Hey HT..

What is the optimal CRX chassis for a fully built all motor SCCA car?

I have a B20v I will be dropping in, fully built high compression everything done up right and tuned (300hp +/-)

This car will be fully built with full suspension/sway bars/traction bars/bushings/balljoints/rims/lowered.... everything.

I am flying off island for a month to buy a CRX, and I'm wondering which one is the best.

I have read several pages of differences between HF/Si/DX and they all seem pretty minor.

The HF is obviously the lightest chassis, but seems like most of the weight reduction is in the engine.

Are all CRX shells identical?

I know the 88' was more or less the black sheep (which I would like to avoid) because it had different control arms in the rear (different suspension/sway bar mounts etc.)

so please HT - IF YOU WERE STARTING A COMPLETE CRX RESTORATION, WHAT IS YOUR IDEAL MODEL CRX YEAR AND WHY?

 

i think 88 has kinda like rear wheel steering ? i think the rear of the 88 is different from 89 90 91 . might want to research that.if true u would think turning would improve.

 

you are correct about part of that. The 88 crx had stamped metal rear lower control arms (thicker and wider, made of a skeleton of thinner steel) and the 89/90/91 crx had cast rear lower control arms (thinner profile overall, but solid steer so equally strong.)

Because of this the lower shock mounts for 88 crx suspension are different (pinch bolt vs pivot bolt.)

thanks dude!

 

sounds like u know ur stuff man lol.. crx on scca track would be sick...gl

 

yeah rear wheel steering on a CRX, that would be tight. but almost overkill because the wheelbase is so short anyways (90.6inches - 7.55ft)

But back to the question to peeps...

If you were building a CRX for scca/racing/show/track car - what year and make of CRX would you start the build with? I'm going on a CRX buying mission many miles from home where I will have freedom of choice.Thanks!

 

I don't know the specifics, but since you're putting in a B-series, that's put you in a completely different class correct? So it really wouldn't matter nit picking the minute differences of the different models (other than the Si because of the sunroof).

I'd just try to find a clean non-Si that hasn't been hit. Personally I would choose an 89 for the pillar seatbelts, instead of the door mounted ones on the 90-91.

 

Thanks this is exactly what I'm looking for.

Here's a few of my notes, rephrased and stolen from CRXcommunity.com

-88' had stamped rear control arms (different suspension mounts fnt/rear - pinch bolt vs thru bolt)
-90/91 had door mounted seat belts as well as 89 DX/Si
-all 88 and 89 HF had pillar mounted belts. pillar mounted belts = lighter doors/car, more window glass
-90/91 were heaviest, 89 lighter, 88 lightest
-HF had no clock, rear wiper, and no passenger mirror (OEM)
-DX had no rear wiper in 88, but 89/90/91 DID have rear wiper
-HF had 9.9gal fuel tank ---- DX/Si had 11.9gal fuel tank
-VIN CODES AS FOLLOWS - HF:JHMED836/DX auto:JHMED845 DX manual:JHMED835/Si:JHMED936
-Si were made in 5spd only manual trans
-88 Si had a flat vinyl 'si' badge, 89-91 Si had a raised plastic 'si' badge
-HF/DX had black/gray or blue interior - Si only had Black or Gray interior (w/CRX on the door panels
-90/91 CRX had side impact beams in the doors, 88/89 CRX DON'T have side impact door beams
-90/91 CRX had rounded cluster w/hidden screws - 88/89 CRX had square-er cluster w/showing screws
-90/91 have seatbelt indicator in dome light - 88/89 do not
-HF had no OEM trunk divider or cargo cover
-all 88 and only 89 HF seats will not swap over to all 91 and 90 DX/Si seats
-88 door panels had a storage pocket, none others did
-90/91 rear lights had 1/2" black trim strip around them, 88/89 lights didn't
-90/91 front bumper had fake 'air vents' below the blinkers, 88/89 bumper didn't
-90/91 rear bumper had a 'flare' at the bottom to give the appearance of a lip, 88/89 didn't
-90/91 front/rear bumpers/doors had thinner bump strip than 88/89 bump strip (small diff)
THE SI WAS THE ONLY CRX TO HAVE REAR SWAY BARS

Did I miss anything? See it's all about compromises.... if you want thinner door/bumper mouldings and a black trim strip around the lights, you have to sacrifice lighter doors and pillar mounted seatbelts. if you don't want a support bar welded in the door (weight) you have to stick to pre-90----- but if you go with 88 you're gonna run into suspension problems when upgrading.

