Possibly buying a CR-Z but have some questions

We may earn a small commission from affiliate links and paid advertisements. Terms

Grabula

New Member
Hey all, Most of the cars I've owend have been hondas and they've always treated me right. I'm currently deployed to Afghanistan with the US Army and to treat myself when I get back I'm looking at buying a new car. I want to buy something I can tinker with, sort of make it my own so to speak and I've been looking at the CR-Z. I like it, and I like that it's a hybrid but I'm wondering what sorts of possibilities are they for modding a car like this?
I'm admittedly new to the idea of modding. I've worked here and there on freinds cars helping them on occasion but nothing in depth and I'm not what you would call a car guy. My biggest interest is in finding out if it's possible to tweak the hybrid engines to get better performance out of them. The reviews I've read indicate th CR-Z loses some power in the higher gears and so on and I'm wondering if it's possible to modify this car to get more out of it?
 
It's a new to market car so there is limited aftermarket. I imagine it will improve with time. There's rumors of a non-hybrid turbo version for 2014 model year or something like that as well.
 
I understand the after market limitations due to it's newness but I was wondering more from a technical point of view whether the hybrid engines can be tweaked like straight gas engines?
 
thinking about it though, are there any recommendations as to where I can go to look at aftermarket options?
 
Go Tuning Unlimited - Authorized North American Distributor for ASM Autobacs Yokohama Japan has some CR-Z stuff. A dude who bought one that works at my dealership bought his Spoon exhaust and HKS intake off of them. There are some forced induction kits out there from HKS, etc. There isn't very much US tuning support just yet but there are plenty of parts to be had if you are willing to source them. The gas engine is tunable. It is just a variant of the Fit 1.5. Not sure how you would go about tuning the Hybrid transaxle.
 
Hondata makes a flashpro. That takes care of the gas-engine. I've seen superchargers and turbochargers being R&D'd for it. Most people gain 10WHP in the midrange with just a tune, but only 5-7 peak on premium pump gas.

The IMA will be cracked soon enough, but be prepared to spend a lot once it has been cracked to even get a mild gain.

It's essentially a GE8 Fit with a better (stiffer, lower CoG, more aerodynamic) body, so you can even use Fit suspension components. Brakes are a mix of the RSX-Base/FA1/FG1 (on the front) and prelude rear calipers. Front brakes are Fit brakes, rear brakes are shared with a lot of models. It's the front entry-level calipers and the rear entry level calipers.

Clutch MC is generic across just about all lower-tier models.

Engine is a lower-resistance L15, with weaker internals and a cam that has less lift. Intake manifold is similar to the L15 found in the GE8. The rods are significantly smaller than the L15's rods.

Exhaust system shares a lot of the design with the GE8, with some of the lessons learned on the R-series engines. Don't expect a safe power level over 200WHP with stock internals. The secondary catalytic converter comes after the second O2 sensor. Some folks have seen 5-7 torque by removing it.

The wheels are about as light as you can find, but only 6" wide. RSX wheels and tire sizes fit without any spacers or modifications.
 
There's nothing special about a Honda "hybrid engine" other than the fact that it has a motor attached to it to boost torque. You can mod it just like any other gasoline engine- at least the internal combustion portion of it. Do a lot of research and build your own turbo system.

Oh, and all engines "lose power" in the higher gears. You have less torque multiplication going through the transmission at those ratios, so it's not going to matter if it's a CR-Z or a Viper- you will "lose power" in the higher gears.

The motor assist has had quite a bit of development in the Insight community. They've modded for both performance and economy by varying how much the motor assists at different times. Some have gotten over 100mpg just by changing how the IMA behaves. I'm sure you could apply some of those techniques to the CR-Z.
 
The turbo version is not going to happen in 2013 according to the NY International Auto Show presentation.
 
Back
Top