It puts stress on the axles, due to the increased angle. That's one reason I decided not to lift my 2009. Aftermarket axles will fail sooner than OEM, also. You'll also need camber adjustments--camber "cam" bolts on the front, and adjustable upper control arms in the rear. Those tires will do nicely!

Off-road you'll be OK on flat roads, but forget inclines--I've done this in my 2009 and found that CR-Vs are way too weak and poorly geared to be off-road capable. Those are the main reasons I never lifted mine. Even mild inclines are a struggle. An old Acura RDX would be marginally better--it has more horsepower and torque with the turbo, and uses the SH-AWD system to better manage torque to all four wheels.

 

It puts stress on the axles, due to the increased angle. That's one reason I decided not to lift my 2009. Aftermarket axles will fail sooner than OEM, also. You'll also need camber adjustments--camber "cam" bolts on the front, and adjustable upper control arms in the rear. Those tires will do nicely!

Off-road you'll be OK on flat roads, but forget inclines--I've done this in my 2009 and found that CR-Vs are way too weak and poorly geared to be off-road capable. Those are the main reasons I never lifted mine. Even mild inclines are a struggle. An old Acura RDX would be marginally better--it has more horsepower and torque with the turbo, and uses the SH-AWD system to better manage torque to all four wheels.

Thanks for the input - Since I'm only doing a 1-inch lift I should be fine, and if my axles do need to be replaced I heard NAPA Remans are good. Also changing axles looks easy enough.

My 5-speed manual surprisingly does well up hills (of course you need momentum) and the manuals are geared differently. I've climbed a 30 to 50-degree gravel hill.

 

Hi, I'm planning to lift my CRV 1-inch in the front and 1.5 inches in the rear nothing too extreme.

However, I do have questions for anyone that has lifted their CRV. I don't plan on running larger tires as I have very new Yokohama Geolanders AT G015 at the stock size of 205/70/r15.

My question is, will I run into any axle issues with this setup or any other issues? When I was doing my research people usually do a lift with larger tires but I plan to stick with stock tires.

All discussion is welcome!

1.5 inch is fine, but its after when you start hitting other issues. At 2 you will need a dedicated camber set up (HRG sells an adjustable arm with their 2 inch kit) and by 3 you would need to do the whole subframe drop. I'm sure that would be tons of fun to go off the beaten path with but it seems like a lot of work, not to mention the CV wear, kinked brake lines (though I believe they include a bracket for that) and the decreased MPGs and higher rollover risk.

 

Thanks for the input! yeah, I'm only going to stick with a 1-inch lift in the front and a 1.5 lift inches the rear. just so I get better ground clearance as I do go on trails a lot.

 

Just a quick update for anyone following this thread. I called my local Honda dealership and asked if they can do an alignment after the lift. They said they can do it and they also told me that 1 to 1.5 inches are probably the best and anything higher than that I will run into any issues.

So from all my research:

1. 1 to 1.5 inches of lift is safe with stock springs and struts - this is coming from the Lifted CRV community and also my local Honda Dealership
2. 2 to 3 inches of lift you will need adjustable rear control arms and also front adjustable camber bolts and maybe an engine/subframe drop kit.

Anything higher than 3 inches you will need a lot of other work done.

 

I have 6 inche HRG lift on my 06 daily driver. No issues. Well not true the 33's are a bit tall for the gearing but I'm trying to change that.... somehow....

 

Nice! Yeah, I'm good with a 1 inch front lift and 1.5 rear spacer lift (rear with spacer is about 2 or 2.5 inch in actual lift). I'm so far I'm experiencing no axle shake and honda was able to align the car

 

That's awesome. Fun little rigs aren't they! You running stock tires?

 

Yeah stock tires with Yokohama Geolanders AT G015, I did get engine spacers just in case but I'm not getting any axle vibrations. Ill take a picture as I like the rear a little higher than the front look.

 

Hi, I recently lifted my 2nd gen CRV and created a video explaining my lift:

Let me know what your thoughts are!

 

Nice.

I still miss my old Gen2 CRV. The last "ruggedized" CRV generation, in my view and the last actual CRV as SUV. Gen3 and beyond really went the CUV street focused route, which for the market Honda sells into makes sense.. but I miss the older gen1 and gen2 ruggedness.

Thanks for sharing!

 

Thanks William, and you know what the 1st and second gens are going up in price. Which to me sounds crazy haha.

 

Hi, I recently lifted my Crv, you can watch my YouTube videos for explanation and such. However I wanted to share the before and after photo.

before:

After:

let me know what your thoughts are and or ask any questions you have.

 

For those planning on lifting, I covered this in my videos which you can check out. FAQ:

1. Q: Am I getting axles vibrations? A: No vibrations, however, I know my axles are worn and I will replace them in 6 to 8 months or so. I also purchase an Aerogenics engine drop kit just in case.
2. Q: Did I have to twist the rear strut top hat? A: No, however, I had to cut 3 cm off the bolt so that the spacer can fit in.
3. Q: Why did you lift a 1-inch spacer in the front and a 1.5-inch spacer in the rear? A: I like the rear raked look and when I load the rear with gear it doesn't sag. I also did this because I don't want to go through axles yearly

You can watch my progression of this vehicle on my YouTube channel linked in my Signature. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

Hi Everyone, for anyone wanting to know what my new ground clearance is, here it is:

Stock (measured from the lowest hanging item = Mid muffler): 8.1 Inches
Lifted 1.5 inches in the rear and 1 inch in the front = 10.4 Inches

Let me know if you have any questions.