Seems like the model to get is 89 HF - but you sacrifice rear sway bar/might get stuck with phaggy blue interior, and don't get a passenger mirror.

*preaches to choir*

 

300hp N/A B-series? Have fun reaching that goal. You won't get there without forced induction/spray.

I'd get the cheapest one...you're changing out most of the suspension/motor anyways.

 

Find any year manual Dx. Trust me, you don't want the Si sunroof, and you can convert the seat belts if you want.
What class do you have in mind??

 

1989 CRX DX

Pros:

1.) You won't have to change out the knuckles to do the B-swap.
2.) No added "fluff" weight like sunroof to deal with.
3.) More head clearance without sunroof headliner for a helmet/roll bar.
4.) Suspension upgrades easier to come by than the '88 platform.

Cons:

1.) DPFI - so a MPFI swap will be in order.
2.) Rear drum brakes.
3.) Maybe do maybe not - Rack & Pinion ratio.

There may be some things I am missing but I can't think of them right now. If you don't mind the sunroof - a 1989 Si would be the way to go as it removes the Cons previously listed. Some say the 1988 Si is the best year in stock form because of the suspension design - but if you are changing it then that doesn't matter.

HF - Had smaller wheel bearings and rear aluminum drum brakes... Unless you eat to change things stay away from this chassis.

 

pretty much WRONG on this part...

i shall explain what years came with pillar mounted seat belts.

ALL 88' CRX (hf,dx,si) came with pillar mounted seat belts.
89 HF came with pillar mounted seat belts.
89 dx / si came with DOOR mounted seat belts.
ALL 90-91 CRX (hf,dx,si) came with door mounted belts.

Now, if you are in canada, this story is a bit different.
All CANADIAN crx came pillar mounted seat belts (88-91)

 

I've tracked a CRX for 2 years now. I have a 88 Si.
I would recommend an 88 HF, DX or 89 HF or DX.

I've had both the 88 and the 89-91 RLCAs on the car. No difference in handling. I am currently running the 89-91 LCAs because of the coilovers i'm running.

If you are serious about it being a track car you will have to swap your uprights (knuckles) for integra ones.
feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

 

Changed it "ef yu"... It is interesting though why only the HF (but I fully understand why) was the only one with pillars for '89... I just assumed since Civic's had them... I have only ever owned 1991 Si's for all my CRX's; even a couple from the show room floor... Come to think of it, aside from my 1989 Civic Si I bought new, all of the CRXs, Sedans, and Hatchbacks have all been '91s that I have owned.

 

Thanks for the shouts guys...

couple things tho...

I know I said for SCCA track car. In all honesty I won't be doing SCCA with this car. I lied. I live on a tiny island, our SCCA group is entirely composed of volunteers, there is no big money behind it and no corporate funding. Our SCCA track is on an old asphalt runway from WWII (believe it or not.) The pavement is so weathered and old, the last time I did SCCA (with an old CRX, years ago) - I ate an entire set of brand new tires in one day. (Brand new tires, 450usd installed the day before at Costco - worn right to cords (all four tires) IN ONE DAY.) I don't have the money to do that once a month, but I said SCCA because it makes it easier for people to wrap their mind around the phrase "fully built car." (As an aside, I have my own private closed course I can drive on, and this is where I will be pushing my car to it's limits.)

Back to reality.. I really want pillar mounted belts, the door mount-belts are unattractive for a number of reasons. So that limits me to 88's and 89' HF.

But I don't want the different suspension setups required for different control arms etc. If If I have an 88, will 89/90/91 control arms fit in the rear? (thus making 89/90/91 suspension bolt up)

Another thing to consider - I am swapping out whatever components I must for the 11.1" front brake (5x114.3mm) hubs in the front and 10.3" disc in the rear (same 5x114.3mm - I'm doing this for the brakes/wheel options.) I mention this because it might nullify year specific features on the CRX.

