200-$300. I'm developing one also, but it isn't any better/different than the others (except that it will have my logo on it ¯\(ツ)/¯ )

Glad you like the build =) I put it all here hoping someone will save a little time learning from my mistakes and mods.
 
#122 ·
We also sell those on our site 🤫 we’ve got to run a quick invententory before we relist them as in stock.
The website is new though 🥳 if you want to check it out.
Ill shoot you a private message when we put them online so youve got a heads up and can snag a set before we sell out.
 
#124 ·
Closing the shop. Its just too much work for not enough to survive on.
Ill still do limited runs when i make stuff (the mold is often half the battle)

ill have one or two sets of door molding here soon and another complete run of lower bumper trim…

back to it being a fun hobby.
I have 2-3 more “**** right off” shields that are $225 and mostly bolt right up on any AWD that has an aftermarket cat (post initial theft ).
They dont fit OEM catalytics without grinding off the heat shield mounts.

next up and a new post because im curious about bolt on power:
 
#125 ·
So, ive been playing around with ways to eek just a lil more power out of the K24a and think I’ve got a bead on the best bets considering were an AT and that means none of the after market tuning solutions will work for us.

BUT we can reset our ECU tune and it will fudge a few things based on what sort of air flow and fuel ratio we've got going:

<enter the world of speculation>
When our cat was stolen, we replaced the entire system with 2.25” pipe and new catalytic, resonator, and muffler.
After resetting the ECU (unplug that bish at the bettery and one additional fuse somewhere) we got a little but more pep in our step.

im thinking about picking up an RBB and having a muffler shop fab us a new downpipe.

this wont make much difference if don't up my air intake or if my fuel cant keep up, so im also looking at ways to improve the airbox.
A decade back or so a guy claimed good results by adding a ram air in from the grill to pull cooler air before it heats uo in the engine bay (plus a 6 speed MT he claimed 30mpg on the highway)

we’re rocking 19-20mpg because of lift and tires, but also could use a lil bump in MPG if we could swing it. Also, 5% taller gearing (from our tires) was noticeable and id love about 5% more power to make up the difference 😈

So: anyone have any airbox ideas other than the swiss cheese? We still fjord washes in AZ and id rather snorkle than cold air intake, but there are a lot of ways to catch air.

Secondly, anyone know where our factory fuel injectors top out? Can i ignore the fuel part of this system in my simple quest for a lil more power?
 
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