An Old Friend Revisited: The 2nd Generation Honda CRX

The second generation Honda CRX is a modern classic. It was previewed at the end of 1987, sold from 1988 to the end of 1991, and it was a fabulous little car with a superb lightweight (approximately 900kg) front wheel drive chassis (double wishbones up front and a multi-link set-up at the rear) and if you were driving the VTEC 1.6-litre version, it also had an absolutely high tech (at the time) engine that made all the right noises.

I happened to stumble (actually at a garage I am a regular at) upon two of these fabulous cars being spruced up after years of neglect. This white one is a JDM Si version with the 1.6 litre twin cam version that made around 135bhp. It was originally silver, different front and rear rims and was missing some glass and lights as well as having dings and dents throughout the car. That has all been fixed with the same 15 inch rims and tires and the bonnet now sports an SiR bonnet with its distinctive bonnet hump that is there to clear the SiR VTEC engine's higher cylinder head.

I had a look through this car after it was completed and it looks good. The owner of this car wanted to run it for the classic car series here in Malaysia. It IS quite possible as this is a 1989 car and is already twenty years old and the rules allow cars over 20 years old to participate. Quite amazing as the Honda CRX does not look like a car that has been around for so long.

I however find it a pity if this car actually raced as that would mean some heavy modification, like plonking in a B16A VTEC (about 158bhp) instead of keeping that D16 engine, adding in a roll cage and other safety equipment as this would mean that this now rare car would be sacrificed for, err.... something really fun. Of course this would make this already fast, lightweight car even faster like its SiR sibling. This means a 0-60mph time from 8.5seconds to the low 7seconds. And since it may be track prepared, a Hondata ECU, hotter cams, freer flowing exhaust system and other goodies would make it go even faster. This from a 1.6 litre engine.

But while the owner deliberated, another CRX popped up at the garage a few weeks later. This time a JDM CRX SiR (this means it has the full Monty 158bhp VTEC engine folks) from out of town. You can tell that it is a JDM SiR as it has that full length "moon roof" glass top roof (see the edge of it in the photo below). An option, but one very in demand those days. The owner of this dark grey CRX wants a full mechanical rebuild. The engine will go for the usual porting, polishing and other magic work on the cylinder head as well as a freshening up of the bottom end. New conrod bearings, new pistons and so on.

This car also has coil-overs, original Mugen alloy rims and those modified front headlight with a perspex tube running through it which is used for a cold air intake. It is a more serious machine than the white one. But it isn't set up for any real track use. Just a very enthusiastic owner.

It is really good to see these old cars coming out of the woodwork again. In the 1990s I had a few friends running these cars and I had the opportunity to drive a few and sit in a few radical ones. I remembered driving one of these as you would never forget driving something so small, so light, so low, so powerful (for its size) and so manic.

You sit low in the car and it feels like your rear end is skimming the road surface as you drive it (this is also due to the double wishbone design seen above which allows a low bonnet line). Visibility is superb front and rear, especially with that very unique and functional split rear hatch. As it has that fabulous double wishbone race car derived front suspension and a multi-link at the rear, it is very advanced for a car that is twenty or so years old.

Small hatchbacks or coupes nowadays have to settle for a McPherson Strut upfront and a beam axle at the rear. This little car has something you would see on supercars these days. Manufacturers nowadays care about profits. Even Honda uses a McPherson strut in their Civics these days (the CRX was derived from the EF Civic chassis).

Now combine that with a chassis which is only 900kgs or so and an engine that makes close to 160bhp at an even to this day high 8,000rpm redlining engine, it makes a perfect cocktail of power to weight to handling ratio that is fabulous. The car handles very well, the ride may be a little choppy due to the short wheelbase but it is still within bearable levels. For something so short in the wheelbase and with a lot of bhp, it is pretty stable at high speeds. Understeer wasn't much of an issue as it was so short and small, you'd be in and out of the apex before you knew it.  Steering could do with a little more feedback but I am just whining, it really isn't that bad at all.

Add one more factor to the picture. The noise. Oh, the noise of these early VTECs. It starts pretty normal, then at the switchover point around 5,000 or so rpm all hell breaks loose. The rapid climb of the rev counter before this switchover point becomes even faster and it races to the 8,000rpm redline like it hasn't any inertia holding it back and it makes a howling banshee sound like it's a little puppy and it sounds even better. Ghostly, glorious and spine tingling. All this from a 1.6-litre four pot.

I like these older VTECs. The newer I-VTEC engines are much smoother, quieter and linear in their power delivery. These older VTECs have a sense of occasion due to the step-up in power and sound that you feel over the newer ones. Sometimes, this uniqueness is what I would choose over all out horsepower.

Seeing both of these cars over a short period of time, running my fingers and tracing the lines of the car, opening the doors and sitting in these cars does bring back some good memories. It's like having an old friend over to reminisce about old times. A good decade or so since my last close encounter with one, or in this case, two.