I am relocating for atleast a month to a place where I see an average of 1 CRX per 5 days posted on CL. And I will have cash in hand to offer nice old ladies with mint old cars more $$ than they are worth. I should have atleast a few options I'm just trying to pick the best.

 

Thanks it sounds like 89/90/91 RLCA will bolt up fine to 88. PM sent RE:Knuckles

 

Well if youre planning to change all of that, just get a 88 crx. the only benefit you would gain from an SI is a sunroof (since u plan on changing to a new engine platform, suspension, brakes etc etc.

Btw, yes the LCA are interchangeable.

 

yup this is more or less what I've been thinkin. But I like to hear what HT has to offer.

Thanks dude! Sunroof is meh, don't care either way - but would enjoy the extra headroom and [very minor] weight reduction - and one less way for thieves to get into my baby.

 

'88 HF here. It's very light (1819 lbs, I read), but it's sort of a weird year so some things can be hard to find for it, even some information (since most info out there seems to be for the later year chassis).

I have one bad seat and it's been hell trying to find a matching seat for it! I've thought about just finding a good passenger seat, swapping the foam over and reupholstering them both since I have a blue interior and I'm worried about everything matching right. Black interior parts seem a lot easier to find than the blue parts.

I've read the door pocket thing before. My car doesn't have door pockets. maybe it was only the '88 DX and/or '88 Si?

 

Wow I love this! All the OG CRX owners checkin in with their 2 cents.

Yup it's true - the 88' Seats were not interchangeable with the 89 DX/Si, 90, 91. Good luck swappin the foam around, it sounds like a project. I know you can dye seats whatever color you want, but black to blue doesn't sound easy/possible...

Hmmmm. The map pockets on the doors. I wonder about that too.. If I figure it out I'll pm ya but it seems kinda strange.

Thanks to everyone who posted!

 

Well, it wouldn't surprise me if the DX or Si has the map pockets in the door. While I like to think of trims like the HF as a higher trim than the DX, it's really more of just a different trim.

Some items were left off the HF just to make it lighter. No cargo cover or divider (not even those little triangular pieces in the rear to go with them, and I'm having trouble figuring out how to remove the clips that cover where the snaps go for the cargo pieces without breaking said covers). No door pockets. No sound deadening.

While some people would love to not have to remove the sound deadening, it can get loud. I've had trouble holding conversations in the car while on the highway. The sound of the rain slicking up underneath the rear wheels of the car is sort of calming, but the front end just can get way too loud when I have a soft spoken girl in the car. It's not loud enough to annoy me while driving alone. I can always turn the music up. I usually enjoy the sound of the road though. It's just the issue with hearing my passenger sometimes.

But if you just want a comfortable people mover with plenty of sound deadening, etc., there's plenty of '90-'93 Accords out there. (Had one, thing is rock solid reliable and the parts, even the maroon interior, are easy to find.)

As for the seats on the '88, I think I could do a pan swap if it was that important. Not that I can find a clean matching set of blue seats to begin with though! Unfortunately for these cars, unlike most other Hondas I've dealt with, I can't just buy replacement seat covers at the dealer (they're part of the foam, if I wanted to purchase them). Not that this would be a problem to your average driver or to someone wanting to strip out the car.

I've had people tell me the "ITR-like" rear suspension of my car is a good thing and that it will feel more nimble through corners and all. I can't compare it to other CRXes though since mine is the only one I've ever been in and mine is definitely still feeling sloshy with only struts and coils and not even any sway bars.

I wish I had more experience with the car so I could help you with more little points. Only had my CRX since April though, and I'm definitely not going for racecar status, so I might not be as helpful as some of the others! Good luck though.

 

It's probably worth mentioning to you the '88 transmission difference too. 21 spline input shaft, compared to the '89-'00 29 spline.

