It’s already been tweaked with a bit, has aftermarket rims, exhaust, headers, intake and has a fuel injected 16valve. i have coilovers coming for her soon and i get a second job as a delivery driver and i plan on putting all the money i make off that job to the crx so i just want to know what i should be looking to upgrade

 

replace balljoints and rack end bushing. https://www.hondapartsnow.com/genuin...0-sh3-000.html

there is no better "upgrade" than OEM. unfortunately most of it all is discontinued, its an old car.

no, polyurethane bushings are NOT better.

and aftermarket aluminum control arms are trash.

better to just get OE-equivalent arms with replacement bushings already in them.

check for other maintenance before considering "upgrades".

 

Learn everything you can about these cars. It's a 30 year old tin can; it's going to have some weird and inconvenient problems, and lots of shops aren't going to care about an ancient econobox. So unless you decide to just daily it till it breaks, you really can't afford not to understand how that car ticks. Also then you'll know why everything Tyson said is really good advice.

 

As others have said, the best thing to do is get the car back to a known healthy state. With any 30 year old car, everything rubber is on it's way out. Some of the main items I would look at replacing, even if they look OK are: rubber brake lines, alternator belt, timing belt (+water pump and tensioner), vacuum lines, brake and clutch pedal sensor stoppers, all suspension bushings (OEM style or Hardrace rubber), radiator hoses, and any water lines between the head and block.

In addition, you need to do a full service on the vehicle including: discs and pads, flush the brakes and coolant, plugs and wires, distributer cap and rotor, engine and trans oil, fuel filter, air filter, valve lash, ball joints and tie rods.

You will want to inspect a few things: Check the CV boots for any leaks, look at the rear tail lights after a rain to see if they are filling with water or leaking into the vehicle, check for leaks in the hatch and sunroof, all ground cables, wheel bearings and any engine oil and water leaks. It also wouldn't hurt to do a compression test just to know where you are. If you are feeling sporty, drop the fuel tank, remove the fuel pump and inspect both the pump and tank interior for rust.

With any older vehicle, you want to go over the electrical system to see what, if any alterations have been made. Being these cars were sought after by kids in their 20's with little to no wiring experience, you need to know what kind of a rats nest is hiding behind the dash and engine bay. You may get lucky and everything is sorted but you don't want your luck to run out 100 miles from home in a thunderstorm.

Lastly, before you modify your vehicle in any way, you need to answer three questions:

1. Is this my primary/only vehicle needed to make money or attend school? If the answer is yes, then don't modify the vehicle. Project cars are not daily drivers.
2. What do I want to do with this vehicle? If you are going to modify a vehicle, you need to build to for a purpose. Maybe this is just hanging out at the car wash or maybe it is autocross, drag racing, etc. Regardless, you need to have a vision of where you want the project to go. If you just start slapping parts on you will end up with a car that you spent too much money on that isn't good at anything. Do your research and develop a plan.
3. Do I have the time, money, skills, tools and space to complete my vision? Be very honest with yourself.

 

I don’t plan on using this car as my daily but I’ve done a little work on it, i’m getting the rust removed next week and putting the coilovers on. i’m getting all the fluids flushed and changed tomorrow. I’m learning more and more about the car everyday and i’m pretty happy with the way things are going. realistically i’d say my current budget to keep working on the car is $5000 as of now but i’m really willing to get a third job if i have to. i just really love the car and wanna be able to take good care of it

 

What coilovers did you go with?

You really should look over the suspension before changing anything. The reduced ride height is going to stress out the already aged bushings. Also worth noting, the coilover install is going to change the suspension geometry and you'll need an alignment, which (along with the installation itself) may uncover seized bolts and adjustment points.

Personally, I would get under the car and check out the bushings, trailing arms, ball joints, tie rods, etc and make sure things are in good shape. If so, drive it as-is and get a feel for it. Maybe change the wheels and headlights, they look tacky to me but that's my personal taste.

 

the car drives very smooth all around, no leaks no nothing just really needs some new tires. i ended up getting silvers for my coilovers and after i get under the car and replace all the worn out stuff i’m thinking on working on the interior a bit more