Well yesterday was our 5th event of the year in our region, and my 3rd autox so far. My previous two, I competed in my friend's G Stock 09 Si. This time I decided to take my CRX to find out what suspension changes I need to make while its down getting a new motor/trans this offseason. What I found out is that I didn't know my car as well as I thought and had been spoiled with the point and drive ability of the 09 Si, lol.

The car did ok the first pass, as I was learning the course (which was relatively short and high speed, the faster times being in the mid-low 30" range) and ran a 42.xx". Second run I discoverd my car had some oversteer and almost spun halfway through the slalom, lmao, but still managed a 40.9. Third run was another 40.9 IIRC but the back end was sliding around over some bumpy areas.

Second heat I had a friend ride with me to watch my line and give pointers and let some air out of the tires b/c my pump over-inflated them and read it wrong and readjusted my struts. Still ran a 40.9 but with a passenger and learned some things...also destroyed a pointer cone, lol. Next run I cut to a 40.0 and started figuring out my car's handling. Last run was an amazing run, but the timer malfunctioned and showed a 31.xx, lol so I re-ran it and ran a 39.2x, which felt maybe a bit slower than my mistimed run before.

All in all, I was a bit dissapointed with myself, not so much the car. I think I'll place 2nd in SMF behind a pulleyed, R Comp'ed Cooper S with many upgrades (37.xx's) and just ahead of my friend's D15B CRX he and his son co-drove (to 39.3x and 39.9x, respectively) with similar suspension setup. It was a learning experience that humbled my driving skills, lol, but I think I enjoyed the connection more with my car than the 09 Si. Anyway, here's some pics, vids to follow in the next few days. My only in-car vid was in micheal j fox-o-vision, but someone stuck a go-pro on for one of my crappier runs.

Some of me getting ready:



My friend's D15B car:


My friend's son on his pass in their car:


Another of our friends:


Some other cars that owned the day:

 

Sounds like a pretty short course. As for the rear end being unstable, I imagine its your throttle inputs. Try to be a bit smoother and dont abruptly lift. Also what suspension/tires are on the car?

 

YAY CRX's!! lol might I suggest https://honda-tech.com/forums/road-racing-autocross-time-attack-19/driving-help-2799915/ for some reading on driving techniques.

If you're wanting to get serious about autoX you might want to hold of on an engine swap. Ideally you'd want to be at the point of driving the tires of a stock car before making upgrades. Just my opinion of course.

It's all about fun of course!

 

Yeah, short course, the fasted posted RAW was like 33.9 I think. My throttle inputs are fairly smooth, but the course we run on is not very smooth, and I was NOT used to my car. When I almost spun in the slalom, I was just pushing to hard and the back end slid out a bit. The other time it stepped out on me was in a dusty, bumpy corner (same one the other CRX is pictured in above).

Oh, and Shinny, the engine swap was in the works before I found autocross, my motor"s down on power and time for a rebuild, so I'm just bumping compression and adding an OEM LSD ZC trans with Si FD. I do plan on adding some stiffer springs up front because I have a bit of dive under braking (running 330's up front, 440's rear, I just swapped my Skunk2's front to rear). Probably looking at either 400's up front or 500's out back and moving the 440s to the front. I'll probably add a rear ST bar after I get a bit more used to the car, because right now I'd probably just spin, lol.

I do need to work on my driving technique, after watching the videos, there were 1 or 2 corners I never could get my braking points or lines just right on and it cost me some time. I also saw I could push a lot harder since I ran a little softer, b/c honestly, I was a bit scared of it after it almost spun and I locked up the brakes once.

I just need some time to learn how my car reacts at the limits. Thanks for all the input guys, please I need all the help I can get.

 

It looks like tons of fun the CRX is not the easiest car to drive but certainly the most rewarding good luck and sell your new civic.

 

Lol, the new one's not mine or else the CRX would be weekend only, lol. It's my friend's wife's car, she and I co-drove it the last two events, and probably will the rest of this season until my car is done. But, my car was far more rewarding to drive than hers, it really showed me where I need to improve.