Me and a freind of mine are about to buy a car to autocross (maybee rally cross or road course later on). We decided that a Crx fits into our price range (read under 1500) and should hopefully handle well for what we will be doing.

My question to everyone here is what year should we look for, what engine? And also any problems we should look for leaking this? Odd sound that?

I know NOTHING about Hondas yet haven't dealt with these cars YET! Also looks and interior parts mean nothing to us we want something to race not for show.

Thanks for your help.

 

I would get a 90-91 due to the four wheel disc, side impact beams, plus they are newer...only by a few years but still....they are slighty heavier but not by much....For engines sice I heard autocross try and stay away from turbos I suggest at least a B16a if not a B18C1 or maybe a B20 with B16 head....but if you want to go turbo on a budget g owith a ZC and turbo it.....

 

Ok I hear you with the for wheel disc. And yes I don't think we want a turbo because coming in and out of boost around turns could be tricky. BUT b16 b20 b14? Not a clue. What size litre? or they mostly same size with diffrent heads/valves etc.

Also somewhat related we will likely be rebuilding the engine when it goes. Which I figure it will because we will be driving hard on a motor with more that 100,000 miles probably. How easy to swtich out parts, upgrade and is it going to cost a bundle?
Thanks


[Modified by Labora, 4:20 AM 6/22/2002]

 

I would get an 88. Who cares about side impact beams if your racing. 1988 was the lightest year, and it came with the different rear suspension. This means maybe a harder time for some suspension, but I think it's better suspension. This suspension was in japan, so you will have no problem with japanese shocks/coilovers. The rear discs make no difference in braking. Even if you want them, you can swap them in.

 

I think that you'd have to change out the rear suspension to put disc brakes in...

 

B stands for the Series and B series motors are DOHC
A D series motor like stock D16a6 would be SOHC

the numbers after it is how many liters:

b16 = DOHC 1.6L Vtec
B18 = DOHC 1.8L etc.

 

I agree with TDRacing. I put rear disk brakes and side impact beams as things to AVOID. The 88 is over 100 lbs lighter in the Si trim vs the 90-91.

Also, you won't want to do any engine swapping for autocross unless you have a huge budget to compete in the modified class (and even then, the CRX is the wrong car). Keep the stock motor and prep it for CSP or GS.

As for the suspension, Ground Control and Koni make parts for the 88. That's all you need

 

89 CRX SI
Thanks for some insight into the series of engines.

ITR#231
While modding the car. Would put us in the wrong class I doubt we are going to care (haven't started autoxing yet) I don't see us getting competive. We just wanna go fast and have some fun.

SO overall I wanna get a 88 with a b18 eh?
<-- Quick learner (he hopes)

Thanks Labora

 

The 2nd gen CRX (88-91) is definitely a lot easier to work in. Parts are more readily available, engine swaps are easier, and the things required to do those parts are cheaper. If I were to buy another CRX, I'd pick the 88 or 89.

I have a 1st gen CRX Si (1987) and I like it, but I think the 2nd gen is an easier project car overall.

Sonny

 

Well if you aren't gonna swap the engine out the 90-91 do have slightly more power....plus the rear suspension in 88 was discontinued because it made the car feel twitchy, if it was so good why would they stop it? And I dunno about you but if I were racing I would ant as much safety as possible but thats just me...100 lbs isn't all that much...it makes a difference of 1/10th of sec inthe 1/4 mile...I have no Idea the affect for autocross. Not to mention the 90-91 have different body than the 88 don't they? or is the 87- and down?

You could always import a CRX SiR from japan and have the b16a as stock

 

88-91 have same body. I like the 89 Cause it is the newest model with out going into wieght issues plus it is what i bought.

Defenitly get an Si cause its way easyer to do work on it.

Do out the suspenison with intake and exhaust on your car then itll be a quick fun car. Later then you build up a tourqy motor to put in over time.

A little work on stock motor and suspension work makes it a really quick car.

Get good rims and tires too cause traction is a problemm in rex's

 

I like my 88 CRX Si(R) just fine. It had a B16 transplant already & makes for a very interesting ride! I have yet to experience any problems with my rear suspension which btw is the same as ITR, so I guess that's a bonus. If you do buy JDM suspension, they usually make you change to rear ITR LCA's anyway. In my case, meh...I've already got 'em!

Good luck with your project car!