Tell me how adorable this is.
There is an upgrade conversion available out there though (clutch from '87 Prelude 2.0Si/'88 Accord LXi, pressure plate from '90-'91 CRX Si, '90-'00 flywheel, and release bearing/pilot bearing/alignment tool for the '88 CRX).

I don't remember offhand if it's just the '88 HF, but I know upgrading the entire transmission is more work than just swapping in another '89-'91 cable transmission. Apparently it involved swapping axles and knuckles as well.

That all is probably more applicable to your wants and needs than interior colors and availability.

 

A lot of people are successful with the 84-87 CRX's also. That's what I'd personally shoot for, mostly because those are the ones I know best. But they are much lighter than the 2g CRX's. Just thought I throw that one out so it gives another option...

 

'88 CRX HF.

Impossible to find that hasn't been properly molested by some backyard mechanic who frequents pep boys.

I'm on the flip side about rear drums though.
Rear drum assembly on the CRXs are lighter than the rear disc assembly, requires far less maintenance (twice a year, if that), and with a solid front brake setup, fade is a non-issue.
I ran my '89 CRX HF with rear drums for 5 years, never had a rear brake issue and changed the shoes once and plenty of stopping power.

I'd swap out the rear lower control arms for 89-91 so you have more options for shocks.

 

With Drums in the rear, I'm in the same boat. They have aluminum drums for even more weight savings.

 

Yup the HF is a little different. I'm starting to think this is the one to get as a base model for this buildup.

No door pockets is not a problem, just more incentive to get the fiberglass out and build a nice custom storage (locking) compartment with specific areas for my daily loadout of samurai swords, sig p226 40cal, SOG seal knife, surefire invictus flashlight, wallet, phone, smoking implements etc..

As for sound deadening, I would remove it anyway (I may dynamat the entire shell with a few layers under the carpets and drop a nice sound system into the car if I decide I can afford to add 300lbs in audio....) as for road noise, i like to listen to my car (will probably remove firewall padding to increase sound of 300hp naturally aspirated beastly motor purring away.) And as far as passengers, i always drive with the windows down (under 90mph atleast) unless i'm trying to hide (illegal tints look better to cops when they are hidden in the door skins) MUAUAHA.

as for the ppl movers - i have 8(?) 1st gen odysseys... they are nice for moving ze ppls.

where i live there's a company that makes custom neoprene seat covers individual to each car. they are 250/set of two and you can choose from hundreds of patterns, colors, silkscreen designs etc - and they are waterproof and fit oem seats like a vacuum pack. maybe there is someone around your area that does that? EDIT:i think you can order these over interwebs from the company and they make CRX HF/DX/Si covers, all customizable options AND I CAN VOUCH FOR QUALITY becaues everyone here has them. They are 235usd+shipping look into them www.wetokole.com (okole means @$$

can HF be retrofit with swaybars? (rear)

I might swap control arms to have suspension options and lightweight aluminum control arms too, but do you know if the upper mount points/holes (in the shell itself) is the same as other CRXs? (basically - I know the bottom attachment of the shocks are different than other CRXs, but are the tops different too?)

maaaaan i wish i were on the mainland. i would drive all the way across from east to west coast if i found a clean CRX in mint condition. and it would be fun too! sadly i only have a few to choose from in the islands.

i will be dropping in fully built NA b20v, so trans splines are irrelevant but that's interesting info and thanks. things are going to get tricky i'm afraid when i have b20v and knuckles off an odyssey/integra as part of my brake upgrades...

84-87 crx was considered briefly, but i don't like the lines on the 1st gen. looks too... old.

@ all others re:brakes --- im still trying to plan my brake system. Ideally I want 5 lugs (so I can run 10inch wide RPF1 rims for traction) and I want 11.1" fronts, 10.3" rears (might settle for 9.4").

I want to buzz up to 150mph (safely/without worrying about structural integrity of vehicle) but be able to stop from 150mph in like ten feet. i've been planning a gravity reversal device to alter gravitational pull when i hit the brakes, therefore giving me 100% traction - but it won't be ready for 3 months.

do me all a favor and keep your fingers crossed i can find a clean CRX on my trip this month.. and thanks for posting!