Is there a way to tell all the years apart from each other? I can tell apart 88-89 from 90-91 because the seatbelts. Then, if it's an 88-89, look at the rear LCAs and tell if it's a 88 or an 89. But what about 90-91? Anyone want to chime in some info go ahead...

88 from 89 Difference : Rear LCA
88-89 from 90-91 Difference: Door-mounted Seatbelts
90 from 91 Difference : ???

 

if your being able to get under the car and look at the lca then just pop the door and look at the sticker in the door jam.

 

Heres The Differences Between the 2nd generation CRX's

Hope this helps, let me know if you need anything else

88-89 CRX's don't have side impact beams in the doors, the 90-91 do.
All CRX's have rear drum brakes except the 90-91 Si's
90-91 have a round instrument gauge cover while the 88-89 one is more squarish
88-89 door moldings are taller and flatter, the 90-91 ones are shorter but stick out further and have a beveled edge to them.
90-91 rear lights have a 1/2 inch black edge all the way around them, the 88-89 do not.
90-91 have have fake air ducts molded into the bumper
88-89 have slightly different front and rear bumpers than the 90-91
90-91 bumper mounted turn signals are clear with amber inserts in them, the 88-89 lenses are just solid amber and shorter in length.
88-89 Corner mounted parking lights have their mounting screws visible while the 90-91 ones are attached by hiden screws.
91 and perhaps 90 headlights have a vent in them to help prevent moisture buildup.
90-91's are the heaviest, the 89 is lighter, and the 88 is the lightest. In each year the hf is the lighter model, then the DX and finally the Si weighs in at the most.
88 manual transmissions have an input shaft with 21 slpines
88 has a 21 spline input shaft, the 89-91's have a 20 spline shaft
90-91 clutch is 212mm, the 89 is 200mm and the 88 has either a 200 or 190mm, I can't remember which.
88 does not have a clutch safety switch. Which means it will start without having to press the clutch in.
88-89 Si models have 105hp, the 90-91's have 108hp due to different ecu settings and possibly a slightly different cam.
88's have pillar mounted seatbelts,90-91 have door mounted belts, 89 si's and dx's have door mounted belts, 89 hf's have pillar mounted belts. I could be wrong on some of this belt stuff, if you can confirm or deny any of it please let me know.
Models with door mounted belts have a wider pillar at the end of the door to accomodate the belt mount, this also means that the glass is and inch or so shorter.
90-91's have a red seatbelt warning light built into the dome light.
Rear lower control arms changed between the 88 and 91 years and the rear shocks have different mounting points but I'm not sure what year the change took place.
88 has slightly different sized front shocks.
88 ecu has a different internal design than the 89-91 but the inputs and outputs are the same and ecu's can be swapped between years. I know this one since most chip makers don't offer a chip for the 88 and my car was a gunea pig for Dinan to test a later year ECU on.
88-89's have the hazard light switch on the top of the steering column, 90-91's have it mounted on the dash.
88-89 Si seats have a white pinstrip, 90-91 Si seats have a red pinstrip.
88 has a pocket at the bottom of the drivers door
90-91 Si's and perhaps the 89 Si have a mesh pocket on the back of the seats.
88 cam indexing is the same for all the engines, 89-91 si's have indexing that is different from the other engines.
90-91 and possibly the 89 have larger reverse lights that are set further to the sides than the 88


Modified by Kilburn at 2:13 AM 5/31/2005

 

thanks, what about civics ??

I forgot, also screw type corner lights for 88-89 and not in 90-91

 

wait a second... you were busting on me for inquiring about SOHC ZC's? and you dont know how to tell CRX years and models apart?

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fast88std &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">no offense but how can you not know what a ZC engine looks like if you have 4751 posts? </TD></TR></TABLE>

theres plenty of very specific differences. but i concentrate on a few things.
i case a crx in the junkyard in about this order, generally according to interest and ease, if available or visible.

1. intake manifold (Si and HF, DX)
2. factory sunroof (Si)
3. rear brakes. (Si and 90-91)
4. door and bumper trim (88-89, 90-91)
5. rear lower control arm (88, 89-91)

thats all i need to know, you can determine year and trim from that. (except difference between 90 and 91, but theyre the same anyway) if i still need more info, i can go thru killburns list.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Kilburn &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">88's have what Honda called "passive rear steering" which makes them slightly more agile but some owners complained that they didn't like the "twitchiness" feeling of it so it only existed the one year. </TD></TR></TABLE>

btw, this statement is incorrect and misleading.

88's didnt have special "passive rear steering" that 89-91's didnt. rear multi link suspension creates passive rear steering and is designed in many of honda models. the real difference in 88's handling than 89-91 is that the rear toe link arm was positioned higher in the chassis, causing too much "passive rear steering" or toe change. the difference is in the chassis, and cannot be added or swapped between cars. and was tuned out the year after. because the honda america race team found the car twitchy in high speed braking, and had no other way of tuning it out according to the rules. also worth noting, once the car is lowered, it dramatically decreases the difference between chassis, so theres really minimal difference if youve already lowered your car.

it also seems coincidental that the control arm changed, but does not affect what was just mentioned. any sort of relation between the two changes occuring after the same year is unknown. any mention of the difference in bushing causing the extra "passive rear steering" is false.

(yeah, ive made it my mission to correct this false myth and misconception.)

 

yea you can even check the FAQ which is always on top of this forum

 

I apologize for the misleading or untruthfulness in the info about the 88's, I cannot take credit for that information I found it during my searchs at work, and thought it would help.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Kilburn &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I apologize for the misleading or untruthfulness in the info about the 88's, I cannot take credit for that information I found it during my searchs at work, and thought it would help.

</TD></TR></TABLE>
Admitting you found bad info is all you need to say. Good job.

Good info on the 88 rears also, thanx guys.

 

all you need is a 10mm socket...the cars basically fall apart its so easy....

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Kilburn &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">88 does not have a clutch safety switch. Which means it will start without having to press the clutch in.



Modified by Kilburn at 2:13 AM 5/31/2005</TD></TR></TABLE>

ohhhhh. no wonder.. i thought my car was special.. never mind..

 

killburn, no problem. i figured it was a copy and paste. its just a peeve of mine. i want to correct that myth whenever i see it repeated. where did you copy it from?

 

^i saw that a few weeks ago... i want to say crx forum wrote it. and he also said at the bottom that if anything was incorrect then he would fix it.