 

1988 doesnt have seat belts on the door

ive heard its a pain in the *** having belts on teh door

 

I understand where you're coming from, but I think you may find yourself surprised at how competitive a Gen 2 Si can be in CSP. Don't get me wrong, feel free to do whatever will make the car the most fun for you. However, since you're going to build the suspension/wheels/tires regardless of a swap, I would suggest you do everything legal for CSP first and then decide if you really want to swap the motor.

reXem,

The 88 is rated at 105/98 at 2017#. The 91 is rated at 108/100 at 2167 (numbers from the CRX resource). With the 91, you gain 3 HP and 150#. Not worth it IMHO. 150# is HUGE! As for the side impact beams, I don't think you need them. If it's a dedicated autocross car, there's little danger of contacting another car, and if you're roadracing you'll need a cage with door bars anyway.

 

Because they design cars out of safety, not performance. A car that rotates easily can be very dangerous to an inexperienced driver on the street. However, most autocrossers/road racers go to great lengths to get their cars to rotate, which is opposite of how the factory makes them.

 

This brings up an interested point.....I have a 1990 CRX Si but it part 88, part 89 and part 90 - 91 ....it has four wheel disc, the black trim on the rear lights, pretty sure is has the 90-91 turn signals in the bumper, I ahve 90-91 seats (red stripe), and my hazrd light is in the dash not on top of the column. BUT I have pillar mounted seat belts, 89 dash cluster, I don't have a mesh pocket on the back of my seat, I DO have a pocket at the bottom of my driver door ( 88 ), my seat belt light is in the dash there are proably more but I can't think of them now....my sticker in the door says is a 1990.....IS anyone elses like this?!?

I got the differences from http://www.crxsi.com

I am also gonna set out of the talk of reccomendation cuz I know very little about autocross....


[Modified by reXem, 6:59 AM 6/22/2002]

 

Wow great info everyone. We won't be needing side impact beams either. Because we have a welder we can use and will be stripping the interior a roll cage, with sube frames, and some strut tower braces will more than likley be in order.

 

Nice. Sounds like you're doing it right from the start. The cage is another reason to seriously consider weight. My 88 with a full cage weighs less than a 91 without.

 

ITR#231
Any clue where I can find info on what is allowed and isn't for the CSP class or any or all classes for that matter? None of the scca websites I have run across have a breakdown of what is/isn't allowed for every class. Kinda curious because even If we don't end up with a CRX I need to figure out what class the car fits into best. Of course I think for our first who knows how many times out we will probably be put in a begginer level class.
Thanks

 

Street Prepared Rules:

http://www.moutons.org/sccasolo/Rules/sp.html#s14

Stock Rules:

http://www.moutons.org/sccasolo/Rules/stock.html#s13

Hope this helps.

 

I would go w/88-89 Si, but if you don't find a CRX here in Dallas, I have an 88 Civic for sale if you want it for real CHEAP.

 

First things first. If you are going to buy a second gen, ignore all the talk about four wheel disc brakes, curb weight, cam profiles, etc.... Buy the CLEANEST, MOST RUST FREE EXAMPLE YOU CAN. All that other stuff can be fixed, but it's SOOOOO much easier when you start with an excellent condition car.

BUT. My vote for what year/model CRX I would buy hasn't been thrown up yet. I would buy the lightest, and the quickest Si that was built. The 1985 Si!!!!! Fuel Injected, around 1800 pounds, and fun as hell... My first and second CRXs were first gens, but I never found a good condition 85 Si... If I did tomorrow, I'd sell my B16 hybrid, and BUY IT... Hands down, the funnest STOCK CRX I've ever driven....

Dan

 

85-87 Si.
cheaper initial price.
weighs less than any 88-91.
easy-to-work-with suspension that needs little to be fully adjustable.
peppy 1.5L that's modded easily for awesome power/weight ratios.


visit this guy's site, it's really informative on these years CRXs http://members.***.net/vmalchesky/

 

That can be dealt with fairly easily. Get a boost controller, rig a cut switch to the high boost feature and unless the engine is under WOT, then the motor will stay at low/no boost.

 

88 dx is actually lighter than an 87 si.
I'd have to agree about finding a rust free crx first then worry about the year. 88 rear suspension is superior for racing and can be retained when swap in discs. I'd also recommend the si due to the fact that you don't want to be in a modified class due to swapping out the crappy 1.5L of the dx.